Lu Sicheng's blind date was named Su Luo.
The same age as Lu Sicheng, she had just returned from studying abroad this year with a master's degree in finance.
When her mother informed her about the blind date, she was utterly unwilling. When she asked about the other person’s identity, her mother hemmed and hawed, only saying that he was a business partner of her father’s—someone who seemed to play games as his main job while occasionally helping out with family matters. He was tall, handsome, and most importantly, came from a well-matched family.
Well-matched, huh.
Su Luo turned to ask her otaku friend what kind of person would make gaming their main job. After some thought, her otaku friend answered earnestly, “Isn’t that just an otaku?”
Su Luo nearly rolled her eyes out of her head. In the end, she couldn’t resist searching online and finally realized that there was actually a profession called “professional esports player”—
Her future blind date was an esports athlete. How trendy… Out of curiosity about the industry, she searched online for photos of current esports athletes. After browsing, she put down her phone in a state of utter disillusionment: Holy hell, where was the promised tall and handsome? All she saw was a bunch of internet addicts who were either overweight, underweight, or covered in acne!
With the mindset of marching to her doom, on the day of the blind date, she applied some light makeup, rolled her eyes, and headed out—wearing high heels. When a 172cm woman decides to wear heels, it’s either out of sheer vanity or because she’s radiating boundless malice toward one or several men she’s about to meet.
Su Luo was the latter.
She sat in the agreed-upon café, staring at her watch, counting down the seconds, waiting for the other party to be late so she could make a scene and end the blind date with a grand excuse… Fifteen seconds before the scheduled time, as she imagined the triumphant fanfare of freedom already sounding in her mind, she grew excited—
Fourteen, thirteen, twelve—
At the ten-second mark, the café door was pushed open from the outside.
Five seconds left. A tall figure stood before Su Luo, his shadow enveloping her. She froze, then looked up into a pair of deep brown eyes. His gaze was calm and unreadable. “Miss Su?”
Su Luo: “…”
Su Luo: “You are…”
“Lu Sicheng. Someone asked me to take you home,” the man said coolly.
The person standing before her was tall, broad-shouldered, and narrow-waisted, with a high nose bridge and handsome features. In his hand was a car key that hadn’t been put away yet—if the emblem wasn’t a doodle he’d drawn himself, it was unmistakably a Maserati. The watch on his wrist… Turns out, a man wearing a starry sky watch looked even better than she’d imagined.
Most importantly, the man’s hair was impeccably styled—nothing like the greasy so-called esports athletes Su Luo had seen in her online search. The internet, even at its most honest, could still be a liar these days?!
If only her mother had told her his name earlier, she wouldn’t have searched for the wrong person!!
Could her mother not even do matchmaking properly?!
And what was this about taking her home? She had just left home, thank you very much!!!
Su Luo screamed internally, but her expression remained composed. She chuckled lightly. “I see. Then, could you wait for me? I’d like to use the restroom.”
Lu Sicheng pulled out a chair and sat down. “Take your time.”Su Luo stood up calmly, turned around, and entered the restroom. At her fastest speed, she tidied up her hastily applied makeup. When she finished, even she could see herself sparkling in the mirror. Satisfied, she smiled at her reflection and sent a text to her mom with just six words: "Thanks, Mom. I'm very happy."
...
【Bunny Hugging Carrot: On a blind date?】
【fhdjwhdb2333: Just met.】
【Bunny Hugging Carrot: Is she pretty?】
【fhdjwhdb2333: Didn’t get a good look.】
【Bunny Hugging Carrot: Where are you?】
【fhdjwhdb2333: The café downstairs from Starlight Tower.】
【Bunny Hugging Carrot: Wow, going all the way there for a blind date? I know that place! Turn left when you leave, and 300 meters down, there’s a takoyaki stall that’s out of this world. One serving with extra seaweed is enough to win over any Goddess!】
【fhdjwhdb2333: Is food all you ever think about?】
【Bunny Hugging Carrot: ...Ungrateful much? eye roll 】
"..."
Lu Sicheng propped his chin on one hand, lazily chatting on WeChat with his team’s Mid Laner. He could almost picture her sitting cross-legged on the couch at their team headquarters, discussing data on their upcoming weekend opponents with Ming Shen while absentmindedly leaning over to rave about which snack shops had the best treats. The corner of his lips quirked up...
Then, as a faint trace of perfume reached him, his smile faded.
He looked up at the woman standing before him, taking in her now much more meticulously applied makeup—mascara, freshly drawn eyeliner, a deeper shade of lip gloss, and what looked like a touch of blush.
Ah. Touching up her makeup.
Lu Sicheng put his phone away. "Fifteen minutes. Stomach trouble?"
The woman’s smile stiffened slightly before she replied, "You men really don’t get it. I just went to freshen up, not to use the restroom."
"Oh," Lu Sicheng stretched his long legs and effortlessly rose from his seat. "Let’s go."
With that, he turned and headed to the counter to settle Su Luo’s bill, his retreating figure showing not a hint of hesitation. Su Luo blinked, then smoothed her hair and followed.
Lu Sicheng’s height was just right for Su Luo—even in heels, he stood a comfortable half-head taller. As they pushed open the café door and stepped onto the street, Lu Sicheng moved to the outer side of the sidewalk. Noticing this detail, Su Luo smiled. "I heard you’re a professional Esports athlete."
"Yes."
"You’re not what I expected. I thought Esports athletes were all just internet-addicted kids. Didn’t think there’d be someone like you," Su Luo admitted. "Honestly, I wasn’t too keen when my family first asked me to come."
At this, the man beside her—hands stuffed in his pockets—paused and finally glanced her way. "Oh?"
"Yeah, but now I think it’s not so bad after all," Su Luo nodded with a smile.
The man chuckled lightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
As they walked toward the parking lot, they passed a takoyaki stall. Su Luo was racking her brain for conversation topics when the man beside her suddenly stopped. He turned to look at the crowded snack shop and asked, "Want some?"Su Luo blinked and turned her head, just in time to see a little girl with her mouth wide open bending over to stuff an oversized takoyaki into her mouth, black sauce smeared all over the corners of her lips... Su Luo paused, shaking her head. "I'm not used to eating these snacks. They're too greasy, and I heard—"
Before she could finish, the person beside her had already approached the stall, skillfully ordering a large portion with extra seaweed, requesting it to-go... The tall man stood out awkwardly among the crowd of young girls, yet he seemed completely unfazed, waiting there with an indifferent expression.
Su Luo stood behind him, noticing the envious glances directed her way. She straightened her posture.
When the man returned with his purchase, she smiled. "You like eating this kind of stuff?"
"Taking it back," Lu Sicheng said slowly, "to feed my pet."
"…………Your dog eats well."
"It's a rabbit."
"Rabbits can eat something this greasy?"
"She's a garbage disposal—eats anything."
As they continued walking, the sky suddenly decided to rain without warning. Su Luo gasped, quickly lifting her bag over her head and darting under the awning of a nearby mall. On days like this, getting caught in the rain while wearing a sleeveless dress would leave her shivering uncontrollably in front of the mall entrance.
Muttering "so cold," Su Luo wiped the rainwater off her arms with a tissue. Just then, the man beside her took off his jacket and handed it to her. Su Luo froze for a second before draping it over her shoulders under the admiring gazes of the girls around them.
"Wait here. I'll get the car."
With that, Lu Sicheng turned and left, his tall figure soon disappearing into the rain. About ten minutes later, as the downpour intensified, a sapphire-blue Maserati pulled up not far from the curb.
"A Maserati."
"Ahhh, I wish I had a car on a rainy day too!"
"Shut up, you broke loser. Don’t even talk. Why am I stuck with someone like you?"
Amid the murmurs of the bickering couple behind her, Su Luo curled her lips, wrapped the man's jacket tighter around her, and dashed into the rain.
This blind date was turning out quite well.
Sliding into the passenger seat, Su Luo complained about the weather while using the car's tissues to dry herself and her bag. The driver remained silent the entire time, not even starting the car. The snacks he had bought earlier sat on the back seat.
"Such bad luck today, with this heavy rain. We didn’t even get to talk properly," Su Luo said casually after fastening her seatbelt. "Are you free this weekend?"
"Got a match."
"...Oh," Su Luo blinked. "Then I’ll come watch? I’ve never seen an esports match before. Must be interesting, right?"
"Miss Su."
"Hmm?"
"You're great, but I don’t think we’re a good match. Earlier, you mentioned you weren’t particularly interested in this so-called blind date either. Maybe this is fate’s way of telling us something," Lu Sicheng turned on the windshield wipers. "Where do you live? I’ll take you home."
Su Luo: "..."
...
Half an hour later.
"You spent a total of one and a half hours with your blind date, only to call it quits and blame it on fate?"Leaning over the dining table, the Mid Laner of the China Telecom Team was perched with her butt sticking out and legs dangling, mocking the person beside her while using a small fork to stab at the still-warm takoyaki in the takeout box... She stuffed an entire ball into her mouth, cheeks puffing out from the food. The man standing next to her, drying his hair with a towel, gave her a sidelong glance: "Not good?"
Tong Yao: "Then you definitely didn’t buy her this Goddess-hunting takoyaki. That’s why your blind date failed."
Lu Sicheng: "This shop isn’t called that."
Tong Yao: "It’s the nickname I gave it."
Lu Sicheng: "...No normal woman would agree to stand by the roadside eating this stuff while wearing full makeup."
Tong Yao raised her hand: "I would."
Lu Sicheng glanced at her short legs, propped up on the back of the dining chair: "Forget the full makeup—what about you even resembles a woman?"
As he spoke, he grabbed a tissue from the nearby box and slapped it against her mouth—the tissue clung perfectly to the sauce at the corner of her lips: "Wipe your mouth. Looks like you ate sh*t."
Tong Yao tossed her fork aside and wiped her mouth, then after a moment of thought asked, "So, are you going to see her again?"
"My mom probably won’t let this go easily," Lu Sicheng said. "But meeting a few more times won’t change the outcome, right?"
"That ‘right’ of yours is full of uncertainty."
The man, who had been walking toward his computer to boot it up while tossing his car keys onto the table, paused. He turned to stare at the person still sprawled over the table: "What kind of guarantee do you want from me?"
Tong Yao looked up, baffled.
"...Never mind." Lu Sicheng made a disgusted face. "Just keep eating. That’s all you’re good for anyway."
OpenNovel