The date's biggest flaw!

Of course He Zhen wasn't going to let Yao Tao pay.

She had already started cursing him in her head.

"Shall we go?" He Zhen was afraid all that cake would sit in her stomach and give her indigestion.

With the ferocity she attacked the cake, anyone who didn't know better would have thought it had murdered her father.

"How much? I'll transfer it to you." Yao Tao angrily finished the last bite of her little cake, her polite tone falling apart.

You damn simp. You spend money on Fu Xin without a second thought, so what's wrong with spending a little on me?

Serves you right!

"I already paid." He Zhen slipped his phone into his pocket. "Let's take a walk."

You rascal!

I knew you were all tough talk and a soft heart!

He Zhen really was about to laugh this time.

Yao Tao changed her tune faster than he could turn a page.

"He Zhen, is it really okay for us to wander around like this?" Yao Tao tucked her phone into her pants pocket, only now remembering their classes.

Her adviser wouldn't tell her off, would they?

He Zhen thought it took a special kind of talent for Yao Tao to remember that only now.

But it's no big deal. Trading course credits for a date? Worth it!

Yao Tao perked up, except...

Is it really okay for He Zhen to run off like this???

Boohoo, I was wrong! My baby really loves me!

I was a little too harsh when I cursed him out.

"Should we head back?" Yao Tao suggested with difficulty.

Damn it, her date was so short.

"Let's walk a bit. It's almost lunchtime anyway." He Zhen watched the deeply conflicted Yao Tao with amusement.

How had she kept up the act this long?

She had a terrible temper, yet put on such a convincing show. The slightest provocation nearly exposed her true colors. In some ways, she was unbelievably shameless; in other, inexplicable ways, she was painfully thin-skinned.

"Already?" Yao Tao hurriedly checked the time.

Boohoo, happy times always fly by!

It's lunchtime again in the blink of an eye!

What should we have for lunch?

While Yao Tao looked at her phone, He Zhen replied to his messages too.

"He Zhen, how about I treat you to lunch?" Yao Tao wanted to spend a little longer with him. "To thank you for the cake."

Boohoo, that's such a flimsy excuse. What's wrong with staying together a little longer?

Yao Tao roared inwardly.

We haven't even held hands! What kind of date doesn't include a hug? One-star review!

Oh, fine, fine. He Zhen isn't one of my character cards.

Aaargh, why isn't he one of my character cards?

If only he were.

He Zhen: ... Even when he could hear Yao Tao's thoughts, figuring her out was like finding a needle at the bottom of the ocean.

"All right, let's eat," He Zhen said helplessly. "They're all out of class now. It would take us ten minutes or so to walk back anyway. Since we're already out, we might as well go back a little later."

He Zhen found himself rather strange too. Faced with Yao Tao like this, he instinctively chose to indulge her, just to hear her cheer inwardly: Yay!

He Zhen thought he might really be falling for her.

Yao Tao was special.

That was what He Zhen thought.

Yay!

Today is seriously my lucky day!

Yao Tao had already banished the morning's events to outer space.

"I know a really good noodle shop!" Yao Tao sidled up beside He Zhen. "Let me take you there, He Zhen."

Close enough-we're cuddling!

As that thought rang out, He Zhen only had to tilt his head down slightly to see the girl beside him rapidly tapping her phone screen, seemingly buying something.

In the sunlight, Yao Tao smiled up at him. "I'm friends with the owner. We get to jump the queue!"

She said it with such complete confidence that he couldn't look away.

"Okay," He Zhen heard himself say.

He Zhen asked, "Is this place really popular?"

Yao Tao replied, "Not exactly, but it's well-known."

It's only a twenty-minute walk. Lots of office drones love it too. The big selling point is filling, affordable meals, but it's also ridiculously delicious.

Noodles are great! Easy on the stomach too!

Though that's a bit of a walk.

But we've already had cake.

My baby had a matcha one.

Make a note of that!

I forgot again that he isn't terminally ill yet.

Hahahaha!

Yao Tao rubbed her hands together, her elbow unconsciously bumping He Zhen. "The owner replied! She's saving us the best seats. Let's go!"

"Can you still eat?" He Zhen asked.

"Burp-" Yao Tao's heart lurched before she answered demurely, "I don't usually eat much, He Zhen. I'm just in a bad mood today."

What's wrong with eating a lot?

I exercise!

Besides, chubby is cute too!

Unlike Fu Xin. She's practically a stick-a gust of wind could knock her over!

He Zhen was almost getting used to her insistence on dragging Fu Xin into everything.

Oh, forget it. We're on a date. I won't hold it against my baby!

No mentioning the female lead. Boohoo!

Maybe the female lead has already made up with Qin Zhen again.

Yao Tao was absolutely right.

He Zhen touched the phone in his pocket.

Sure enough, Wei Fang had messaged him, hemming and hawing as he told him not to come to the cafeteria.

Tang Zhao was much more direct. When He Zhen asked another question, Tang Zhao simply sent him a video just over ten seconds long, filmed on the spot.

Things around Fu Xin were now an all-out romantic battlefield: loud and chaotic.

He listened to Yao Tao's two different voices, chatting with her intermittently.

His fingertips brushed something in his pocket, and he finally remembered Yao Tao's hair clip.

"Oh, right. Your hair clip." He Zhen took out the pretty clip. Girls all liked sparkly things. It had a few rhinestones that glittered in the light.

"So I dropped it at your place!" Yao Tao took it. "Thank you, He Zhen. I'll treat you to milk tea next time!"

Perfect! Back and forth, keeping us tied together!

Hahaha, would He Zhen believe me if I said this was fate?

Yao Tao clipped it into her hair.

Never mind, never mind. I shouldn't push my luck. Who knows when He Zhen might develop selective amnesia and go blind again?

He Zhen couldn't help laughing.

"Hold still." He reached out to brush a bit of drifting fluff from Yao Tao's hair. "There's some fluff."

Boohoo, is anyone taking pictures?

I'll pay a hundred per photo! Aaaaah!

Damn it, I wish I could clone myself!

One of me isn't enough anymore!

Not being able to take a photo with my phone right now is the biggest flaw.

With Yao Tao staring at him with both eyes, He Zhen cleared his throat. "There."

Damn it, what kind of man are you if you don't lean in and kiss me?

Boohoo, if it were me, I'd kiss you until you cried!

He Zhen turned his head away, a blush creeping over the tips of his ears. "Let's go."

"Okay." Yao Tao walked shoulder to shoulder with him, secretly taking out her phone and trying different angles.

Damn it, how am I supposed to take a picture like this?

Boohoo!

Aaaaaah, the date's biggest flaw!

If he ever grants my wish for a date, I swear my life will have been worth it!

Who wouldn't want to date a fictional character come to life?

Even if this fictional character is already taken.

Boohoo, but Fu Xin isn't right for him!

Boohoo, just look at her name, boohoo.

I'm different. I'm a peach!

I'm super sweet!

You can eat me!

Yao Tao thought shyly.

He Zhen: ... How could he delete the avalanche of dirty thoughts in Yao Tao's head?

Waiting online for answers.