Chapter Seventeen: Prelude to the Blind Date-Starlight Shines on the Peninsula(A traveler in a green robe wanders through misty mountains veiled in rain.)

"Alright, enough with the endless pleasantries." Seeing that Chen Zhe was still preparing to exchange courtesies with Irene and Seulgi, Chen Yuqi quickly waved her hand, interrupting their polite back-and-forth—after all, she didn't have that much time to waste here.

"Well then, Miss Bae Joo-hyun, Miss Kang Seul-gi, I'll return the stage to you. Goodbye!" At his sister's words, Chen Zhe halted his bow, smiled at the two women, greeted them, then picked up the shopping bags from his sister's hand and hurried off with her.

"Chen Zhe really is an interesting person," Seulgi muttered softly as she watched the siblings depart, her curiosity evidently piqued by his performance.

"What did you just say, Seulgi?" Still lost in the lingering aftertaste of Chen Zhe's "Melody," Irene hadn't quite caught her friend’s quiet words and asked in confusion.

"Nothing, it's nothing!" Seulgi quickly denied, brushing off the question as if she hadn’t said anything at all.

Unaware that his singing and songwriting ability had already caught the attention of a certain girl, Chen Zhe followed his sister away, oblivious to the stir he'd caused.

After Chen Zhe’s departure, the audience wasted no time uploading their videos of his performance to their respective YouTube channels. Before long, a wave named "Melody" swept through the site, bringing Chen Zhe a sudden surge of popularity and attention.

——— Dinner Time ———

Time slipped forward to dinner. After their shopping was done, Chen Yuqi and Chen Zhe returned to the hotel and chose to dine in the hotel’s restaurant. They had invited a guest to join them, and to better protect their privacy, it seemed wise to stay within the hotel.

"Sooyoung, it’s been so long!" As a woman in a mask and glasses walked toward their table, Chen Zhe, who’d been idly resting his chin on his hand, immediately stood and greeted her. Although Choi Sooyoung was in disguise, after a moment's careful observation, Chen Zhe recognized her.

"Ah Zhe, it really has been a while! Let me have a good look at you—well, you’ve grown taller, stronger too, and you’ve turned into quite the handsome young man." Standing before him, Sooyoung realized with a start that the boy who’d once been half a head shorter than her now stood half a head taller. She noted his broader frame with satisfaction, nodding in approval.

"Oh, stop it. Didn’t I just send you his photo a few days ago? You already know what he looks like now, so there’s no need for theatrics!" Chen Yuqi rolled her eyes at Sooyoung’s words, not hesitating to call out her best friend for putting on a show.

"Come on, it’s just a customary compliment—he is our Ah Zhe, after all." Unfazed by Yuqi’s retort, Sooyoung sat down, removed her disguise, and continued chatting with a cheerful smile.

"Hey, Choi Sooyoung! What do you mean 'our Ah Zhe'? He’s my little brother!" Hearing Sooyoung claim him as her own, Chen Yuqi shot her friend an annoyed look, staking her claim without hesitation.

"Isn’t your brother my brother too? Given the relationship between our families, not to mention our own, it’s only natural for me to call him my little brother as well." Although she knew Yuqi was rather protective of her brother, Sooyoung hadn’t expected quite such a reaction. She softened her smile slightly but kept her tone gentle.

Watching this exchange, Chen Zhe shook his head in resignation, sat back down, and sipped his juice, ready to enjoy the spectacle of their friendly squabble.

"Alright, enough nonsense. How are the arrangements coming along?" Chen Yuqi, still a little emotional after Chen Zhe’s "Melody," realized her own loss of composure. She quickly steered the conversation back on track, offering Sooyoung an apologetic smile before refocusing on the matter at hand.

"Everything’s set. The Lin family’s parents have agreed; they’ve already persuaded their daughter. The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow—I’ll send you the location in a bit." Since she didn’t have a drink at hand, Sooyoung reached for Yuqi’s juice, stirred it with a straw, took a satisfied sip, and let out a contented sigh.

"Good. I’ll make sure Ah Zhe is properly dressed for tomorrow." Chen Yuqi, accustomed to her friend’s habits, paid no mind to the stolen drink and simply signaled for the waiter to bring her another.

"Wait—what does this have to do with me?" Prepared only to be an onlooker, Chen Zhe was suddenly left bewildered, question marks crowding his thoughts. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out how this involved him.

"Of course, it concerns you. This whole arrangement is for your blind date," Yuqi said, the corners of her mouth curling into a knowing smile, her tone matter-of-fact.

Chen Zhe, in the middle of another sip, choked on his juice at his sister’s words, spraying it out in shock and erupting into a violent coughing fit. He’d never imagined that the story he’d been following would turn out to be his own.

"Cough, cough… Sis, you must be joking. I’m still so young, and you’re already setting me up on a blind date? Do Mom and Dad know about this?" After a bout of coughing, and with his sister and Sooyoung coming over to pat his back, Chen Zhe finally managed to recover. The moment he caught his breath, he stared incredulously at his sister, demanding an explanation.

"I’m not joking at all. Another reason for bringing you to Korea was to arrange this blind date. Mom and Dad are well aware of it—otherwise, why do you think your holiday was extended? It’s just a meeting: if you get along, you can get engaged when you’re both of age. No one’s asking you to marry right now, so your age isn’t an issue." Seeing his disbelief, Yuqi’s tone remained perfectly reasonable.

In truth, her initial intention had simply been to bring her brother for a trip, with the blind date as a mere formality. But after what had happened that morning, she’d made up her mind to fully support her brother in this meeting and do her best to see it through.

"So I’m the only one kept in the dark? And who’s this blind date with?" Chen Zhe’s irritation flared at having been set up without his knowledge, but realizing he had little choice, he began plotting how he might sabotage this arrangement.

"Don’t even think about ruining it. If you try something like that, you won’t want to know the consequences," Yuqi said coldly, sensing his intentions from the way his eyes darted about.

"Your date," Sooyoung explained, "is the eldest daughter of the president of a company that works with both our families. Her family isn’t quite as wealthy as yours, but they’re very respectable, and she’s only a year older than you. Her name is Im Nayeon."