Chapter 55: The Barbecue Wait and a Sister’s Revealing Slip

“There’s nothing different, really. Sister, you get flustered too easily.”

“Come on, if we’re late, we might not get a table again.”

Liu Xingluo urged Liu Ruyan to hurry.

The restaurant they planned to visit today was the popular barbecue joint they hadn’t managed to get into the day before yesterday.

Last time, their late arrival had prevented them from dining there.

If they missed out again this time, Liu Xingluo felt she would regret it for the rest of her life.

“Alright, alright, let’s go.”

Pressed by Liu Xingluo’s insistence, Liu Ruyan could only acquiesce, agreeing to try their luck at the barbecue restaurant to see if they could secure a table this time.

However, she harbored a strong suspicion that it would be another futile attempt.

After all, with a restaurant so incredibly popular, how could securing a table be an easy feat?

As expected, by the time they arrived at the barbecue restaurant, there were no available tables inside; more precisely, there were no two-seater tables.

Had they managed to find two more people, they could have taken an empty four-seater booth.

Yet, at this moment, finding two additional companions was an equally perplexing problem.

In her current state, Liu Xingluo dared not call any of her friends over.

Moreover, if she were to call two people now, it would be difficult to persuade them unless she offered to treat them unilaterally.

“Forget it, Sis. How about we wait here for a bit? Maybe a two-seater will open up soon.”

After a moment of consideration, Liu Xingluo resolved to wait.

While they had given up and gone elsewhere last time due to the lack of tables, she was utterly unwilling to concede this time.

Given that she might be leaving tomorrow, missing this evening’s meal meant she might never get another chance to savor it.

“Alright, then we’ll just wait outside for a while.”

Liu Ruyan concurred with the suggestion.

Having arrived earlier than their previous attempt, there weren’t many people waiting outside, meaning their turn to enter would likely come soon.

Even setting aside the possibility of Liu Xingluo departing tomorrow, the restaurant itself was incredibly popular, making the time spent patiently waiting for a meal there entirely worthwhile.

Half an hour elapsed in this manner of waiting.

Liu Ruyan was already starting to feel lightheaded from hunger, yet their turn still hadn’t arrived.

“Sis, if it’s too much, let’s go eat somewhere else. You look like you won’t last until it’s our turn.”

Noticing Liu Ruyan’s increasingly poor condition, Liu Xingluo decided it might be best to give up.

She couldn’t bear to see her sister suffer, especially on her account.

It was just a barbecue meal; if they missed it, they missed it.

Her sister’s well-being was paramount.

“It’s fine, it’s nothing serious. I can still hold on.”

“If I can’t even endure this little wait, how will I enjoy the barbecue when it finally comes?”

“Besides, keeping my stomach hungry will only make the barbecue taste even more delicious later.”

It was merely a touch of hunger, not enough to make her faint; this level of discomfort was hardly anything to her.

“It’s alright, I can still persevere.”

“Are you really okay, Sister? You look quite unwell already.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Moreover, we’ve already waited for half an hour; giving up now would mean all our efforts were in vain, wouldn’t it?”

“If it were you, Xiao Luo, would you be willing to give up here? You wouldn’t, would you?”

Indeed.

Having already invested half an hour of their time, abandoning their wait at this point would be far too late; if they were going to give up, they should have done so much earlier.

‘But seriously, the people inside must be incredibly slow eaters. Half an hour has passed, and still no two-seater tables have opened up. If only there was a way to forcibly make a two-seater available.’

Though not experiencing hunger herself, Liu Xingluo had grown somewhat impatient after waiting outside for half an hour.

“Excuse me, young ladies, would you be willing to share a table with us?”

“We’re also a pair, but we haven’t been able to get a table and have been waiting outside just like you.”

“If you’re willing to share, we could go in and take a four-seater right away.”

Just then, a young man approached Liu Xingluo, asking if they would like to share a table.

Of course, his reason for approaching Liu Xingluo wasn’t merely to share a table; more significantly, he desired to get acquainted with the beautiful young lady.

Perhaps through this meal, they could introduce themselves, grow familiar, and eventually become friends.

And, in due time, their relationship might evolve beyond mere friendship.

“No need, thank you. I don’t have a habit of sharing tables with strangers.”

Being a man herself (TL Note: While Liu Xingluo currently presents as female, her internal thoughts acknowledge her original male gender.), how could Liu Xingluo not discern the man’s true intentions in striking up a conversation with her?

Sharing a table was merely an excuse to engage her in conversation.

Even if they genuinely shared a table, he would undoubtedly find a way to obtain her contact information in the end.

Thus, without a second thought, Liu Xingluo directly declined his invitation.

“Huh? Such a quick refusal? You could at least consider it, couldn’t you?”

“If you were willing to share a table, you wouldn’t have to keep waiting outside.”

Despite being rejected, the young man clearly had no intention of giving up so easily.

After all, this was a rare opportunity to meet a beautiful girl; how could he let it slip away so readily?

“No, really, thank you. I genuinely have no intention of sharing a table with anyone.”

‘What is wrong with this guy? Haven’t I already rejected his invitation? Why is he still pestering me? Does he not understand what I’m saying?’

Suppressing her growing irritation, Liu Xingluo, still with a polite smile, reiterated her refusal.

“Alright then. If you’re unwilling to share, that’s fine.”

“But would the young lady be willing to give me her contact information?”

“If you ever want to come back for barbecue here in the future, I can help make a reservation in advance, so you won’t have to wait outside.”

Though met with successive rejections, the prospect of potentially befriending this beautiful girl in the future prevented him from giving up so easily.

“No, thank you. I won’t be coming to this barbecue restaurant again.”

“I merely heard that it was very popular, so I specifically came to try it out.”

‘This person is truly annoying. All I wanted was to eat some barbecue here, yet I’ve stumbled into such a troublesome situation. If I had known this would happen, I should have transformed back (TL Note: Implies Liu Xingluo is in a transformed state, likely gender-swapped.) before coming here.’

While Liu Xingluo had anticipated that going out in a girl’s appearance might bring some trouble, it was only when she truly encountered the persistent harassment of these ‘creepy guys’ (TL Note: A literal translation of ‘下头男’ might be ‘low-head man’ or ‘man who brings things down,’ but ‘creepy guy’ or ‘annoying guy’ better conveys the intended meaning in this context.) that she realized her earlier thoughts had been far too naive.

“It’s no problem. If you want to eat at another restaurant, I can help with reservations there too.”

“Listen to me,” Liu Ruyan interjected, unable to stand by while her younger sister was being pestered.

“My younger brother — she’s already made it so obvious, and you still don’t understand? She simply doesn’t want to give you her contact information.”

Having remained silent until now, Liu Ruyan, unable to tolerate her younger sister being flirted with, finally spoke up to help Liu Xingluo.

However, feeling lightheaded from hunger, she spoke without thinking, inadvertently revealing a truly astonishing fact.