The other group was visibly surprised to see them too—especially since they were also holding number tickets. The four of them stood in a weird silence.
Jiang Xi's gaze landed on the girl next to Bo Jingmo.
This girl… looked kind of familiar.
She was the first to break the silence. “You two... found this place through the recommendations too?”
Bo Jingmo nodded politely. “Yeah, just wanted to try it out.”
He glanced toward Yu Li and introduced, “These two are my classmates.”
But when it came time to introduce Yu Li to Jiang Xi and Hou Liang, Bo Jingmo paused. After a few seconds, he finally said:
“This is... a friend of mine.”
At that moment, all three of them looked over.
Yu Li, on the other hand, had a rather meaningful expression.
It felt a bit like your boyfriend calling you “just a friend” when introducing you to others.
Yu Li smiled politely at Jiang Xi. “Hi, Senior.”
A junior… and a “friend”?
Jiang Xi swallowed the rising gossip in her chest and responded with equal politeness. “Hi there.”
And just like that, silence again.
A staff member from the restaurant noticed that the group seemed to know each other. She quickly came over to ask, “Excuse me, do you all know each other? Looks like your numbers are coming up soon. Right now we only have one big table available—would you four like to sit together?”
The server looked between Yu Li and Jiang Xi with sincere eyes, blinking hopefully.
All four of them: “........”
Bo Jingmo: I don’t want to.
Jiang Xi: Someone’s definitely going to mind this.
Hou Liang: I’m cool either way.
Well, she was kind of tempted.
Mostly because she suddenly remembered something the system had once said:
“Your boyfriend is a psychotic villain obsessed with the female lead.”
And now the female lead was right here.
She was genuinely curious to see just how “obsessed” her boyfriend really was.
In the end, the four of them sat together.
It was a little awkward—at least Jiang Xi and Hou Liang thought so.
But the other two seemed totally unfazed, interacting just as naturally as ever.
Yu Li and Bo Jingmo had a habit when eating out: they always rinsed their utensils with hot water first, sort of like disinfecting them.
Jiang Xi and Hou Liang didn’t.
So when they saw Bo Jingmo casually take Yu Li’s bowl and rinse it with hot water, both were a bit dumbfounded.
They worked together so smoothly—one rinsing, the other handing things over. After finishing with the bowls and chopsticks, they even rinsed the tea cups.
That seamless cooperation… it felt like they’d eaten out together countless times.
It even gave off old married couple vibes.
Habits really are scary things—because the people involved don’t notice anything strange at all.
Yu Li was about to ask if Jiang Xi and the others wanted theirs rinsed too, but when she turned around, she was met with two very confused, wide-eyed stares.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, puzzled.
Jiang Xi snapped out of it and pointed at the utensils they had just washed. Her expression was still a bit complicated. “Do you two always eat out ?”
Yu Li paused. “...You don’t?”
Both Jiang Xi and Hou Liang shook their heads.
She glanced at Bo Jingmo. He was currently setting her tableware in place, then poured her a cup of warm water.
A faint smile lingered in his eyes. “Guess we’re just particular.”
He liked this kind of quiet, intimate routine that belonged to just the two of them.
Yu Li saw that little satisfied smirk on his face and couldn’t help but smile too.
She took the water and sipped it, then picked up the menu to start ordering.
Since they were sharing a table, it didn’t make sense to order separately, so they just picked dishes together.
The restaurant was pretty packed, so the service was slow. Even after half an hour, only a few dishes had arrived.
Jiang Xi ate while debating whether to bring up the instance mission with Bo Jingmo.
But Yu Li was sitting right there. She probably wasn’t a player—would it be okay to say something in front of her?
While she was lost in thought, she didn’t notice a waiter walking by with a piping hot clay pot. When the server suddenly reached out with the pot, Jiang Xi reflexively moved—and got scalded.
A sharp, burning pain shot through her arm. She gasped and stood up quickly, rushing to the restroom to run it under cold water.
Hou Liang saw her get burned and immediately jumped up to follow. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”
Jiang Xi had sweat beading on her forehead. She gritted her teeth and turned on the faucet.
Hou Liang was just about to head out and buy burn cream when a pale, slender hand suddenly extended beside him.
It was holding a tube of burn ointment.
He looked up and saw a girl with softly curved eyes.
“Restaurants that specialize in clay pots usually keep burn cream stocked. The waiter just went to get it,” she said gently.
Hou Liang froze for a second, then quickly took the ointment, eyes filled with a hard-to-describe embarrassment. “Thanks.”
Yu Li glanced at Jiang Xi’s arm—red, swollen, clearly serious. It looked painful just seeing it.
She kindly advised, “Even after rinsing, you should still go to the hospital.”
Jiang Xi looked at her and gave a slight nod. “Could you let the staff know for me?”
After all that chaos, nobody was really in the mood to eat anymore. But a few dishes still hadn’t come out, so Yu Li went to speak with the server about a refund.
The restaurant staff were understanding and agreed quickly. Yu Li and Bo Jingmo headed to the counter to pay.
She noticed his expression didn’t look great and tilted her head. “Senior, are you okay? You seem a bit... off.”
At her words, the furrow between Bo Jingmo’s brows deepened. He was just about to respond—when something seemed to click in his mind.
He pressed his lips together, then shook his head.
“No, you must’ve imagined it. Maybe it’s just from seeing Jiang Xi get—”
Mid-sentence, his heart suddenly lurched violently.
A wave of dizziness hit him. Panic washed over him out of nowhere, spreading rapidly through his entire body.
Bo Jingmo’s pupils contracted. He instinctively gripped the table, unsure where this anxiety was coming from.
Yu Li’s curved eyes froze for a second.
The smile in her gaze dimmed slightly, though the curve of her lips remained.
Bo Jingmo—was lying to her.
But this wasn’t like the lies he used to tell—those had been playful, flirtatious, little traps meant to reel her in.
This time, he was lying out of fear of breaking character. Hiding his true feelings from her.
Even used Jiang Xi as an excuse.
And once someone starts hiding their emotions… it means they’re not going to drop the act so easily.
He didn’t want to show her his real self. Still clinging to that perfect persona—just like in their past life.
No matter what she said or asked, he’d always twist things to stay in character. Always dodging or giving false answers.
You forgot, didn’t you… Bo Jingmo…
I hate this kind of lying the most.
Even if he’d lost his memory, he still managed to hit her bottom line.
Yu Li knew that with her current “role,” there was no way Bo Jingmo would show her his real self.
Still… it left a bitter taste.
She’d been so focused on playing around, she forgot things could still hurt.
Well, if he wanted to keep up the nice-guy act—she’d help him.
Yu Li lowered her head, letting her hair fall to the side to cover her expression. Her voice was still gentle. “Senior, are you going to take her to the hospital? That burn looked bad. Might be hard to get a cab right now.”
Bo Jingmo, still panicked, instinctively started to say, “No—”
But Yu Li cut him off with a soft smile. “But you’re such a kind person, Senior. I’m sure you’ll take her without me saying anything.”
She slowly turned her head and smiled sweetly, eyes curved:
“Besides, I should be heading back anyway.”