In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

"Ah."

Su Lin responded softly. That was the truth. The fact that the young master could discover her was enough to say a lot. In addition, there was "Yujing" in his hand... He seemed to be powerless, but in reality, it wouldn't be so easy to take him down.

This made her feel somewhat gratified. The young master was becoming more and more mature in every aspect... Speaking of which, how many times had she felt gratified by the young master's maturity? He had matured three times in a year.

"You mustn't do that again in the future, okay?"

Taking advantage of her momentary daze, Xu Shi gently flicked her nose. "Alright, didn't you say you were going to ask me out for dinner tonight? Let's go now?"

"Is it... huh?"

Su Lin answered instinctively, but suddenly realized something was wrong, "Young Master, how did you know it was me..."

"Of course I know! Why are you being so secretive? If it were some kind of business meeting, wouldn't you have told me?"

Xu Shi always felt that perhaps she was spending too much time with people she shouldn't be around, and that her IQ was dropping. "Besides," he thought, "even for business meetings, who would choose a place like 'Blue Ocean'?"

Although both are upscale restaurants, "Babylon" and "Blue Ocean" are quite different in nature. The former is a proper business venue, where business is the main focus and dining is secondary, while the latter is more private and has been praised as a good place for family and friends to gather or for couples to date.

Anyway, the boss behind the scenes has amassed countless fortunes from infatuated young men over the years.

"Then, are you still going...?"

Director Su felt a little wronged. It was Chengcheng who said they should maintain an air of mystery, but how could her relationship with Xu Shi be mysterious? Now it's just a cover-up... Maybe we should just let it go. Without mystery, the effect will definitely be greatly reduced.

"Go, why not go?"

Xu Shi chuckled and said, "It's unprecedented for you to invite me out to dinner. I don't want to miss such a rare opportunity."

"...Then I'll go get the car!"

Upon hearing this, Su Lin perked up. In the end, she didn't want to give up this opportunity either, having prepared for it for a long time... This made her very happy, and she showed a rare joy.

"Hi."

Seeing her carefree demeanor, Xu Shi unconsciously clicked her tongue, smiled, and shook her head.

……

"Blue Ocean" is booked for the whole event today, and the decorations are very stylish. When Xu Shi first came in, he saw the flowers and thought he had accidentally entered someone's wedding banquet.

But a feast for the eyes can't fill an empty stomach. Sitting here, all he could do was drink cold water. He waited and waited, but no food came... And what happened to Su Lin? She said she was going to park, but where did she park?

Xu Shi found it amusing and was curious to see what kind of big project Director Su, who was always by his side, could pull off today.

I do not know how long it has been.

The lights in the restaurant suddenly went out all at once, and a moment later the starry sky ceiling suddenly lit up.

"...Young Master."

Su Lin's voice then rang out as she slowly emerged from the darkness.

Upon seeing her attire, Xu Shi was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a moment.

He had never seen her dressed like this before—a traditional pure white floor-length off-the-shoulder evening gown with a slight cutout design, adorned with a few gemstones that perfectly accentuated her delicate collarbones, her hair styled in a bun with a hairpin, and a pair of standard attack speed shoes.

This completely lacked her usual dashing and capable demeanor; instead, she exuded charm, and coupled with her slightly shy expression, a single glance was enough to make one's breath catch in their throat.

"What are you..."

Xu Shi was also somewhat lost in thought.

"Is it good-looking...?"

Su Lin's steps were a little awkward. "Am I... not suited to dressing like this?"

"...It's not that it's unsuitable, it's just that I've never seen you wear it like this before."

Xu Shi paused, then stood up and took her hand. "You should have told me sooner; it makes me look like I dressed rather hastily."

He's still wearing the inspection bureau uniform; there's nowhere to change it if he wanted to.

No wonder she took so long, she went to change clothes... Under the starry sky, Director Su was breathtakingly beautiful, which amazed Chairman Xu, but also made him feel a little regretful.

It's true that I've never seen her wear something like that. Just like Jiang Chengcheng said, it's no exaggeration to say that Su Lin's daily attire is completely unchanging. Even if we go back a few years, she would still be wearing a maid outfit—a kind of outfit that is not conducive to movement and is completely inconsistent with her principle of protecting herself.

If I had to say, the last party might have been an opportunity, but unfortunately, that brat Gu Yi took my place...

It's not that she's not pretty normally; Director Su is a tall and fit beauty who looks good in anything. But always dressing the same way can get a bit tiresome.

That's why he felt a sense of surprise and joy. As the saying goes, women dress up for those who appreciate them, so it would be a lie to say he wasn't happy.

"No, it's alright, young master looks handsome no matter what he wears..."

Su Lin herself was a little reserved. It was her first time dressed like this, and she was the one who was nervous. Jiang Chengcheng helped her choose the clothes... But seeing that the young master's reaction seemed to be good, she finally felt a little more at ease.

The young master actually took my hand; it felt so ticklish in my palm…

"It's really beautiful, it was worth the long wait."

Xu Shi held her hand, feeling a little reluctant to let go. "What day is it today? Our Director Su has made so many preparations?"

"It's not a big deal... Is it to celebrate your completion of community service, young master?"

Su Lin didn't want to let go even more; her mind was so dizzy that she couldn't even speak.

"What kind of reason is that?"

Xu Shi was amused. "It doesn't matter. If today isn't a special day, then let it be one."

"Um……"

Su Lin blushed and nodded; she hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.

The atmosphere was great, the only awkwardness was because I was shy... The young master seemed very satisfied with his arrangements, right?

Sure enough, my best friend's advice was absolutely right. It will definitely be easy for her to win over the young master later!

result.

The beautiful illusion was instantly shattered like a bubble when the food was served.

"Um... is this the dinner you prepared?"

Looking at the grilled chives and pork kidneys arranged on the gilded plate, Xu Shi's eyes twitched involuntarily, and he momentarily forgot what to do with his knife and fork.

"Ah this..."

Su Lin was still in shock when she asked, "Young Master, don't you like it...?"

"This has nothing to do with whether you like it or not, right?"

Xu was both amused and exasperated.

He's definitely not the aloof, otherworldly type, at least not after his past life memories awakened. What's wrong with eating barbecue? He didn't enjoy his meal with Miss Black Rabbit before? They almost became sworn brothers... It wouldn't be a problem if the other person was Su Lin. A few drinks and a couple of punches would still make for a wonderful day.

The problem is the environment! The setup was so good, and then this happens, the atmosphere is completely ruined!

You even prepared goji berry medicinal wine! What's that at the bottom of the bottle, deer antler or maca?

Lunch with Buffett, huh? Xu Shi believed that this meme didn't even exist in the world, but Su Lin managed to create it!

"Tell me, who gave you this advice?"

He's now absolutely certain that someone is behind all of this; otherwise, why would Su Lin do something like this? Her image is practically ruined...

"...It's Chengcheng."

Su Lin also came to her senses and realized that this was indeed a bit incongruous. After some internal struggle, she still chose to confess.

"From beginning to end?"

Xu Shi pressed for an answer.

"Um……"

Su Lin replied with a pitiful expression. Even if she was slow to notice, she could sense that something was wrong; at the very least, the young master didn't seem happy.

Ugh, even my best friend's advice isn't completely effective...

"Don't blame everything on other people."

Xu Shi said irritably, "You just do whatever she says? What's the point of preparing this whole table of food?"

"Yes……"

Su Lin was about to answer when she thought again that if she said it, her intentions would be completely exposed.

So she immediately changed the subject, "Young Master doesn't like these? I'll have them change them..."

"Forget it, wasting money is shameful."

Xu Shi wasn't really angry, of course. He waved his hand to indicate that he didn't care, "Don't go through all that trouble. If we change people again, they'll all starve."

To be honest, eating grilled kidneys in this kind of atmosphere is actually quite interesting.

So he quickly started to enjoy it. That's why it's a high-end restaurant; they cook such good food even when they're not good at it.

Su Lin had lost her appetite completely. She didn't know whether to blame herself for being stupid or her best friend for being unreliable. She unconsciously scribbled on the grilled kidneys, her mind filled with thoughts of how to make up for it.

"So, after going through all this trouble today, what exactly are you trying to tell me?"

Before she could decide, Xu Shi spoke first, asking with great interest.

"I...I've never eaten out with you before, young master, so I wanted to give it a try..."

Su Lin was still too embarrassed to say it and stammered, trying to brush it off.

"I'll count to three, and if you don't say it, you'll never say it again in your life."

Xu Shi didn't spoil her, and his tone even carried a hint of command.

"……don't want!"

These words immediately broke Su Lin's guard, and she stood up without caring about her image.

"I... I just really can't stand that there are more and more people around you, young master, and you always ignore me..."

She looked at Xu Shi very seriously and said, "I'm jealous of even Chengcheng, and I'm even afraid that you won't need me in the future..."

“I am a retainer of the Xu family, and I shouldn’t be thinking about these things. Even if you really abandon me, I should have no complaints… But I’m really in pain, so I tried to find a way to ask you out…”

"Actually, I planned to do this a few days ago, but then you went out with that Tang Shuang again, and I wanted to go with you but you wouldn't let me..."

She poured out all the grievances she had held in for so long—it really was a long one. In terms of seniority, who dared to say they were number one if Su Lin said they were number two? But everyone else kept coming up behind, while she was left out in the cold. Director Su's heart wasn't made of iron; it was already quite an achievement that she had endured this long.

In particular, her feelings for Xu Shizhen were not something that happened overnight; they were feelings that had existed for a very long time. In the past, they were mostly feelings of gratitude, such as "even if the young master is a good-for-nothing, I will still drag him along."