Chapter Eleven: A Chance Encounter

“Did you buy the course?”

As soon as they got in, Wei Lin asked.

“No, I said I’d think it over,” An Xin replied lazily, sitting in the passenger seat playing with his phone, his small eyes flickering with cunning light. “Bro, you taught me, with women, you have to play hard to get.”

Wei Lin looked at him speechless and scolded, “You’re following her around like a puppy, practically trying to stick your face to hers. Do you think she’s stupid? Who wouldn’t see through your little scheme?”

“Is it that obvious?” the little chubby guy was stunned.

“What do you think?”

Wei Lin sighed and lectured, “Can you actually listen to me next time? Get yourself together and stop going out looking like a mess every single time.”

“Oh, I’ll study up on it later,” An Xin said somewhat earnestly this time. “Bro, you busy tonight? Qiu Lin invited me to hotpot. Want to come?”

Qiu Lin was his little brother, the same age and similar build and temperament.

Back in high school, Qiu Lin was Wei Lin’s junior, and because of An Xin, the two often interacted and were quite familiar.

“Sure. Where?”

“The Sichuan-Chongqing hotpot next to Guotai Building.”

...

Around seven o’clock, in the alley beside Guotai Building.

“An Xin, Wei Bro!”

Qiu Lin, taller and fatter than An Xin, stood up waving cheerfully as they walked in. “We’ve been waiting for you two!”

Besides Qiu Lin, there was a man and a woman.

The man was one of An Xin’s close friends, named Yang Zechen, skinny and lanky with dyed blond hair.

“Wei Bro!”

Yang Zechen, wearing a silver earring on his left ear, exuded the vibe of a rebellious youth. He instructed his girlfriend, Xu Yuwei, “Call him Wei Bro!”

“Hello, Wei Bro!”

Xu Yuwei, in her early twenties, worked as an office clerk in a company inside Guotai Building. She had a curvy figure, looking quite voluptuous.

Skinny, almost malnourished Yang Zechen always liked slightly chubby girls, and every girlfriend he had was like that.

“Wei Bro, this is my girlfriend Xu Yuwei, new one,” Yang Zechen said warmly as he opened a set of disposable chopsticks and handed one to Wei Lin. “Xiaowei, Wei Bro’s someone I’ve admired since we were kids. Make sure you toast to him a lot!”

“Okay,” the girl obediently replied.

“Why don’t I get one too?” An Xin complained.

All the disposable chopsticks were in front of Yang Zechen and Xu Yuwei, but none was in front of him.

“Don’t you have hands? Can’t you get it yourself?” Yang Zechen ignored him and opened a beer for Wei Lin, grinning as he handed it over.

Wei Lin didn’t refuse, poured a full glass, and smiled, listening to the three of them brag.

“Wei Bro, here’s to you! We drink, and you do as you please!”

“In high school, I was a troublemaker and caused plenty of problems. Thanks for standing up for me, Wei Bro!”

...

Yang Zechen, skinny as a monkey, pulled Xu Yuwei up and downed his glass of beer, bragging to his girlfriend, “Wei Bro was already famous at our school—good grades, popular, handsome—I don’t even know how many girls passed him little notes!”

Xu Yuwei, skilled at conversation, laughed and added, “Wei Bro’s still just as handsome now!”

“You guys chat, I’m going to get some sauce.”

Having finished his beer, Wei Lin saw the hotpot boiling, with tripe, beef, and lamb ready, so he set down his glass and went to the sauce station.

In a corner of the hotpot restaurant, a familiar figure suddenly caught his eye.

Lin Nanxi, dressed in a light gray blazer, occupied a two-person table alone, quietly dipping food into the hotpot and occasionally glancing at her phone as if expecting something.

In this large hotpot place, she was the only one dining solo, making her stand out somewhat peculiarly.

Several tables nearby were filled with men and women drinking and chatting loudly, their gazes repeatedly drifting to her. The women looked on with a mix of envy and puzzlement; the men with a blend of curiosity and admiration.

Lin Nanxi’s striking figure and appearance carried an aloof, untouchable aura. Ignoring the stares of the onlookers, she quietly picked at her food.

“Ah!”

Xu Yuwei covered her mouth in a soft exclamation, noticing Wei Lin’s gaze. She whispered, “Wei Bro isn’t eyeing that woman, is he?”

“Who’s that woman?” An Xin shifted slightly to get a better look, his eyes suddenly lighting up. “My bro’s taste is something else—I admire it completely!”

“She’s Lin Nanxi, manager of the design department at Hanlin Advertising on the 26th floor, a famous ice queen of Guotai Building. Too many men have tried to win her over and failed,” Xu Yuwei said in a hushed, gossiping tone. “As far as I know, she doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

“Also, she’s got a bad temper. Several guys who chased her all got cold-shouldered.”

“I heard one guy from the 29th floor kept pestering her and ended up with a face full of water when she threw a cup at him, making a public fool of himself. And there are more stories…”

Xu Yuwei, who worked a quiet office job, loved these juicy gossip stories. She peppered the conversation with “as far as I know” before recounting Lin Nanxi’s well-known antics.

Qiu Lin, An Xin, and Yang Zechen all clicked their tongues in amazement after hearing the tales.

The next moment, their expressions went blank, and they all uttered a stunned “Uh.”

They saw Wei Lin, after finishing his sauce, stand and walk straight toward the ice queen in the corner.

Not just their table, but other diners also looked over simultaneously.

This hotpot place was next to Guotai Building, and half the customers came from there, so many knew Lin Nanxi.

No one dared approach her—not only because of her intimidating aura but also because of her notorious reputation.

“That’s my Wei Bro!” Yang Zechen slapped his thigh and shouted, turning to his girlfriend, “Back in high school, Wei Bro’s track record with girls was fierce! Didn’t expect he’d still be that formidable after graduating!”

“I’m afraid Wei Bro’s going to get a face full of water!” Xu Yuwei whispered anxiously. “You don’t know her temper. What I said is all true!”

“Wei Bro’s got thick skin. Even if she did throw water, he wouldn’t lose his temper or do anything unbecoming,” said Qiu Lin, a mountain of a man. He also looked at Lin Nanxi’s table, glancing at her glass.

“Her cup’s steaming; she probably just poured hot water. That’s trouble!”

Qiu Lin trembled nervously, his fat shaking.

“Hot water?”

An Xin’s scalp tingled. He thought about rushing over to stop Wei Lin before things got ugly.

While their group fretted and unrelated diners watched with amusement, Wei Lin reached Lin Nanxi’s table.

“What a coincidence.”

Wei Lin smirked and plopped down opposite her, casually setting the sauce aside. “You’re alone?”

Lin Nanxi, delicately picking at a slice of tripe in the bubbling hotpot, clearly paused.

Her dark brows furrowed slightly, a flicker of confusion flashing in her cold eyes. She couldn’t believe the person she had been waiting anxiously for the past two days had suddenly appeared before her.

She raised her head to look at Wei Lin’s mischievous, infuriating smirk, took a light breath to steady herself, and softly answered, “Yes.”

“I’m here with my brother on a blind date,” Wei Lin lied smoothly.

Yang Zechen and Qiu Lin were younger and called him “bro,” so Lin Nanxi wouldn’t know who he meant.

“Oh.”

Lin Nanxi replied coolly.

She caught out of the corner of her eye the surprised looks from nearby diners. Since it wasn’t appropriate to say much, she kept her answers brief.

“Mind if I join you?” Wei Lin asked again.

Lin Nanxi nodded slightly.

Wei Lin grinned, called a waiter for another set of utensils, and seeing their table had too few dishes, ordered a few more. Then he began eating at her table.

The two ate hotpot together, chatting casually without delving into anything serious.

“Bring a dozen ice-cold beers!”

Wei Lin shamelessly called out to the waiter again.

Lin Nanxi rolled her eyes inwardly, thinking, “He said he’d take me out to dinner, and now he’s just freeloading at my table. What kind of person is this…”

“Holy crap!”

“What the hell? That turned into a pick-up just like that?”

“Who the heck is this guy?”

The diners from Guotai Building at the neighboring tables, including An Xin’s group, were stunned to see Wei Lin not only avoid getting splashed with water but actually eating hotpot with the ice queen. Their jaws nearly hit the floor.

What’s more, this shameless dog kept ordering more dishes and beers, acting like he owned the place.

“Wei Bro’s amazing!” Yang Zechen admired so much he nearly knelt. “Xiaowei, didn’t you say that woman’s hard to handle?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Xu Yuwei’s mind was full of question marks.

“Learn from your bro!” Qiu Lin slapped An Xin on the shoulder mockingly. “If you had even a fraction of his skill, you wouldn’t still be a virgin!”

“How much better are you?” An Xin blushed and retorted.

Qiu Lin beamed proudly. “I’m definitely not a virgin.”

“You’ve only got that reputation because you lost your virginity at a bathhouse. Who are you to talk?” An Xin sneered.

“That still beats you!”

The two chubby guys blushed fiercely, trading insults and dragging Yang Zechen into the banter.

“You two idiots, shut up!”

As Xu Yuwei looked on puzzled, Yang Zechen exploded in anger and jumped into the fray as well.

...