Chapter 33: Never Dating, Straight to Kissing

This voice... There's something vaguely familiar about it.
Who could it be?
How could someone so shameless exist in Dali?
Lin Shenlu turned his head to look.
A pale yellow dress, black hair...
Wait, no—
The eyes were dull and lifeless, hair a mess...
Was it Ye Yaochen?
Was it Ye Yaochen, who borrowed cigarettes, alcohol, and money for the bill from him at the bar last night?
And now... today he was here to borrow a place to stay?
And he expected Lin Shenlu to pay again?
Why?
Am I your father?
"You're going too far, man!" Lin Shenlu's temper flared.
Ye Yaochen hurried over and threw an arm around Lin Shenlu's shoulders.
"Don't get angry, buddy. I'm here to treat you to a meal, to thank you for your generosity last night—cigarettes, drinks, money, the whole lot!" Ye Yaochen said with a cheeky grin.
This guy seemed not to have washed his hair for days; it was dry and even a bit yellowed.
If he cleaned up, you could see he was actually quite handsome.
But perhaps from chronic late nights and overindulgence, he always looked drained and weak.
"You're buying me lunch?" Lin Shenlu was taken aback.
"Of course. Didn't you tell me yesterday you were staying at the Whale Deer Hotel at Santorini Ideal Land? I got up this morning and came straight over. They said you were writing, so I waited for you to come out so I could treat you."
"That’s not all. Let me ask you—why did you book a king-size room for three days under my name, and I ended up paying? Do you actually have any money? If not, don’t bother treating me; seriously!" Lin Shenlu felt his heart breaking.
This guy had no money for the bar yesterday, now wants to treat him to lunch, yet can't pay for the hotel.
"I told you, I do have money. The thing is, I’m afraid I’ll lose control and spend it all, so I only take just enough with me when I go out. Last night I lost control and drank too much; today I brought exactly enough for lunch. But when I got here, the hotel was so beautiful I couldn't resist staying. And I wanted to get closer to you, you know? After we eat, we can go grab my cash and luggage and move in here."
This guy was truly odd.
Both rich and penniless...

"Can I trust you?" Lin Shenlu asked with a skeptical look.
"Of course..."
"Miss, he checked in just now, right? Put the room charges on my account for now. And you—give me your ID card. Before you pay me back, I need to hold onto something!" Lin Shenlu held out his hand to Ye Yaochen.
"No problem, here you go. Let’s go eat! Listen, just stick with me; you’ll see, I’m absolutely reliable. You'll know when you spend time with me." Ye Yaochen handed his ID over.
Lin Shenlu took it and checked to make sure it was legit.
Wait a minute...
He was drawn to the long string of names on the card.
This...
"Weren't you just Ye Yaochen last night? What’s with all these names?" Lin Shenlu asked, astonished.
"Allow me to formally introduce myself. My full name is Yehenara Yaochen. My ancestors belonged to the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner, so calling me Ye Yaochen isn’t wrong..." Ye Yaochen raised his brows with a smile.
Lin Shenlu was thunderstruck.
Yehenara?
What on earth?
"Uh, if I recall, Yehenara was the lineage of Empress Dowager Cixi, right?"
"Exactly. But Yehenara is a big clan with many branches. The one I’m from descends from Consort Shu of Emperor Qianlong, same branch as the Nalan family..." Ye Yaochen said with a hint of pride.
"Wow! Actual imperial kin! Wait, I remember several celebrities are from the Yehenara clan—they use the surname Na!" Lin Shenlu recalled Na Ying and Na Wei...
"These days, we Yehenara are called Ye, Na, Hui, Li... It doesn’t matter. Buddy, I’m really starving..." Ye Yaochen glanced at the time.
He had really been waiting all morning.
...
As they walked out, Lin Shenlu was full of suspicion about this guy beside him.
Two days ago, he’d seen a bright red vermillion mole on the arm of Hailan Whale.
Now he’d bumped into a descendant of the Plain Yellow Banner’s Yehenara clan.
Lin Shenlu half suspected he’d wandered into some martial arts world of time travelers.
But, if what this guy said was true, he’d thought of some interesting things.
...
"There’s a seaside restaurant I passed on the way here—it looked really nice. Let’s go there," Ye Yaochen said with a smile.

"Man, ‘seaside restaurant’ sounds expensive. Are you sure you have enough money? I’m not paying for this meal," Lin Shenlu said cautiously.
"Absolutely! I’ve got money, trust me. After lunch, we’ll grab a cab and head to where I was staying to pick up cash." Ye Yaochen declared confidently.
"Alright, my car’s parked downstairs. I’ll drive you over after lunch. Whale Deer Hotel king-size room, yours is 1388 a night, I’ve already paid. Make sure you reimburse me..." Lin Shenlu said hurriedly.
He’d been conned by this guy too many times.
He was getting pretty vigilant.
"Ok... ok... Let’s eat first!" Ye Yaochen didn’t mind at all.
Soon, the two arrived at the so-called seaside restaurant.
Baiji Seaside Resort Restaurant.
It was undeniably upscale.
Pure white Santorini style throughout.
The open-air dining area was a feast for the eyes.
"I checked beforehand—their asparagus and shrimp slices are supposed to be amazing, plus their signature cold marinated clams, a dish recommended online, and for meat, yak slices. For soup, the vegetable blossom in superior broth!" Ye Yaochen ordered with gusto.
From the way he ordered and his manner at the table, he didn’t seem like a scammer.
He had that air of a fallen aristocrat.
"So, how long have you been in Dali?" Lin Shenlu asked curiously.
"A little over half a month," Ye Yaochen replied, eyes on the champagne just served.
Lin Shenlu calculated—the meal would run at least five or six hundred.
This guy was something else.
"You look a bit weak and have dark circles under your eyes—have you not been sleeping well?" Lin Shenlu asked.
Ye Yaochen nodded, saying, "Not counting last night, in the past half month I’ve chatted up twenty-three girls, slept with eleven, and basically haven’t had a single night’s rest..."
"Wow, a real warrior! Are you a time management master or a super dating expert?" Lin Shenlu was genuinely shocked.
"No, not at all. No romance for me, I live by never falling in love—straight to kissing," Ye Yaochen said, elegantly raising his champagne glass for a sip.
"Excuse me, could I have two of your cigars?" Ye Yaochen waved at the waiter.
"I saw on social media their cigars are quite good, worth sampling," Ye Yaochen said with a smile to Lin Shenlu.