The next day, Qian Wei kept a close eye on Lu Xun from the moment she got in, but unfortunately, the man showed absolutely no signs of anything unusual. Tonight was supposedly his very first blind date, and yet he acted as though nothing at all was happening—he really knew how to keep things hidden!

She finally made it through to the afternoon, and sure enough, at five-thirty on the dot, Lu Xun checked his watch and left the office, a complete departure from his usual overtime-obsessed self, prompting whispers among the staff.

The moment Lu Xun left, Qian Wei packed up and followed right behind him. She caught a taxi and headed straight for the Hyatt, ready to stage a perfectly timed “coincidental” run-in.

At this hour, the Western restaurant at the Hyatt wasn’t very crowded, and Qian Wei spotted Lu Xun by the window almost instantly. Sitting across from him was a girl with long wavy hair, red lips and white teeth, her eyes full of expression, currently gazing at Lu Xun with a starstruck, adoring look, her soft pale hands cupping her chin, her gaze full of innocence and complete, unguarded trust. But that wasn’t even the most shocking part. The most shocking part was—Lu Xun, whose facial muscles seemed practically atrophied from never smiling, was actually smiling at her, a clear, unguarded smile, completely without his usual defenses!

Qian Wei’s composure shattered on the spot. Looking at Lu Xun like this, something in her chest twisted painfully.

“Miss, are you dining alone? Would you like me to seat you?”

Since the restaurant was quite quiet at that moment, the server’s voice cut through rather abruptly. Lu Xun instinctively turned toward the sound, then paused, looking startled. “Qian Wei?” He looked her over, his gaze lingering on her four-inch heels and her long dress. He pressed his lips together. “You’re meeting someone here too?”

The heels and the long dress had both been Liu Shiyun’s suggestion—after all, if you were going to crash someone’s blind date, you’d better upgrade your equipment accordingly.

Under Lu Xun’s stare, Qian Wei felt her palms go sweaty with nerves. She forced an awkward laugh and lied. “Yeah, meeting someone.”

“Zhou Qing?”

Qian Wei nodded blindly. “Yep.”

“I see.”

“Lu Xun-gege, who’s this?” The long-haired girl sitting across from Lu Xun blinked her dark eyes, looking at Qian Wei with curiosity.

Lu Xun’s expression turned rather unpleasant—no one’s mood improves much when a blind date gets interrupted by a coworker. He glanced at Qian Wei and answered briefly. “A colleague.”

Lu Xun-gege?! Excuse me?! How close were these two exactly?! How long had they known each other?! Since when did Qian Wei sign off on this whole “gege-meimei” routine between them?!

Qian Wei burned with indignation. Look at him, flirting all over the place—Lu Xun, you’re clearly some kind of shameless flower-hopping butterfly!

Though her mind was screaming with complaints, on the outside, Qian Wei kept up a smile. “Well, I won’t interrupt, I’ll just go sit over there and wait for my date.”

Given Lu Xun’s icy stare, Qian Wei didn’t dare sit too close to him. She reluctantly found a seat that let her keep an eye on his table while maintaining some semblance of distance, then sat down, pulled out her phone, and started livestreaming the whole thing to Liu Shiyun over WeChat, cursing Lu Xun out the whole time.

Whether it was because of her presence or not, the bright, unguarded expression Lu Xun had worn a moment ago clouded over. That fully unrestrained smile of his had vanished completely, his brow furrowed slightly, the corners of his mouth taking on a hint of displeasure.

Ha, Qian Wei thought, what a hypocrite. If you’re going to flirt, just flirt—can’t handle it if a colleague sees, huh? Fine, I’ll just sit right here and make sure this date of yours is thoroughly uncomfortable!

But Qian Wei’s satisfaction didn’t last long before her heart took another blow.

As Lu Xun and the long-haired girl continued chatting, a well-dressed couple walked in from the restaurant entrance, looking to be in their fifties, both impeccably maintained. Judging by their attire, they came from a well-off family, carried themselves with elegant manners, and looked clearly well-educated. Upon spotting Lu Xun, they smiled at him and walked straight to the table, exchanging some affectionate words with the long-haired girl before sitting down beside her.

Qian Wei stared at this development in shock, alarm bells blaring in her head.

It’s just a blind date, and now even the girl’s parents show up?! This looked serious! Lu Xun was actually taking this one seriously! Knowing his personality, there was no way he’d ever agree to meet a girl’s parents unless he’d already decided she was the one!

Qian Wei glared, watching the atmosphere at Lu Xun’s table grow warm and lively. The middle-aged couple was clearly quite pleased with Lu Xun, their eyes full of affection as they looked at him, and the long-haired girl, energized by her parents’ arrival, grew even more animated, repeatedly serving food to her parents and even actively serving a dish to Lu Xun.

What Qian Wei absolutely could not stand was that Lu Xun actually ate the food the girl served him, completely naturally, as if it were nothing at all!

In that instant, Qian Wei felt something inside her head go off like an explosion.

Perhaps out of consideration for his “colleague” watching, Lu Xun would occasionally glance over at Qian Wei as he chatted with the others, but whenever she looked back, he’d already turned away, pretending nothing had happened.

Before long, Lu Xun stood up, said something to the others at the table, and excused himself to the restroom. As he passed Qian Wei, he gave her an indifferent glance, and she quickly pretended to still be waiting for someone, fiddling relentlessly with her phone.

“Xiao Wei jiejie.”

Not long after Lu Xun left, the long-haired girl called out to Qian Wei in a sweet voice, staring at her, looking a little shy. “Lu Xun-gege told me your name. Did the person you were waiting for not show up?”

Qian Wei cleared her throat. “Something came up for him, his boss suddenly called him in for a meeting, couldn’t get away.”

“Then would you like to join us for dinner?”

“Huh?” Qian Wei looked at the girl’s innocent, earnest expression, caught off guard. This girl had some nerve—inviting her own date’s coworker to sit in as a third wheel at her own blind date?

But Qian Wei couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity. She’d been watching the lively exchange at Lu Xun’s table from afar, unable to make out a word of what they were saying, and it had been driving her nearly out of her mind.

So she nodded, and simply, unabashedly, went and sat right down at Lu Xun’s table.

“Xiao Wei jiejie, I’ve always been curious—what’s Lu Xun-gege usually like at work?”

Qian Wei looked at the girl’s curious expression, and the middle-aged couple’s equally attentive gazes, and it finally clicked.

So that was it! The reason the girl had invited her to sit down was mainly to get an outside perspective—as a colleague—on Lu Xun’s work capabilities and his reputation and character among his coworkers.

Lu Xun’s work capabilities? No question there, obviously!

His reputation among his subordinates? Full of authority, admired and respected by everyone!

But was this really the moment for the honest truth?

Absolutely not!

Qian Wei asked herself—why exactly had she come here in the first place, if not to sabotage Lu Xun’s blind date and claim him for herself?

The nation was in its gravest hour of need! Qian Wei! Every man for himself! Grit your teeth and go for it!

“Lawyer Lu? Oh, he’s incredibly diligent at work, always working overtime, basically lives at the firm at this point. He’s even said that even if he ever dates, marries, or has kids someday, the firm will still be his real home. Lawyer Lu’s whole philosophy is that girlfriends, wives, children—they’re all just passersby in life. Only work is eternal!”

The girl and the middle-aged couple all froze, clearly taken aback. “He actually thinks that way…”

“And also, there’s actually a bit of a rumor going around about him in our circles.”

The three of them across the table were instantly intrigued. “What kind of rumor?”

Qian Wei deliberately built up an air of mystery, lowering her voice. “In that department, he might have some… issues.”

The long-haired girl, being young, caught on immediately to what “that department” meant, clapping a hand over her mouth. “There’s no way Lu Xun-gege could… how could he possibly…”

The middle-aged couple froze too, but being seasoned and experienced, their expressions grew complicated while they remained composed, waiting to hear more.

“You know how it is—we lawyers spend so much time hunched over our desks writing, sleep so little, our stamina takes a hit. Lawyer Lu’s condition, honestly, probably comes from working so hard,” Qian Wei said, full of sympathy. “To save time, he barely drinks water during the day. And you know, for men, not drinking water and not getting up to move around regularly for years on end really does affect their health.”

The long-haired girl still wasn’t convinced, protesting, “But that’s all just rumor and speculation. I don’t believe Lu Xun-gege would have that kind of problem.”

Qian Wei took a sip of water. “I saw it with my own eyes. He went into Jianguo Men’s Health Hospital. See, now you understand why Lawyer Lu’s been single for so many years! Everything happens for a reason! I watched him walk into that men’s health clinic that day, looking so helpless and heavy-hearted—even I, just his subordinate, felt for him!”

“…” The long-haired girl gave Qian Wei a complicated look. “Let’s not talk about that. But surely Lu Xun-gege’s character is beyond reproach, right?”

Young lady, I’ve already gone this far and you still haven’t given up?! Qian Wei thought. Time to bring out the heavy artillery.

“His character! Lawyer Lu’s usually a good boss, but whenever a case gets particularly difficult, he loses his temper completely—he’s been known to scream at people in his office for four hours straight, sometimes throwing things, and a couple of times he nearly came to blows with male colleagues. He’s just that intense about his cases, though—his high standards do make all of us grow really fast under him.”

“He’s also extremely meticulous and a perfectionist. Whenever we go out for group meals and split the bill, Lawyer Lu calculates everything down to the third decimal place, doesn’t let a single cent slide. His precision honestly moves me.”

“And he’s very attentive to the female staff—whenever the air conditioning’s too cold, he actually goes around touching everyone’s hands personally, then has admin adjust the temperature based on how cold their hands feel!”

…

By the time she finished, the three of them sat in stunned silence, staring at Qian Wei with complicated expressions. Watching their faces, Qian Wei was certain—this blind date was one hundred percent dead in the water.

Just as Qian Wei’s mouth was getting dry from all the talking, Lu Xun finally returned.

Seeing her there, he looked surprised. “Why are you here?”

“Xiao Wei jiejie’s date never showed up, so I invited her to join us,” the wavy-haired girl said, pouting with a small smile. “We had a great chat about you just now.”

Lu Xun looked a bit surprised, then nodded. “Well then, let’s all eat together.” He glanced at Qian Wei. “Since you’ve already talked to them, I suppose introductions are in order.” He gestured toward the wavy-haired girl. “This is Lu Sheng, my cousin. Just got back from abroad.” Then he gestured toward the middle-aged couple. “And these are my parents.”

Qian Wei, who had just been drinking water to soothe her dry throat, completely lost her composure and spat it right out.

She stammered in horror, “Your—your parents?”

“Mm.”

Qian Wei looked up, and it was only now that she finally understood what those complicated looks from the three of them had meant…

What had she done?! What exactly had she just said, in front of Lu Xun’s own parents?! In that moment, all Qian Wei wanted was to travel back in time and beat herself senseless…

“So, what exactly were you three talking about?”

Lu Xun’s mother smiled at Qian Wei. “Your colleague here is quite entertaining. She’s shown us a whole side of you we never knew about, plus a few law firm secrets.”

Lu Xun looked surprised. “Oh?”

Qian Wei couldn’t possibly let Lu Xun’s mother continue, and immediately refilled her own wine glass. “Auntie, a toast to you!”

But Lu Xun’s mother was persistent. “This young lady was just saying…”

Qian Wei refilled her glass again. “Another toast!”

“She said…”

Qian Wei gritted her teeth and downed glass after glass, until her cheeks began to burn and her head grew fuzzy, and only then did she realize she was thoroughly drunk.

But being drunk had its upside too. She let out a forced laugh, rubbing her forehead, and deflected. “I think I had a bit too much to drink just now, I honestly don’t even remember what I said, hahahahahaha.”

If Lu Xun’s parents hadn’t been sitting right there, Qian Wei would’ve loved to launch into a full-blown “who am I, where am I, what am I even doing here” routine on the spot.

Throughout the rest of dinner, Lu Xun remained puzzled, Lu Sheng and Lu Xun’s parents kept exchanging meaningful glances, and Qian Wei, scalp tingling with mortification, ate her tender steak without tasting a bite of it.

As the conversation continued, no one treated Qian Wei as an outsider anymore. Even though she’d just thoroughly trashed Lu Xun in front of his own parents, his mother was remarkably gracious, smiling warmly at Qian Wei the whole time, still perfectly friendly. Lu Sheng, who had grown up alongside Lu Xun since childhood, laughingly brought up plenty of old stories about him.

“Actually, I’ve always wondered—why has Lu Xun-gege stayed single for so many years? You’re clearly not asexual, I remember back in college you even liked a girl and confessed to her, didn’t you?”

Lu Xun’s hand, mid-motion cutting his steak, paused. He looked up, pressing his lips together. “Lu Sheng.”

He clearly didn’t want her bringing this up, but Lu Sheng just stuck out her tongue, the lively little thing completely ignoring the warning in his eyes, and continued gossiping. “He even asked me once how to write a good love letter to a girl. And after spending days writing it, the girl completely ignored him. Really knocked him down a peg—he was in a foul mood for months afterward.”

“Oh?” Qian Wei felt a spark of curiosity. Lu Xun had actually written someone a love letter before?

“Lu Sheng!”

Lu Sheng was clearly a dedicated gossip enthusiast who never left a story half-told once she’d started. She pouted. “How old were you again? Sophomore year, right? Nineteen?” Lu Sheng let out a long sigh. “Ah, looking back, what a tragic first love story…”

Whatever else they talked about after that, Qian Wei could no longer follow. She was quite drunk, and combined with a poor night’s sleep the night before, the mix of alcohol and exhaustion left her head spinning. Slowly, she slumped forward onto the table, drifting into a hazy half-thought: who had that love letter been written for? Had it been for Mo Zixin? Or, like in her own story, had it been written for her? Somewhere between sleep and waking, she could no longer tell what was dream and what was reality—she couldn’t even be sure whether she was really here having dinner with Lu Xun right now, or whether Lu Sheng had really just told that story about his first love.

This must be a dream. It had to be.

“Qian Wei? Qian Wei?” Lu Xun’s voice seemed to come from very close, and yet very far away, all at once.

“Can you still stand?”

Qian Wei forced herself to stay conscious, struggling to open her eyes. She looked hazily at Lu Xun in front of her, and after a delayed moment, nodded. “Mm.”

Lu Xun pressed his lips together. “I’ll take you home.” He glanced back at his parents and cousin. “Get in the car first—I’ll drop off my parents and Lu Sheng, then take you.”

Qian Wei waved a hand. “No, no need.” She waved her phone. “I already texted Qian Chuan, he’s coming to pick me up…”

Lu Xun said nothing more, and the group rode down together in silence in the elevator.

Qian Chuan’s car would be waiting outside the hotel entrance to pick up Qian Wei, while Lu Xun’s car was parked in the underground garage. But when the elevator reached the ground floor and Qian Wei stepped out, Lu Xun followed right behind her.

Qian Wei only caught a glimpse of him turning to tell his parents and Lu Sheng, “I’ll walk her to her car first, I want to make sure she’s okay.”

By the time Qian Wei registered what was happening, Lu Xun was already standing behind her, brow slightly furrowed, and because of his decision, his parents and cousin were forced to step off the elevator together on the ground floor as well.

“Lu Xun, you don’t need to walk me out, go ahead and—”

But before Qian Wei could finish, her foot slipped on something on the floor. Unpracticed in navigating four-inch heels, she went crashing down with a loud thud right in front of Lu Xun’s startled eyes.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow…”

She’d landed right on her tailbone, and it genuinely hurt—badly enough that she couldn’t get back up at all, and combined with her drunken sluggishness, she simply gave up and stayed sitting on the floor. She thought, indignantly, if this is just a dream, does the pain really need to feel this real?

“Qian Wei!”

“Qian Wei!!”

Qian Chuan and Liu Shiyun’s voices seemed to call out from nearby. Qian Wei followed the sound and looked up to find it really was the two of them—Qian Chuan was already rushing anxiously toward her from the lobby entrance. Qian Wei thought hazily, I only texted Qian Chuan, so why is Liu Shiyun here too?

“Qian Wei? Can you still stand up?”

Qian Wei felt weak all over, arms and legs both. She sat there on the floor, looked up at Lu Xun, and laughed. “You look so nervous right now—more nervous than that time the multi-billion-dollar Ganges project acquisition fell through.”

Lu Xun looked at her, pressing his lips together, seeming to make a real effort to maintain his composure. “Get up first.”

Qian Wei had always obeyed Lu Xun’s instructions without question, but in this moment, she decided—in her own dream, she was allowed to be a little unreasonable for once. She stayed slumped on the floor, her drunken flush still coloring her cheeks, her eyes glistening as she looked up at him. “No.”

Lu Xun said nothing more. He bent down directly, intending to pick her up, but Qian Wei struggled and pushed him away.

Although the Hyatt lobby wasn’t especially crowded, the commotion Qian Wei was causing had already drawn a few glances, and someone seemed to recognize Lu Xun. “Lawyer Lu?”

Lu Xun glanced at the person, gave a brief nod, unbothered by the curious stares, and said to Qian Wei, somewhat helplessly, “Stop fooling around, get up.” He rubbed his temple, seeming to understand that a drunk person couldn’t be reasoned with logically, and his voice turned surprisingly gentle, as if coaxing a child. “What would it take for you to get up?”

Qian Wei blinked, staring unwaveringly at Lu Xun. “I fell down. Lawyer Lu has to kiss me before I’ll get up.”

At those words, Lu Xun’s entire body went rigid.

Qian Chuan’s eyes went wide, staring at Qian Wei as if she’d sprouted a second head. Liu Shiyun couldn’t bear to watch and covered her eyes with her hands. Lu Xun’s parents and Lu Sheng looked on with equally complicated, stunned expressions, and everyone else in the lobby—whether they knew Lu Xun or not—watched to see how this would play out.

Drunk Qian Wei felt quite wronged by all this. It was just a dream, after all—why was everyone reacting like this? She thought, aggrieved, is it a crime to go after Lu Xun in my own dream?

But regardless of how everyone else reacted, none of it mattered to her, because at least in this dream of hers, the leading man was following her script.

After a moment of frozen silence, Lu Xun—famously cold and untouchable to everyone—bent down right there, in front of everyone, and kissed Qian Wei. His movement was careful, if a bit stiff, and after kissing her on the cheek, he took the opportunity to pull the dazed Qian Wei up off the floor.

Qian Wei, thoroughly unsatisfied with such a perfunctory kiss, grabbed hold of Lu Xun’s tie and pulled him closer, then took the initiative to kiss him on the lips herself, mumbling, “I want another one.”

That seemed to be the thing that finally flipped some switch in Lu Xun. He stopped caring who was watching, cupped Qian Wei’s face in his hands, and kissed her deeply.

Qian Wei wrapped her arms around Lu Xun’s neck, returning the deep kiss with fervor. Somewhere around them, someone seemed to gasp in shock, someone else pulled out a phone to take photos, but in that moment, the rest of the world seemed to vanish entirely. In Lu Xun’s arms, Qian Wei stopped caring about anything else, and clearly, the man kissing her at that moment felt exactly the same way.

What a beautiful dream this was.

Qian Wei thought bashfully—even in a dream, how could Lu Xun kiss her until her face flushed, her heart raced, her breath caught, and her legs turned to jelly? It was just a kiss, so why did it feel like he wanted to devour her whole, so fierce and overpowering? Having a dream like this really was more than a little embarrassing.