6:50 p.m., outside Xinxinge BBQ Restaurant.
Wang Yiyang changed into a simple, plain dark casual outfit and arrived first. He found a seat after asking a waiter to reserve a table.
He had spent the entire afternoon hypnotizing his subordinate team leaders.
He now had a total of seventeen squads under his command, all of which he could deploy freely.
Each squad had at least ten people, which meant he could directly mobilize nearly two hundred.
And that was only a third of the Security Department's strength at the Mister Group.
He had gathered them all near Yingxing City.
Originally, these people had been spread across the entire eastern Federation to protect the interests of the company's various branches.
But Wang Yiyang's life was on the line. He couldn't care less about anything else. He would bring in everyone he could, and to hell with the rest.
After an afternoon of hypnotizing people, even with Finn's peak-rank Tasdak Symbol Hypnosis, he felt exhausted all over. It had taken a tremendous toll on his energy.
As for this blind date that afternoon, he couldn't have cared less. He planned to show up and go through the motions.
To keep the woman from taking a liking to him, he had deliberately worn his cheapest formal outfit, hoping to give the impression that he was trying hard to dress well but was short on money.
After all, women these days cared far more about material conditions than most other qualities.
Of course, he understood. No one wanted to pinch pennies every day after getting married. Women needed to take care of themselves; without it, they would age too quickly and lose their beauty before long.
Wang Yiyang sat quietly and waited.
He asked the waiter for a glass of plain water and a plate of fried sunflower seeds, then slowly cracked them one by one.
Time passed.
After eating half the plate of seeds, Wang Yiyang checked the time. It was 7:25.
He brushed the crumbs off his hands and suddenly realized he hadn't told her what he would be wearing. His dad had probably given her a photo. He just wasn't sure whether she'd recognize him.
He had changed quite a bit, both in appearance and bearing.
He waited a little longer. The restaurant's music had a rather charming atmosphere. A languid female voice seemed boneless as it crawled around a corner of the restaurant.
It was as if someone had crawled up to the table to beg for money, while the occasional harmony sounded like several people suddenly asking for money at once.
"Ah~~ If you don't give me money~~ I'll cause trouble~~~"
"Ah~~~ If you don't give me love~~ I'll turn on you~~~"
The lyrics were rather spellbinding, too.
Wang Yiyang couldn't help laughing as he listened.
He glanced around. Thanks to the music, the whole restaurant had a relaxed, cheerful atmosphere.
At least the people at the tables around him were all chatting and laughing, looking at ease.
At the table in front of him sat two young men and a young woman, talking about the hassles of school. Every so often, they couldn't help bursting into laughter.
To his left, a plump couple were chewing with their mouths wide open, grease shining on their lips. The delicious aroma made anyone who saw them feel hungry.
Just then, someone else entered the restaurant.
A young woman in a black blouse and off-white jeans walked in with another girl wearing a creamy white knit sweater.
Both had long hair, though the first woman's was brown and the second's dark red.
Their looks and styles were quite different.
Wang Yiyang took a glance. The first woman was probably his blind date, Xie Yishu.
Xie Yishu was a little different from most women. She looked somewhat cold, with the air of someone rational and aloof.
She was indeed pretty, though not as beautiful as An Yuxi or Li Ran. Still, she would easily score above seventy.
The other woman was probably her friend. It was understandable for a woman to bring a friend along for a meal with a man she didn't know; it helped her feel safer.
Wang Yiyang had been on blind dates before, but back then he had been just an ordinary office worker. He had no confidence and was timid and meek, managing only a bashful smile.
No income, no looks, no figure. Naturally, things hadn't gone well.
He recalled the woman from his last blind date and compared her with the one in front of him. The woman here was clearly more to his taste.
But sometimes, even the most suitable people were a lost cause if they met at the wrong time.
As Wang Yiyang thought this, he saw the two women scan the restaurant, then walk straight toward him.
He stood up politely to greet them.
Even if he was only here to go through the motions, he still had to mind his manners. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be him who lost face; his whole family would, too.
"Hello. Xie Yishu?"
"Mm, hello. You're Wang Yiyang, right?" After confirming his identity, Xie Yishu went over to the table. They shook hands and sat down across from each other.
The cute-looking girl in the white beret sat down with her, too. She said nothing, simply watching the two of them with wide, curious eyes.
Wang Yiyang's looks and figure surprised them.
At first glance, he didn't seem particularly handsome, but the longer they looked, the more strangely approachable he seemed.
His charm was gentle and comforting. His eyes in particular elevated a face that would otherwise have scored only seventy to at least eighty-five. He could almost have passed for one of those TV stars after their skin had been retouched and their makeup done.
He was that good-looking?
Xie Yishu and Su Xiaoxiao were both a little surprised. Compared with his photo, he seemed quite different.
The photo had made him look much worse than he did in person. Even compared with the men they had met before, he was among the best. And his approachable type of charm was rare.
They didn't know that Wang Yiyang hadn't looked like this a month ago.
But ever since he had gained one identity after another,
he had gradually acquired the Security Minister's confidence and flair, along with his knack for planning and control.
He had also gained Dr. Twist's precision, calm, composure, and focus.
And from Finn the hypnotist, he had acquired an unusual charm and a powerful warmth.
All these qualities blended together, elevating Wang Yiyang's formerly ordinary looks.
He wasn't handsome in the usual sense. He was the sort who grew more striking the closer you got to him.
He himself had yet to notice how much he had changed.
"Here's the menu. Ladies first." Wang Yiyang smiled and passed it over. "But go easy on me, okay? I'm still on probation, and my monthly income isn't much. I can't afford anything too expensive."
He deliberately pointed out his lack of financial means, hoping to lower her impression of him first.
What was the point of talking about marriage if a man couldn't even support a family?
Generally speaking, most women would immediately think less of a man upon hearing something like that.
Xie Yishu was no exception. Though Wang Yiyang's looks had made a decent impression on her, he couldn't even treat them to a barbecue meal without asking them to go easy on him. He was being stingy even about paying for dinner.
She could imagine what it would be like to live with him.
Still, since he'd brought it up, she couldn't very well order much.
She had originally planned to split the bill anyway.
She casually ordered a meat platter, a vegetable platter, and three drinks.
The total came to less than two hundred yuan, and they were done ordering.
The waiter took their order, saw that the three of them had ordered so little that it wouldn't even be enough for two, and left with an utterly speechless expression.
The three sat across from one another and each took a sip of water. For a moment, none of them knew what to say.
The atmosphere turned awkward.
Wang Yiyang was deliberately staying silent. Xie Yishu was trying hard to think of something to talk about, while Su Xiaoxiao gazed at his face, staring blankly at him.
Smack.
Xie Yishu realized something was wrong and smacked her friend to snap her out of it. Then she turned to Wang Yiyang and said seriously,
"I don't usually like barbecue that much. I feel like I've been gaining weight pretty quickly lately. I heard you work at Mister Pharmaceutical. How's the pay there? Is the environment good?"
"It's all right. I'm still on probation, so there's not much to say." Wang Yiyang answered casually. "You know how it is with a big group like that. The rules are strict, and the different divisions and departments don't really overlap. I only know about the work I do."
"What kind of work do you do there?" Xie Yishu asked casually.
Judging by his clothes and the stinginess he'd just shown, she'd already guessed that he didn't earn much. She was only asking to make conversation.
"I do a bit of security-related work. I just started, so I do a little of everything." Wang Yiyang smiled and replied offhandedly.
"Security work?" Xie Yishu paused, seemingly understanding. Wasn't that just a security guard?
She didn't press him further. Instead, she brought up the matter of their fathers.
After all, their only connection was that their fathers were colleagues.
After chatting for a while, the atmosphere seemed to ease a little.
The waiters began bringing out the food and drinks.
Xie Yishu and Su Xiaoxiao had eaten quite a few desserts before coming, so they didn't have much of an appetite.
Wang Yiyang, on the other hand, hadn't eaten much earlier, so he promptly buried himself in grilling and eating meat.
Xie Yishu realized there wasn't much to talk about, so she started eating, too.
But as they ate, Wang Yiyang kept putting slices of meat on the grill. In less than twenty minutes, all the meat and vegetables they'd ordered were gone.
The portions at this restaurant looked fairly generous. The vegetable and beef-and-mutton platters might not have been enough for two people, but the slices really were thin.
Once spread out, they looked like a lot.
Wang Yiyang grilled and ate slice after slice. Xie Yishu took her time, glancing at her phone from time to time.
He knew this blind date was going nowhere, so he relaxed and ate without restraint.
He hadn't expected the huge quantity of meat to run out halfway through, though.
He was eating with his head down, reaching for more, when a clink sounded as his metal chopsticks seemed to hit something.
He looked up and saw Xie Yishu's friend, Su Xiaoxiao, reaching out at the same time, her chopsticks holding the same slice of lamb.
Su Xiaoxiao's cheeks were bulging, making it obvious she'd already eaten quite a lot of barbecue.
Wang Yiyang looked at her bowl, then at Xie Yishu's.
Sure enough, the girl had eaten at least half of all the meat and vegetables.
"Looks like I've met my match!" He maintained his gentlemanly poise and let go of his chopsticks, offering her the last piece of lamb, no bigger than his thumb.
"Ladies first."
Su Xiaoxiao's mouth twitched. She looked at the tiny bit of meat beneath her chopsticks.
"Thanks."
"No problem." Wang Yiyang thought for a moment, then glanced at the empty table. He figured neither of the two women had eaten enough.
He raised his hand again.
"Waiter, could we get another beef-and-mutton platter?"
"Sure, just a moment. I'll enter it here." A waiter at the counter not far away answered.
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