Mistaken Canary Chapter 49 (Part 1)
Chapter 49.1
"You know where they are?" Zhuo Shu touched the wound at the corner of his mouth.
"I don't know. It's all your fault—otherwise, I wouldn’t have lost track of them." Zheng Zhinan lightly brushed his fingers against the bruise at the corner of his eye. "But I have an organization that can find out immediately."
"You have an organization that powerful?"
Zheng Zhinan pulled out his phone and opened the class group chat.
"The post has already gone viral. There must be people nearby who saw them." Zheng Zhinan analyzed as he carefully scrolled through the messages. "Okay, I was wrong. There’s no news at all!"
"Do you know which restaurant they might have gone to?" Zhuo Shu asked.
"Let me think..." Zheng Zhinan recalled. "Oh, right! A couple of days ago, Sheng Wu was asking around the office for good restaurants nearby because she wanted to treat someone to a meal. Ms. Fu recommended a trendy restaurant, saying it was perfect for private conversations."
A trendy restaurant nearby...
Zhuo Shu’s expression stiffened. "It couldn’t be that place, could it?"
"Where?"
"Follow me."
Zheng Zhinan ran after Zhuo Shu for a while, panting. "Hey, I swear you look really familiar. And watching you run just now—it’s even more familiar. Who the hell are you?"
Zhuo Shu adjusted his sunglasses and switched to speed walking.
Zheng Zhinan: "…Oh, so you just have to show off all your hidden talents, huh?"
Before long, parkgoers witnessed two amateur race walkers sashaying their way out of the park gates.
Upon reaching the pastel-pink-themed restaurant, Zhuo Shu peered through the glass doors and saw Ying Tongchen and Sheng Wu sitting by the window, chatting and laughing. Internally, he was on the verge of collapse, but outwardly, he had to maintain his composure. He lowered his voice. "Let's find whoever's first in line and offer them a high price for their spot."
"Got it." Zheng Zhinan brooded. Biting on handkerchief.jpg
The two slipped through a side entrance. As they neared their targets, they immediately crouched low, sneaking over to a neighboring table. Thankfully, the partition completely blocked them from view.
The waitress in a pink apron approached with a smile. Seeing the two men plastered against the wooden partition, she cleared her throat and asked, "Hello, may I take your order?"
Without even glancing at the menu, Zhuo Shu altered his voice and said, "Two ‘Love is the Medium’ sets."
"Understood."
Zheng Zhinan was horrified. He leaned in and whispered, "Why the heck are you ordering ‘Love is the Medium’ with me?!"
"Never mind that—it’s the restaurant's signature dish." Zhuo Shu continued eavesdropping.
Next door, laughter suddenly erupted, the atmosphere undeniably warm.
Sheng Wu chuckled, "I just remembered when I first joined the school, Mr. Zheng used to bring us breakfast. He’d give me a single pork bun while all the good stuff went to you."
Zhuo Shu’s brow twitched. He grabbed Zheng Zhinan’s collar and whispered menacingly, "No wonder so many students ship you two. Turns out, you were the punk acting without restraint."
"Tongchen eats more than Sheng Wu, so what's wrong with giving him a little more?" Zheng Zhinan replied, utterly baffled. "I was just being considerate of them both, so why are they laughing at me?"
Beyond the partition, Ying Tongchen chuckled. "Perhaps he thinks I eat more than you do."
Zheng Zhinan, deeply moved, gave him a thumbs-up. "See? Tongchen really understands me."
Zhuo Shu ground his teeth in frustration.
On the other side, Sheng Wu sighed. "Ah, what an idiot."
Zheng Zhinan turned to Zhuo Shu and whispered, "Who's she calling an idiot? Me or Tongchen?"
Zhuo Shu: "You, obviously."
Zheng Zhinan: QAQ
"I suddenly lost my appetite." Zheng Zhinan slumped over the table in sorrow.
"Me too, let's go."
Just as the two were about to step out the door, a waiter stopped them. "Sir, your dishes haven’t all been served yet. If you're leaving, you’ll need to settle the bill first."
Several customers turned to look, assuming someone was trying to skip out on the check.
The two quickly turned their backs and hurried to the front counter to pay.
"Huh? That guy just slid a mask on—is he embarrassed?" Sheng Wu giggled.
Ying Tongchen glanced over, his gaze lingering briefly on the tall and burly figure before shifting to the masked man’s tall and well-proportioned back. A thought crossed his mind, and a glimmer of amusement appeared in his eyes.
Sheng Wu: "What should we do after this meal?"
Ying Tongchen: "Let's go watch a movie."
Sheng Wu paused briefly, nodding to indicate her agreement, yet she couldn't fathom why he had suddenly raised his voice, as if concerned she wouldn’t hear him.
It wasn’t just her. She suspected even the corners of the restaurant had heard him. Teasing, she said, "Teachers really do work their voices. Every sentence has to be loud enough for everyone to hear."
Ying Tongchen chuckled softly and adjusted his glasses. "Mm, hurry up and eat before it gets cold."
Outside the restaurant, Zheng Zhinan hung his head in dejection. "Sigh, I’m going home."
"Go home? No can do." Zhuo Shu, walking ahead, stopped at the corner. "Didn't you hear them say they're going to watch a movie?"
"Yeah, they're going to the movies… That pretty much seals the deal, doesn't it?" Zheng Zhinan slumped like a little mushroom in the corner. "A perfect match—talented man, beautiful woman, a union made in heaven."
"Nonsense." Zhuo Shu took the mask off the dispirited mushroom and looked at him intently. "Listen to me, man. You're the most handsome one here. That woman will only be truly happy with you. You can't give up now—victory is right in front of you!"
Zheng Zhinan: "R–Really?"
"Of course! You have to believe in yourself." Zhuo Shu closed his eyes and sincerely fibbed. "You're a thousand—no, ten thousand times more handsome than Ying Tongchen!"
"Honestly, I've always thought so too, but no one's ever told me that to my face before. You really get me!" Zheng Zhinan, moved to the core, pulled him into a close clinch and affectionately patted him several times on the back. "Thank you!"
Zhuo Shu's mouth twitched. He was just about to push him away when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ying Tongchen and Sheng Wu walking in their direction. Startled, he immediately slapped the mask back onto Zheng Zhinan’s face and pressed down on his head to keep him from turning around.
"I think I just heard someone say your name..." Sheng Wu muttered. As they turned the corner, they were met with the sight of those two men locked in an embrace. Her face blushed as she mumbled, "Are they a couple?"
Ying Tongchen cast a sinister glance at the close couple, his voice chillingly sharp. "Probably. A perfect match."
Zhuo Shu: "..." No! My dear, let me explain!
Zheng Zhinan was about to cry.
As soon as the other two got into the elevator, Zhuo Shu and Zheng Zhinan sprang apart like they had been shot out of a cannon, instantly putting several meters between them.
Zheng Zhinan warily shielded his chest. "I almost forgot you like men."
"Don't worry, you're way too exceptional. I wouldn't dare aim that high."
"True. Someone like you could only ever fall for a guy like Tongchen."
"Mm, you’re absolutely right."
Like nothing had happened, the two resumed tailing them to the movie theater. After buying the tickets, Zheng Zhinan squatted in a corner, muttering to himself, "Why are they watching a horror movie? And in 3D?"
"You don’t get it. This is exactly the kind of atmosphere you need. When the horror movie scares the girl senseless, that’s when you pull her into your arms like a real man and say, ‘Don’t be afraid, I got you baby’." Zhuo Shu explained confidently.
"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant." Zheng Zhinan suddenly saw the light. "With how sharp you are, I bet you could definitely win Tongchen over."
"My thoughts exactly."
The two exchanged a kindred quiet high-five.
"They're starting the ticket check. We’ll slip in at the last moment," Zheng Zhinan said. The two donned their 3D glasses.
+1 Disguise.
Five minutes later, they finally got up from their hiding spot, ignoring the curious glances from the other waiting moviegoers, and strolled to the ticket checkpoint.
Just as they took a couple of steps, Zheng Zhinan’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and his eyes widened slightly. "You go ahead, I need to hit the restroom."
"Alright."