Change

6:50 PM, at the entrance of Xinxinge BBQ Restaurant.

Wang Yiyang had changed into simple, plain dark casual wear. He arrived first, found a waiter to book a table, and sat down.

He had spent the entire afternoon hypnotizing his subordinate captains.

He now had a total of seventeen squads under his command, all of which he could mobilize freely.

With at least ten people per squad, that meant he had nearly two hundred people at his direct disposal.

And this was only one-third of the strength of the Mister Group Security Department.

He had concentrated them all in the vicinity of Yingxing City.

Originally, these people were scattered throughout the eastern part of the Federation, established to maintain the interests of various local branches.

But with Wang Yiyang's life now at stake, he couldn't care less about anything else. He would mobilize everyone he could first; as for the others, that was none of his business.

After an afternoon of hypnosis, even with his inheritance of Finn's peak-level Tasdak Symbol Hypnosis, he felt exhausted, his energy reserves severely depleted.

As for this blind date, he had no heart for it at all and planned to just go through the motions.

To avoid the woman taking a liking to him, he had deliberately worn his cheapest formal outfit, hoping to create the impression of someone trying his best to dress up but lacking the funds to do so.

After all, modern women cared far more about material conditions than other factors.

Of course, he could understand that; after all, no one wanted to live a life of scrimping and saving after marriage. Women always needed maintenance, and without it, they would age too quickly and lose their beauty.

Wang Yiyang sat in his seat, waiting quietly.

He had the waiter bring him a glass of plain water and a serving of roasted melon seeds, slowly cracking them one by one.

Time crawled forward.

After eating half a plate of seeds, Wang Yiyang checked the time: 7:25 PM.

He brushed the debris off his hands, suddenly realizing he hadn't told the other party what he would be wearing. He assumed his old man had provided a photo, but he wondered if she would even recognize him.

His appearance and temperament had actually changed quite a bit.

He sat and waited a while longer. The restaurant's music was quite atmospheric; a lazy female voice in the melody seemed to crawl around the corner of the room like a boneless creature.

It felt as if someone were crawling to the edge of the table to beg for money, while the intermittent harmonies sounded like several people appearing at once to demand cash.

"Ah~~ no money~~ then I'll make trouble~~~"

"Ah~~~ no love~~ then I'll change my face~~~"

The lyrics were quite infectious.

Wang Yiyang couldn't help but want to laugh as he listened.

He looked around; thanks to the musical atmosphere, the entire restaurant felt relaxed and cheerful.

At the very least, the groups at the tables near him were chatting and laughing with relaxed expressions.

The table in front of him had two boys and a girl talking about school troubles, occasionally bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

To his left, a pair of chubby lovers were chewing with wide mouths, their faces oily and the aroma wafting over, making anyone who saw them feel hungry.

Just then, more people entered the restaurant.

A girl wearing a black women's shirt and off-white jeans walked in, accompanied by another girl in a creamy white knit sweater.

Both had long hair, though the former's was brown and the latter's was deep red.

Their styles and appearances were quite different.

Wang Yiyang glanced over; the former was likely his blind date, Xie Yishu.

Xie Yishu was somewhat different from the average girl; she looked a bit cold on the outside, clearly the type with a rational, aloof style.

However, in terms of looks, she was indeed quite pretty. Although not on par with An Yuxi or Li Ran, she was easily a seventy or above.

The other one was likely her friend. It was understandable for a girl to bring a friend along for support and a sense of security when meeting an unfamiliar man for dinner.

Wang Yiyang had been on blind dates before, but back then he was just an ordinary white-collar worker with no confidence, timid and only capable of shy smiles.

With no income, no looks, and no physique, the outcome was naturally dismal.

He recalled his last date and compared her to the one in front of him; clearly, this one was more to his taste.

It was just that sometimes, even the most suitable person is in vain if the timing is wrong.

As Wang Yiyang thought this, he saw the two girls scan the restaurant and walk straight toward him.

He stood up to greet them out of courtesy.

Although he only intended to go through the motions, he had to maintain basic manners; otherwise, it wouldn't just be him who was looked down upon, but his entire family.

"Hello. Xie Yishu?"

"Yes, hello. You must be Wang Yiyang, right?" Xie Yishu confirmed his identity. She walked to the table, the two shook hands, and they sat down opposite each other.

The cute girl in the white beret sitting to the side also sat down. She didn't say a word, just stared at the two of them with round, curious eyes.

Wang Yiyang's looks and physique took them both quite by surprise.

At a glance, he didn't strike one as particularly handsome, but the more you looked at him, the more a strange, intimate charm emerged.

That charm felt gentle and comfortable. Especially those eyes; they elevated a face that would otherwise be a mere seventy points to at least eighty-five or higher. It was comparable to television stars after they had been airbrushed and made up.

Such high attractiveness?

Xie Yishu and Su Xiaoxiao were both somewhat surprised. Compared to his photo, the difference seemed quite significant.

The photo was clearly much worse than the person in the flesh. Even compared to the boys they had met before, the one in front of them could be considered top-tier. And he possessed a very rare, approachable quality.

They didn't know that a month ago, Wang Yiyang hadn't undergone such changes.

But ever since he acquired layer upon layer of identities.

His demeanor gradually gained the confident, flamboyant, and strategic air of a Mister Pharmaceutical Security Department head.

The precision, calmness, and focused composure of Twist.

And the strange charm and powerful approachability of the hypnotist Finn.

With these layers of temperament combined and superimposed, the once-ordinary Wang Yiyang had undergone a significant sublimation.

He didn't belong to the common definition of a handsome man, but rather the type who, upon close contact, became more stunning the longer you looked at him.

Yet, he himself was unaware of the changes in his own person.

"Here is the menu, ladies first." Wang Yiyang smiled as he handed over the menu. "But let's be clear, please go easy on me. I'm still in my internship period and my monthly income isn't high, so I can't afford anything too expensive."

He deliberately pointed out his lack of financial power to lower their impression of him.

A man who couldn't even support a household, what was there to talk about regarding marriage?

Generally speaking, most girls would instantly place a man in a lower bracket the moment they heard such words.

Xie Yishu was no exception. Although Wang Yiyang's looks left a decent impression, the fact that he had to ask for mercy over a barbecue and was this stingy about a meal made her think.

One could imagine what it would be like to actually live together.

However, since he had already spoken, she didn't feel right ordering too much.

Even though she had originally intended to go Dutch on this trip.

She casually ordered a meat platter, a vegetable platter, and three drinks.

The total didn't exceed two hundred yuan, and the ordering was finished.

The waiter took the order, glanced at the three of them ordering so little—not even enough for two people—and left with the slip, looking speechless.

The three sat opposite each other, each picking up a glass of water and taking a sip. For a moment, they didn't know what to say.

The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward.

Wang Yiyang was intentionally staying silent, while Xie Yishu was struggling to think of a topic. Su Xiaoxiao was staring at Wang Yiyang's face, her eyes fixed in a daze.

Slap.

Xie Yishu realized something was wrong and slapped her best friend to bring her back to reality. She then looked at Wang Yiyang with a serious expression.

"Actually, I don't usually like eating barbecue. I feel like I've been gaining weight quickly lately. I heard you work at Mister Pharmaceutical? How is the compensation there? Is the environment good?"

"It's alright. I'm still in my internship, so there's not much to say." Wang Yiyang responded casually. "You know how it is with those large groups; the systems are very strict, and the affairs of different departments don't really overlap. I only know the part I work on."

"Then what kind of work do you do there?" Xie Yishu asked casually.

In truth, looking at his attire and his stinginess earlier, she had already guessed that his income wouldn't be high, so she was just asking out of politeness.

"I just handle some security-related matters. I just started, so I do a bit of everything." Wang Yiyang smiled and replied offhandedly.

"Security work?" Xie Yishu paused, seemingly realizing something. Wasn't this just a security guard?

She didn't press the matter further. Instead, she started chatting about the relationship between their fathers.

After all, their only point of intersection was that their fathers were colleagues.

After chatting for a while, the atmosphere seemed to ease slightly.

The waiter on the side began to serve the dishes and drinks.

Xie Yishu and her friend had eaten quite a few desserts before coming, so their appetites weren't great.

Wang Yiyang, however, hadn't eaten much earlier, so he began to focus on grilling and eating the meat.

Seeing there was nothing left to talk about, Xie Yishu started to eat as well.

But as they ate, Wang Yiyang kept placing slices of meat on the grill. In less than twenty minutes, all the meat that had been served was gone.

The portion sizes at this restaurant looked quite large, but while the vegetable and meat platters might not have been enough to fill two people, the slices were truly thin.

Once spread out, it just looked like a lot.

Wang Yiyang grilled and ate slice by slice, watching Xie Yishu, who was eating slowly and checking her phone from time to time.

He knew this trip was a success, so he began to eat with ease and boldness.

He just didn't expect that halfway through, the large amount of meat would be gone?

He was buried in his food, and as he reached out with his chopsticks, there was a sudden clack—the metal chopsticks seemed to hit something.

He looked up, just in time to see Xie Yishu's best friend, Su Xiaoxiao, also reaching out with her chopsticks to grab that same piece of lamb.

Su Xiaoxiao's cheeks were puffed out, a clear sign that she had eaten quite a lot of the barbecue.

Wang Yiyang glanced at her bowl, then at Xie Yishu's.

Sure enough, this girl had polished off at least the majority of the meat dishes.

"A match for the ages!" Maintaining his gentlemanly demeanor, he set down his chopsticks and yielded the final thumb-sized piece of lamb.

"Ladies first."

The corner of Su Xiaoxiao's mouth twitched as she looked at the tiny scrap of meat beneath her own chopsticks.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Wang Yiyang thought for a moment, then looked at the empty tabletop, sensing that neither of the two girls across from him was full yet.

He raised his hand again.

"Waiter, could we get another beef and lamb platter, please?"

"Certainly, one moment, let me just ring that in," a waiter replied from the counter not far away.