(A/n: Sorry for the late update. Enjoy Reading)
                                      ❤️❤️
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Yibo was striding back and forth in front of the restaurant deciding whether he should enter or not. Will Zhan think he is trying to stalk him? How will he initiate the conversation? Will it be awkward? Should he give smiling a try? All these thoughts were making Yibo loose his calm demeanor.

He felt his soul leave his body when he heard a sweet voice call out to him,
"Wang Yibo! What are you doing here so early?"

He cleared his throat while regaining his composure and turned around to face the man who defined attractive,
"I came to return your wallet. You had forgotten it in my car last night."

Zhan felt a little dejected..He thought that Yibo was there to see him, sighing slightly he took his wallet from the handsome man and thanked him for personally coming to return it. He was about to turn and enter the restaurant when he heard words that made his heart flutter.

"Xiao Zhan, If you don't mind can I stay for a little conversation?"

Zhan was more than happy and ready to scream "YES" but then he remembered about the company lunch. He could not leave all the work to his siblings to just sit and talk with a guy. But he also could not just decline such an opportunity when his soulmate had walked to his doors. His mind was a mess considering all the various possibilities......

On the other hand, Yibo was being eaten up by his nerves. He looked at Xiao Zhan with a stoic expression but only he knew the level of nervousness he was feeling within.After, for what seemed like forever, Zhan replied,
"Wang Yibo I have a lot of work today.... You see there is a company lunch at the restaurant and I can't let my siblings do all the work....."

Yibo was about to cut in and say that he could come another day but Zhan's next words made him smile.

"So do you mind if we speak while I'm cooking..? It's just that you...um...you came all the way here; I don't want to waste your efforts." Zhan replied shyly.

"Mn."

Yibo followed Zhan inside and his jaw dropped at the scene that welcomed him. He was awestruck by the interior of the restaurant. It was dual themed, the cafe was on the ground floor with rustic hanging rooms in the form of cages..... The dining area was separated from the cafe and had a vintage look to it with creepers and hanging bulbs.

Suddenly he heard Zhan murmur,"Eh? Where is everyone?"

He guided him to the kitchen but it was empty. The cafe and the diner both were lifeless as well.

Zhan was trying to call Zhou Cheng but but he wasn't picking up. He tried again and on the third ring his brother finally decided to pick up.

"Ah-Cheng where is everyone? Is the company lunch canceled?"

"Zhan we're on the roof. Come up."

"On the roof? Wh—-"

Before Zhan could ask anymore questions his brother had already disconnected the call. Zhan looked at Yibo and gestured towards the stairs and said,
"Come let's go.."

When Zhan and Yibo reached the roof, they almost had a heart attack by the sudden scream.

"Happy Birthday Zhan!"

There was a long dining table, beautifully set in the middle of the roof with the entire staff surrounding it.

A lady came forward and embraced Zhan tightly to which Yibo shifted aside giving them space.  Not knowing that it was Zhan's birthday today he felt a little out of place crashing the surprise party. After everyone had finished greeting and wishing Zhan, he spoke up..

"Lu-Jie I bet you planned this!"

The lady in her late 20's replied with a sweet smile, "I did...the company lunch was just an excuse suggested by your brother to get you to arrive on time...."
She chuckled before continuing, "But you should first introduce us to this handsome gentleman."

At the mention of Yibo, Zhan suddenly remembered that he was present too. Once the introductions were done, Zhan cut his cake and then after some small talk they all sat to eat. The roof was echoing the sounds of laughter and proclaimed happiness. As the kitchen staff had prepared all the food it was lip smacking delicious. Yibo finally understood why Oriental Kitchen was so famous. The food, the architecture, the staff, everything about it was magnificent. He wondered why he never considered dining here.

Many of the staff members were trying to start a conversation with Yibo and it was making him uncomfortable. Zhan was quick to notice his discomfort and rescued him from the squealing girls who had him surrounded.
Because of the lunch and the greetings,
Zhan could not properly have a conversation with the said guy.

It was almost sunset, Yibo and Zhan were standing at the edge of the roof admiring the beautiful sky and enjoying the tranquil atmosphere when suddenly Yibo spoke, "Zhan, I had no idea that it was your birthday today. I'm sorry I crashed your surprise party. "

"Oh come on, it's not like I didn't want you here."

Zhan realized that he had uttered his thoughts aloud. His face was painted with a light shade of pink matching the sky which he tried to hide but it did not go unnoticed by Yibo.

"Um.....since you saved me yesterday and it's also you're birthday today....umm....would you like.....to have dinner together?....Maybe?"

Yibo asked all the while measuring his words very carefully.
To which the reply came with a shy "Okay".

Both of them bid farewell to everyone and left for the night. Sitting in the passenger seat Zhan wondered where he was taking him because when they were leaving he saw Yibo talk on the phone as if he was making arrangements for something.

"Yibo....where are we going?"

"You'll see..."

After an hour's drive they finally reached nowhere.
Zhan was totally confused at why Yibo had parked the car right in the middle of nowhere. As far as his eyes could scan, he could only see trees...when suddenly he saw darkness. Zhan panicked because the first thought that occurred to him was if or not he was hallucinating again. But then a whisper near his ear calmed him down. He realized that Yibo had skillfully blindfolded him without him noticing.

"Trust me?" His smoky voice near his ear triggered Zhan's senses making him sensitive all over.

And ever so consciously he searched for Yibo's arm, took hold of it and nodded for his voice was lost.

They started walking hand in hand with Zhan clinging tightly on to Yibo's sleeve. After a few minutes of walking Yibo halted and low voice murmured to him,
"Are you ready?"

His hands rested on Zhan's eyes on top the blindfold, applying slight pressure on his eyes and oh so slowly removed them while whispering a small
"Happy Birthday".

As Zhan's eyes adjusted to the dusky sky his jaw dropped.
He saw a dinner for two set up with lamps and fairy lights adorning the tree, wooden flooring with a lake-view. Zhan looked at Yibo with glazed eyes. He managed to speak,"You did this!?"

"You like it?" Yibo inquired without answering as he pulled his chair to make Zhan sit first then himself took the seat opposite him. Zhan was still looking around, taking in the beauty of the place that he missed the constant gazes of a person who was also staring at a living beauty.

Zhan's voice pulled him out of his daze.
"Who is going to cook? I can't see anything or anyone that might provide food."

"The food will be ready in a few minutes...are you hungry already? Didn't you eat a lot for lunch?" Yibo asked while chuckling a little.

"Yah! I eat a lot so what?"

Zhan retorted with pouted lips while anger played on his face. Yibo just laughed at his reaction.

A few minutes later a man emerged from behind the trees and the lights around them dimmed. When the man put a birthday cake on the table, Zhan unconsciously held Yibo's hand which was resting on the table. The subtle touch made Yibo's ears go red but luckily Zhan did not notice them because of the darkness.

"Make a wish" Yibo urged.

"I wish to date you!" Zhan said while looking deep into Yibo's eyes which had now widened in surprise.

"What!?"

My Dearest Readers, ❤️
Sorry I took long to update. I had written a totally different chapter but I wasn't happy with it so I re-wrote the whole thing once more.

I hope it wasn't boring and that I was able to make you feel the emotions. I do not wish to rush them into love so let us take the old route of dating☺️☺️

If you liked it, kindly vote, comment and recommend to others. 🙏
I love reading your comments and opinions.

Hope everyone is safe and sound. Take care.
See you next chapter. 🥀

P.s : the pictures are all credited to Pinterest.
I decided on adding pictures to give you guys a much better idea of what I have in mind. Thank you for reading.