Chapter 26: The First Step of Sponsorship  

When Lin Zhizhi and Lu Yi had almost finished eating, she got up and went to the restroom.  

She specifically remembered to take her phone, planning to quietly pay the bill after using the restroom.  

After all, according to the storyline, Lu Yi had invested all his money into his company for his startup. Right now, he didn’t have much spare cash. Though he was, at least, an entrepreneur with the Male Lead Halo, so he wouldn’t be so poor that he couldn’t even afford a meal.  

But Lin Zhizhi thought that, as Lu Yi’s girlfriend, she shouldn’t drag him down.  

In the original novel, Lu Yi didn’t have a girlfriend while he was starting his business, so she figured she might as well cover the cost of their dates herself.  

Looking at her beautiful reflection in the restroom mirror, Lin Zhizhi smugly thought to herself—she was now a wealthy woman with a bit of financial power.  

Oh, right, a wealthy woman~  

Why not just sponsor Lu Yi outright?  

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, memories of that night with Lu Yi surfaced again. The feeling of his firm abs, his sexy Adam’s apple, and the sound of his heavy breathing were still vivid in her mind.  

A flush of red crept onto Lin Zhizhi’s cheeks. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, quickly snapped out of it, and turned on the faucet, splashing cool water onto her face.  

She lifted her head, gazed at herself in the mirror, and patted her cheeks.  

Alright, alright, she couldn’t keep thinking about this.  

Lin Zhizhi grabbed a few tissues, wiped her face and hands, adjusted her hair, and refocused on her plan—sponsoring Lu Yi had to proceed, but it had to be done discreetly.  

She exited the restroom and walked toward the cashier to settle the bill.  

“Hello, I’m from Table 9. I’d like to pay the bill, please.”  

“Alright, please hold on a moment.”  

The staff checked the system, then looked up and said: “The bill for Table 9 has already been paid.”  

“It’s been paid?”  

“Yes.”  

After a brief pause, the staff seemed to recall something and added: “I believe it was the gentleman who came with you who paid the bill.”

Because both of them were exceptionally good-looking, the staff had a lasting impression of the two, despite the constant flow of customers in the restaurant.  

“Alright, thank you.”  

With a sense of frustration, Lin Zhizhi walked back to her seat. She hadn’t expected her plan to sponsor Lu Yi to fail at the very first step.  

Lu Yi had already finished eating. He was looking at his phone, but when he saw Lin Zhizhi return, he turned it off and looked at her. “You’re back.”  

After saying that, he glanced at her again and asked: “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”  

Lin Zhizhi was puzzled. “No, why do you ask?”  

“That’s good to hear. I thought you might not be feeling well since you were gone for so long.”  

Lu Yi’s expression was sincere, and his words genuinely conveyed concern.  

But Lin Zhizhi couldn’t help but feel that what Lu Yi was really asking was: Did you fall into the restroom? Or were you constipated?  

She stared at his handsome face across the table, wanting to explain but hesitating. She certainly couldn’t admit that she stayed in the restroom for so long because she was lost in thoughts about his attractiveness.  

In the end, Lin Zhizhi decided to change the subject. “By the way, how did you manage to pay the bill so quickly?”  

“I was just sitting here anyway, and since we were almost done eating, I went ahead and paid.”  

Hearing this, Lin Zhizhi panicked slightly, afraid the conversation would circle back to her long time in the restroom. She quickly said: “Well, now that we’re done eating and the bill is paid, shall we go?”  

“Sure, let’s go.”  

After speaking, Lu Yi stood up, walked over to Lin Zhizhi, and naturally took her hand as they started walking.  

At this moment, Lin Zhizhi was genuinely confused. Wasn’t the Male Lead in the book supposed to be cold and aloof? Why was Lu Yi so fond of holding her hand now?  

The most important thing was…  

It was summer! Sure, the mall had air conditioning, but they had just finished eating, and it was still hot!  

Lu Yi, completely unaware of Lin Zhizhi’s thoughts, turned back to smile at her.