A mesmerizing sapphire-blue luxury car glided slowly toward the restaurant. Light traced the vehicle’s sleek curves, painting brilliant streaks across its surface—undeniably the most dazzling presence in the area, drawing every curious gaze.
“Miss, we’ve arrived,” Park Seok-min murmured after easing the car to a stop. She turned to the coldly elegant beauty seated in the back.
Kazue Iinoue slowly opened her eyes. A flicker of indifference—and something like anticipation—flashed within her phoenix eyes.
Ever since completing her registration at Jingku, Park Seok-min had returned to Kazue Iinoue’s side. Today, something odd happened. Her mistress—the very person she served—claimed she’d grown tired of Xihai Lou’s cuisine and wanted a change. To others, it might seem trivial. To Park Seok-min, it was as absurd as hearing an emperor had crawled through a dog hole. Tired of Xihai Lou? She didn’t buy it. Xihai Lou gathered top chefs from across the nation and beyond. Anything available outside existed there—and much that didn’t. How could anyone tire of it? Still, as a professional executive and secretary, Park Seok-min asked no questions. She simply drove. She suspected her mistress hadn’t come for the food at all. Her real purpose lay elsewhere…
“Is that?!”
“Holy crap! Kazue Iinoue’s eating here?!”
“No way! The food’s good, but it’s nowhere near Xihai Lou.”
“Maybe she really got bored… Uh, yeah right.”
“Kazue Iinoue is stunning. Those legs—I’d kill for that ratio. Honestly, who else has it?”
“Heh, wasn’t there that guy a while back with insane proportions? Too bad he vanished. Two months of silence—poof, relevance gone.”
The moment Kazue Iinoue stepped out, the crowd erupted. Someone like her was rarely seen in person. Clad in a black slit skirt that accentuated her silhouette and long legs, she glided gracefully into the restaurant, vanishing from public view.
“Miss Kazue Iinoue, welcome!” The owner, stuffed into a black tuxedo, waddled up like a rolling ball.
“Welcome!” Every staff member on the first floor, dressed formally, bowed deeply—as if she were their true boss.
Yu Mo stood among them. His shift had ended, but the boss had barked orders: stay for rehearsal. A distinguished guest was coming. Refuse overtime? Get fired. Harsh. Yu Mo liked to have fun, but he wasn’t reckless. This job meant high pay, light work—a rare deal. Losing it over pride? Not worth it. So he swallowed his irritation. And redirected it toward the “guest.”
Until he saw her.
Kazue Iinoue?!
Beauty, wealth, lineage—top-tier even in the Land of Cherry Blossoms. No… combined? Utterly unmatched in the entire nation.
“I’m actually seeing her live… She’s truly on Leng Shuang’s level. Wait—!”
Still bowing, Yu Mo’s eyes widened. He remembered: all staff were gathered downstairs today… except one.
Leng Shuang.
Which meant—upstairs, in that private room—only Leng Shuang was serving Kazue Iinoue. Alone.
“Could it be…” Yu Mo’s throat tightened. “Was it really as I guessed? Were they fated to meet?”
The thought gripped him until crisp footsteps faded and that captivating black figure disappeared around the stairwell. Only then did he gasp, sweat drenching his brow as if soaked in the Ping River. He wasn’t alone—others nearby were panting too, finally breathing once she was gone.
“That woman’s aura is insane. Can Leng Shuang even handle it? …Or maybe the ‘handling’ happens in bed,” Yu Mo smirked, glancing away from the stairs.
“Lin Mo, oh Lin Mo. With that honest face? Born to be cheated on. Tsk tsk… my condolences~”
He spared Lin Mo—one second of silent mourning. To Yu Mo, Leng Shuang and Kazue Iinoue had always felt perfectly matched.
Above must be the person the young lady wished to see. Park Seok-min noted Kazue Iinoue’s subtly quicker pace and drew her conclusion. She wondered: who could make her mistress use “tired of Xihai Lou” as an excuse? Only the President held that privilege—and he was home today. So who waited upstairs?
Mind sharp, she followed the owner toward the private room. The second floor stood empty yet lavishly arranged—tables cleared, space curated solely for the young lady’s arrival.
“Miss Kazue Iinoue, right this way,” the owner said with a deferential bow, halting at the door. Clearly, the guest awaited inside.
Kazue Iinoue stepped in without a word, expression serene, utterly unreadable. The owner retreated humbly, unoffended.
Curiosity burning, Park Seok-min shifted seamlessly into another role: bodyguard. As the owner withdrew, she moved ahead—like a soldier leading the charge for her general.
Inside the room, her guard instinct flared… then vanished instantly.
Leng Shuang?!
A young man in crisp staff uniform bowed deeply. From his delicate pink lips came a voice, practiced to perfection:
“Distinguished guest, welcome.”
Clear. Gentle. Flawless.
He’d rehearsed endlessly for this moment. For *her*.
But as he lifted his head and met her gaze—
his clear eyes widened.
His pupils contracted sharply…
