The couple had an enlightened moment: “Oh! A survey of local restaurants!”

Only then did Lu Yuwen speak, unhurried, his smile carrying just the right touch of sheepishness:

“Here’s the thing — before opening a branch, I’d like to get a feel for the popular restaurants in the area. Going alone might arouse suspicion, and I don’t have any other friends here, so I was hoping to trouble Su Man to come with me.”

He looked toward Su Man with an easy, gentle expression and said: “I just wasn’t sure how busy Su Man usually is — I’d hate to interfere with her work…”

“Being busy doesn’t mean she stops eating,” Su Ma said with a broad smile, happily agreeing on her daughter’s behalf without a second thought. “As long as she doesn’t have a night shift, she can meet up with you for dinner after work.”

Lu Yuwen inclined his head slightly and asked Su Man: “What time do you get off tomorrow?”

Su Man answered, “Seven.”

Lu Yuwen smiled. “Then I’ll call you at seven. Is that alright?”

Su Man gave a vague, somewhat dazed nod.

Whatever the reason — to help him, or to test Li Li’s reaction — somehow, without quite meaning to, it had all been settled.

……

The next day, Su Man stayed busy straight through until the end of her shift.

She was about to get in her car and head home when she remembered her dinner arrangement with Lu Yuwen, and a complicated mixture of feelings washed over her.

This was the first time… she would be going out to eat alone with a male friend, someone she had known for less than a week when it came to it.

If this had been any other time in her life, she never would have believed it possible. And yet, here it was, happening.

She took out her phone and looked at it, hesitating for a long while, before finally dialing Lu Yuwen’s number —

The call connected quickly.

His end was somewhat noisy, a mix of background music — it sounded like he might be in a shopping center.

“Where are you?” Su Man said. “I’ll drive to you now.”

“I’m on Huaihai Road,” Lu Yuwen replied. “It’s a bit difficult to find. Let me add you on WeChat — then I can send you my location directly. Does that work?”

Whenever he said “is that alright” or “does that work,” his tone was always soft and easy, as if he were gently discussing things with her — or gently coaxing her along.

Su Man tried hard to ignore the odd fluttering in her chest and said steadily, “My WeChat is my phone number — just add me directly.”

“Alright, I’ll hang up now.” Lu Yuwen said. “Drive safely.”

Su Man made a sound of acknowledgment and ended the call.

Then she sat in the driver’s seat and exhaled slowly and deeply…

She didn’t even know what she was nervous about.

The contradiction was real.

When she was actually with Lu Yuwen, she felt at ease and comfortable — and yet she kept having these strange reactions. She couldn’t work it out…

She looked down at her uniform. Thinking about going out to dinner, she started the car and decided to make a quick stop at home first.

Never mind makeup or dressing up — she at least needed to change into something presentable, didn’t she?

……

Huaihai Road was bustling and full of large shopping centers. Su Man spent some time parking, then followed the location Lu Yuwen had sent on WeChat to find him.

She’d expected him to be at a restaurant inside the mall. Instead, he was in a high-end clothing boutique.

He was holding two formal dresses — in his left hand, a black off-the-shoulder gown; in his right, a royal blue backless fishtail dress.

“Which looks better?” Lu Yuwen asked.

Su Man was a little confused. “Who are you buying for?”

She paused, then asked with a puzzled look: “Aren’t we going to dinner?”

“The finest restaurants either operate by reservation or by membership. I booked a table at a French restaurant tomorrow night at eight. The restaurant has fairly strict rules — formal attire is required. So tonight we’ll pick out the outfits first.” He held the dresses up against Su Man’s frame, then handed one to the attendant nearby. “The black one — one size down.”

Su Man: “……”

She wanted to say that she had formal wear already, no need to buy anything new. But she wasn’t confident that her formal wear would meet the standards of a high-end restaurant’s dress code, and so, in a moment of inexplicable silence, she said nothing.

The store attendant smiled pleasantly. “Right this way, miss — I’ll show you to the fitting room.”

Su Man pressed her lips together, glanced at Lu Yuwen, and then, steeling herself, followed the attendant off to try on the dress.