A Bold Confession Under Watchful Eyes

Lin Yating tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear, revealing the carefully practiced curve of her profile.

“Do you also like Gabriel García Márquez’s *One Hundred Years of Solitude*? I’ve actually been researching magical realism lately…”

“Just flipping through it.” Jiang Chen abruptly interrupted her, gently pushing the lemonade across the table towards her.

“Have some water? Your voice sounds a little hoarse.”

Lin Yating froze for a moment, her fingertips brushing Jiang Chen’s hand as she took the glass.

“How did you know my throat wasn’t feeling well today?”

Jiang Chen didn’t respond; instead, he simply raised a hand to summon a waiter.

“The sea salt latte here is quite good. Get her one.”

This sudden, thoughtful gesture made Lin Yating’s heart give a sudden, powerful lurch.

Though it was merely an offhand remark, it made her chest feel as if a jar of honey had spilled within it, a delightful sweetness spreading through her.

She quickly lowered her head.

“Th-thank you…”

When she finally looked up again, mustering her courage, she initiated another topic.

“Do you come here often?”

“Occasionally.” Jiang Chen’s reply was so succinct it left no room for further conversation.

Silence descended.

A deathly quiet stretched between them.

Zhou Yi, seated in the booth behind them, was practically frantic.

She worried that Jiang Chen’s cold demeanor would scare away the ‘fish’ she had worked so hard to reel in.

So, she crouched down, concealed by the potted plants between the booths, and gently kicked Jiang Chen’s calf.

Having his calf unexpectedly kicked, Jiang Chen didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

A faint, knowing smile flickered in his eyes.

‘Someone’s already losing their patience?’

Lin Yating was struggling to find a new topic to continue their conversation when she noticed his usually stern eyes suddenly soften, and a subtle curve appear on his lips.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She felt instantly lightheaded.

‘He actually smiled at her?! Could this mean…?’

Her courage surged immediately.

Carefully observing Jiang Chen’s expression, she tentatively asked, “You… you said the day before yesterday at the basketball court that you liked men. That was a joke, right?”

“Cough!” A suspicious choking cough erupted from the booth behind them.

‘Well, well, this ‘green tea’ move is coming out directly?! Brother Chen, you really need to handle this well. Don’t mess it up!’

Jiang Chen calmly raised his eyes, his fingertips lightly caressing the book page.

“Of course. There were too many people at the time. Without a few smoke bombs, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to leave.”

He said it so casually, as if it were the absolute truth, that Zhou Yi, secretly eavesdropping from behind, couldn’t help but silently give a thumbs-up.

Lin Yating’s heart blossomed with joy, her fingers unconsciously twirling a strand of hair as she asked, barely containing her excitement, “Then… if your girlfriend knew you were having coffee alone with another girl, would she get jealous?”

“That’s a good question.” Jiang Chen chuckled softly, leaning back slightly, his gaze falling on her face, his deep voice carrying a rich, masculine charm.

“But the premise is… there has to be such a person first.”

His words hit their mark perfectly, exactly what Lin Yating wanted to hear.

“Is that so…” When she looked up again, her eyes sparkled with a playful hint of probing.

“Then it seems I’ve struck gold today, getting to monopolize your schedule?”

“Why?” Jiang Chen suddenly leaned forward and asked in a lowered voice.

“So concerned about my relationship status… are you interested in me?”

“Of course.” Lin Yating’s blush deepened significantly, yet she boldly met his gaze.

“Who wouldn’t want to take a closer look at a blue-chip stock like you?”

“Is that so?” Jiang Chen merely hooked his lips into an ambiguous smile before leaning back against the chair again.

“But someone as beautiful as you must have many admirers, right? Why would you take an interest in someone like me, who spends all their time on the basketball court?”

“How could they compare to you…?” Lin Yating blurted it out instinctively, only realizing how direct she had been afterwards.

She quickly tried to amend her statement.

“My meaning is, those boys are all too childish. You, on the other hand, possess a calming presence.”

“Oh?” Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow.

“Such as?”

Lin Yating took a sip of coffee, her fingers tracing invisible patterns.

“For instance, you always speak appropriately, and your smiles are always measured. Most importantly, you remain exceptionally composed no matter the situation, which is very reassuring.”

She paused, her gaze at Jiang Chen tinged with a hint of admiration.

“And you have a certain… detachment, a feeling of not belonging to anyone, which paradoxically makes one want to draw closer.”

Her words were like a hook cast subtly, neither explicitly confessing affection nor denying it.

They were perfectly designed to tease, to spark imagination, and to leave no room for fault.

Jiang Chen’s eyes flickered.

“So, that’s how you see me?”

Lin Yating immediately blinked her innocent eyes, looking at him with genuine sincerity.

“I’m merely speaking the truth.”

Jiang Chen leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed on her eyes, which appeared innocent yet held a subtle undercurrent of calculation.

“What about you?”

Lin Yating froze, not quite processing his question.

“Ah?”

Jiang Chen’s smile deepened.

“Do you also belong to no one? Or… have you already found someone you wish to belong to?”

With those words, the flames of flirtation suddenly blazed to life.

Lin Yating’s carefully maintained composure shattered instantly.

Her heart pounded wildly.

She carefully lowered her eyelashes, yet could not conceal the burgeoning smile that threatened to escape her lips.

Zhou Yi, watching from behind, was utterly stunned.

‘Who knew Jiang Chen was such a hidden master? He’s moving things along faster than I even imagined!’

“If I were to say…” Lin Yating raised her shimmering eyes, gently bit her lip, hesitating as if to speak yet holding back.

“…that I do have someone special in my heart… would you find it too abrupt?”

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow, watching her with an amused glint in his eyes.

“Oh? It seems someone has unwittingly captured your heart?”

Lin Yating nodded, then shook her head, before quickly lowering her gaze as if overcome by shyness.

“I don’t know if it’s just infatuation… but lately, I can’t help but pay attention to him. Seeing him makes me happy, and not seeing him leaves me a little disheartened. Even if he exchanges a few more words with other girls, I feel… a pang of bitterness in my heart.”

She paused, then suddenly lifted her face, her eyes meeting Jiang Chen’s with a desperate courage.

“I can’t quite figure out if this counts as love, but if it does…” She took a deep breath.

“Then, in all likelihood, that person is you, Jiang Chen.”

Jiang Chen seemed taken aback by her directness, freezing for a moment before suddenly smiling.

“Are you confessing to me?”

Lin Yating didn’t speak, but nodded vigorously, her face flushed crimson.

“Then…” He suddenly leaned forward.

“Perhaps I should… give it some serious thought?”

The distance between them subtly diminished, and the ambiguous tension quietly intensified.

Behind the potted plants separating their booth from the next, Chen Hao sat rigidly, like a stone statue.

Through the gaps in the foliage, he clearly saw Lin Yating’s flushed cheeks and Jiang Chen’s perfectly composed demeanor.

Before they arrived at the coffee shop, Zhou Yi had specifically instructed him:

“Your mission today is to be completely invisible! Whatever you see, whatever you hear, you are to keep it all to yourself!”

Chen Hao genuinely wanted to remain calm.

But as their conversation grew increasingly intimate, when the words ‘if it counts as love… then, in all likelihood, that person is you’ were uttered, he almost couldn’t stop himself from standing up.

“Don’t move!” Zhou Yi gripped his wrist tightly.

“If you go out now, all our efforts will be wasted!”