Xu Lin followed the navigation and arrived at a lane deep in the pedestrian street before finding the location sent by Luo Qiu Zhu.
He looked ahead at the coffee shop that was identical to the one in the photo.
At this moment, whether it was the outdoor tables and chairs or the indoor seats, there were hardly any people.
It was already Friday afternoon, and this lane had even fewer pedestrians.
The name of this coffee shop was indeed apt—it truly was a corner in the lane.
“Am I here too early?”
The coffee shop’s layout was fully visible even from outside, but he did not spot anyone resembling Luo Qiu Zhu inside.
Beep beep.
A message came through on WeChat.
Xu Lin opened it and saw it was from Luo Qiu Zhu.
“Come over quickly once you’re here. Outdoor seating, table number one.”
Seeing this message, Xu Lin looked again at the outdoor seats of the coffee shop.
At this moment, only one seat was occupied by a figure.
Xu Lin had already noticed this person earlier, but he was a bit hesitant to approach and strike up a conversation.
Because that person’s attire was truly intimidating at first glance.
The person was dressed in unassuming neutral sportswear, with a baseball cap on their head, sunglasses below, and a mask covering their face.
Wrapped up so tightly, if not for the body curves indicating she was female, Xu Lin wouldn’t even dare confirm the gender, let alone that this was the so-called Luo Qiu Zhu.
harboring doubts, Xu Lin walked toward that person and glimpsed the number 1 tag on the table.
It really is here!
No, what exactly is this about?
“Sit down quickly since you’re here!”
A muffled voice rang out, with a tone that was anything but polite.
Those eyes behind the sunglasses glanced sideways at Xu Lin.
Through the side of the sunglasses, Xu Lin caught sight of the other’s sharp gaze.
Xu Lin pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down.
Seeing her appearance up close, he found it even more bizarre.
In this sweltering heat, dressing like this—aren’t you afraid of getting heat rash?
But soon, he stopped meeting her gaze and instead looked beside her.
The moss-covered wall of the distant lane was clearly visible.
No tags.
Xu Lin felt it was a bit strange.
Clearly, when he had looked at her from afar earlier, he had sensed a black aura emanating from her.
Xu Lin had even worried if she also possessed some strange tag.
But now it seemed she was an ordinary person.
Learning that the other was ordinary, Xu Lin’s mood relaxed considerably.
“Is this how you like staring at others everywhere?”
A thorny voice pierced through the ease he had just gained.
It was from the “Luo Qiu Zhu” across from him.
“Are you really Luo Qiu Zhu?”
Xu Lin did not respond to her words but instead locked his gaze on her face, which was concealed so thoroughly, and countered with a question.
In terms of aura, it somewhat matched the legendary domineering one, but her appearance was completely hidden.
The body across from him straightened, the sunglasses trembled slightly, and the mask quivered rapidly, as if preparing to erupt in anger.
But in the next moment, her brows shifted, and her breathing steadied quite a bit.
“No one dares impersonate me!”
“That may not be true.”
Xu Lin detected the murderous glare seeping from beneath the sunglasses.
“It’s not that I’m meddling. Lately, someone has been trying to cause me trouble. If I can’t confirm you’re the real Luo Qiu Zhu, I’ll have to rudely take my leave.”
Although the aura and gender matched, this secretive attire was truly suspicious.
If he could have seen her face directly earlier and found it wasn’t Luo Qiu Zhu, he would have just left.
“Are you very proud of yourself?”
“Does this have anything to do with that?”
“The trouble you’re talking about—isn’t it because of that Witch senior and Shen… Shen Xue’s matters, getting wanted by people at school?”
“Do you think you’ve successfully played the field with two boats, and both are school celebrities, so they’ve become your medals, and you’re very proud?”
As she spoke, there was a faint gnashing of teeth.
No, how did this jump to that?
However, hearing this tone, it really sounded like something a member of the Familiar Society or Shen Xue Support Club would say.
Xu Lin wanted to say something, but the words stopped at his lips.
Because he saw the other party had removed her sunglasses, revealing a pair of beautiful upturned eyes, though filled with hatred.
Then she pulled down her mask, exposing a beautiful face that seemed angry yet not.
This makes it look like I did something to her…
But now he finally confirmed it.
Truly worthy of being the department’s second beauty; viewing her up close, her face was flawless.
She was indeed Luo Qiu Zhu without a doubt.
“Seen enough? Satisfied? Am I Luo Qiu Zhu?”
As she said this, she put the mask and sunglasses back on.
“Indeed, it’s Luo Qiu Zhu.”
However, Xu Lin did not immediately answer her but instead pressed the owl figurine in his pocket and thought to himself.
That’s great, Young Hero. Moreover, your performance is much better than yesterday.
Much better?
Xu Lin was actually still a bit nervous, but indeed, compared to facing Lin Shen Xue, it was much easier.
Perhaps the one across was the second department beauty known for her dominance, but she was ultimately an ordinary person, so the pressure on him was relatively small.
“It’s really you, Luo classmate. But with this getup, you made it so I was a bit afraid to approach earlier.”
“Because I don’t want people to see me with you.”
“Then if that’s the case, you shouldn’t be sitting outside but inside. After all, people come and go out here.”
“You’re quite sharp-tongued.”
The sunglasses faced Xu Lin directly, and the gaze seeping from beneath was not friendly.
Luo Qiu Zhu’s voice was cold: “Because I also don’t want to be in the same indoor space as you. In fact, if unnecessary, I don’t want to sit face-to-face with someone like you at all.”
However, facing this gaze, Xu Lin felt calm and composed.
He found it strange himself.
If it were before, he probably would have felt the pressure.
Could it be that being around tag holders like Lin Shen Xue and Li Zhi Ran had built up his resistance to pressure?
“You asked me here because of Lin Shen Xue classmate’s matters, right?”
Xu Lin didn’t want to bicker with her; since he confirmed it was Luo Qiu Zhu, he went straight to the point.
Although in the WeChat message she sent earlier, she didn’t mention Lin Shen Xue at all and only sent photos of him and Li Zhi Ran, but given her identity now, it was easy to know she was here entirely for Lin Shen Xue.
Xu Lin was also a bit puzzled why she was only showing up now.
Clearly before, she was always by Lin Shen Xue’s side, blocking everyone trying to approach her.
So everyone thought of her as Lin Shen Xue’s gatekeeper.
But strangely, in his three previous contacts with Lin Shen Xue, he hadn’t seen her figure even once.
Only in the second time did he learn she was actually sneaking around watching him interact with Lin Shen Xue.
So, what exactly does she want.
“It seems you have some self-awareness.”
Luo Qiu Zhu let out a cold hum, then gritted her teeth.
“But that’s exactly why you’re even more hateful!”
She almost stood up, pointing at Xu Lin’s nose to curse.
But immediately after, her brows furrowed slightly, and her breathing calmed again.
“Tell me, what will it take for you to leave her.”