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

“Because of me! Chen Zhe, what nonsense are you talking about!” Lin Nayeon was momentarily stunned by Chen Zhe’s answer. As she came to her senses, her cheeks flushed instantly, her voice faltered somewhat, and her hands waved nervously.

“I’m not joking at all!” Chen Zhe leaned forward slightly, gazing at Lin Nayeon with deep affection, his tone unusually sincere. His mischievous mood rising, Chen Zhe decided to play the part fully and tease Lin Nayeon a little longer.

“Ah, Chen Zhe, you must be joking!” Startled by his sudden movement, Lin Nayeon shrank back a little, leaning away from him.

“I’m not joking. I’m really interested in you, Lin Nayeon, and I want to know more about you.” Seeing her reaction, Chen Zhe felt a satisfied sense of amusement, but decided to make one last tease before reverting to his usual serious demeanor.

Just then, a cough sounded—a cough Chen Zhe recognized immediately. It seemed to remind him, “We’re still watching you, you rascal. How dare you flirt with your matchmaking partner? Are you trying to sabotage this meeting?”

“Sorry, Lin Nayeon, I was only joking earlier.” Hearing that familiar cough, Chen Zhe swallowed what he was about to say, quickly collected himself, and put on a more proper expression, his smile tinged with apology.

“So you were joking after all, Chen Zhe! You almost scared me!” Lin Nayeon breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest. She had genuinely been startled by his sudden and forceful confession. Yet, hearing that it was a joke, she felt an inexplicable twinge of disappointment.

“I’m truly sorry, Lin Nayeon. I just thought you were so adorable that it would be fun to tease you, so I couldn’t help myself.” Seeing her response, Chen Zhe realized he really had frightened her. This time, without hesitation, he lowered his head and offered a formal apology.

“It’s fine, Chen Zhe. You don’t need to be so formal!” Lin Nayeon was startled by his earnest apology. She hurried to stop him, pushing at his shoulders to make him sit upright again. After much effort that left her slightly out of breath, she finally managed to straighten him up.

“So, Nayeon, are you willing to forgive me?” As he sat upright, Chen Zhe looked at her, seizing the opportunity to ask, thick-skinned as ever.

“I forgive you.” Seeing his stubborn willingness to bow and apologize repeatedly unless she forgave him, Lin Nayeon shook her head helplessly and told him she had forgiven him.

“Oh yeah!” Hearing her forgiveness, Chen Zhe flashed a bright ‘V’ sign and a sunlit smile, so radiant that it seemed to infect Lin Nayeon herself; her previous look of helplessness faded, and the corners of her lips curled up gently.

“Chen Zhe, we’re close in age, so why don’t we speak casually instead? From now on, just call me Nayeon.” After much thought and hesitation, Lin Nayeon finally bit the bullet and voiced her suggestion. She’d heard that people from China rarely use honorifics, unlike those from South Korea, where language is riddled with elaborate forms of respect.

Besides, time was almost up. If they went home without becoming friends or exchanging contact information, it would be awkward for her to explain to her family. After weighing her options, she decided to use casual speech to bridge the gap between them and to show she didn’t mind what had just happened.

“Casual speech is great. Honestly, I’m not used to honorifics. You can just call me A-Zhe.” Hearing Nayeon bring up casual speech, Chen Zhe relaxed a little. He really wasn’t comfortable with honorifics, and using them made it harder to foster closeness.

He had been planning to suggest casual speech himself, but hadn’t expected Nayeon to bring it up first. That suited him perfectly, so he switched instantly to calling her Nayeon.

“Then from now on, I’ll call you A-Zhe!” Nayeon’s brows arched slightly, her lips curled into a smile, clearly pleased by Chen Zhe’s answer.

“Yes, Nayeon. But in Korea, I remember only friends use casual speech, right?” After a moment’s thought, Chen Zhe understood Nayeon’s intention—it matched his own: to progress their relationship, at least become friends and exchange contact information, to have something to tell their families. As for what might come next, that would depend on the future.

“Yes, most people who use casual speech are friends. But why do you ask, A-Zhe?” Sensing his intent, Nayeon raised her brows, her smile widening. Across the table, Chen Zhe could see her two little bunny teeth peeking out.

“So, does that mean we’re friends now?” Since Nayeon followed his train of thought, Chen Zhe’s smile grew even brighter. Conversing with clever people was always a pleasure—they could keep pace with you and cooperate so easily.

“I already consider you my friend, A-Zhe. Unless you don’t see me as a friend yet?” Nayeon pouted slightly, blinking her eyes and giving Chen Zhe a look of feigned pitifulness.

“Of course, I already see you as my friend, Nayeon. But maybe you’re just saying that to trick me.” Seeing her adorable, pitiful expression, Chen Zhe couldn’t help but feel an urge to tease her further.

“How could I possibly trick you, A-Zhe? I really do see you as my friend.” Sure enough, her cleverness was relative; provoked by his words, Nayeon immediately became flustered, trying to explain herself.

“But if we’re friends, we don’t have each other’s contact info. Can we still call ourselves friends?” After carefully setting it up, Chen Zhe smoothly steered the conversation toward exchanging phone numbers.

“That’s true. Without each other’s contact info, how can we be friends? A-Zhe, let’s exchange numbers!” Realizing what Chen Zhe was getting at, Nayeon nodded eagerly and urged him to take out his phone.

And so, during this four-hour French matchmaking dinner, Chen Zhe and Lin Nayeon successfully accomplished two major milestones: becoming friends and exchanging contact information. Their relationship took a significant step forward, giving them something to report to their families. As for what the future might hold, and whether things would progress quickly between them, that would be a story for another time.