The Lady I Flirted With Is Here - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Dinner

When Lin Xian stepped out of the restroom, Fang Daiyu was standing alone by the corridor with the bags and parcels. Though her posture should have looked burdened, her spine was perfectly straight, making the bulky items look like mere fashion accessories. Her slightly bowed head allowed her bangs to veil her face, revealing only a hint of her jawline—yet even that was enough to make everyone turn their heads.

Steadying her nerves, Lin Xian softly called out, “Daiyu.” Hearing her name, Fang Daiyu’s brows arched slightly. Her previously neutral expression melted into a smile, filling her features with a sudden spark of life and tenderness.

She gave a small nod: “Xianxian, come here.”

Seeing such a beautiful person waiting for her while holding her bags made Lin Xian’s heart flutter. The surge of emotion was so sudden that her legs felt inexplicably weak.

“Lower your head.” Fang Daiyu’s voice was smooth with a hint of magnetism. It sounded almost detached, but her careful movements betrayed her thoughtfulness.

Lin Xian obeyed. Fang Daiyu looped the strap of the crossbody bag over Lin Xian’s shoulder from behind, her movements slow and fluid. When she finished, she even took a moment to straighten Lin Xian’s clothes.

They were so close. The cold fragrance on Daiyu acted like a hallucinogenic drug, filling Lin Xian’s lungs. Today’s scent was more intense than the last time; Lin Xian thought she could smell cypress, but upon closer inspection, it seemed more like cedar.

The woody scent of the forest dragged her back into long-buried memories—memories of cool mountain breezes and the rustling of leaves.

A warmth spread through her palm as slender fingers wrapped around hers, pulling Lin Xian back to reality.

“Let’s go eat.” Fang Daiyu naturally took Lin Xian’s hand again. First time’s a start, second time’s a habit. Even though Lin Xian’s heart wasn’t used to the pounding, she forced herself to stay calm.

Don’t be a country bumpkin, she told herself. Isn’t this what dating is like? Fearing that Fang Daiyu would find her “fussy,” Lin Xian pretended to be composed even though the tips of her ears were red enough to bleed.

Seeing that her touch was successful once again, Fang Daiyu recalled the text she received from Yin Tao before leaving: “If they don’t resist touch, it means they like you. You can take further steps toward intimacy to build the bond.”

Consequently, once they were seated at the table and Lin Xian was busy ordering, her idle left hand was shamelessly taken between both of Daiyu’s hands to be played with. The right hand Lin Xian was using to flip through the menu began to tremble.

Fang Daiyu spread Lin Xian’s left hand flat, admired it for a moment, and then covered the back of Lin Xian’s hand with her own palm.

Palm to back—it felt like a physical embrace from behind. Fang Daiyu’s fingers naturally slid into the gaps between Lin Xian’s fingers, then silently closed her grip, letting their fingertips touch and linger. After a while, as if finding a new game, her hands moved across Lin Xian’s palm and back like someone playing a piano. She was thoroughly amusing herself.

Lin Xian felt like her right hand no longer obeyed her commands. Even though it was just a movement of the fingers, she felt an unprecedented sense of shame. Before this, she had never realized the nerves in her fingertips were so sensitive that a light touch could explode across her mind and soul.

Lin Xian didn’t dare look at their intertwined hands, nor did she dare withdraw her hand. Her heart went “thump-thump-thump” like a rock concert. She questioned her very existence: Do all couples do this? Playing with fingers the first time they meet? It’s so awkward… I want to stop her but I don’t dare.

With flushed cheeks and bitten lips, Lin Xian only hoped the food would arrive quickly to end this. You need two hands to eat, right? Then Fang Daiyu will have to stop.

However, before that plan could go into effect, Fang Daiyu noticed Lin Xian’s darting eyes.

“What is it?” The restaurant decor was antique; in the blurred play of light and shadow, the world seemed a bit hazy. Taking advantage of the dim light, Fang Daiyu leaned closer until the angle of her jaw was almost touching the tip of Lin Xian’s ear. Stopping just half a centimeter away, she smiled soulfully: “Is the atmosphere not to your liking?”

“N-no.” Lin Xian nervously shifted a tiny bit to the right. Fang Daiyu noticed the subtle movement. She didn’t say anything more but released Lin Xian’s hand.

Lin Xian immediately clasped her liberated hands together, but the tingling sensation seemed to linger on every inch of her skin.

Fang Daiyu extended her open left hand toward Lin Xian: “Your turn. Play.”

“Huh?” Lin Xian looked at her in shock, her mind echoing with that casual “Play.”

Her gaze inevitably fell on Fang Daiyu’s hand. The joints were slender, the skin as white as snow, and even the palm was narrower and more elegant than hers. When the Creator favors someone, even their nails are perfect: Fang Daiyu’s nails were neatly trimmed and translucent, with beautiful porcelain-white crescents at the base of each one.

Her grandmother used to say that the more crescents a person has, the healthier they are.

Lin Xian stared at the hand. It was beautiful, perfectly proportioned, with every curve handled with precision. But the most beautiful part was the gold band on Fang Daiyu’s middle finger—a simple, unadorned ring with a wave pattern. A thin red thread was wrapped around the back of the ring, and that splash of red made Lin Xian’s heart waver.

She remembered a girl next door from her childhood who wore a white jade bracelet with a red thread wrapped around her slender wrist. The red thread, the jade, the beautiful wrist… they had made Lin Xian obsessively fascinated by any accessory wrapped in red thread.

Lin Xian unconsciously grabbed the hand in front of her, as if grasping a long-held childhood desire. She lightly touched the knuckle wearing the ring with her index finger, then rubbed over the band before climbing up toward the fingertip.

A soft, involuntary gasp escaped Fang Daiyu’s nose. Like a warning signal, both of them retracted their hands with lightning speed.

The dishes arrived. Lin Xian picked up her chopsticks and began to eat like a wooden doll. Her mind was still filled with the lingering shadow of that soft, delicate hand. Suddenly, she felt that fine food was utterly tasteless compared to beauty.

“Play.” She had said it herself. Fang Daiyu had wanted to entice Lin Xian to be close, and perhaps even push her luck to tease her little girlfriend. In fact, she had succeeded; she knew her hands were beautiful and had been praised by “hand-fetishists” her whole life.

But Fang Daiyu had overestimated herself.

Like Lin Xian, she was a novice. An amateur attempting to mimic a romantic veteran is like a student driver hitting the highway without a license—yes, there will be a crash.

Fang Daiyu, who had never been physically intimate with anyone, had been so immersed in playing with Lin Xian’s fingers that she only realized how unbearable the tension was when the roles were reversed.

But the seal was broken; the addiction couldn’t be stopped.

Just then, Lin Xian’s phone vibrated. She picked it up to see messages from Yaya, Nannan, and Jingjing: “VOICE VOICE VOICE! SPINE SPINE SPINE! MANNERS MANNERS MANNERS!”

Lin Xian understood instantly. Thanking her friends for the reminder, she slowed her eating pace, achieving a perfect display of small bites and elegant poise.

Seeing the previously bold Lin Xian suddenly change her demeanor, Fang Daiyu ignored the strange feeling in her heart and asked, “Is the food not to your taste?”

Lin Xian was chewing slowly. She kept her mouth shut and shook her head, then used a tissue to cover her mouth before replying: “It’s food from my hometown. I like it very much.”

She did like it—she had ordered all her favorites. However, looking at the rice noodles, the ribs, the potatoes with chili, and the river shrimp… Lin Xian was crying inside. How am I supposed to eat this elegantly?!

The delicious food was right there, but she couldn’t eat it freely. She was afraid eating ribs and noodles would look ungraceful, that the chili would get stuck in her teeth, and the shrimp…

She must have been dizzy from Fang Daiyu playing with her fingers to have been this foolish during ordering.

“I’m just used to eating slowly,” Lin Xian explained desperately as she saw the doubt in Fang Daiyu’s eyes. “Really, really. We Southerners are very slow eaters.”

Except for me, she added silently.

“Then take your time,” Fang Daiyu refilled Lin Xian’s glass. “There’s no rush. We can catch the movie at three after we finish.”

Lin Xian took the glass and nodded. Just then, a waitress came over, looked at the two of them, and smiled: “Happy National Day. Here are two small gifts for you.”

They were two beautifully packaged snacks. Lin Xian looked up happily: “Thank you, Sister.”

The waitress looked at Lin Xian with surprise, a genuine smile reaching her eyes. She couldn’t help but chat: “Is this your first time at our shop?”

Lin Xian shook her head enthusiastically: “No, no! I’m from Dali too, so I’ve eaten this food many times. But it’s my first time at this Wangfujing branch.”

Actually, Lin Xian hadn’t expected Fang Daiyu to bring her to a restaurant from her hometown. She had been very happy since sitting down. Thinking of this, she glanced at Fang Daiyu, her heart feeling warm.

Hearing this, the waitress became even more enthusiastic: “I’m from Dali too! I was going to say you don’t look like it—your skin is so fair, whereas I’m so dark.” The waitress looked young, and girls naturally chatted, especially being from the same hometown.

“Where exactly are you from?” “Eryuan.” “Eryuan? My home is right in the Old Town!” Lin Xian looked up, excited to grab her fellow provincial’s hand.

Fang Daiyu suddenly interrupted: “Excuse me, could we have another dessert?” She pointed to the bean curd they had just finished.

The excitement was abruptly cut short. Lin Xian remembered she was on a date. She reined in her excitement, fearing her earlier actions were too exaggerated and not “lady-like” enough.

Before Fang Daiyu could speak, Lin Xian explained: “Um, people from my hometown are like that. We get excited when we meet a fellow provincial…”

Fang Daiyu suppressed a laugh and picked up the conversation: “I understand.”

She understands. Lin Xian breathed a sigh of relief and added a perfect closing: “Right? Not just people from my hometown—I think all Chinese people are like that.”

This time, Fang Daiyu finally couldn’t help but laugh. When she laughed, a dimple faintly appeared on both sides of her mouth. It made her look much more approachable, as if a goddess had descended to earth and finally possessed human emotions.

Lin Xian felt a bit embarrassed by her laughter. She wanted to avoid Fang Daiyu’s gaze, but her eyes couldn’t stop drifting back to those dimples.

“You are so beautiful.” Without thinking, she blurted out, “Daiyu, how can you be so beautiful?”