Don't Love Too Much

After getting out of the car, Chen Lu looked over the Japanese restaurant in front of him.

The decor was all show and no substance, with a flashy Japanese style.

Formalism. What a turnoff.

The place was near the university district, yet he had never even heard of it before.

That meant the food definitely couldn't be very good.

It was obviously a garbage restaurant that had poured plenty of effort into advertising. Who knew how many people came here just to check in?

Following the table number Li Sinian had given him, Chen Lu made his way over and lifted the curtain to see him sitting across from a girl with a ponytail.

The table was low, and they even had to sit on their knees. Chen Lu was speechless, and silently swore he would never come to a place like this again in his life.

"Hi, senior!"

The girl turned and, upon seeing Chen Lu, immediately smiled at him.

Her smile was sweet, but a little fake.

Chen Lu nodded and sized her up.

The girl had a delicate oval face and fairly refined features, enough to barely count among the pretty ones.

About 0.8 of a Lin Miaomiao, perhaps.

"This is my friend, Chen Lu. We planned the last freshman welcome party together. He's the one our dean praised," Li Sinian said, introducing him to the girl.

Chen Lu said little and silently sat down beside Li Sinian. He couldn't possibly have a good impression of a girl who would spend two thousand yuan of a guy's money on one meal when she barely knew him.

He couldn't be bothered with her.

Li Sinian didn't notice Chen Lu's reluctance. "This is the girl who hosted with me. Her name's Qin Wenxi. She's a year below us."

Qin Wenxi was an officer in the arts department and had also helped plan the last freshman welcome party, so she had recognized Chen Lu as soon as he came in.

But Chen Lu couldn't remember her at all.

Only then did Chen Lu realize she was the girl who had hosted the school anniversary party a few days ago. No wonder her voice had sounded a tiny bit familiar.

His expression changed, and he glanced at Li Sinian beside him. Isn't it a bit much to ask me to be your wingman when I was the gossip everyone was eating up at the party? She was standing next to Mo Yuqing, listening the whole time.

"You two worked pretty well together as hosts. My friend and I both said so at the time," Chen Lu said politely. He was already here, so he could only do his best as a wingman for now.

At least once Li Sinian paid him back, this meal would have been free.

Qin Wenxi said a little shyly, "Really? Thank you! I still think it's even more impressive that you weren't even in the student union last year, senior, but still helped plan the party. You're like a hidden expert.

"When you went onstage to host for a bit, a lot of girls in my class wanted your WeChat."

"Wenxi memorizes scripts really fast, just like you. I never saw her stumble once during rehearsal," Li Sinian said, praising her.

"Not at all. I get nervous really easily. It was really thanks to your help." Qin Wenxi smiled prettily as she agreed with Li Sinian, her tone familiar.

Then she went right back to talking to Chen Lu about last year's party, transitioning so smoothly it was as if the little interlude had never happened.

Chen Lu made a few casual responses, and understood why Li Sinian had been willing to come eat here.

The girl's ability to charm everyone around her had given Li Sinian the illusion that the two of them really hit it off.

If talking to and spending time with someone you didn't know very well felt especially comfortable, it didn't necessarily mean they were your soulmate.

It could also be because their emotional intelligence was much higher than yours, and they were simply being downward compatible.

That was why they could pick up on every topic you brought up, not because the two of you clicked.

"What hidden expert? I was just working for free. It was all thanks to Li Sinian that I got pretty familiar with the people in the arts department."

Qin Wenxi took a sip of barley tea, rested her cheek on her right hand, and looked at Chen Lu. "Doesn't that make you a hidden expert? I joined the student union because I wanted the experience to become like you."

Chen Lu really wanted to get her attention off him, so he simply pushed back. "It's no use. All that talk about getting experience in the student union is a lie."

Qin Wenxi pivoted quickly again, never letting the atmosphere turn awkward on her account. "That's true. I regretted joining as soon as I got in. The longer I stay, the more I realize that capable people like you are just born that way."

Chen Lu patted Li Sinian on the shoulder and laughed. "I was just putting out fires. You have no idea. He'd just become deputy head, and for that party, he came up with a whole bunch of backup plans. He even got as far as plan E.

"So when the host suddenly fell ill, he was able to find a solution right away. He'd already thought of it."

What had actually happened was that Li Sinian had begged him to memorize the script the night before and step in at the last minute the next day.

But of course Chen Lu couldn't tell the truth. He wasn't the one trying to pick up a girl.

The girl covered her mouth and laughed. "He was that impressive?"

Li Sinian smiled. "I-I guess I did okay."

Chen Lu didn't want to talk anymore.

I handed you a topic and you still don't know how to carry on. No son of mine could be this stupid.

Seeing that Li Sinian seemed a little awkward as he ate, Qin Wenxi asked him, "Is this your first time eating Japanese food?"

Li Sinian hurriedly denied it.

It was, in fact, his first time.

After the sashimi arrived, Qin Wenxi asked Li Sinian in a very gentle tone, "Do you want soy sauce?"

Hearing that, Li Sinian mistakenly thought it was optional and shook his head slightly. "No, thanks."

The corners of Qin Wenxi's mouth curled up, but she said nothing.

Chen Lu could tell she was deliberately making fun of Li Sinian.

He let out a breath and called to the server, suppressing his anger. "It's my first time here. How do you eat the sashimi?"

A waitress hurried over, smiling as she asked Chen Lu about his tastes and helped him prepare a dipping sauce.

In the end, Qin Wenxi was still the one who poured the soy sauce for him.

Seeing what Chen Lu had done, Li Sinian seemed to understand something too. He followed his example and prepared another dish of sauce instead of eating the sashimi with just wasabi.

"It's your first time here, senior?" Qin Wenxi said with a smile.

Chen Lu had eaten at one of these places with Chen Mo once before, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah."

For some reason, Li Sinian was extremely nervous talking to Qin Wenxi, and his brain kept freezing up. Chen Lu was subjected to a whole hour of torture.

Only when it was time to call the server for the bill did Li Sinian, the original main character of this meal, finally make his presence felt.

The server walked up to the three of them and bowed slightly. "Your total comes to 1,988 yuan. Who will be paying?"

"I will." Qin Wenxi smiled and waved the server over to her.

Despite saying that, she was in no hurry to take out her phone.

Chen Lu had no intention of paying. At the same time, he reached out and quietly held down Li Sinian's arm, planning to see how she would smooth things over.

He could see through everything, but that didn't mean he would offer just anyone a way out.

Nor had he ever been the sort of person to swallow his anger while watching his friend get taken for a ride.

"How could I let you pay? I said it was my treat." Li Sinian, on the other hand, immediately opened his payment screen.

"Let's split it. I saw you barely ate anything," Chen Lu said seriously to Li Sinian.

Li Sinian paused, but still headed for the counter. "I'll pay."

The private room immediately fell silent.

Chen Lu looked at his phone, too fed up to bother with them, and wondered what excuse he could find to beat Li Sinian up later.

"Senior, I've remembered you since the freshman party, you know."

She laughed softly, then added:

"Let's add each other on WeChat."

Chen Lu didn't even look up. "Forget it. I'm afraid another girl would be unhappy."

"Didn't Senior Yuqing already turn you down?" she asked, resting her chin on her hand, as if she knew all about Chen Lu's affairs.

"I didn't say it was her."