Otherwise..

Lin Yu and Xia Muzhu hadn't been strolling in the cold winter night for very long.

They were soon taught a harsh lesson by General Winter.

Unable to bear the cold, the two quickly ducked into a taxi, letting four wheels replace their own legs for the rest of the journey.

The taxi pulled up smoothly in front of the music bar.

They paid and got out.

Upon entering the music bar, Xia Muzhu was immediately drawn to the atmosphere.

The music here was soft and soothing, and the warm yellow lighting was cozy.

A dozen or so tables were kept neat and tidy. The people sitting there were quietly drinking, listening to the music, or perhaps chatting in low voices with their friends.

In the very center of the music bar was a circular mixing counter.

Right in front of the mixing counter, against the wall, was a small stage for the resident singer, about a meter high.

A beautiful woman holding a guitar sat there. She had a lovely face and a great figure.

The most eye-catching thing about her was her long legs, exposed beneath her shorts—smooth and firm, clearly the athletic type at a glance.

Less than three meters from the stage was a semi-circular open seating area with its ends against the wall.

Many guests were sitting around it.

It was hard to tell if they were there to listen closely to the girl's beautiful singing, or for some other reason...

The girl's unique style also made Lin Yu cast frequent sideways glances.

Lin Yu didn't care whether her singing was good or not, nor did he care about her long, white, and shapely legs.

He only had one question in his mind.

Was this person really not afraid of the cold?

After carefully feeling the temperature inside the music bar.

Lin Yu's doubts faded.

The heating inside the music bar was very strong, not to mention the girl was deep inside the bar right against the wall. It probably wasn't cold for her at all.

Lin Yu and Xia Muzhu sat down in a six-person booth.

Their line of sight perfectly allowed them to see the long-legged beautiful singer on the stage.

Lin Yu ordered two fruity cocktails, a fruit platter, and some snacks. He and Xia Muzhu slowly ate and drank.

Xia Muzhu was clearly very satisfied with the environment here.

Looking at the somewhat heroic-looking girl sitting on the stage, a look of yearning appeared in her eyes.

Lin Yu keenly caught the emotion in her eyes. After stuffing a piece of cantaloupe into his mouth, he chewed and asked indistinctly,

What's up?

Do you want to go up there and sing too?

Eh?

Speaking of which, Sister Zhuzi, I've never heard you sing before.

How is your singing?

Is it good?

Lin Yu blinked and asked curiously.

Xia Muzhu shook her head pitifully and said in a depressed tone,

I'm the most tone-deaf one in my family.

Even Little Shan sings better than me.

Seeing that Xia Muzhu was unhappy, Lin Yu didn't care about anything else and immediately pulled her into his arms, softly comforting her,

It's okay, it's okay.

Who said you're the worst singer?

My singing is definitely worse than yours, rest assured.

Hearing Lin Yu's comfort, Xia Muzhu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

She was clearly being held and comforted by the person she liked, so why couldn't she feel happy?

Buzz~

The vibration of the phone reached his skin through his thick pants. Lin Yu covertly took out his phone and secretly turned his head to take a look.

Oh ho~

Female lead number two has arrived!

Sister Zhuzi, I'm going to the restroom.

Lin Yu stood up, using his usual handy old trick to get away.

Xia Muzhu nodded without the slightest suspicion.

Lin Yu turned around and walked towards the bar's restroom.

Once he reached a blind spot out of Xia Muzhu's line of sight, Lin Yu immediately changed direction and hurried towards the bar's main entrance.

Right at the entrance, Lin Yu happened to run into Tang Manman, who had just pushed the door open to enter.

Without a word of explanation, Lin Yu grabbed her hand and led her outside the bar.

What's wrong?

Tang Manman, who was pulled out of the bar and dragged to a corner by Lin Yu, looked completely puzzled.

What was this about?

Didn't you message me this afternoon telling me to meet here at eight tonight?

Why aren't we going in now?

Lin Yu looked embarrassed. He scratched his nose and raised his hand to rub his forehead.

After a long while, he finally spoke with difficulty,

Manman.

I might not be able to accompany you tonight.

You came too late.

I just ran into Sister Zhuzi inside.

So...

...

I can't get away right now.

Lin Yu's voice grew quieter and quieter under Tang Manman's angry glare. The word guilty might as well have been written across his face.

No way!

You promised to spend tonight with me!

Tang Manman reached out and grabbed Lin Yu's wrist, speaking stubbornly.

I did say that.

But didn't an unexpected situation come up?

Lin Yu explained, feeling a bit wronged himself,

While I was waiting for you inside, I was spotted by Xia Muzhu, who also came here for a drink.

I saw her, and I couldn't just hide or run away.

She's already feeling down because of her brother's situation. If I avoided her on top of that, she would overthink things!

Tang Manman knitted her delicate brows. She felt that Lin Yu made a valid point, but she was also unwilling to just hand over her date time.

After thinking for a moment, her eyes lit up and she came up with an idea, saying,

Then you go in and tell her that you have an urgent matter to deal with and can't stay with her.

Then hurry back out.

We can go somewhere else!

Lin Yu still looked completely torn, shaking his head as he said,

I can't.

She's in a bad mood today. Because I was here with her, she felt at ease and drank quite a bit.

If I leave, she'll be here all alone and tipsy. I'd be worried sick.

Lin Yu's words actually made a lot of sense to Tang Manman.

After all, leaving a tipsy woman alone outside was truly unsafe and highly irresponsible!

On this point, Tang Manman even admired Lin Yu a little.

As expected of the man I like!

But Tang Manman was still unwilling to give up Lin Yu for the night.

It had already been a while since she last spent time with him...

In truth, Tang Manman wasn't desperate for just this one day. If Lin Yu really had an emergency, postponing tonight's date to tomorrow night, or even next week, would have been fine.

But the reason Lin Yu couldn't be with her tonight was actually because he had to accompany her!

Stealing him from me again?

Absolutely not!

Tang Manman puffed her cheeks in anger, refusing to just leave no matter what.

Time gradually slipped away in their silence.

In the end, it was Lin Yu who broke the silence first.

Carefully, with a probing tone, he voiced the sentence he had already repeated countless times in his heart.

How about we all hang out together?