Universe Infinite Canteen

In fact, she was so thin that it seemed a bit excessive, feeling like she was as lanky as a stalk of hemp, and her walk wasn't quite natural either, with a certain stiffness and staccato to it.

Fortunately, her voice was quite pleasant, soft and cute, and also very polite.

As she approached the entrance of the restaurant and saw that Ma Lu hadn't spoken, she took the initiative, "Hello, is this the Universe Infinite Canteen?"

Ma Lu nodded, "You are...?"

"I've booked dinner here tonight," she paused, then added with a somewhat shy voice, "Um... I'm planning to propose to my boyfriend here."

"Love-Struck?"

"Yes, yes, yes, that's me." The visitor nodded vigorously like a pecking chicken.

"Come on in, has your boyfriend not arrived yet?" Ma Lu opened the door for her and casually asked.

"Not yet, I'm meeting him in half an hour and wanted to come early to prepare. It's the first time I'll see him, and I'm a bit nervous," Love-Struck's voice trembled.

Ah???!

Three question marks popped up over Ma Lu's head, "You haven't met before?"

"Mhm, mhm, mhm, but we've known each other for a long time, it's just that before it was all online chatting, this is the first time we're meeting offline."

"Uh, okay... erm, may I ask, how long have you known each other?"

"Today marks exactly 50 days, so if we get engaged today, it would be very meaningful," Love-Struck imagined aloud.

"What?"

"Do you have balloons here? I really like balloons and hope to have them around when I get engaged," Love-Struck said without waiting for an answer, "I'm sorry, is my request too much? I should have told you earlier, but every time I think of being with him forever, I get so excited I can't think!!!"

"Balloons, right? No big deal."

Ma Lu remembered that the grocery store across the street sold balloons, so he went to buy 30 of them, borrowed an air pump, and spent quite a bit of time inflating them all, arranging them around Love-Struck's dining table.

Love-Struck circled the colorful balloons and was very satisfied, "This is the engagement party I've dreamed of."

As she said this, she pulled out a chair and sat down, but quickly became embarrassed again, "Manager, I feel like this table is a bit bare."

"That's because the food isn't out yet, we've got to wait for everyone to arrive, don't we."

"No, no, no, I mean, could you... um, could you please find me a candle, hehehehehe," Love-Struck said sheepishly.

"Oh, that's easy." Ma Lu remembered he had bought some smokeless tea lights, originally intended for heating trays, and went to fetch two from beneath the counter and placed them on the table.

"Wow, that's fantastic! Yes, yes, that's the ambiance!" Love-Struck was so excited she was almost incoherent, "Oh my gosh, I can barely believe it, this is really so romantic."

Ma Lu looked around the minimalist-styled restaurant, at the balloons on the floor worth 30 cents each, and the white tea lights common at barbecue stalls, unsure where the romance lay.

But as her name suggested, Love-Struck was already immersed in her own romantic kingdom.

Not wanting to spoil her mood, Ma Lu couldn't help but remind her, "You've only known each other for 50 days, and tonight is your first meeting. Isn't proposing a bit too fast?"

"Fast?" Love-Struck pondered, "But I feel like true love isn't measured by time."

Ma Lu was at a loss for words.

"When you meet the right person, you will sense each other immediately, just like me and my Lonely Handsome Man."

"Lonely what?"

"Lonely Handsome Man, that's his name on WeChat."

"That's a very straightforward name. How did you meet this Lonely Guy?"

"Oh, I matched with him while playing 'Honor of Kings'. He was a Master, and I was a newbie. I kept feeding the enemy team in that game, and all my teammates were cursing me, but the Handsome Man didn't say anything, he just kept carrying the team and we won the match. At that moment, I thought he was so cool, boyfriend material max.

"Afterward, I added him on WeChat and we started chatting. I asked him to help me rank up, and he agreed without hesitation. Gradually, besides gaming, we began to talk about life.

"Of course, most of the time it was me talking and him listening, but guess what, our favorite bands, movies, games, authors turned out to be exactly the same!!!"

"Oh my gosh!!!" Love-Struck let out another groundhog-like scream, "That's too coincidental, there is no other explanation but it's fate that we should be together."

"That... if you really want an explanation, there are plenty though."

"If that's not enough to show we're meant for each other, I also consulted a Tarot Master about our marriage prospects. And guess what? The tarot cards indicated we are destined to march down the aisle and have a happy, loving relationship!"

Seeing how Love-Struck was, Ma Lu knew anything he said would be futile, so he simply said,

"Since you're so certain you two will end up together, why do you still need to hear his heartfelt words?"

"Oh, that's actually my mom's requirement. She always feels I'm never grown up, so she made me promise that if I want to get engaged, I must hear his true feelings.

"But it doesn't matter, Lonely Handsome Man will definitely pass the test. Our love is unbreakable."

"Alright then." Ma Lu glanced at the clock again, nearly twenty minutes had passed since Love-Struck came in, meaning the other star of the evening should also almost be making his entrance.

So Ma Lu went to the kitchen to notify Old Wang to start preparing the dishes, and he himself quietly prepared two packs of tissues, planning to offer them to Love-Struck later on.

There was no helping it; her romantic tale just radiated an air of unreliability from head to toe.

And while waiting, Ma Lu suddenly remembered a crucial question, "Wait a minute, this online beau of yours, does he know about your identity?"

"Of course, at the start I told him I'm a girl and definitely not a transvestite."

"No, what I mean is your identity as a visitor from another plane, and don't the city managers care about this sort of thing?"

"Why should the city managers care about my love life?" Love-Struck didn't understand.

"Because those living in this plane have the responsibility to hide their true identities, at least that's what Pigeon told me. I have a friend who was fined by it for something similar, and we're talking Star Currency here."

"It's okay, I'm loaded," boasted Love-Struck, "and if that's not enough, I can always ask my mom for more."

"..."