Chapter 15

“Good,” Jin Yizhu responded first and reached down to pick up the bag from the ground. “Let’s go eat.”

Uncle He opened the car door for her. After Jin Yizhu got out, she nodded slightly to him and asked, “Uncle He, are you eating with us? We can just get a separate table.”

“Eldest Miss, I’ll go to another place,” he said with a smile. “Omelet rice is more suited to you young people’s tastes.”

Wei Shuyu stood beside Jin Yizhu and watched their expressions. She clearly saw a flash of relief on Jin Yizhu’s face.

She didn’t want to eat with Uncle He, Wei Shuyu thought. The invitation was probably just out of politeness. When they had eaten before, Uncle He usually stayed in a side room, where there was a restaurant specifically for escorts.

This omelet rice place today was just an ordinary little shop without that kind of setup.

Wei Shuyu watched Uncle He’s back as he walked away and softly asked, “Actually, you didn’t want to eat with Uncle He?”

Jin Yizhu was silent for a few seconds. “Mm.”

Shinjuku’s nights were always bright. Neon lights lined both sides of the streets, constantly changing colors, with signs more eye-catching than the last.

People were everywhere—men in suits, pretty women with curly hair, office workers who had drunk too much—their steps quicker than the next. Amid the aromas of yakitori and ramen was a faint trace of cigarette smoke.

Jin Yizhu looked up in the night, at a billboard not far away. “Eating with them makes me uncomfortable.”

Wei Shuyu patted her shoulder and said nothing. She knew exactly what that felt like: a gaze that followed like a shadow, the inability to relax while maintaining composure, always feeling like someone was watching you.

Jin Yizhu glanced at her. It was strange—Wei Shuyu hadn’t said a word, but in her gentle gaze, Jin Yizhu felt the creases in her heart smooth out.

“Let’s go in,” Wei Shuyu pretended not to notice her gaze and simply took her hand. “It’s our turn.”

The restaurant wasn’t large. The tables and chairs were wooden, decorated with simple little bouquets. Warm yellow lights illuminated the space, and the air carried a faint buttery aroma.

It was close to closing time, so there weren’t many people. Soft music drifted through the shop, creating a cozy atmosphere.

Jin Yizhu flipped through the menu and asked, “What do you want to eat?”

Wei Shuyu leaned in close to her, scanned the pictures on the menu, and pointed to the stewed beef omelet rice. “I’ll have this. The recommended dish should be good.”

“And you?” she asked. The moment she looked up, she found Jin Yizhu secretly watching her. “Which one are you having?”

Jin Yizhu looked down and picked one at random. “Hamburger steak is fine.”

Wei Shuyu waved over the waiter, placed the order, and set the menu on the side rack. A few seconds later, she took it down again, flipped to the drinks page, and pretended to study it with great interest.

She could feel Jin Yizhu’s gaze on her, faint and indirect—not a bold stare, but sidelong glances now and then.

What was she thinking? Why was she looking at her like that?

Wei Shuyu’s fingertips trembled slightly. She pressed the menu down hard, her heart a tangled mess like a ball of yarn.

This place was notorious for slow service.

Wei Shuyu had come here before with friends and waited over half an hour. Eating with friends, chatting away, it didn’t feel like much. But sitting here with Jin Yizhu, being looked at like this—it was pure torment.

After what felt like forever, Jin Yizhu finally spoke. “Are the drinks that interesting?”

“. . . Mm,” Wei Shuyu pushed the menu over, unsure if she was trying to cover it up or just too nervous. “Look, they have special drinks.”

Jin Yizhu nodded. “Then let’s get two.”

She pointed at a picture on the menu. “One cherry blossom first. What about the other?”

Wei Shuyu panicked. “Uh, let me see. . . this one, matcha.”

“Good,” Jin Yizhu placed the order, then turned her face back and stared fixedly at her. “You weren’t looking at the menu just now, were you?”

Wei Shuyu felt a bit guilty. Indeed, she had just been spacing out over the menu without even knowing what was on it. She hadn’t expected Jin Yizhu to order two directly, leaving her no room to argue.

“I guess I looked a little. . .”

She held out stubbornly for a couple sentences, then saw the waiter coming with a tray and quickly said, “Finally, food’s here.”

The waiter set the omelet rice in front of them. It was a standard, beautiful omelet rice just like in cartoons, with evenly colored egg covering the fried rice lightly, the surface quivering slightly.

“This is the stewed beef omelet rice, our shop’s signature dish.”

The cute waitress smiled sweetly, her voice clear and sweet. She made a “please” gesture toward the omelet rice.

“Would you like a photo?”

“Yes,” Jin Yizhu took out her phone, opened the camera, and aimed the lens at the omelet rice. “OK, you can cut it now.”

The waiter gently sliced open the egg with a knife, spreading it over the rice. The egg inside was perfectly set, looking tender and appetizing, mingled with the aroma of the stewed beef, whetting the appetite.

Jin Yizhu stared at the screen intently. Only after the waiter put the knife away did she look down at the video to confirm it had recorded properly.

“Very pretty,” she turned the phone screen to show the waiter. “Thank you.”

Wei Shuyu propped her chin on her hand and watched Jin Yizhu’s profile, finding it a bit amusing.

She had thought Jin Yizhu was just eating casually, but she went out of her way to record a video, her actions serious. If you looked closely, you could see the glee hidden in her eyes.

Compared to those Michelin places, Jin Yizhu clearly preferred this omelet rice.

Wei Shuyu had never seen this side of Jin Yizhu. She seemed a bit different from usual, but she couldn’t quite say where.

It was as if the hard shell belonging to the Eldest Miss had been peeled away, revealing the soft girl inside, waiting to be touched.

“This shop’s omelet rice has nicely done egg,” Jin Yizhu gently pressed the egg with a spoon, watching the yolk slowly seep into the rice. “The texture is very tender.”

Wei Shuyu nodded. “It really is good. No wonder there’s usually a line of over an hour.”

“You’ve lined up before?” Jin Yizhu raised an eyebrow. She had thought Wei Shuyu was coming for the first time too.

“Twice,” Wei Shuyu explained before Jin Yizhu could ask. “My friend came to Tokyo to play before and insisted on eating here, so we lined up once. Then my little sister came to play, and I lined up again.”

Jin Yizhu mixed the hamburger steak into her rice, her face expressionless. The flicker of anxiety that had just arisen in her heart inexplicably vanished.

She didn’t know why, but being with Wei Shuyu always felt especially comfortable.

“There’s a really good omelet rice place in New York too. Let’s go eat there next time,” Jin Yizhu said with a smile. “When I was studying there, I went every weekend.”

“Sure, I haven’t been to New York.”

Wei Shuyu watched the shadow in Jin Yizhu’s eyes appear and fade, and she let out a slight breath of relief, her tone lightening.

She knew Jin Yizhu’s need for control well. For someone whose life was entirely controlled—even if it was soft control in the name of love—it made her uneasy, though she didn’t know why.

Wei Shuyu deliberately indulged Jin Yizhu’s desire to control her, making her always feel everything was within grasp. Whether that was good or bad, she didn’t know.

All she knew was that she wanted Jin Yizhu to be a little happier.

Halfway through the omelet rice, the drinks arrived.

Cherry blossom and matcha, one pink and one green, served in transparent glasses, looking like a touch of spring.

“They’re pretty nice-looking,” Wei Shuyu sighed. “Almost don’t want to drink them.”

“Then order another one. Drink one and look at the other,” Jin Yizhu propped her chin on her hand, looking at her with abundant amusement. “How about it?”

“No way, that’d be too wasteful,” Wei Shuyu snapped a photo and pushed the drink toward her. “Your cherry blossom.”

Jin Yizhu bit the straw and took just a symbolic sip.

Clearly, she didn’t like overly sweet drinks. She had ordered this one just to go along with Wei Shuyu.

Jin Yizhu suddenly spoke up. “Are you free later?”

Wei Shuyu looked up. “What’s up?”

The table was small. She didn’t want to keep staring at Jin Yizhu, meeting those eyes.

When she had seen Jin Yizhu at the airport, Wei Shuyu had thought she looked a bit tired without makeup, lacking her usual bright beauty, more real.

But now, that realness was slowly dragging her into the abyss.

The whirlpool called “feelings”—the trap she had once vowed never to fall into again—was emerging in Jin Yizhu’s eyes, capturing her along with the smile.

“Want to see the night view in Shibuya.” Jin Yizhu’s tone was flat. “Come walk with me.”

Wei Shuyu thought for a moment and finally nodded. “Sure.”

Call it her weakness.

She couldn’t refuse someone who insisted on holding her hand.

Jin Yizhu hummed and said no more. She pushed the sweet drink aside and tapped on her phone for a bit.

A moment later, Jin Yizhu looked up with a smile. “Let’s go. Uncle He is waiting at the door.”

Wei Shuyu walked out of the shop with her. Uncle He was already waiting. It wasn’t convenient to park here, so he had the hazards on and stopped at the roadside, waving to them.

Jin Yizhu opened the car door and gestured for her to get in first. Wei Shuyu was momentarily stunned but didn’t refuse.

Tokyo got dark early, and now the sky was completely black.

In the pitch-black night sky, Shinjuku glowed with lights and revelry, neon flashing. Uncle He drove steadily, cruising smoothly through Tokyo’s streets under the night curtain.

Shibuya wasn’t far—a dozen minutes sufficed.

Before getting out, Jin Yizhu instructed Uncle He, “No need to wait for us. When we’re done strolling, I’ll just take a cab back.”

Uncle He’s expression stiffened, and he smiled. “Eldest Miss, this isn’t Hong Kong. . .”

“Tokyo’s public safety isn’t that bad,” Jin Yizhu shot back, neither soft nor hard. “Uncle He, you worry too much.”

There was a hint of coquettishness in her tone, like talking to an elder, but underneath was an tone that brooked no argument.

She wasn’t discussing; she was informing.

Wei Shuyu stood outside the car door, eyes downcast as she listened to their conversation. Jin Yizhu’s situation was probably more complicated than she imagined.

“Let’s go,” Jin Yizhu said after dealing with her driver, clearly in a better mood. “We’re going for drinks.”

Shibuya was a street that never slept. Even nearing ten o’clock, the roads were still crowded with people.

Huge advertising screens on the high-rises lining the streets constantly changed images, dazzling with colors. The crosswalks were packed; when the light turned green, everyone surged across to the other side like a tide.

“Really going for drinks?”

In the crowded throng, Wei Shuyu gripped her hand and asked softly:

“Where to drink?”

“I booked a bar on top of Shibuya Sky,” Jin Yizhu noticed her movement and clasped her hand in return, sliding her fingers between Wei Shuyu’s and holding tight. “Don’t worry, it’s the quiet kind.”

“Then I know the place. . .” Wei Shuyu said. “That one’s pretty popular.”

“Yeah, so I want to check it off my list.”

Jin Yizhu flashed her a brilliant smile, lowered her hat brim, rummaged in her bag for a thin-framed pair of glasses, put them on, and asked her:

“How do I look like this? Not so worn out, right?”

Wei Shuyu stared at her in a daze. In truth, Jin Yizhu’s features were exquisite, especially her high, elegant nose bridge paired with those peach blossom eyes always brimming with smiles—it made for strikingly aggressive beauty.

The frames had no lenses, purely decorative, accentuating her fluttering lashes like raven wings.

Especially. . . that dangling platinum chain.

Thin and long, it fell along her cheek without disrupting her smooth jawline. Instead, it made her slender shoulders seem even more poised, adding a touch of aura.

“You weren’t worn out to begin with. . .” Wei Shuyu averted her gaze. “You looked a bit tired right after the flight, but now you’re totally energetic.”

Jin Yizhu was half a head taller than her. Even in flat shoes, she could still look down at her slightly.

“Really?” Jin Yizhu suddenly leaned down, close to her face. “Then why won’t you look at me?”

They had reached the elevator. Wei Shuyu pressed the button and, while waiting for it to come down, uncomfortably let go of Jin Yizhu’s hand.

“Because you’re too good-looking,” she said without lifting her head, staring at the floor. “Satisfied with that answer?”

“Really?”

Jin Yizhu chuckled lowly, then reached out with one hand to pinch her chin, forcing her face up, gazing into her eyes as she asked:

“That good-looking?”

“Yes,” Wei Shuyu turned her face away in the palm of her hand. “Elevator’s here.”

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