Middle-aged Love Patch

Youyuan was nowhere to be seen, and Shi Yue wasn’t answering her phone. The table full of dishes had gone cold, and neither had shown up yet. Shi Ye had a sinking feeling in her gut.

Had they actually run into each other?

Running into each other wasn’t the problem. The real concern was Youyuan’s temper—if she lost it in public and made a scene, and some lurking phone cameras caught it all, that would be a disaster.

While Shi Ye was worrying, Xu Youyuan and Shi Yue had already arrived at the entrance of Bo'ao Pavilion. Just as they were about to step inside, one after the other, Youyuan, who had been silent for a while, stopped Shi Yue.

“I’ll go in first. You come in five minutes later.” Youyuan spoke like an emotionless assassin. If Shi Yue dared to say “no,” she’d probably stab her in the heart with the car keys in her hand.

“Okay~” Shi Yue stuck to her obedient persona, standing still and watching as Youyuan entered the restaurant.

Youyuan couldn’t be bothered to wonder what other schemes Shi Yue had up her sleeve. She turned and walked away without another word.

She was Shi Ye’s little sister—what reason did Youyuan have to object to her joining the dinner? Of course, she wouldn’t openly pick a fight with Shi Yue. Pretending they weren’t familiar and keeping up the facade of having no connection at all was the best approach.

Don’t look, don’t listen, don’t engage. Youyuan had used these three ironclad rules in the workplace to fend off countless oblivious and persistent people.

As long as she kept her defenses up, how could this little brat possibly break through?

When Youyuan finally appeared in the private room, everyone shouted in unison: “Finally gracing us with your presence, Birdie! Where’ve you been? Gone all night!”

“Took forever to find parking. Why wait for me? You should’ve started without me.”

Youyuan deliberately sat as far from Shi Ye as possible, taking the seat next to Gan to avoid ending up beside Shi Yue later.

Gan was sitting by the door, and Youyuan had chosen the spot out of convenience. No one found it strange.

“Alright, server,” Gan spoke into the intercom. “You can bring out the second round of dishes now.”

A voice responded, “Understood.”

As steaming hot dishes were served, the atmosphere of a gathering finally settled in. Youyuan casually steered the conversation toward gossip about Cang Lu, and soon everyone was deep in discussion. Youyuan sipped hot water, relieved.

“Wait, didn’t you run into Shi Yue?”

Jiang Yun, still concerned about Shi Yue’s absence, forcibly dragged the topic back.

Youyuan cursed inwardly but kept her expression perfectly calm, feigning ignorance flawlessly. “Hm? Who?”

“Shi Yue,” Jiang Yun said. “Shi Ye’s little sister. Wasn’t she supposed to come with you?”

“Didn’t see her.” She kept her answer short—the more she said, the more suspicious it might seem.

Jiang Yun didn’t press further. While she directed the servers on where to place each dish, Shi Yue finally walked in.

Jiang Yun let out an intrigued “Huh?” and the room immediately buzzed with energy.

Youyuan, nibbling on a cold appetizer, didn’t need to turn around to know who had arrived.

She subtly glanced at the digital clock on the wall—exactly five minutes since she’d entered.

Annoying brat, but surprisingly obedient.

Jiang Yun was especially enthusiastic about Shi Yue, standing up to usher her to a seat beside her, asking if she preferred sour or spicy flavors. Her eyes practically glued to Shi Yue’s youthful face, she might as well have wagged a wolf’s tail and drooled.

Shi Yue didn’t show the slightest impatience, answering every question Jiang Yun threw at her.

But she wasn’t particularly engaged either—aside from responding, she didn’t volunteer a single extra word.

After a while of lukewarm responses, Jiang Yun, unable to spark any real energy, dragged Youyuan back into the spotlight:

“Hey, you two came in one after the other and somehow didn’t run into each other?”

Jiang Yun’s remark had been casual, but it struck a nerve.

Everyone present was in their thirties—whether they were mature or not was debatable, but they’d all been through their fair share of messy romantic entanglements. They’d seen all kinds of ambiguous situations.

The way both parties involved stayed silent, with Shi Yue staring longingly at Youyuan’s profile as she buried herself in her soup, only made the word “predator” flash in everyone’s minds.

Jiang Yun looked between Shi Yue and Youyuan. “You two…?”

Youyuan continued to play dead, while Shi Yue—either incredibly naive or with a death wish—answered bluntly:

“Youyuan-jie told me to wait five minutes before coming in.”

The entire room took a sharp breath, instantly catching the stench of romantic tension.

“Ugh—cough, cough, cough—!” Youyuan choked on her soup, nearly sending it up her nose. Tears welled in her eyes from the coughing fit.

Jiang Yun and Gan exchanged a glance, then simultaneously stood up, vacating the two middle seats to make room for the “new couple,” moving to sit elsewhere.

Shi Yue watched them in confusion, completely oblivious to what was happening.

“Go sit next to your Birdie-jie.” Jiang Yun, having found a new source of entertainment, immediately started arranging things.

Youyuan tried to speak but only coughed harder, unable to get a single coherent word out.

Shi Yue obediently took the seat beside Youyuan, dutifully patting her back and handing her tissues—the very picture of a devoted partner.

The friends at the table, their gossip instincts in overdrive, immediately turned on Shi Ye, demanding she explain what was going on with her sister. “We’re all friends here, why keep secrets?”

Youyuan had made Shi Ye swear not to say anything—aside from pride, there were probably other considerations. A little harmless teasing was fine, but this was getting out of hand.

Shi Ye didn’t dare say a word, shooting Youyuan an apologetic look.

Youyuan, of course, didn’t take her frustration out on Shi Yue. Losing her temper at a kid over an exposed secret? That was beneath her.

She didn’t bother explaining either. Whatever. Call her a predator or shameless—it didn’t matter. The day their relationship came to light would be the day it ended anyway. They barely had any connection to begin with. The sooner everyone got their fun out of this, the sooner it’d be over. Good riddance.

Youyuan tossed the tissues aside and straightened up, ready to dismiss the whole ridiculous mess with a sentence or two.

Before she could speak, Shi Yue cut in at the perfect moment, smoothly explaining:

“Sorry, everyone, my bad. Actually, I came on my own electric bike and just happened to run into Youyuan-jie at the entrance. I waved at her, but she didn’t see me. I got petty and decided to play a joke. Don’t tease her anymore, or she’ll really get mad at me—and then my sister will kill me.”

Shi Yue delivered the excuse with such sincerity that everyone bought it. Jiang Yun rolled her eyes. “Ugh, and here I thought I had a scandal to dissect for the next month.”

“If you want gossip, I’ve got plenty.” Shi Yue took a sip of her drink and spent the next half-hour firing off one wild story after another—some from her own study abroad experiences, others just rumors—about all kinds of elites and famous figures.

Shi Yue was a master storyteller, setting up suspense, dropping punchlines, and keeping everyone in stitches. No one dared take a sip of their drinks, afraid they’d end up coughing like Youyuan.

Even Shi Ye was surprised to see her sister talk so much. When Shi Yue had first gone abroad, she’d been a quiet kid. Apparently, living overseas really changed people. Shi Yue was practically a different person now—eloquent and quick-witted. That had to be a good thing… right?

Shi Ye realized she might not know her own sister as well as she thought.

Shi Yue kept the conversation lively with her animated storytelling, and the private room buzzed with energy. Everyone enjoyed the dishes while listening to her tales, and by the time the second round of food arrived, several people had already eaten to their fill without realizing it.

Xu Youyuan sipped on a glass of plum wine, observing the flushed cheeks of the aunties around her. The atmosphere was excellent—Shi Yue was undoubtedly a master at steering the mood.

The way their eyes lingered on the young woman made it clear: Shi Yue was someone who naturally drew affection.

And yet...

Xu Youyuan took another sip of wine, pretending to glance casually at the clock on the wall before letting her gaze linger just a fraction longer on Shi Yue’s face.

She could tell—though everyone else was happy, Shi Yue’s smile was forced.

Xu Youyuan wouldn’t claim to know her well, but she had encountered enough people in her life to recognize sincerity from pretense.

Shi Yue was working hard to amuse others while hiding her own unhappiness.

And the reason for that unhappiness? Xu Youyuan wasn’t foolish enough to feign ignorance. She understood.

Downing the rest of her wine in one go, Xu Youyuan felt something unexpected stir within her—an unintended consequence.

It was frustrating, but she couldn’t deny the twisted satisfaction that stubbornly took root.

A pang of guilt followed.

The long day was finally coming to an end. Though their friends, full and content, didn’t want the rare weekend gathering to end so soon, exhaustion was setting in. Better to call it a night before they pushed their luck.

As the group dispersed outside, Shi Ye finally seized the chance to sidle up to Xu Youyuan and whisper that Shi Yue might have overheard their entire restroom conversation at the café earlier.

Xu Youyuan’s face contorted. **“She heard everything?”**

Shi Ye glanced at Shi Yue, who was standing in the courtyard chatting with Jiang Yun, and nodded.

**“And you’re only telling me now?”**

**“I couldn’t find the right moment!”**

Xu Youyuan mentally replayed the entire conversation between herself and Shi Ye. Some of it had been truthful, but there had also been little white lies—self-serving ones. Whether true or not, if Shi Yue had caught even a fraction of it, the sheer embarrassment was enough to make her want to bash her head against the ground until she lost all memory of it.

Enough. There was no point dwelling on it. From the very beginning, her attempt to rekindle the thrill of romance in the virtual world had been a mistake.

It was her own fault. She had no one else to blame.

She hadn’t known the person on the other end was Shi Yue, just as Shi Yue hadn’t expected her dating partner to be Xu Youyuan. They’d both been blindly seeking fun—just a coincidence. What was there to be dramatic about?

She’d find a chance to talk it over properly with the kid over a meal, and that would be the end of it.

As Xu Youyuan bid everyone farewell, her phone vibrated in her pocket.

Pulling it out, she saw a voice message and a link from the sender **"Plasma Flower Cream Cake"**—the handle they’d exchanged during their offline rendezvous, which she hadn’t gotten around to deleting yet.

She glanced up. About ten meters away, Shi Yue was still chatting with Shi Ye, Jiang Yun, and the others, but her eyes flicked toward Xu Youyuan with deliberate nonchalance.

Xu Youyuan pressed the phone to her ear.

**"Plasma Flower Cream Cake"** spoke in a voice message:

*"Doing it with a kid—guiding her, leading her, teaching her every step of the way."*

The words sounded familiar. Xu Youyuan frowned, then remembered—this was exactly what she’d said to Shi Ye in private! That little brat had definitely...

The message continued:

*"A complete mess. That’s how you described it to my sister, right? Seems like I should help jiejie jog her memory. Click the link below to revisit the real scene. Don’t worry—it’s not a recording."*

Xu Youyuan gripped her phone tightly, glaring at Shi Yue. Under the night sky, the woman looked nothing like the charming, eloquent storyteller from earlier. With narrowed eyes and a smirk, her cold, triumphant, almost wicked expression mirrored the vampire persona she’d adopted in the *Dark Box* app.

If it wasn’t a recording, then what was it?

Xu Youyuan swore she wasn’t clicking out of nostalgia—she was purely motivated by curiosity, determined to uncover whatever trick Shi Yue was playing.

What else could recreate the *real scene* besides a recording?

The phone took two seconds to load before redirecting to a user review section.

At the very top was an **"Anonymous User"** review, but Xu Youyuan recognized every word—she had typed them herself after their first passionate encounter.

**Anonymous User:**

*"This is a cake worth savoring—sweet without being cloying, impeccable in every detail of the date. Though some of their mischievous quirks may seem unfriendly at first, you’ll later realize they add a unique charm (laughs).*

*"And if you’re lucky enough to unlock the adult expansion pack, you’ll discover even more layers to explore.*

*"Their performance in bed is nothing short of dominant—technically flawless, remarkably skilled, with stamina that puts most to shame. User experience: five stars, highly recommended…"*

Xu Youyuan nearly dropped her phone.

There were over a hundred more words of shameless praise—she couldn’t bear to read another line.

Clearly, someone had no intention of letting this matter fade away.