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Chapter 2: Blind Date with the Male Lead!

The Zijinghua Restaurant was a mid-to-high-end Western-style establishment, with massive floor-to-ceiling windows. The interior had a high ceiling, making it feel spacious and bright, exuding a detached elegance. Li Huanhuan usually didn’t like places like this — brightly lit, cool-toned, white-themed restaurants always felt too high-end, making her uncomfortable and out of place.

“Welcome, miss. Do you have a reservation?” the hostess at the door greeted with a smile.

“Yes,” Li Huanhuan quickly reported the table number.

The staff led her inside.

As she entered, she deliberately glanced at her reflection in the glass door.

Auntie?

She thought back to the earlier misunderstanding and still felt a bit aggrieved. Did she really look that old?

But the reflection showed a woman in an outdated, bulky black coat, hair messy from running, an orange scarf covering most of her face. Only a pair of tired, dark-circled eyes from long nights showed. Her whole appearance screamed disheveled and careless.

“Huh? Why did I wear this coat?” Li Huanhuan facepalmed.

The coat was something she’d bought above a local market—outdated and pilling. She usually wore it to pick up deliveries or buy groceries.

Okay… from the back, it was easy to mistake her for someone older.

Not a great look for a blind date, but it was too late to change. She raised her hand to press down her messy hair.

The inside of the restaurant was spacious. As she followed the staff in, she immediately spotted the group from earlier and felt embarrassed. She tried to turn her head away but was spotted by the red-haired guy who had bumped into her earlier.

“Ah, isn’t that the lady from before?” the redhead Hu Xun greeted enthusiastically.

With that cheerful tone, she couldn’t pretend she didn’t see them even if she wanted to. Her body stiffened as she turned and gave Hu Xun an awkward smile. And when she turned, she couldn’t help noticing the rest of the group sitting with him.

There were five people.

The red-haired Hu Xun who bumped into her earlier, the cheerful guy who helped her pick up her phone—Zhou Jianyu—and a cool-looking girl with short hair, plus a refined-looking guy with glasses…

She hadn’t paid attention earlier, but now that she looked closely, they all seemed familiar. Like she’d seen them somewhere before. But she swore it was her first time meeting them.

Her eyes finally landed on the guy in the middle—wearing a light gray down jacket and black combat boots.

As Hu Xun spoke, that guy looked up too—and his face struck Li Huanhuan like a thunderbolt: bold eyebrows, deep mysterious eyes, high nose bridge, and full red lips.

A face full of wild charm and vitality!

Li Huanhuan’s usually calm and scattered world was shaken—thud!

The male lead? Qin Shi?!

She froze.

After realizing she was living in a novel world, Li Huanhuan had once looked up Qin Shi online. Even though it’d been a while and she’d started living a normal life again, she still remembered what he looked like.

She never thought she’d actually run into the male lead in real life?!

No wonder the others looked familiar—they were all Qin Shi’s teammates and colleagues. They’d appeared in past esports news articles.

So Qin Shi was dining here with his team?

At this point, Li Huanhuan hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation. She was just a little surprised. After the initial shock, she quickly composed herself.

An unexpected encounter with the male lead at a restaurant—maybe this was the system assigning her, the “awakened NPC,” a new plotline.

“Miss, this is Table 17,” the staff reminded her.

Li Huanhuan turned, ready to move forward, but noticed the staff looking behind her. She paused, followed the staff’s line of sight—and saw a “17” number tag… on Qin Shi’s table.

Huh?

Table 17?!

Li Huanhuan’s eyes widened.

Did they sit at the wrong table? Or did she walk to the wrong one? Was she being set up on a blind date with the male lead’s teammate?

While she was still confused, Hu Xun overheard her and the staff’s exchange.

“You’re also at Table 17? Don’t tell me…”

He stared at her, then turned in shock to Qin Shi. “Qin Shi, could this lady be the one you’re supposed to have a blind date with?”

What? She was going on a blind date with him?

Li Huanhuan was stunned and looked at Qin Shi.

At that moment, he also looked at her.

Their eyes met. Both were surprised.

“Wow, what a coincidence,” someone whispered.

Yeah, too much of a coincidence.

But no one was more shocked than Li Huanhuan.

She stared at Qin Shi’s handsome, wildly charismatic face. He really was good-looking. But her mom never said the blind date’s name was Qin Shi.

Qin Shi… the male lead?

How was this possible?

Did she step out of her house in the wrong pose today? Put her foot down in the wrong order? Was there some strange incident on the road? She didn’t see any flocks of crows or a stray cat suddenly start talking.

Even though her mind was in chaos—like a magnitude-10 earthquake—Li Huanhuan’s face stayed blank, just a little dazed.

Qin Shi, on the other hand, didn’t overthink it.

He looked up at her with his wild and vibrant face. “I’m Qin Shi.”

Li Huanhuan clutched her backpack tighter. “Li Huanhuan.”

Qin Shi glanced her up and down and coolly said, “Please sit.”

Li Huanhuan hesitated, then sat opposite him.

“Li Huanhuan?” someone asked as soon as she sat down.

She looked up—it was Zhou Jianyu, the energetic guy who had helped her with her phone earlier. Now she knew his identity: Qin Shi’s teammate, popular in the novel too. The red-haired guy was Hu Xun.

Zhou Jianyu mispronouncing her name didn’t surprise her. People always got it wrong the first time.

She explained, “Li Huanhuan. Li as in peach and plum, Huan as in returning home, Huan as in fantasy.”

Hu Xun glanced at the quiet Qin Shi and asked, “Sister, how old are you?”

A waiter brought water.

Li Huanhuan sipped from her cup. “Twenty-six.”

“Wow, two years older than Qin Shi.”

Li Huanhuan subconsciously looked toward Qin Shi.

That face was really something—especially those eyes. She suddenly remembered how the novel described them:

[Qin Shi had deep, icy eyes. On the battlefield, they sent chills like being stalked by a wolf king. But in bed… they were the kind that made your heart race…]

Cough cough…

She choked on her water.

“You okay, sister?” Hu Xun asked with concern.

Someone handed her a tissue.

“Cough… thanks.” Li Huanhuan took it and only then noticed how beautiful the hand was—long, fair, strong. The kind you’d expect to play piano.

She froze, looked up—and saw it was Qin Shi.

“Th-thank you,” she stammered.

Qin Shi withdrew his hand and nodded coolly, then stared silently at his water glass, deep in thought.

Li Huanhuan squeezed the tissue and finally calmed down from her initial shock.

No matter what went wrong in the story that brought her, a side character, to blind date the male lead, this wasn’t going anywhere.

Not because of the “lead” or “NPC” roles—her name didn’t even appear in Qin Shi’s story. Besides, showing up to a blind date with all your friends clearly said: I’m not interested.

Perfect. That made two of them.

With that mutual understanding, this would be easy.

Just then, the staff brought the menu. Qin Shi picked it up, flipped through, then looked at her. “Any dietary restrictions?”

“No need to worry about me,” she waved quickly. “I have something to do later. Made plans with a friend.”

His hand holding the menu paused. His friends all looked at her.

Li Huanhuan didn’t feel awkward.

This restaurant’s food was average but pricey. She didn’t want to let Qin Shi pay, nor did she want to waste her own money pretending. Better to end it quickly and amicably.

Sure, the excuse was a bit flimsy—but Qin Shi probably didn’t want this blind date either. She figured he’d catch the hint.

And sure enough, his vibrant face didn’t show any surprise. He just raised an eyebrow. “You have plans?”

“Yes,” she nodded earnestly. “Need to buy cat food for my cat. I ran out. Sorry.”

She stood as if about to leave.

Something unreadable flashed in Qin Shi’s eyes. He handed the menu to Zhou Jianyu. “If you’ve got plans, go ahead.”

“Sorry to bother everyone. Bye!” she clutched her bag and left quickly.

The room fell silent.

Everyone turned to Qin Shi.

“She… didn’t like you?” Hu Xun scratched his head.

Qin Shi leaned back, arms crossed. He didn’t say yes or no.

“Why do you talk so much!” Zhou Jianyu smacked Hu Xun with the menu. “Hurry up, pick something. Tsk, the food here looks mediocre.”

Outside, Li Huanhuan let out a big breath.

She clutched her backpack, looking back at the bright restaurant.

She really walked out like that? Qin Shi was the male lead, after all. Should she have at least gotten an autograph? Now she was finally relaxed enough to joke.

But next…

She checked the time. Lunch first.

Since Qin Shi and his teammates were eating at Zijinghua, she purposely took the bus two stops away and found a noodle shop.

After eating, she pulled out her phone, checked the route, and planned to head home. On the way to the bus stop, she passed a pet supply store. Remembering her excuse about buying cat food, she hesitated, then walked inside.

“Welcome~”

The shop was larger than she expected.

After a few turns, she found the cat food aisle. But none of the brands were familiar.

She hesitated, then picked up a green bubble-packaged one.

“Sis, that one’s no good! Too oily. Your cat’ll get chin acne.” A serious male voice suddenly sounded behind her.

Li Huanhuan turned—and saw a blond-haired guy in his twenties stroking his chin, staring seriously at the cat food in her hand.

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