Chapter 163: Chapter 164: Hidden Segment
"Thea Lynch?" Seeing Thea standing there all by herself, Ian Preston paused in his steps, seemingly surprised.
Upon hearing his call, Thea instinctively stood up straight, looking at him in bewilderment.
At this moment, the music in her ears ceased to exist.
The world quieted down, just like back then; she could only hear his voice.
It wasn’t until Ian approached that Thea reacted, "Third Brother..."
His gaze swept across her face, staying for a few seconds before he asked, "Where is Silas Cheney?"
"Didn’t he come to pick you up?"
On the phone, Silas said that he would pick Thea up from the office so that they could come together.
Before coming, Ian knew nothing about this newly opened restaurant.
From the name, he assumed it was just an ordinary Western restaurant.
After all, Silas was quite familiar with these places in Coronet, and his choice of location would definitely be unquestionable.
So, Ian didn’t think much when coming here.
Nor did he check out this place.
Until he walked in.
The ground floor was decorated acceptably, not too conspicuously, but one could still sense the different atmosphere.
On the ground floor, guests had already occupied some tables. Ian glanced around, spotting that each table was configured with one man and one woman.
Apparently, all were there for candlelight dinners.
Upon going up to the second floor, the atmosphere became more pronounced, confirming his suspicion.
This was indeed a lovers’ restaurant.
The second floor seemed to be privately booked; besides the musicians and a few waiters, only Thea was there.
She seemed a bit different today, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly how.
Ian thought there might be some misunderstanding here.
"I came by myself..." Thea found a good excuse: "After work, I went straight to my apartment to change clothes. Fourth Brother said he had something to attend to and would come later, so he told me to come over first."
The play had already reached this point; there was no way not to continue.
Thea braced herself to finish it and asked Ian, "Didn’t Second Brother and Sean Bell come with you?"
"I heard Sean was at the institute this afternoon too."
"I didn’t encounter him." Ian indeed hadn’t.
The afternoon Sean was at the institute, but due to urgent work, he returned to the law office. Not long after Ian left, Sean made it back to the institute.
They perfectly missed each other, never having the chance to meet.
"I see." Thea acted as if she knew nothing, shifting her gaze from him to the table, then to the surrounding layout.
Hesitating, she asked, "So are we supposed to wait for them now?"
Ian almost had a clear idea in his head; it looked like no one else was coming tonight, except for the two of them.
How could he not understand Silas’s intentions?
But...
Feigning reluctance, he raised his chin, "Let’s sit down first."
Thea hesitated for a second before sitting down with him.
Once seated again, the feeling was completely different from before.
While waiting earlier, she hadn’t felt so nervous and restless.
Now, she was rather uneasy, especially her racing heartbeat, nearly ready to burst out.
Thea pretended to be calm as she took a sip of water, trying to soothe her emotions.
Unexpectedly, a waiter approached and asked, "May I serve the dishes now for the two of you?"
"We haven’t ordered yet," Thea replied.
"Wasn’t the order placed when reserving the table?"
The waiter looked at Ian, assuming he was the one who made the reservation.
Ian didn’t bother to explain, gesturing that they could proceed.
"Just to confirm, sir, you ordered the Lovers’ Set Menu from our restaurant, correct?"
"..."
Thea choked on a mouthful of water, luckily not spitting it out.
"Are all the set menus in your restaurant like this?" She asked softly.
The waiter didn’t quite understand which aspect of the question she meant to address, just as he was about to offer a detailed introduction, when the man told him to follow the original reservation as they didn’t need him now.
The waiter instantly comprehended.
Either the visitors here were couples or those about to be together, just a step away from being in a relationship.
Of course, providing them with a secluded space would be crucial for developing chemistry.
Once the waiter left, Thea felt even more awkward.
"Should we change to another place? This place seems a bit odd."
"It’s not odd." Ian remained calm throughout and even had the leisure to offer her a towel. "The atmosphere here is nice."
"But..."
Ian interrupted her, "Aren’t we here to eat? The focus is on eating."
Hearing this, Thea sighed in relief.
Sure enough, Ian hadn’t suspected her.
To him, all this was probably just Silas’s little game, with her as the "victim" as well.
But to be fair, she truly could be considered half a "victim." How did she fail to ask more details about the restaurant Silas picked...
She just carelessly came along.
She should have guessed.
When the appetizer was served, Thea dared not move, "Aren’t we waiting for them?"
"No need, start eating first."
Ian didn’t dare say outright that they wouldn’t come, worried that Thea might leave.
He never would have imagined that Thea also participated in setting up this "trap" today.
Throughout the process, only he was kept in the dark.
As Thea picked up her knife and fork, in the distance, a violin suddenly joined in, while the originally slow piano piece became more dynamic.
The two instruments pulling and entwining sounded like the entire love journey.
From strangers to the ripple of love at first sight, to the familiarity and probing, reaching the climax of passionate love, the rhythm alone exuded a brisk and entwined fervor.
Thea lowered her head, almost burying her face in the plate.
She had prepared herself for this, indeed. But during her mental preparations, no one had told her there would be this hidden segment!
Just so odd...
"Lower, and can this stuff still be eaten?" Ian looked at her, suddenly finding it amusing.
Only when Thea looked over did he return to his cold demeanor, lips pressed flat.
He wasn’t pretending to be aloof; mainly, he was being considerate of Thea’s fragile heart, afraid she’d feel embarrassed.
Thea chewed mechanically, her mind filled with Silas’s early morning reminders.
But now, she couldn’t relax at all.
Could the music stop for a moment?
It seemed like telepathy; eventually, Ian asked the waiter to pause the performance.
The entire second floor returned to tranquility.
"Can we eat now?" Ian asked.
"...Mm."
Later, Thea tried to relax a bit, not so tense. Right until it was about to end, and Ian paid the bill.
The waiter handed a rose to Ian along with the bill, "Sir, with the grand opening, we’re offering lovers a twenty-percent discount. Here is your bill."
"Uh, we..." Thea wanted to explain, but Ian immediately pulled out a card and handed it over.
After the waiter left, Ian handed the rose to her.
Seeing her not taking it, Ian said, "Wouldn’t it look odd if I held it?"
Only then did Thea take it, "But if I hold it, doesn’t it confirm the relationship he mistakenly thought we have? Why didn’t Third Brother explain earlier?"
"Did you not hear just now?"
"What?"
The man replied indifferently, "Couples’ twenty-percent discount."
Thea: "..."
