Gu Lina Zha made the final decision.
Xiao Lu immediately nodded.
"Okay, I'll book the tickets and hotel right away."
"You reply to Brother Wang," Gu Lina Zha said into her phone.
"Tell him we'll arrive in Haining tonight and meet Director Ding tomorrow morning."
After hanging up the phone, there were still a few hours before heading to the airport.
Xiao Lu quickly went to the bedroom to help her pack her luggage.
Gu Lina Zha returned to her own room alone and closed the door.
She didn't rest; instead, she picked up her personal tablet from the nightstand.
She skillfully unlocked it and tapped on the icon for a tactical shooting game.
Exhilarating music began to play as she logged into her account.
On the game's main interface, a lithe female character in black combat gear stood silently.
She opened her friends list, her gaze quickly scanning it.
Soon, her eyes settled on an ID.
【Macrophages】.
The gray avatar was currently lit up, showing an "online" status.
A faint smile involuntarily curved at the corner of Gu Lina Zha's lips.
This smile softened her usual cool and aloof demeanor.
Adding a touch of a young girl's anticipation and excitement.
She opened the chat window with 【Macrophages】.
Her fair fingers paused on the virtual keyboard for a moment, seemingly deliberating over her words.
Finally, she typed out a line.
"I'm going to Haining on a business trip tonight."
She clicked send.
After sending the message, she immediately followed up with a second one.
"Do you have time to have dinner together?"
Inside a military compound in Haining City.
In a clean, almost stark dormitory.
Lu Mingyu had just finished a day of extremely high-intensity training.
He was meticulously wiping down his service pistol.
His chiseled profile was focused and stern, his eyes sharp like an eagle's.
His personal phone, placed on the desk beside him, suddenly let out a soft "buzz."
He paused his gun-wiping and picked up his phone to glance at it.
It was a game notification.
When he saw the sender's ID and the message content, even he, who usually remained unfazed by collapsing mountains, couldn't help but be stunned.
Sender: Naza.
Content: I'm going to Haining on a business trip tonight.
Do you have time to have dinner together?
A clear look of surprise flashed in Lu Mingyu's dark eyes.
She's coming to Haining?
And... she wants to eat with him?
That girl, whose voice was clear and delightful, with a hint of playfulness, heard only through the internet and headphones.
She was going to appear in his city and meet him, someone she had only interacted with in the virtual world?
This realization made Lu Mingyu's heart skip a beat.
He stared at the two lines of text on the screen, silent for a few seconds.
Then, his distinctively jointed fingers typed two words onto the screen.
"Can do."
Almost the very next second after he sent it, the other party's message popped up again.
"That's great!"
"Do you have any dietary restrictions?"
"Or anything special you'd like to eat?"
Every word conveyed excitement.
Lu Mingyu thought about his daily routine.
Training, missions, cafeteria.
He had never had any particular demands when it came to food.
"No restrictions."
He replied succinctly.
"Alright then, I'll pick the place."
The other party's message came back quickly.
"Send me your location, and I'll drive to pick you up directly after I arrive."
Drive to pick him up?
Lu Mingyu's eyebrow subtly twitched upwards.
Of course, he couldn't send the base's address.
He pondered for a moment, then opened his phone's map.
He found a popular seafood restaurant two kilometers outside the base's main gate.
Its location was public, there was a large flow of people, making it convenient to meet.
He copied the restaurant's address, switched back to the game chat window, pasted it, and sent it.
"This address."
To facilitate contact, he added another sentence.
"The phone number I left when I received express deliveries can reach me."
"Just call me when you arrive."
The message was sent successfully.
In the apartment, Gu Lina Zha looked at the clear address and familiar phone number on her phone screen.
The smile on her face grew even brighter.
Everything was going smoothly.
In a wonderfully good mood, she typed her reply.
"Okay, see you later."
Gu Lina Zha then put down her phone, the smile on her lips irrepressible.
She turned to look at her assistant, Xiao Lu, who was tidying a suitcase nearby.
"Xiao Lu."
Her voice held a sweetness she hadn't even noticed herself.
"What is it, Naza-jie?"
Xiao Lu looked up, somewhat puzzled, at her artist.
Today, Naza-jie seemed a little different.
She usually carried an air of cool detachment.
But now, she was like an ice surface touched by a spring breeze, completely melted.
Even the corners of her eyes and brows were tinged with a smile.
Gu Lina Zha cleared her throat, trying to make her tone sound more neutral.
"After we land tonight, I won't be returning to the hotel."
"I've arranged to meet a friend for dinner."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lu immediately switched into work mode.
She took out her work phone, ready to record the itinerary.
"Okay, Naza-jie."
"Which friend is it?"
"Do I need to arrange a car in advance?"
"Roughly how many people will there be?"
"Has the dinner location been decided?"
"Do we need to communicate with security in advance?"
A series of professional questions were thrown out.
Gu Lina Zha's cheeks, however, uncontrollably flushed slightly.
She looked away a little shyly, her voice also lowering.
"It's just me, I arranged it, just the two of us."
"You... you don't need to follow me."
Xiao Lu's movements paused, even more surprised.
Just two people?
And she wasn't allowed to follow?
This was no small matter.
As a top-tier celebrity, Gu Lina Zha's personal itinerary was always the team's top priority.
Absolutely no mistakes could be made.
"Naza-jie, who is it? So mysterious?"
Xiao Lu pressed, her tone filled with worry.
"It's just..."
Gu Lina Zha's fingertips unconsciously twirled a strand of her long hair.
She hesitated a bit, but finally said it.
"Lu Mingyu."
"Lu Mingyu?"
Xiao Lu quickly searched her mind for the name; there seemed to be no such person in the industry.
"Yes, it's 【Macrophages】."
"My game CP."
Gu Lina Zha added, her cheeks growing even hotter.
Xiao Lu's eyes instantly widened like brass bells, and she almost dropped the phone in her hand.
"Who?! 【Macrophages】?!"
"Your game CP?"
Her voice rose by eight octaves.
"Naza-jie, you're not joking, are you?"
"You're going to meet your game CP?"
"And alone?"
Xiao Lu could hardly believe her ears.
That netizen who led Naza-jie to dominate in the game.
Whose voice sounded very cool and reliable, but no one knew what he looked like in real life?
"Mm."
Gu Lina Zha nodded lightly, confirming her guess.
Xiao Lu felt like she was about to faint.
She rushed a few steps to stand in front of Gu Lina Zha, her face screaming, "Snap out of it."
"Sis! My dear sister!"
"That's a netizen!"
"You've only played games with him online; you don't know him at all!"
"The online world is all virtual; what you see and hear could all be fake!"
"What if he's a scammer?"
"What if he's a bad person?"
"What if he looks bizarre, or is a rough-looking man?"
Xiao Lu paced anxiously, listing all the worst possibilities she could think of.
"This is too unsafe!"
"Absolutely not!"
Looking at Xiao Lu's anxious yet sincere face, Gu Lina Zha felt a warmth in her heart.
She knew Xiao Lu genuinely cared about her.
She reached out and gently patted Xiao Lu's shoulder, signaling her to calm down.
"Xiao Lu, everything you said, I know, I understand."
Her voice was soft but unusually firm.
"But he's different."
"Why is he different?" Xiao Lu asked, puzzled.
Gu Lina Zha's gaze drifted out the window, seemingly lost in thought.
"I don't know how to explain it to you."
"But he and I have known each other for a long time."
"Even if it's only online."
"He gives me a very grounded, very reliable feeling."
"He never says flowery words, he's even a bit clumsy."
"But every single thing he's promised me, he's delivered on."
"I trust my intuition; he's not a bad person."
Her tone carried an undeniable trust.