"Heh, it's nothing..."
Su Zhiyi suppressed her wildly pounding heart and quickly composed herself. She curled her lips into a smile at Si Yanjing as if nothing had happened.
She withdrew her smile, lowered her eyes, and took another bite of the beef on her plate.
But the beef now tasted like wax, losing its previous deliciousness.
She could eat well with Si Yanjing's face, she could eat well with Su Qinghuai's face, and she could still eat well with Song Lian's face.
But with all three men's faces at once, no matter how delicious or expensive the food, she couldn't swallow another bite.
The more Su Zhiyi thought about it, the more annoyed she became.
She irritably put down her knife and fork, then looked up, only to meet Su Qinghuai's frosty eyes again, chilling her to the bone.
Meanwhile, Song Lian, seated beside Su Qinghuai, lounged lazily with a gentle smile on his face. He casually raised his hand and waved at her.
Su Qinghuai's thoughts were written all over his face, but Song Lian's were hidden, still as relaxed as when he usually greeted her.
Su Zhiyi's face stiffened, and she lowered her eyes again, not daring to look up at the two of them.
The restaurant appeared calm on the surface, but undercurrents surged beneath.
Each of the four was lost in their own thoughts.
Seeing this, System 030 sounded a level-one alarm.
"Ahhh—"
It was panicking.
Though it wasn't the one caught in the love triangle, it was nervous for Su Zhiyi.
"How did those two get here?! When did they arrive?! Why are they sitting together?!"
"H-Host, what do we do?!"
System 030 was on the verge of tears.
It hadn't had enough time in this world.
The early deception had gone so well. The host had worked so hard to maintain relationships with these three men, and this was their closest chance to the million-dollar prize...
How could this...
The system's sobbing, mixed with the faint alarm, echoed in Su Zhiyi's mind, giving her a headache.
She closed her eyes and raised a hand to rub her throbbing temples: "Disconnect first."
"Host..." System 030 sniffled softly. "Have you figured out a way to handle this? Do you need my help? I know I'm not much use, but maybe I can be of some use..."
Su Zhiyi knew perfectly well that her system was useless.
She sighed inwardly and assigned System 030 the simplest task imaginable: "Disconnect now and go investigate next month's charity gala for me."
"Reconnect at eight tomorrow morning and tell me what you find. I'll need it."
"But..."
"It's okay."
Fearing the system's worry, she reassured it: "I can handle this kind of situation."
"It's just a little love triangle—three men eating together, not like I'm dating all three at once."
"It's fine, it's fine."
She chanted this in her mind, as if comforting the system and herself at the same time.
Su Zhiyi's words were convincing, but Si Yanjing, usually so easy to fool, was for once not deceived.
He put down his knife and fork, losing all appetite.
"Are you sure it's nothing?"
He looked at her evasive, flickering eyes with concern.
"You keep looking behind me. Is there something back there..."
Before Su Zhiyi could come up with an excuse to fool him, Si Yanjing seemed to sense something and turned around to look.
Su Zhiyi was startled and quickly grabbed his hand, trying to stop him from turning.
"Don't—"
Her intervention came too late. Not only did Si Yanjing turn around, but he also saw Song Lian and Su Qinghuai.
It's over.
Su Zhiyi deflated like a leaky balloon, all strength leaving her body.
She released Si Yanjing's hand, propped her forehead on her palm, and murmured to herself in a voice only she could hear: "This is just awful..."
The three men locked eyes in the restaurant.
Su Qinghuai, who already wore a cold expression toward Su Zhiyi, was even less polite to Si Yanjing. His features hardened further, jealousy and hatred written all over his face.
His gaze seemed to shoot icy shards into Si Yanjing's bewildered eyes, as if he loathed Si Yanjing to the core.