Chapter 32: Lu Mingze

Lu Mingfei was so startled he nearly jumped out of his skin. The roast duck roll in his mouth slid down his throat before he had a chance to chew it, nearly choking him to death. It took a while of frantic chest-thumping before he could catch his breath.

"Could you please, for the love of god, give a heads-up before you show up next time? Stop being so ghostly! If I didn't choke to death, I'd have been scared to death by you."

This was the second time he had seen Lu Mingze since his rebirth. The first time was in Odin’s Nibelungen, where Lu Mingze had used strands of rain as strings to play a funeral dirge for Chu Zihang’s father.

"Nothing good ever happens when you show up. Out with it—what is it this time?" Lu Mingfei snapped.

"Brother, you’re really returning evil for good," Lu Mingze pouted. "I only ever show up to help you, don't I? When Nono’s birthday came around and you had no gift, I set off fireworks for you. When you got lost in the Bronze Maze, I gave you a map. When you didn't have the money to bid on the Seven Deadly Sins, I wired a hundred million dollars to your account. I’m practically at the point of fluffing your pillows while you’re out sweeping snow and reading poems with girls, and yet you still treat me with such disdain."

As he spoke, Lu Mingze popped the freshly wrapped roast duck roll into his own mouth. He chewed it thoughtfully, then frowned. "Compared to Judequan’s roast duck, I still prefer Dongda’s. Although both use the hanging oven method, Dongda splits the duck open for roasting, which renders all the fat under the skin. It makes it much less greasy to eat."

Lu Mingze shook his head. "The sweet bean sauce is decent enough; it’s an old establishment, and the recipe is a trade secret. But if it were me, I’d tweak it—less salt. People in the old days did heavy manual labor and preferred stronger flavors, which is why the old master who invented the recipe added so much salt. But that level of saltiness is clearly not suited for modern palates."

"Hey, hey, hey, I feel like I’ve heard this somewhere before. Didn't you used to critique red wine? Why the sudden shift to roast duck? The change in tone is a bit jarring, don't you think?" Lu Mingfei retorted.

"I’m just prepping your lines in advance. You need to rehearse if you want to make a good impression on Liu Miaomiao later," Lu Mingze replied. "Do you know the difference between open-oven and closed-oven roast duck? Beyond the fuel, the biggest difference is the texture. The closed oven traps the steam, keeping the meat moist and tender. But the open oven lets the steam escape, which is what gives you that signature crisp skin. Judequan is the pioneer of open-oven roasting."

"Pfft, what does this have to do with Liu Miaomiao? And I haven't even stepped into the restaurant yet, and you're already prepping my dialogue," Lu Mingfei said.

"Being prepared never hurts. Besides, don't you have that VIP card Lily gave you?"

Lu Mingfei blinked. "Isn't that for the Black Prince Hotel? Does it even work here?"

"It doesn't," Lu Mingze said, producing a napkin from nowhere to wipe his mouth. "But the owner of the Black Prince Hotel holds shares in Judequan. You could give Lily a call and see if she can help you book a table."

"Don't just assume you're a VIP just because someone gave you a card," Lu Mingfei said, speechless. "The hotel owner and I are total strangers. Why would he help me book a table at Judequan just because I stayed at his hotel for two nights?"

"Why not try? It might actually work." Lu Mingze looked into Lu Mingfei’s eyes. "It’s just like how you like Chen Wenwen and Nono, but you only ever trail behind them—you’ve never actually tried to pursue them. Have you ever considered that chasing a girl might be far easier than you imagine? That as long as you’re willing to try, you might actually succeed?"

"Pfft, why are we back to me? Are you obsessed with romance? It’s like you can’t have a conversation without steering it toward love."

Lu Mingze snapped his fingers, and the roast duck on his person vanished. He stood up, hands behind his back, and circled Liu Miaomiao a few times before suddenly grinning.

"Why don't you start with Liu Miaomiao, brother? Get a feel for what it’s like to pursue a girl. She’s beautiful, comes from a good family, and is a piano prodigy. By any metric, she’s at least as good as Chen Wenwen. Being with her would certainly be something to be proud of."

"What does this have to do with Liu Miaomiao? And stop talking about dating like it’s picking out accessories. I am a staunch, unwavering warrior of pure love."

Lu Mingze scoffed. "‘You are all my wings’—that kind of pure love, right?"

Lu Mingfei sneered. "Heh."

Lu Mingze spread his hands. "Alright, alright, I’m just teasing, brother. Don't be mad." He paused, then added, "But have you really never wondered what it would feel like to be with her? On the plane, when she leaned on your shoulder and fell asleep, you must have felt a heartbeat of attraction, right? That’s Liu Miaomiao. She’s so beautiful, her hair smells so sweet, you could kiss her just by lowering your head a little."

Lu Mingfei suddenly felt irritable. It was the agitation of having his secrets poked at—like having someone flip to the page where you’d hidden a secret in the corner of your notebook.

He waved his hand as if to shoo Lu Mingze away. "Get lost, get lost. You done? If you're done, then disappear."

"But I haven't finished teaching you the lines I prepared."

"Then hurry up and teach me, then get out."

"I don't feel like it anymore." Lu Mingze shrugged. "I’m being tsundere, brother. Just use those two lines to fake your way through; that should be enough."

"Damn it, don't go!" Lu Mingfei reached out, trying to grab the little devil, but he grabbed nothing but air.

The little devil was like a wisp of wind, vanishing without a trace. Only Liu Miaomiao remained in front of him, and his posture had shifted from grabbing at Lu Mingze to reaching toward a very awkward spot on Liu Miaomiao’s body.

Like an hourglass being flipped over, time resumed its flow.

Liu Miaomiao, Qiao Yiran, Zhao Menghua, and the others blinked, completely unaware that time had just paused. In the next instant, all their eyes landed simultaneously on his hand, which looked as if it were about to grope Liu Miaomiao’s backside.

*Lu Mingze, you...*

In that single second, Lu Mingfei exhausted every curse word he had ever learned.

Zhao Menghua was shocked, thinking to himself that this guy was truly twisted to attempt such a thing in broad daylight. Qiao Yiran’s face changed, and she quickly pulled Liu Miaomiao behind her. Before she could finish her "Lu Mingfei, do you want to...", she was swiftly interrupted.

"I—I—I wanted to borrow your phone to make a call, Liu Miaomiao!" Lu Mingfei blurted out the first excuse he could find. He didn't think his brain had ever worked that fast before.

Liu Miaomiao, clearly terrified, hesitated before pulling her phone from her pocket and handing it over to him with trembling hands.

*That bastard Lu Mingze told me to pursue her? Pursue my foot! All the goodwill I’d built up was cleared out in a single stroke.* Lu Mingfei gritted his teeth in fury.

He pulled the gilded black VIP card from his pocket and dialed the number on the back.

"Hello, is this Lily? Yes, this is Lu Mingfei. I’d like to..."