Even this teasing tone sounded familiar.
Xi Shi had never imagined she would lose her composure in front of a target. She released Lin Youhe instantly.
Lin Youhe's expression remained unchanged as he casually slipped his withdrawn right hand into his pocket.
Unable to conceal her earlier lapse any longer, Xi Shi simply acted as if nothing had happened. She smiled at Lin Youhe first, then, forcing herself to stay calm, followed the original plan and held out the kraft paper bag in her arms toward him.
The bag contained nearly half the varieties from the bakery:
A rustic baguette with the simple fragrance of wheat, flaky and delicious croissants, milk-rich pineapple buns, chocolate muffins, beautifully shaped pretzels, and golden toast.
They were piled layer upon layer, stuffed to the brim inside the kraft paper bag.
Lin Youhe let out a soft laugh. "Miss Xi is so fond of sweets?"
This remark was also familiar.
Of course, Lin Youhe could not possibly be the person from her dream.
But there was no denying it:
Xi Shi liked the sound of Lin Youhe's voice.
Perhaps it was this fondness that lent a trace of genuine feeling to the frustration in Xi Shi's tone.
With the easy familiarity of someone who knew him well, she explained that these were all just delivered by a friend. Clearly, there was no way she could finish all these pastries on her own. If Lin Youhe didn't particularly dislike sweets, she would be very eager for him to lend a hand and help share the burden.
Lin Youhe raised a hand to push up his glasses, looking as though he was searching for the right words to decline.
Xi Shi sighed helplessly. "There really are too many."
After a pause, she added, "I genuinely can't finish them all."
Xi Shi met Lin Youhe's gaze with eyes full of sincerity, and in the end, Lin Youhe had no choice but to compromise.
After the forced gift-giving in her plan succeeded, Xi Shi gradually came to realize that Lin Youhe was an honest man who didn't know how to refuse.
Having a target with this kind of personality was, of course, the best possible scenario.
From then on, Xi Shi went even further, replicating the same forced gift-giving three times within a single week—deliberately, yet gradually, closing in on her target.
A week later, taking advantage of the season at its peak, Xi Shi bought a batch of hairy crabs with rich, fatty roe. Carrying them, she wore a form-fitting dress and went to knock on his door.
She wasn't worried at all that he might not eat them or have an allergy—after all, that day Lin Youhe's takeout had been from a famous crab roe noodle place.
Lin Youhe opened the door.
Xi Shi's story remained unchanged—still "a gift from a friend" and "I really can't finish them alone."
Just as Lin Youhe was feeling indebted and embarrassed, Xi Shi casually mentioned that he could treat her to a meal, and thus easily secured a promise from the target to take her out to dinner.
The next day, "Target" indeed called proactively.
Xi Shi unhurriedly sipped red wine from a giant thermos through a straw, and only picked up the phone on the fourth vibration, answering the invitation with a beaming smile.
Lin Youhe chose a high-end restaurant for the meal.
The lobster bisque was rich and savory;
The Australian steak was fragrant with marbled fat;
The soufflé was as soft and fluffy as a roasted cloud.
Of course, it couldn't be just a simple meal. Seated amid the soothing strains of cello music, Xi Shi casually chatted, refreshing her database on the target—
Lin Youhe was three years older than her, and single.
Lin Youhe had studied abroad.
Lin Youhe had only joined the nearby university as a teacher last year.
On the way back from dinner, emboldened by how harmless he seemed, Xi Shi greedily pulled out her phone: "Want to add each other on WeChat?"
After adding him, Xi Shi discovered that Lin Youhe didn't even use his Moments.
But Xi Shi wasn't in much of a hurry.
In fact, after switching her target to Lin Youhe, Xi Shi felt much more at ease overall.
She didn't know what kind of person Chen Chen was, but given that face so similar to Chen Lintian's, getting close to him would probably have given her plenty of nightmares.
Lin Youhe was good.
He had a decent appearance, a pleasant voice, and even the way he sat silently cutting his steak in the restaurant could be called elegant.
Moreover, Lin Youhe had a certain gentlemanly courtesy—he would proactively open the car door for Xi Shi, pull out her chair at the table, put down his phone to listen attentively when she spoke, and so on. In short, being around him was very comfortable for Xi Shi.
Xi Shi was willing to give such a target some patience—but only some.
A few days later, Xi Shi knocked on Lin Youhe's door again.
This time, Lin Youhe only opened the door after more than a minute had passed.
The cool, lotus-like clarity about him was more pronounced than usual. His hair was damp, and the white shirt had clearly just been thrown on—its hem was messily crumpled, revealing a glimpse of a lean, powerful waistline.
Xi Shi froze for a moment.
Lin Youhe remained as gentle and refined as ever: "Sorry to keep Miss Xi waiting."
Xi Shi tucked a strand of long wavy hair behind her ear, raised the hand holding the hairy crabs, and smiled innocently. "Perhaps… would Mr. Lin like to have some hairy crabs today?"
Lin Youhe seemed to just notice his disheveled hem. He lowered his head to straighten it, then smiled. "From a friend again?"
"Yes."
Xi Shi looked a bit helpless. "If you don't mind having another meal of hairy crabs, would you like to have dinner together?"
Lin Youhe didn't refuse. "Your place or mine?"
Xi Shi said with some difficulty, "I don't have a steamer pot that big at my place."
Lin Youhe stepped aside to make room at the doorway. "Come in."
Xi Shi said with a smile, "Sorry for the intrusion."
The interior layouts of the two apartments were exactly the same, except that Lin Youhe's place leaned more toward a masculine style in decoration—cold gray-toned walls paired with furniture and decor in the same color family but darker shades, giving it a very upscale feel.
Lin Youhe finally managed to dig out a pair of new slippers with the price tag still attached from the shoe cabinet. "Sorry, I only have men's slippers here."
Xi Shi shook her head, her pearl earrings and curly hair swaying along with the motion.
She said it was fine, then naturally handed the paper box of hairy crabs in her hands to Lin Youhe.
Shuffling along in slippers that were too big for her as she followed Lin Youhe toward the kitchen, Xi Shi immediately spotted something on the refrigerator—it was the paper note she had stuck on the security door before.
The light orange paper was held against the gray-black refrigerator door by a small magnetic clip, standing out especially clearly.
Xi Shi walked over and tapped it with her fingertip. "Mr. Lin hasn't saved my phone number even now, has he?"
Lin Youhe chuckled lightly. "No, I just never took it down."
Xi Shi wondered whether there was some hint of ambiguity in that, and turned to look at Lin Youhe, but he had already walked toward the kitchen, leaving only the tall, upright silhouette of his back as he turned on the faucet.
That silhouette suddenly spoke. "Speaking of which, I still don't know Miss Xi's given name."
Xi Shi leaned against the kitchen doorway, modulating her tone with a hint of feigned grievance amid the rushing sound of water. "I wrote it on the note."
A gentle, apologetic expression appeared on Lin Youhe's face as he said that the note had gotten wet, and the part with her name had happened to blur—he couldn't make out what radical should follow the character "Xi."
"I see~"
Xi Shi walked over to Lin Youhe's side, gestured for him to open his palm, and used her fingertip to write her name stroke by stroke on his dry, warm palm.
Lin Youhe had beautiful hands—long fingers with clean, neatly trimmed nails, the kind of hand shape that older folks would say was a waste not to have learned piano.
When she reached the final stroke of the water radical, her fingertip lifted lightly but firmly from his palm, and she clearly saw his ring finger suddenly twitch upward for a moment as if in a spasm, following her movement.
That motion was inexplicably sexy.
Xi Shi couldn't tell whether the emotion surging in her chest was a sense of accomplishment or something else—either way, she didn't hold back. When writing the right half of the character, she deliberately wrote each stroke very slowly. The final diagonal stroke was drawn out long, her fingertip brushing lightly against Lin Youhe's pinky before pulling away in a fleeting touch.
Could someone as simple, kind, and honest as Lin Youhe withstand this level of teasing?
Would Lin Youhe blush?
Xi Shi turned her head and lifted her gaze with curiosity, only to collide directly with Lin Youhe's unwavering stare as he looked down at her, his eyes fixed on her.
One of Lin Youhe's hands was being held by Xi Shi, while the other braced against the countertop—it was almost a gesture of caging Xi Shi in his arms. Her turn of the head just now had nearly bumped into his chin.
Xi Shi was wearing a backless dress, and the smooth skin of her back touched the fabric of Lin Youhe's shirt, tingling sensitively.
She didn't even know when or how they had gotten so close—and they were getting closer and closer.
It turned out that Lin Youhe had simply leaned over, looking into Xi Shi's eyes, to reach past her and turn off the faucet.
The kitchen became both quiet and stiflingly warm.
The only sound in the space was the hairy crabs blowing bubbles, oblivious to their fate—plop, plop, plop…
Xi Shi averted her gaze at the tenth second of their eye contact and let go of Lin Youhe's wrist.
It was also at that moment that Lin Youhe stepped back. "Is it the 'Shi' with the water radical?"
Xi Shi felt flustered for some reason.
And her emotions were swinging intensely.
She was almost certain that Lin Youhe would say that sentence, just like other learned people did. In truth, she didn't want to hear it, and she had no patience for hollow pleasantries. She could only use the motion of tying up her hair with a hair tie to mask the irritation that had risen from her anticipation.
Contrary to Xi Shi's expectations, Lin Youhe didn't say what she had predicted.
He only said, "Xi Shi is a beautiful name."
Xi Shi paused for two seconds before speaking as if nothing had happened. "What can I help you with?"
Lin Youhe smiled. "Go wait in the living room. I'll steam the hairy crabs and then come find you to discuss what other dishes we should have tonight."
"Okay."
Xi Shi pointed toward the direction of the hallway. "May I look around your place?"
The refined and cultured Mr. Lin said, "Feel free."
It was in the study that Xi Shi saw the photographs of Chen Chen, displayed on the bookshelf.
There was a solo photo of Chen Chen holding an award, as well as graduation photos and group shots with friends or classmates.
In the same photo, Xi Shi saw Lin Youhe, Chen Chen, and Chen Lintian together.
Her gaze lingered for a moment on Chen Lintian's revolting face before she closed her eyes with restraint.
She picked up the photograph, and suddenly Lin Youhe's voice sounded from behind her—"That's my friend and my friend's father."
Xi Shi spun around abruptly. Lin Youhe was leaning against the doorframe, smiling at her.
Lin Youhe raised a glass of water toward Xi Shi, indicating that he had brought it for her, then continued with a smile, "My friend is the owner of this apartment."
Xi Shi shrugged very naturally and smiled back.
She indicated that she wasn't particularly interested in these things, just casually looking. After returning the photograph to its place, she walked over and took the warm water Lin Youhe had brought. "Thanks."
Lin Youhe went back to the kitchen to deal with the hairy crabs, while Xi Shi stared intently at the group photo.
If Xi Shi's brain were a computer running a program test, it would probably flash a few lines of text with smug confidence—
I came.
I saw.
I targeted.
In the kitchen, the hairy crabs bubbling with foam had been cleaned, topped with ginger slices, and placed into the steam-roast oven.
Lin Youhe leaned against the counter, took off his glasses, and lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe the lenses.
There was no warmth, gentleness, or tenderness in his eyes. He raised his hand and stared at his palm for a moment, shook his head, then suddenly curled his lips into a smile that could barely pass as gentle.