After night fell completely, the streets of Central City became lively once again.
Having grown accustomed to the streets of Lan City, returning to the nighttime crowds of Central City made Jiang Sui feel a bit out of place. She had the illusion that if she wasn’t careful, she would be swept away by the sheer flow of people.
Fortunately, she wasn’t alone. The downside was that there weren’t just two of them.
‘Why did it turn out like this?’
Ever since they stepped out the door, Jiang Sui had kept her face stiff, maintaining an almost expressionless mask the entire time.
According to her original plan, tonight was supposed to be private time for her and Lu Yunze. By inviting him to her home, with no annoying Luo Yao and no enemies looking for trouble, wasn’t it the perfect opportunity to improve her relationship with him?
Jiang Sui had even researched the nighttime streets of Central City in advance, planned a route, and even wrote a script, intending to coordinate with Senior Cat to create a few “incidents.”
As it turned out, they were out, and the route followed her plan, but she remained completely uninterested.
As for why…
“I didn’t expect so many snack stalls to have popped up nearby.”
“Speaking of which, I haven’t had fried skewers in a long time. Eating too much isn’t good for the figure, though.”
“It’s a rare occasion to go shopping with my daughter. How about we check out that new clothing store over there?”
Since they left the house, Xia Youqing had been the most energetic of the three. Even though she was the interloper, she hadn’t stopped talking, clearly trying her best to liven up the atmosphere.
Jiang Sui remained stony-faced, and Lu Yunze did not look particularly comfortable either.
“I didn’t realize there were so many novel little trinkets for sale here.”
“Ah, what’s wrong?”
Lu Yunze forced a smile and pointed at a nearby stall. “What’s that?”
“I don’t know,” Jiang Sui replied.
“Uh, then what about this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then… this?”
“I don’t know.”
Lu Yunze soon fell into silence as well.
But before long, Jiang Sui spoke up again. “Why aren’t you saying anything? We’re finally out to have fun. Shouldn’t you smile a bit?”
“Alright… What is that?”
“I don’t know.”
Lu Yunze felt like he was about to cry.
Since they were out for dinner, the three of them didn’t linger on the street for too long. Instead, they focused on picking a place to eat.
Because Lu Yunze had offered to treat them, the mother and daughter’s options widened significantly. Since they were dining out, they naturally had to choose a sufficiently nice establishment.
This was Xia Youqing’s specialty. Because she was often dragged out to eat by her friends without having to pay, she knew the local restaurants well. She knew which were good, which were bad, and which were expensive.
Since the Young Master was paying, she naturally selected a restaurant that was both delicious and pricey.
“Boss, three people. We’d like a private room.”
“Right away.”
They headed to the second floor and entered the private room.
Lu Yunze breathed a sigh of relief after looking at the menu. Although Xia Youqing had claimed it was very expensive, it was actually quite reasonable. Never mind a single dinner; he could afford to treat the mother and daughter to a late-night snack afterward without any issue.
Once the food was ordered and served, the dinner officially began.
In the face of a table full of dishes, the one eating with the most gusto was still Xia Youqing. Normally, she only ate takeout or instant noodles, so she naturally wanted to eat her fill now that she was at a proper restaurant.
Next was Lu Yunze. He was tired of the high-end cuisine prepared by the chefs at home, and since he already had a fondness for street-side fried noodles and similar fare, his appetite was quite good.
The only one who seemed uninterested was Jiang Sui. Compared to the other two, who were devouring the food, she only occasionally used her chopsticks to pick at a bit of meat or vegetables.
Lu Yunze noticed this and could even guess why she was in a bad mood.
But he was powerless. After all, the person sitting across from them was Jiang Sui’s mother; he couldn’t exactly kick her out. Even if he tried to create a space for just himself and Jiang Sui, Xia Youqing would likely find a way to squeeze in.
She had indeed let go of her hostility toward Lu Yunze, but she was still very worried about her daughter being bullied. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have insisted on coming along despite Jiang Sui’s sour expression.
Jiang Sui was the one who should have been enjoying this the most, yet her constant grimace made Lu Yunze feel more and more guilty the more he thought about it. It even began to affect his own appetite.
To soothe Jiang Sui’s mood, Lu Yunze stopped focusing on his own meal and began placing food into her bowl, hoping she would eat more.
However, Xia Youqing was doing the exact same thing, and much more blatantly.
Soon, the food in Jiang Sui’s bowl was piled up like a small mountain, looking quite unappetizing.
Then…
Jiang Sui simply picked up her bowl and dumped all the food into Lu Yunze’s bowl.
“Eat more, Young Master. You’re still growing.”
“Wait, are you my mother?” Lu Yunze didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Just as he was struggling with what to do, Xia Youqing suddenly put down her chopsticks and stood up.
“I just remembered I have something important to do. You two keep eating. I’m going to go get busy.”
“Ah, take care, Madam.”
She just left like that?
It wasn’t until the door to the private room closed that Lu Yunze snapped back to his senses.
‘Is this my chance?’ he wondered.
He looked over at Jiang Sui. She was staring at the door where her mother had exited, blinking, but she didn’t show any strong reaction.
Xia Youqing was gone, and only the two of them remained.
However, the atmosphere in the private room remained quiet, as if she were still sitting there.
‘That’s not right. Shouldn’t Jiang Sui immediately change her expression and at least show a smile at a time like this?’
‘Why is she still like this?’
After a brief internal brainstorm, Lu Yunze finally realized what was happening.
Jiang Sui had originally asked him out tonight for just the two of them. Xia Youqing’s sudden intrusion had naturally made her very unhappy.
Even though the woman had left, Jiang Sui’s original enthusiasm had long since been dampened.
‘In a situation like this, is it up to me to liven things up?’
Lu Yunze took a deep breath and spoke. “Jiang Sui, you seem to be in a bad mood?”
“Huh?” Jiang Sui turned her face to look at him. Her expression seemed to say, ‘What do you think?’
Lu Yunze let out a dry laugh. “How about… I tell you a joke?”
Jiang Sui replied casually, “Whatever.”
“An animal company was hiring a police chief, and many animals went for the interview.”
“In the end, only the white cat passed. Do you know why?”
“Why?” Jiang Sui asked while picking pieces of food from the “mountain” in Lu Yunze’s bowl.
“Because the Black Cat Detective was very nervous! Hahaha!”
After Lu Yunze finished his joke, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
When he finished laughing, however, he found that Jiang Sui’s expression hadn’t changed at all. The corners of her mouth hadn’t even twitched.
“Young Master, does everyone around you know you have a talent for cold jokes?”
Failure!
Because of the little maid’s subtle look, Lu Yunze suddenly felt like a clown. He wanted nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into.
He was seriously trying to be funny, so why wouldn’t she laugh?
However, even though the joke didn’t make Jiang Sui laugh, her appetite clearly improved, and her eating speed increased significantly.
“Uh, I’m going to go step out for a moment to use the restroom.”
“Okay.”
Taking the chance to slip out of the room, Lu Yunze didn’t actually go to the bathroom. Instead, he went to the restaurant’s entrance to breathe in some of the fresh street air.
He found that the noise outside was actually more comfortable than the suffocating silence in the private room.
‘I should give Jiang Sui a little private space first.’
If it weren’t for her good temperament, she probably would have exploded by now.
Standing in front of a milk tea shop, Lu Yunze debated whether he should buy her a drink. Even if he didn’t ask her preference and just bought one, she would likely say something like, “As long as the Young Master bought it, I like it.”
Just as Lu Yunze was about to order, he suddenly caught a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
At first, he thought he was mistaken.
When they left the house tonight, Xia Youqing had been wearing white clothes. That white figure he just saw… it seemed to be her?
Lu Yunze saw her enter a small alley and immediately followed her.
After entering the alley, he deliberately lightened his footsteps, quietly approaching the area where voices were coming from.
“Give me a little more time. I can really do it.”
“Time, time, always time. Our Boss has already given you more than enough time.”
“But I really can’t contact him. I don’t know where he is. I’ve already asked friends and relatives to help look; I’ll have news of his whereabouts soon.”
“You might have patience, but our Boss doesn’t.”
Hearing this conversation, Lu Yunze frowned and peeked around the corner.
Several fierce-looking thugs had Xia Youqing cornered against a wall, constantly threatening her with the weapons in their hands.
“Tonight is the final deadline. We can’t wait any longer.”
One of the thugs raised a knife and pointed it at her neck.
“I heard your daughter has returned to reunite with you. If we take her too, wouldn’t that bring that man out even faster?”
“This has nothing to do with Jiang Sui!” Xia Youqing shouted, panicking instantly.
Not only Xia Youqing, but even Lu Yunze, who was eavesdropping, felt his heart sink.
They were going to go after Jiang Sui?
Who were these people?