The moment he looked up, a tall figure in a black slit dress entered his sight. She was a full head taller than him, with a slender, graceful figure.

A delicate neck. Fragrant shoulders and a beautiful back. Full breasts, a slim waist, shapely hips, long legs.

Every part of her was flawless, as if heaven itself had carved her by hand. Her proportions were so perfect that they gave Leng Shuang a deeply shocking visual impact.

And yet, this woman had an exceptionally cold and stunning face. Her phoenix eyes carried a faint aloofness and disdain, as if there was nothing in this world worthy of her notice.

She was noble by nature, with an overwhelming presence. As she stepped into the private room, that icy distance that kept others a thousand miles away gradually spread over Leng Shuang too, snapping him out of his brief daze over her beauty.

“Honored guest, please have a seat. Here is our menu.”

Leng Shuang forced a stiff smile. Holding the menu with both hands, he offered it to the seated Kazue Iinoue, then bent respectfully at the waist like a servant attending his master.

She was actually far more beautiful in person than she looked in movies.

Leng Shuang really wanted to get into work mode, but when he moved closer to Kazue Iinoue, his eyes still couldn't help sneaking another glance at her cold, gorgeous face.

He used to think most movie beauty came from filters and effects.

Now, it seemed he was wrong.

“You order.”

The cold beauty tilted her head slightly and looked at Leng Shuang. Her lashes trembled lightly. A cool, clear voice slipped from her vivid red lips. As her phoenix eyes rested on him, the indifference and chill in them faded, replaced by something else.

“M-Me order?”

Leng Shuang met her gaze directly. He didn't know if it was because of Kazue Iinoue's strange request, or because her oppressive eyes were putting pressure on him, but panic stirred in his chest and he started stammering.

“Mhm.”

Kazue Iinoue gave a slight nod. Her phoenix eyes never left Leng Shuang.

She lifted a hand lightly. Her slender fingers moved with a soft flick, like notes dancing in the air.

Park Shuomin also came back to her senses from her surprise. Seeing her young lady's command, she nodded and turned to leave.

“Miss... is being a little tsundere.”

Park Shuomin closed the door and stood guard outside, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

Earlier, she had sent Kazue Iinoue an email about Leng Shuang, and Kazue hadn't even read it. But now...

For once, the usually capable and icy Park Shuomin felt a little smug.

Inside the private room.

“Honored guest, this is one of our restaurant's signature dishes...”

Leng Shuang introduced the dishes one by one while waiting for Kazue Iinoue to nod in confirmation.

But her eyes stayed on him the entire time, making him uncomfortable all over.

Her presence was too strong. Facing her felt like being a little rabbit spotted by a tiger, with no strength at all to run or resist.

“Order whatever you want.”

Kazue Iinoue could tell he was uncomfortable, but she still did as she pleased.

“O-Okay.”

Leng Shuang gathered his courage and picked several signature dishes for her. Three dishes and one soup. Then he took his notepad and hurried out with quick steps, like a mouse fleeing from a cat.

Only after Leng Shuang left did Kazue Iinoue slowly withdraw her gaze. She slowly raised a hand and pressed it against the chest that pushed her black evening dress into a full, rounded curve.

“It’s getting stronger and stronger.”

Kazue Iinoue recalled the instant she entered the room. The moment she saw him, it was just like that hurried glance at the entrance to Pinghe Bridge that night. Her consciousness had blanked for a moment, and even her breathing had stalled.

Especially just now, when Leng Shuang stood beside her and helped her order, she had seen his handsome face up close. She had caught that faint, almost magical scent on him. Her heartbeat had gradually grown fierce, and somewhere deep down, a vague urge rose in her—to pull him into her arms without restraint, make him sit on her lap, and study his face carefully.

“Hah... I actually had thoughts like that...”

Kazue Iinoue looked a little lost. She had wondered what that fleeting flutter from that one glance had been before.

So this was it.

She took a deep breath with effort. Gradually, the hidden fire in her heart died down a little. But that extra desire had already planted itself like a seed in the deepest part of her heart, ready to sprout at any moment.

“Phew!”

Leng Shuang ran downstairs as if escaping. He handed the order slip to the kitchen, then collapsed onto a stool like all his strength had left him and let out a long breath.

“Leng Shuang, why aren't you going back up yet?”

The boss walked over at that moment and asked with a stern expression.

“I... I'm waiting for the dishes.”

Leng Shuang forced a smile.

“They'll tell you when the food's ready. What, did work scramble your brain?” The boss raised a brow, then seemed to think of something. His smooth, kindly face darkened at once. “You're not trying to run away, are you?”

“I’m not.”

“If you're not, then get back up there and pour tea for her first. Chat with her if you have to. Go, go. Do you even know how many people would kill for this chance? Who is Miss Kazue Iinoue? She's the kind of person who could toss you some pocket money and change your whole class. What, you don't want a tip?”

The boss narrowed his eyes and started urging him more sharply.

“I...”

“Go already. Stop with the ‘I, I, I.’ I already said today's pay is multiplied by ten. However long you serve Miss Kazue Iinoue, you earn ten times the money. You don't want that?”

The boss pointed at the stairs and ordered, “Move!”

Leng Shuang opened his mouth, but didn't keep refusing. He headed upstairs.

A worker was still a worker. He couldn't exactly fight with money.

Today's pay times ten. If he could keep Kazue Iinoue there for two hours, then a thousand yuan was guaranteed.

A thousand yuan for two hours. He just had to stand there for two hours. What a deal.

But somehow, Leng Shuang had a feeling that earning this one thousand would be harder than several days of overtime.

Back in the high-end section, Leng Shuang saw Park Shuomin standing guard outside the door with full professionalism.

Park Shuomin had the strong aura of someone who had battled in the workplace for years. But right now, she looked more like a door guard than the cold woman he had first met.

Leng Shuang gave her a slight nod. They had met once before, after all, and smiling cost nothing.

Park Shuomin returned the gesture.

“She said I might meet a benefactor. Could this benefactor be the one the boss was talking about?”

Leng Shuang gave Park Shuomin one last glance and started making wild guesses, recalling what she had said to him that day.

But that brief moment of thought brought him no answer.

Leng Shuang cleared his throat and slowly walked into the private room. He closed the door, and that mechanical smile appeared on his face again.

“Honored guest, the dishes need a little more time. Please wait patiently.”

“Mhm.”

Kazue Iinoue nodded, then turned her face slightly again to look at Leng Shuang.

Leng Shuang instantly shivered, though the smile stayed on his face.

He was starting to regret closing the door. Now the two of them were alone in the private room. Her presence filled the whole space, and those beautiful phoenix eyes looked at him without the slightest restraint, bringing back that same full-body discomfort from before.

Ever since school, Leng Shuang had always been the center of attention. He had gradually gotten used to being looked at.

Only kissing Lin Mo in public would make him shy.

But now, he was facing one person. She wasn't doing anything excessive. She was just looking at him, and that alone made him uncomfortable all over. It made him even more nervous than kissing Lin Mo in front of a crowd.

Stop looking. Stop looking. Please stop looking at me.

Leng Shuang's expression barely changed, but inside, he was on the verge of tears.

Why was this money so hard to earn?

His hourly wage multiplied by ten, plus overtime rates, meant six hundred an hour. Two hours would be twelve hundred. Such easy money.

And yet, these mere dozens of seconds under Kazue Iinoue's gaze felt like years of suffering.

If he ever got another chance, he'd ask the boss for leave ahead of time.

Money this easy made him uneasy. If he wasn't suffering through overtime for it, he didn't even feel right taking it. Better forget it.

“Honored guest, is there something on my face?”

After being stared at for a while, Leng Shuang finally couldn't take it anymore and spoke up.

“No. I just think you're very good-looking.”

Kazue Iinoue said it bluntly. She was looking at Leng Shuang himself, not because there was something on his face.

If the room hadn't been so well soundproofed, Park Shuomin would have been shocked out of her mind hearing that from her young lady.

Before this, there had never been anyone Miss had called good-looking. Not a single man had ever made her look twice.

But now...

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Leng Shuang froze for a moment. But he had dealt with plenty of strange customers at work before, so his tolerance was decent. He quickly recovered and kept smiling.

Inside, though, it was a different story.

Was she saying I’m good-looking?

Has she been staring at me this whole time just because I look good?

Leng Shuang didn't know why such a strange thought came to him. It felt like a deer was crashing wildly in his chest. On his smiling face, when his clear eyes met hers, the way they darted away carried the shy awkwardness of a boy in his youth.

It was absurdly cute.

Not long after, the indicator light clipped to Leng Shuang's collar started flashing.

To him, it felt like grabbing a lifeline. He bowed respectfully to Kazue Iinoue.

“Honored guest, the dishes are ready. Please wait just a moment.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Leng Shuang opened the door and fled to go get the serving cart.

“Leng Shuang, hang in there. Just wait until she's done eating. One hour, maybe. One hour is six hundred yuan. As for keeping her here for two hours... let the boss handle that. I can't.”

Leng Shuang pushed the cart while muttering to himself inside.

He would rather deal with customers who said weird things than face a silent Kazue Iinoue who just kept staring at him.

Sure, her looks were heaven-defying and her figure flawless, but that icy aura was just too much for him to handle.

“Relax. Miss is... actually a very good person.”

Park Shuomin paused slightly before saying that.

“Thanks.”

Leng Shuang thanked her, then opened the door and pushed the cart inside.

The kitchen had gone all out. A whole crowd had been rushing around, and the dishes were ready in no time. It was the fastest the kitchen had ever moved.

“Honored guest, this is our restaurant's signature dish, steamed fish tofu, made with fish brain...”

Leng Shuang introduced each dish while placing them on the table. The whole process was smooth and practiced.

When he lifted the lid, a rich fragrance rushed out, making his throat bob.

Even though staff could sometimes get special food from the kitchen, Leng Shuang had never had the chance to eat dishes this expensive.

“Honored guest, please enjoy.”

Leng Shuang set the rice before her, poured a cup of appetizing plum wine, and stood respectfully to one side.

Kazue Iinoue glanced at the fragrant dishes on the table, then slowly picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.

From the side, Leng Shuang watched her part those vivid red lips and take the food in bite by bite. She looked elegant and poised, far more graceful than the way he wolfed down good food.

But as he watched her eat, his gaze gradually grew unfocused.

This woman was just too beautiful. Sexy and cold at the same time. Beneath the slit of her dress, one long leg stretched smooth and straight. Following that lovely curve upward, there were faint glimpses that made people want to see more.

Even through that black slit evening dress, he could tell her figure was flawless.

If she took it off, then what?

Just how exquisitely shaped was that body?

Leng Shuang didn't know if it was the aroma of the food affecting him, or just a strange image that flashed through his dazed mind for a moment, but he swallowed unconsciously.

There was a line on Xiaohongshu that said it well: “Everyone hates a toxic woman, but if that toxic woman were Kazue Iinoue, probably not a single man would hate her.”

That line was a little exaggerated.

But now, Leng Shuang felt it wasn't exaggerated at all. She really did have a face so beautiful it was hard to feel hatred toward her.

With a face like that, how could anyone possibly hate her?

(Looks Above All Else [Tragic])

“Ah... what am I even thinking? Whether she’s trash or not has nothing to do with me. We’re from two different worlds. Besides, I already have Lin Mo. How can I let my mind run wild like this?!”

Leng Shuang bit his tongue, wishing he could punch himself.

He had a girlfriend already. How could he be thinking about this stuff?

A flush of shame rose to Leng Shuang’s cheeks. He steadied his emotions and forced himself not to dwell on those strange thoughts.

Kazue Iinoue didn’t eat much. Out of the three dishes and one soup, she only had a few bites.

“This.”

Seeing Kazue Iinoue point at the plum wine, Leng Shuang immediately walked over and refilled her cup.

Just as Leng Shuang was about to leave, he suddenly felt a giant python coil around his waist. It bound him with startling strength. His footing vanished, and in an instant, the world spun around him. Before he could even react, he was forcefully pulled into a soft, gentle embrace.

Beneath him were long, shapely legs, supple and firm, as if he were sitting on a soft white cloud.

Because he was so tense, the bottle clenched in Leng Shuang’s hand tilted, and plum wine spilled out. It dripped onto the black slit evening dress, reflecting specks of light under the lamps.

Pressed tightly against him was a tall, exquisitely curved body...

In his sight was a full, alluring swell with a proud, rounded arc...

What filled his breath was a cool, refreshing fragrance...

Leng Shuang’s mind went blank. He suddenly looked up, only to see a face of breathtaking, icy beauty.

Her phoenix eyes looked down at him from above, like a queen gazing over all beneath her...