Amidst the bustling crowd on the pedestrian street, Tang Guo and Lin Yijing, two eye-catching "magnets," finally became less conspicuous, relieving Xu Mo of the intense pressure of being stared at.
However, the three of them still looked rather odd. Despite going out together, Xu Mo and Lin Yijing deliberately kept a one-meter distance between them, walking side by side in silence. Meanwhile, the little loli Tang Guo clung to Xu Mo like sticky candy, her smile so sweet it could crystallize into sugar, making it seem as if she were the real date of the day.
Xu Mo had to admit that walking beside Lin Yijing, the renowned "First High School Belle," came with immense pressure. If not for Tang Guo acting as a distraction, his brain might have completely shut down by now. Even so, he still struggled to find a suitable topic to break the awkward silence.
"Uh… you weren't hurt yesterday, were you?" After much deliberation, Xu Mo decided to start with the incident from the previous day, as that was the only reason Lin Yijing had invited him out.
His sudden question caught Lin Yijing off guard. She hesitated briefly before replying, "Huh? No… I'm fine. But I was really scared at the time. It was my first time encountering actual gangsters. If you hadn't saved me, I don't even dare to imagine what would've happened."
"There's no need to thank me. Even if I didn't know you, I wouldn't have just stood by and done nothing… Besides, I think the person you should be more grateful to is Ouyang Ning. No matter what, he was the first one to stand up for you. And from what I heard, he was pretty badly injured, too."
Mentioning Ouyang Ning, Xu Mo subconsciously recalled the text message from Xu Bilin that morning, and his tone inevitably carried a hint of gloom.
Lin Yijing, however, didn't notice his mood shift. She nodded with a faint smile and said, "I already went to the hospital last night to thank him and Linlin in person. I haven't interacted much with Ouyang Ning before, but since we're classmates, I could tell that he's always had a strong sense of justice. Though he's a bit scheming, he's not a bad person at heart. His sudden confession to Linlin last night was quite unexpected, but as her friend, I'm happy that she has such an outstanding guy pursuing her… What about you? Linlin talks about you a lot, saying you're her only 'guy best friend.' Don't you think they make a good match?"
"Uh… well… as long as she likes him, that's all that matters."
A "guy best friend," huh? So in Xu Bilin's heart, his position was even closer than he had imagined… Too bad he was classified under the wrong gender. Should he feel honored or just plain miserable?
Just as Lin Yijing was about to continue the topic, Tang Guo, who had been playing on her phone while clinging to Xu Mo's left arm, suddenly jumped in front of them with her hands on her hips and an impatient look on her face.
"Hey! Are you two done yet? Planning to wander the streets till the end of time? Someone, come touch my stomach and see if you can feel my spine!"
Whether intentional or not, Tang Guo's interruption saved Xu Mo from the agony of continuing the conversation. He secretly felt grateful to the perceptive little girl and turned to Lin Yijing with a smile.
"It's getting late. How about we find a place to eat first and continue talking over lunch?"
Lin Yijing shot Tang Guo an apologetic glance before turning to Xu Mo and nodding. "That sounds good… But I don't eat out often, so I don't really know which place is good. Since I'm the one treating today, you should pick the restaurant."
"Uh… To be honest, I don't eat out much either."
Xu Mo wasn't just being polite. His daily routine was a repetitive cycle between home and school, and even when he did eat out, it was usually at the small eateries near his house. Taking Lin Yijing to a place that didn't even have a health permit would be far too disrespectful.
Seeing the two of them awkwardly staring at each other, Tang Guo sighed, smacked her forehead, and shook her head helplessly.
"You two seriously came out on a date without even deciding where to eat? Unbelievable… Whatever, I just saw an ad for a Western restaurant by the roadside. It looked decent, so let's go there. I'll give you the address."
Since neither Xu Mo nor Lin Yijing had any particular preference, they simply went with Tang Guo's suggestion.
However, when they arrived at the "Maxim's Restaurant" on Donghuang Street, Xu Mo was immediately dumbfounded by the extravagant European-style decor.
Even though he had never dined at such a place before, he could tell that the prices here were definitely not something students like him and Lin Yijing could afford.
He also noticed the almost imperceptible trace of awkwardness on Lin Yijing's face. As the host, she couldn't exactly suggest switching to a different restaurant, so she could only force a reluctant smile at him.
This was all Tang Guo's fault…
Xu Mo returned an apologetic smile, about to suggest they find another place, but before he could say anything, Tang Guo had already excitedly dashed toward the restaurant entrance, squealing.
"Wow! Looks like I picked the right place! This restaurant looks amazing! French cuisine… I've never had French food before! Let's eat here!"
Xu Mo failed to stop her, and Tang Guo disappeared inside the restaurant in an instant.
"Uh… I guess we might as well eat here," Lin Yijing said with a forced smile, sensing Xu Mo's hesitation, before following Tang Guo into the restaurant.
This troublemaker Tang Guo… She's really putting me in a tough spot.
Oh well, I still have the 5,000 yuan I got from that middle-aged man last night. If worse comes to worst, I'll just cover the bill myself. There's no way I'll let Lin Yijing feel like she's taking advantage of someone.
As they approached the entrance, a well-dressed waiter greeted them politely.
"Welcome. A table for two?"
"No, three. The little girl who just ran in is with us," Xu Mo answered, feeling exasperated.
"Oh, that young lady… Please, follow me."
The waiter led Xu Mo and Lin Yijing into the restaurant and guided them to a central table. After pulling out their chairs, he left without even mentioning anything about ordering food.
Xu Mo wasn't sure if this was part of the restaurant's personalized service or just poor staff management, but either way, the casual atmosphere helped ease his initial tension.
Lin Yijing seemed to feel the same way.
As for Tang Guo… she was sitting there cross-legged, casually playing on her phone as if she didn't have a care in the world, which irritated Xu Mo to no end.
Flipping through the menu, Lin Yijing furrowed her brows at the exorbitant three-digit prices. Glancing around, she suddenly lowered her voice.
"Xu Mo, don't you think this place is a little… too quiet? Apart from the waitstaff, we seem to be the only customers here."
Now that she mentioned it, Xu Mo also realized how unnaturally empty the restaurant was. Given that it was peak lunch hour, no matter how expensive the food or how obscure the location, it shouldn't be this deserted. Yet, aside from them, there wasn't a single other diner.
Tang Guo put down her phone, looking a bit uneasy. "Could this be one of those sketchy places? Like, the kind that drugs people and turns them into meat buns? I've seen movies about this!"
"This isn't some countryside dumpling shop…" Xu Mo was speechless at her wild imagination.
Maybe business was just bad? Not every fancy restaurant was guaranteed to be popular…
Just as he tried to rationalize the eerie emptiness, a waiter suddenly arrived with a cart full of silver serving trays. One by one, he began placing exquisitely crafted dishes on their table.
"Grape Lemon Cauliflower Scallops, Normandy Date Pan-Seared Foie Gras, Truffle Braised Lamb…"
"Wait… hold on a second!"
Xu Mo was stunned by the lavish spread of over ten dishes. They hadn't even placed an order yet, and there were no other guests.
Could this really be some kind of scam? Were they about to be forced into paying an outrageous bill?