Chapter 13: In the Middle of a Date

Shi Ye arrived at the Sichuan restaurant at 6:30, choosing a quiet spot in the corner. He greeted the boss and requested that the dishes be served when the other person arrived. Meanwhile, he ordered a pot of water.

When nervous, Shi Ye tended to drink water, and drinking water made him visit the restroom frequently. In just thirty minutes, he went twice. Leaning against the sink, he kept checking his watch. As it neared seven, he was looking at it every few seconds.

Shi Ye had just come out of the restroom and sat down when his phone buzzed twice. He hurriedly took it out to check.

Zao: Spent a bit too long picking out clothes. I might be about ten minutes late.

Zao: Sorry about that.

Zao: [Poking fingers].jpg

He recalled seeing online that omegas often delay dates because they spend time dressing up, but the more effort they put into their appearance, the more it shows how much they value the date.

Shi Ye’s eyes lingered on the words "picking out clothes," and he felt a bit pleased.

ShiyeBBQ: No rush, take your time.

After typing, he closed his phone and ran to the restroom to adjust his collar in the mirror. He meticulously adjusted his jacket’s zipper until it was just right, ensuring everything was flawless before returning to his seat.

Suddenly remembering something, he began typing again: The spot I’m at is a bit hard to find. Let me know when you’re close, and I’ll come pick you up...

Just as Shi Ye noticed the surrounding noise had quieted down, like a teacher suddenly appearing at the back door of a high school self-study session, he instinctively looked back and couldn’t tear his gaze away. His phone slipped from his hand, falling onto the table. His eyes, passing over bustling tables and potted plants hanging on the fence, were glued to the omega who had just entered.

The omega was tall, with long, jet-black hair tied into a single braid resting quietly on the left side of her collarbone. She wore a simple white ruffled blouse and a green silk scarf around her neck, giving her a cute and playful look. However, her legs were so eye-catching, clad in distressed denim shorts that almost reached her thighs, with black Dr. Martens on her feet. Her long, smooth, snow-white legs were exposed, like top-quality jade tempting people to touch.

She stood at the counter, talking to the server. Though Shi Ye was too far to hear her, he could almost pick out her voice from the din.

The server pointed in Shi Ye’s direction, and "Jiang Chi Zao" thanked them and began walking towards the corner. Shi Ye quickly stood up and walked over to meet her, but as he rounded the corner, he saw "Jiang Chi Zao" being blocked by a nearby alpha customer.

The alpha had bleached yellow hair, a tattooed arm, and a thick gold chain around his neck. Though not particularly muscular, he was intimidating enough and seemed like a young thug who had dropped out of school.

Shi Ye’s heart tightened, and he wanted to rush over, but a serving cart got in his way. He was anxiously stuck, but "Jiang Chi Zao" didn’t flinch.

She waved the air in front of her nose, her pretty face scrunched in disgust. "You’re way too young to be scaring people with that face. If you keep staring at me, I’m going to develop myocarditis."

The alpha, with one leg in her path and surrounded by three or four friends, burst out laughing. He grinned. "Oh, got a sharp tongue there! Come on, sit with us for a drink. What do you want? I’ll treat you."

Jiang Chi Zao snickered. "I don’t drink. I’ve got plenty of money. I don’t need your measly peanuts."

There were three things alphas hated the most: being told they had no money, being told they were impotent, and being told both by an omega.

Upon hearing her retort, the alpha, under the watchful eyes of many people, was visibly embarrassed. He poured a glass of beer and tapped the rim. "One drink, and I’ll give you ten thousand. How about that?"

"Jiang Chi Zao" waved dismissively. "I told you, I don’t need your peanuts."

Her dismissive tone infuriated the alpha. He slammed his hand on the table, pointing his finger at her face. "You little b, don’t push your luck!"

Before he could finish, the alpha screamed in pain. His hand, pointed aggressively at her face, twisted at an unnatural angle. A large hand had gripped his wrist tightly, seemingly on the verge of snapping his arm.

"Who the hell are you calling a b—?"

Shi Ye had appeared out of nowhere, his heel pressing down hard on the alpha’s foot. Shi Ye was extremely tall, and even just standing there exuded an imposing presence. His jaw was clenched tightly, his gaze fierce like a jaguar’s, boring straight into the alpha’s eyes.

'Jiang Chi Zao'’s eyes brightened. "Xiao Ye-ge!"

That familiar and intimate nickname made Shi Ye freeze for a moment. He turned to look at her, a little shy, and nodded.

The alpha’s friends saw this and immediately stood up, shouting for Shi Ye to let go. They looked intimidating, but Shi Ye, who had been fighting with alphas all his life, didn’t flinch. He stared down at the alpha. "Apologize."

Humiliated, the alpha snapped, "F—! Get him, boys!"

He swung his other fist towards Shi Ye, but Shi Ye easily caught it and twisted his arm. A loud crack echoed, and the alpha howled again. His friends hesitated, unsure if they should step in.

Shi Ye forced the alpha’s arms behind his back and pressed his knee against the thug’s spine. "I’m going to count to three. If you don’t apologize, I’ll break both your arms."

"Three... two—"

Shi Ye’s grip tightened, causing the alpha to sweat profusely. "I’m sorry! I’m sorry!"

"Sorry…" The alpha mumbled.

Shi Ye looked up at "Jiang Chi Zao," who nodded in approval, and he finally let go.

Security arrived shortly after, but Shi Ye was still a bit riled up. "Jiang Chi Zao" tugged at his sleeve gently and whispered, "Let’s go. Don’t waste your energy on people like him."

Her soft, soothing voice, like the gentle rain of early spring, instantly extinguished the fire in Shi Ye’s heart. He nodded and led her to their table.

As they walked a few meters, "Jiang Chi Zao" turned back and raised a middle finger at the alpha being helped up. "The weather’s getting colder. Stay buried, don’t crawl out anymore!"

Shi Ye couldn’t hold back his laughter. He could tell something was different about her today but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Still, he couldn’t help wanting to be closer to her.

The little incident didn’t spoil their date. The restaurant manager even offered two free dishes to apologize.

Since "Jiang Chi Zao" was lightly dressed, Shi Ye, concerned about the air conditioning, had her sit inside while he took the seat facing the outside. "Miss Jiang, what would you like to drink?"

"Jiang Chi Zao" untied her scarf and fanned herself. "Coke, with ice."

Shi Ye relayed her order to the server and handed her the menu. "I pre-ordered a few dishes. See if there’s anything else you’d like."

Without hesitation, "Jiang Chi Zao" added four or five more dishes. She knew Shi Ye was wealthy, easily earning tens of thousands per match, and wasn’t the type to spend frivolously. Over the years, he must have saved a fortune, not to mention what his father gave him. His job at the pet store was purely for his love of dogs.

Her pale fingers pointed out the additional dishes, and the server left. Now it was just the two of them, the spicy aroma of the food mixing with the noise from other tables, creating a cozy atmosphere that made people drop their guard.

"Jiang Chi Zao" liked the mood, smiling at Shi Ye. "Don’t call me Miss Jiang. It sounds too formal. Hmm… just call me Tǔdòu (Potato)."

When the drinks arrived, Shi Ye added ice to the glass on the left and handed it to her. "That sounds a bit strange. Why Tǔdòu? I heard your friends call you 'Zaozao.'"

"Jiang Chi Zao" sucked on her straw and rested her face on her palm. "Well, that’s what they call me. I don’t want you calling me the same thing."

"Why not?"

"Because you’re different from them."

The half-joking, ambiguous tone made her statement sound incredibly flirtatious, and she lifted her eyes slightly after speaking.

But Shi Ye didn’t react as expected.

Shi Ye’s thoughts were simple. He didn’t really know what made him different, and truth be told, he kind of liked calling her 'Zaozao'—it sounded close. But since Miss Jiang said they were different, well, then they were.

Shi Ye nodded thoughtfully. "Then I need to think of something special. Tǔdòu feels too casual. It should be something fancier, with a good meaning."

Jiang Chi Cheng: "..."

What kind of nonsense was this?

Shiye lowered his eyes and asked, "What do you think about 'Tomson Riviera'?"

Jiang Chicheng snorted, almost spitting out his cola, "Why not just call it 'Lamborghini'? That sounds way cooler!"

Shiye, feeling a bit embarrassed from the retort, scratched his head. "Sorry, my language skills have always been bad since I was a kid. You choose, whatever name you pick is fine."

Jiang Chicheng’s heart sank, and he bit his lip.

Damn, wrong thing to say.

Shiye had always felt insecure about his poor academic performance since childhood, and hearing this from the omega he liked was like a blow to his self-esteem.

Jiang Chicheng glanced at Shiye's expression. Shiye was looking down, stirring the bubbles in his cola with a straw, clearly upset. Nervous, Jiang Chicheng decided to focus on the meal as the dishes were being served.

Shiye grew more anxious. Why wasn’t "Jiang Chizao" even glancing at him? Was she mad because of the name suggestion? Or did she just think he was too uneducated to bother with?

He observed "Jiang Chizao"'s chopsticks pause over the crayfish for a second before moving to pick the boiled meat slices.

"Do you like shrimp? This spicy crayfish is really delicious. I'll peel some for you to try!"

Without waiting for Jiang Chicheng’s response, Shiye put on gloves, grabbed some crayfish, and peeled three before placing them on Jiang Chicheng's plate. Jiang Chicheng was slightly taken aback. The last time Shiye peeled shrimp for him was back in the fourth grade when his hand had been caught in a door.

He picked up the shrimp, dipped it in vinegar, and placed it in his mouth. Looking up, he met Shiye's cautious gaze. "Is it good?"

Jiang Chicheng's heart skipped a beat, and he nodded.

Shiye smiled, "Then I'll peel more for you!"

Jiang Chicheng stared at Shiye’s dimples as he smiled, feeling a little dizzy. His heart was pounding. Damn, is this the omega treatment? What kind of plain life had he been living before?

Seeing the atmosphere ease, Shiye continued chatting while peeling shrimp.

"By the way, have you signed up for the half marathon? The deadline is the day after tomorrow."

Jiang Chicheng, his mouth burning from the spice, stuck out his tongue and gulped down some iced cola. His lips turned red. "What half marathon?"

Shiye’s gaze dropped to Jiang Chicheng's frequently visible tongue before hurriedly lowering his eyes. "The Yuancheng half marathon next month. We talked about it last time."

That conversation was with Jiang Chizao.

Jiang Chicheng pieced things together and pretended to suddenly remember. "Oh, I signed up, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to finish it."

Shiye’s eyes lit up, and he put all the peeled crayfish into Jiang Chicheng’s bowl. "Don’t worry, I signed up too. I’ll run with you!"

"That’s great," Jiang Chicheng smiled, picking up a crayfish and offering it to Shiye. "Here, a thank-you gift."

Shiye was momentarily stunned, but then opened his mouth to bite down, carefully avoiding the chopsticks with his lips.

Jiang Chicheng grinned, "Is it good?"

"Yeah, it’s good," Shiye nodded. "My grandma used to feed me like this when I was a kid."

Jiang Chicheng: "..."

What the hell is this?

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Chicheng decided to drop it and focus on eating.

Shiye then asked, "Why didn’t you bring your bodyguard today?"

Jiang Chicheng, enjoying the meal, wiped his mouth with a tissue, still maintaining his composure. "Who brings a bodyguard on a date?"

Date.

Shiye mulled over the word, his ears starting to burn. "After dinner... do you want to watch a movie? There’s a new spy thriller out, and I’ve heard it's pretty good."

Jiang Chicheng looked up and saw Shiye blushing shyly, clearly flustered by his own words.

"Hmm, do people watch spy thrillers on dates?"

Jiang Chicheng deliberately emphasized the word "date." He watched as the blush spread from Shiye's ears to his face, then down to his neck. Shiye was so nervous that he could barely speak clearly. "Then... what do you want to watch?"

Suppressing a smile, Jiang Chicheng replied, "A romance movie, maybe."

Shiye’s eyes widened slightly. He glanced at Jiang Chicheng before quickly lowering his head, his face turning redder than ever. "Alright..."

Shiye removed one of his gloves and opened a ticketing app, calculating the time they’d finish eating. Just as he booked the tickets, a male voice suddenly called out from behind.

"Jiang Chizao?!"

Jiang Chicheng looked up to see an incredibly attractive male omega approaching. The omega had an innocent baby face, but the way he looked at Jiang Chicheng was as venomous as a witch.

"Hah! It really is you!"

Before Jiang Chicheng could react, the omega sat on the edge of the table, tilting Jiang Chicheng’s chin up and lightly slapping his face. "How’s your return to the country been? Hooked up with a few people? Haven’t you burned out that part of yourself yet? Just a friendly reminder—don’t wear yourself out while you’re still young. You won’t be able to even pee when you’re older!"

Ah, so this was one of Jiang Chizao's old flings. From the look of things, he probably hadn’t paid him enough.

Feigning ignorance, Jiang Chicheng responded, "I don’t know what you’re talking about. Do you have the wrong person?"

The omega suddenly grabbed the ice-cold cola from the table and splashed it in Jiang Chicheng’s face. "Stop pretending, you bastard!!"

Caught off guard, Jiang Chicheng shivered from the cold, his hair sticking to his pale cheeks as water dripped from his chin. His carefully styled outfit was now stained with dark liquid.

His amber eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of frost, and the silver spoon in his hand had unknowingly bent into a twisted shape. "You f—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the omega was pulled away by someone.

"Are you okay?!" Shiye knelt down beside Jiang Chicheng, nervously draping his coat over Jiang Chicheng's chest.

Jiang Chicheng’s hand trembled, and the bent spoon dropped to the ground. When he looked up again, the ice in his eyes had melted into water, his reddened eyes brimming with tears. His damp eyelashes fluttered like a frightened deer, and he looked helplessly at Shiye.

"It's so cold..."

Ugh, his voice was on the verge of breaking.

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