The owner also handed the two of them their menus.
Lucas sat to one side with his arms crossed, too lazy to even look at the menu. In any case, Luo Ran knew what he liked to eat.
While Luo Ran was ordering, the proprietress enthusiastically introduced the place. “Our restaurant is actually a very famous check-in spot! Lots of friends, couples, and married couples come here to take commemorative photos. Would you two like to give it a try as well?”
She pointed to one of the walls on the ground floor, which was covered with countless little photographs, densely packed together, along with lots of handwritten quotes and doodles.
It was a little cluttered, but very cozy.
“Taking a check-in photo is easy. We have plenty of places where you can take pictures. All you need to do is take one together!” the proprietress said. “If you take a photo here, would you mind if I uploaded it online for promotional purposes?”
Luo Ran: “…”
Luo Ran felt a little helpless, but he didn’t particularly mind. News that he and Lucas had come here had probably already spread, so one more photograph wouldn’t make much difference.
“So… would you like to use our camera for your commemorative photo?” The proprietress smiled at Lucas, asking for his opinion.
Lucas wasn’t particularly interested. He pointed at Luo Ran and said, “Ask him.”
Meeting the proprietress’s eager gaze, Luo Ran smiled. “Sure. It’s no trouble.”
The two went downstairs to the ground floor, where they found a corner specially decorated for photographs. There were bamboo-and-rattan hanging chairs, swings, beautiful wallpaper and cabinets, as well as flowers and lighting. It really was quite pretty.
Looking at the photo wall, they noticed that most people had taken individual portraits first, followed by a photograph together.
Lucas directed Luo Ran to stand beside a bouquet of flowers, then raised the camera with exaggerated seriousness.
“Stand up straight.”
“Right, straighten your back.”
“Put your hands by your sides and make fists!”
“Lift your head a little higher. Chest out! What, haven’t you eaten?”
The owner and proprietress standing nearby: “…”
They stared at Luo Ran, who was standing at attention like a soldier on parade, utterly dumbfounded.
Luo Ran was also quite helpless.
Click!
Luo Ran’s solo portrait was complete.
Although he looked as if he were standing for a military inspection, his excellent looks and the beautiful background still made the photograph turn out quite well.
After taking Lucas’s solo portrait, the two men stood stiffly in front of the wallpaper and had the proprietress take a photograph of them together.
And so, their very first photograph together was born.
The proprietress printed out the pictures and smiled. “Would you like to write anything on them? For example, what your relationship is…?”
All the photographs on the wall had captions, such as My Beloved, Friends for Fourteen Years, or Our Eleventh Wedding Anniversary.
Luo Ran and Lucas answered at the same time.
Luo Ran: “Superior and subordinate.”
Lucas: “Brothers.”
Proprietress: “…”
“Okay,” she said.
The two went upstairs to eat. The proprietress paused for a moment before writing a few words on their photo card.
—Someone Special
Meanwhile, after Luo Ran and Lucas had been eating for a while, Luo Ran received a report from the security team.
After reading it for a moment, Luo Ran frowned. “General, there’s been progress in the investigation into Prince Andika of Luobing. The investigators found scent-blocking spray and… contraceptive pills in the hotel restroom. They suspect Prince Andika may have used them.”
“Contraceptive pills?” Lucas frowned.
“We still can’t confirm whether he used them, but the investigators suspect these were among the things he asked his maid to buy when he sent her out for fever medicine.”
Lucas exclaimed angrily, “So it really was him?”
“Not necessarily… I don’t think it was.” Luo Ran was just as puzzled.
It clearly hadn’t been him! How could it possibly have been someone else?
Then why had Andika bought those medications? His actions also matched those of the person from that night perfectly.
Luo Ran lightly tapped his fingers against the tabletop as he thought.
Could it be…?
“Eat your meal. Don’t think about work.” Lucas frowned and tapped Luo Ran’s terminal with a bent finger.
Luo Ran looked up at Lucas in surprise.
Lucas, his superior and a general of the Empire, was actually being so considerate?
But then again, the fact that he and Lucas were sitting here having dinner together was already highly unusual.
Lucas bit into a piece of meat and asked, “What is it?”
“I was just thinking… I’ve worked with you for so many years, General, but I think this is the first time we’ve gone out to eat and have fun together.” Luo Ran smiled softly.
Even after saying it aloud, the thought still felt surreal.
“Are you happy?”
Luo Ran paused before answering, “Yes. This isn’t just my first time going out to have fun with you, General. It’s also the first time I’ve ever gone out for fun on my own.”
Lucas was a little surprised. “Your first time?”
“Mm.”
Lucas thought to himself, His first outing was with me.
The lion’s possessiveness was satisfied once again. Lucas curled his lips into a smile, clicked his tongue, and said, “Secretary Luo, your life really is dull.”
“You should ask whose fault that is.” Luo Ran smiled too. “The company is so busy that you don’t have time to go out, General. I have even less time than you do.”
“You.” Lucas pointed at Luo Ran with his fork in warning. “You’re going to be my secretary for the rest of your life, anyway.”
The atmosphere between them was rather pleasant.
Bang!
The next moment, both their gazes were drawn to fireworks suddenly exploding across the sky.
Someone had apparently bought some fireworks and set them off from a nearby observation tower.
Sparks with glittering trails shot into the night sky before bursting open brazenly at a great height.
The previously monotonous night sky bloomed with one flower after another, as though someone had splashed it with color.
“Beautiful.” Luo Ran unconsciously lowered his knife and fork and looked up.
Lucas gazed at the person before him, whose face and eyes flickered in the light of the fireworks. He raised his terminal and took a photograph of Luo Ran.
In the picture, the silver-haired man’s eyes reflected the beautiful glow of the fireworks. He was smiling as he gazed at the sky, with the night and its dazzling bursts of color behind him.
…
After dinner, Lucas took Luo Ran home before returning to the company.
After showering and lying down in bed, Luo Ran still felt as though the entire day had been unreal.