Chapter 582: It Absolutely Can’t Be Red!

Chapter 582: It Absolutely Can’t Be Red!

Li Ruobing found it completely incomprehensible. If Wu Chen was telling the truth, and Xia Jinyu hadn’t worn red on the outside as he had hoped, but wore red underneath… then Xia Jinyu was simply… far too crazy!

If that was exposed, how would Xia Jinyu explain herself if she were found out? What kind of logic was going through her head?

Wu Chen was already walking forward to greet Xia Jinyu. Li Ruobing rose and hurried a step to catch up, whispering into his ear, “I don’t believe it.”

“Like I said, if you don’t believe me, find a chance to check,” Wu Chen chuckled.

The distance closed.

“Miss Xia, this way, please.” Wu Chen stopped and gestured to one side.

The three of them walked toward the private dining room.

“Mr. Wu, my apologies for not wearing red,” Xia Jinyu said, the corner of her lips curving slightly. “I hope I haven’t disappointed you.” She was not about to let anyone manipulate her so easily, even if she now regarded Wu Chen as a worthy rival—an interesting opponent.

“You didn’t?” Wu Chen’s tone took on a strange inflection that caused Xia Jinyu’s heart to tighten. His gaze traveled over her, making her breath catch for an instant, though her expression remained completely unperturbed.

“Yet you are as beautiful as ever,” Wu Chen remarked with a smile as he looked her over.

Li Ruobing felt that absurdity welling up again. She could hardly believe Wu Chen would say something like that.

“I had thought Mr. Wu would offer me more surprises—or shocks, even,” Xia Jinyu said with a faint trace of mockery. “I never expected you to resort to such low-grade, boring pleasantries.”

Li Ruobing trailed half a step behind, playing her part while scrutinizing Xia Jinyu’s attire. She couldn’t see what Xia Jinyu was wearing underneath; the dress itself was quite conservative.

“No one dislikes praise,” Wu Chen replied with an easy smile.

“Do you think compliments are something I lack?” Xia Jinyu countered.

“This is different.”

“How so?”

“I… am not like them,” Wu Chen smiled.

Li Ruobing nearly lost her poker face. She understood Wu Chen’s angle less and less. He had suddenly turned aggressively proactive, even pushy… overstepping boundaries by a slight margin, yet his words sounded utterly mundane, without any particularly clever technique.

Any normal woman might think this man was out of his mind!

And as a master of psychology who relished taking charge and seizing the initiative, how could Xia Jinyu possibly fall for this?

“Ha!” To Li Ruobing’s surprise, Xia Jinyu let out a light laugh. “Mr. Wu is indeed quite different. At least you don’t keep your thoughts hidden away.”

Chatting as they walked, the three entered the Dragon and Phoenix private room.

They took their seats.

They ordered food.

They ordered drinks.

When the server read back the order at the end, Xia Jinyu’s expression turned subtly nuanced. At least half the dishes were her personal favorites, while the other half, she could deduce, were favorites of the girl called Bingbing.

The order confirmed, the server departed, quietly pulling the door shut behind him.

“You truly know me well—even digging up my culinary preferences so thoroughly,” Xia Jinyu opened the conversation.

“When someone approaches another person with deliberate intent, doing their homework is mandatory. Without even that much sincerity, there would be no point in trying.” Wu Chen smiled, making no attempt to deny it, but then looked at her and asked, “Though, Miss Xia, do you truly believe my understanding of you could be achieved merely through the investigations you speak of?”

Xia Jinyu smiled as well.

Compared to her demeanor in the cinema, something more had appeared in her bearing—perhaps a kind of renewed vitality. In this filthy and boring world, stumbling across something genuinely fascinating was, for her, exceptionally rare.

“So what now? What trick are you going to play next?” Xia Jinyu mirrored Wu Chen’s smile, lightly propping her chin on her hand as she watched him. “Did you prepare another note?”

Wu Chen smiled and shook his head, then asked, “Professor Xia, could I borrow your phone?”

Xia Jinyu’s eyelid twitched.

A phone was a very private thing containing far too much that should never be seen by outsiders.

Even so, Xia Jinyu passed her phone over to Wu Chen.

“What’s the passcode?” Wu Chen asked as he took it.

“You don’t know?” Xia Jinyu smiled. “Aren’t you supposed to know everything? Able to guess anything, or dig it up and deduce it… Why not give it a try?”

“Back in the cinema, the lock-screen passcode Professor Xia used was likely 395461…” Wu Chen smiled.

Xia Jinyu maintained her smile.

Even though Wu Chen was correct, compared to the shocks he had delivered earlier, this was actually easier to accept. She hadn’t changed her lock-screen passcode in a very long time.

“Yet before coming over this noon, Professor Xia changed her passcode,” Wu Chen continued. “You likely decided on it by rolling dice. The new code is completely random, detached from your personality or habits… It would be impossible to guess unless I truly had you under constant surveillance.”

In truth, Wu Chen could have known it. He could simply have asked her for it, then reset the day.

But there was no need!

That would be far too exaggerated, risking associations with supernatural powers. Wu Chen knew how far Xia Jinyu would test him, and he intended to keep his abilities within reasonable limits.

Xia Jinyu’s brow arched slightly.

Wu Chen had actually deduced that she would change her passcode—and that she had rolled dice to determine the digits! She had done so, naturally, to prepare for whatever might happen; she had even envisioned a scenario in their tug-of-war where she would challenge Wu Chen to guess her passcode and beat him decisively for once. But now it seemed Wu Chen had anticipated her very thoughts!

“What’s the passcode?” Wu Chen asked her once more, already knowing she would refuse.

“I’m not telling,” Xia Jinyu’s lips curled upward. “Mr. Wu, a phone holds personal information. Since you can’t unlock it, there’s no reason for me to say, is there?”

“Let’s play a game. If I win, you tell me,” Wu Chen suggested.

“What game?” Xia Jinyu asked.

“You name it. Up to you—anything at all,” Wu Chen smiled.

“Anything at all?” The quirk of Xia Jinyu’s smile was openly strange. In that case, wouldn’t victory be guaranteed?

Listening to their exchange, Li Ruobing kept an eye on the teapot on the table.

She was already pondering when she might “accidentally” splash water onto Xia Jinyu. Xia Jinyu would have to head to the restroom to tidy up… giving Li Ruobing her chance to see what color she was wearing underneath.

She refused to believe it. It absolutely could not be red!