The lights were bright inside Haidilao, and it was crowded. The four of them found a table and sat down.
Jiang Linyuan and Yu Songsong sat side by side, with Lin Yilin and Zhang Juntang opposite them.
"Do you eat spicy food? What kind of broth should we get?"
Jiang Linyuan looked at the three girls and asked.
"I can't handle spicy food,"
Yu Songsong answered quickly, then turned to Lin Yilin and Zhang Juntang.
"You two can't either, right?"
Lin Yilin seemed distracted, lost in her own thoughts. She simply said,
"Anything's fine."
Jiang Linyuan glanced at her, looking rather helpless.
"Then let's get a broth that tastes like Xiao Yilin."
Lin Yilin snapped back to her senses and glared. She gave him a light kick under the table, then said,
"I don't eat spicy food."
Zhang Juntang spoke timidly.
"Neither do I."
Good thing no one liked spicy food.
They placed their order online. While they waited for the food, they started to get bored, so Jiang Linyuan suggested,
"Why don't we play a little game?"
"Sure!"
Yu Songsong's eyes lit up, and she quickly nodded.
"What should we play?"
Lin Yilin asked.
"Truth or dare,"
Jiang Linyuan said after a moment's thought.
"We'll make a group chat and roll dice in it. Whoever gets the highest number wins. How's that?"
Jiang Linyuan took out his phone and asked the three girls.
No one objected, and soon they had a group chat.
[Binary and Magic Stone] rolled a four.
[Juntang] rolled a five.
[Young Jiang] rolled a two.
[Songbai] rolled a three.
Not a good start.
Jiang Linyuan looked at the two he'd rolled and could only accept his loss.
"...I choose truth."
Zhang Juntang had rolled the highest number this round, so it was her turn to ask a question.
She looked surprised, darting glances around as if she'd been caught doing something wrong.
"M-me?"
"Right. You can ask me anything."
Jiang Linyuan spoke magnanimously, looking at Zhang Juntang, who seemed like a timid little thing.
Zhang Juntang watched Jiang Linyuan for a while, then asked quietly,
"Do you dislike me?"
What kind of question was that?
Even the question this timid little thing asked was so timid!
Was I really just a fragile internet emperor?
"I don't dislike you."
Jiang Linyuan answered without hesitation.
Hearing that, Zhang Juntang's eyes narrowed into slits, and she wore the contented expression of a lazy orange cat basking in the afternoon sun.
So cute. I want to pet her a couple of times.
Yu Songsong and Lin Yilin were both dissatisfied with the question. Who asked something like that during truth or dare?
"Okay, next round!"
Jiang Linyuan waved a hand, urging the game along.
The second round began soon.
[Young Jiang] rolled a six.
[Songbai] rolled a two.
[Binary and Magic Stone] rolled a two.
[Juntang] rolled a three.
What a lucky break~! Two in one!
Jiang Linyuan grinned.
"Truth or dare?"
"Truth,"
Yu Songsong replied with a smile.
Lin Yilin seemed to have thought of something. Her face flushed as she glanced at Jiang Linyuan.
"T-truth."
Wait, Binary Sister, what was with that reaction?
That little pervert had definitely taken it the wrong way!
Was she going to get pregnant just from looking at me? I'd start with her, then!
"Xiao Yilin, what kind of guy would you like to date?"
Jiang Linyuan asked with a grin.
Lin Yilin didn't dare look at him. She stammered,
"I'm not sure. I've never dated anyone, and I've never really thought about it..."
Poor virgin. She couldn't even afford to fantasize about love.
A hint of pity entered Jiang Linyuan's gaze as he looked at Lin Yilin.
"Xiao Yilin, if a woman stays single until she's thirty, she'll become a golden leftover warrior. You'd better get moving."
"That's not true! Senior, don't jinx me!"
Lin Yilin huffed angrily.
"If I really am still single at thirty, I'll come after you, Senior!"
If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author. Maybe it was just renamed!
"What do you mean by that, Xiao Yilin? Do you want me to take responsibility for you? I'm sorry, junior. We're close, but this is moving too fast. I'm sorry. You're a good person."
Jiang Linyuan rattled it off at lightning speed, swiftly handing Lin Yilin a "nice person" card.
Yu Songsong burst out laughing.
"Okay, Senior should ask me something now, right?"
Hearing her speak, Lin Yilin stopped arguing with Jiang Linyuan and perked up her ears, wanting to hear what he'd ask.
Jiang Linyuan turned to Yu Songsong.
"My question's the same. What kind of guy is your ideal type, junior?"
Yu Songsong thought for a moment, then answered seriously,
"He has to be fun! And he can't be too soft; it'd be best if he were a little forceful. And lastly, I hope he isn't the type who's overflowing with a sense of justice."
Lin Yilin panicked when she heard that.
Was Senior fun? He could be a little annoying when he talked, but he definitely knew how to make girls laugh.
As for being soft, Jiang Linyuan had never been lacking in aggression.
But the last part put her somewhat at ease.
After all, Senior Jiang was a decent person, wasn't he?
She glanced at Jiang Linyuan, who was grinning, and remembered how he sometimes squeezed her hand. Her face warmed.
Probably.
"Not overflowing with a sense of justice?"
Jiang Linyuan asked curiously.
"Could you explain that a little more? Of course, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."
Yu Songsong didn't mind at all.
"Simply put, I want him to take my side, not the side of what's right. Even if I make a mistake, I still want him to stand by me."
Jiang Linyuan figured that probably had something to do with Yu Songsong getting caught cheating in high school.
Senior year had been so stressful, and teenagers were sensitive and impulsive. Once she'd been caught cheating, the whole school had known there was a girl like that.
If it had been someone else, they'd probably have pulled some stunt the very next day and become a legendary flying person in the stories told by future students.
Yu Songsong really did have a strong ability to withstand stress.
"Haha, I want someone like that too,"
Jiang Linyuan said. Su Muzhi's smiling face drifted into his mind, and he shuddered in alarm.
Scared me to death!
Come to think of it, Little Su was pretty loyal.
If you told her you were going to storm the Louvre and make off with a million, she'd thump her chest and say she'd get you a Unit-01.
But tell her you wanted to date her?
Life wasn't bad enough for that. If you were having a rough time, you could go cosplay as a bush by the highway, then jump out and startle a truck driver.
Now that was satisfying!
Yu Songsong looked at Jiang Linyuan's uneasy expression strangely, unsure what he was thinking.
"Let's keep going. Come on."
The next round began.
[Young Jiang] rolled a one.
Yu Songsong rolled the highest number.
"Senior, your luck isn't very good."
Yu Songsong smiled as she asked,
"Truth or dare?"
"Truth,"
Jiang Linyuan said.
No need to fear a crooked shadow when you stand straight!
In all my dealings, I, Jiang Linyuan, only seek to have a clear conscience.
I reject self-recrimination and advocate making others feel guilty.
"Then... how many times has Senior Jiang been in a relationship?"
Yu Songsong asked with a playful drawl.
Lin Yilin's eyes widened as she turned to look at Jiang Linyuan.
Zhang Juntang also snuck a glance over.
"Half a time, I guess."
Jiang Linyuan answered reluctantly.
"What do you mean, half a time?"
Lin Yilin was very unhappy with that answer.
"I agreed to be in love, but she didn't, so it was an incomplete relationship."
Jiang Linyuan sighed ruefully.
"That was obviously just a crush! You might even have been rejected!"
Lin Yilin shouted indignantly.
This Binary Sister! Fine, fine! I'll let you run wild for now. Just wait until we're alone, and I'll teach you a lesson!
"Senior's had a crush on someone? Who was it? Can you tell us?"
Yu Songsong seized on the key detail and asked.
Jiang Linyuan met her eyes and smiled faintly, leaning a little closer.
"Why don't you take a guess, junior?"
Yu Songsong looked into his eyes, which seemed almost affectionate. She instinctively looked away and said,
"How would I know? Senior knows so many people, and I don't know them."
"It's someone you know, junior,"
Jiang Linyuan lied without batting an eye.
Besides, this was outside the bounds of the truth question now.
But Yu Songsong didn't think so. Believing they were still doing truth, her heart gave a sudden thump.
Could it be me?
Lin Yilin's heart skipped too.
Could it be me?
She quickly lowered her head, only to notice out of the corner of her eye that Zhang Juntang had her head lowered too, her face flushed.
There's another one?
Looking at their reactions, Jiang Linyuan couldn't keep a straight face.
I'm doomed. I'm surrounded by Downer Girls!
Before you continue