The moment I stepped into the restaurant, everyone froze.
Well, it was me, so it was to be expected.
’Are my looks that distracting?’
This was going to be a problem.
Wouldn’t all my enemies just fall for me the moment I showed my face?
I could think of that another day. For now, I had to meet Quincy.
My eyes quickly scanned the room, searching for a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.
There were two, but their appearance didn’t match Quincy’s.
In the novel, the author described her as a radiant beauty, one no man could look away from.
That meant her looks had to come close to mine.
And only four women fit that scale.
The waitress in front of me, a peculiar woman seated by the window, and two women sitting beside a blue-haired man.
One of them had chestnut hair and brown eyes, while the other, even more stunning, had white hair and golden eyes.
’Did I come to the wrong place?’
I lowered my gaze slightly to meet the waitress, who finally approached me.
Without hesitation, I asked:
"I’m looking for Quincy Blake."
The waitress paused, stared at me, then pointed to the table where the two women sat.
"That’s Quincy Blake."
Turning toward the table, my eyes lingered on them.
’That’s Quincy?’ I thought. ’Wasn’t she supposed to have blonde hair? Did I read it wrong?’
Authors were known to change their characters’ hair colors, so maybe this world had taken on her later design.
There was also the chance that things in this world had shifted.
’Let it be the first one.’
Realizing I had been staring too long, I smiled while waving my hand.
’Let’s think about that later, for now...’
I stepped toward Quincy as her face flushed red.
The beautiful young woman hesitated before answering. "Oh, hey."
Her reaction was truly adorable.
Glancing at the chair next to her, I slid into it.
If this were Allen’s family, then that meant this seat was reserved for him.
According to his diary, the chestnut-haired woman was Melissa, Allen’s aunt, who was like a mother to him.
The man beside her was Quincy’s brother. Even without the diary, I knew about him since he was a character in the novel.
He was an A-rank with S-rank prospect and also a teacher at Apex Academy: Naomi Blake.
Finally, there was Quincy, the genius spirit arts mage with SS-rank prospect.
Naomi, seated opposite me, parted his lips and said, "Princess... I mean mister, that seat is taken."
’That’s right, they don’t know what I look like now.’ I suppressed a grin. ’I have to hold it in.’
I wanted to tell them straight, but where would the fun be in that?
Tilting my head slightly, I replied,
"Isn’t it for me though?"
The first step was to confuse them.
And that was exactly what happened.
Naomi just stared at me in shock.
"No, it’s for our family member, Allen."
I nodded, unable to hide the smirk I had been holding back. "But I am Allen."
The room went silent before everyone shouted the same word.
Quincy, seated beside me, immediately pulled back slightly. "No way, you’re not Allen."
I blinked innocently. "But I am."
She shook her head rapidly. "No. Allen doesn’t look ."
Was she short-circuiting?
"Then how do I look, Quincy?"
Quincy hesitated, fidgeting with her fingers. "Well... a bit ugly."
My brow twitched. "Sorry if I was that ugly."
She quickly waved her hands. "No, I didn’t mean it in a bad way."
Then she frowned. "Why am I even apologizing? You’re not Allen."
I knew this was how things would turn out.
The ugly Allen suddenly turning into someone handsome.
If that were possible, everyone would have been beautiful.
"Okay then..." My voice dropped to a whisper.
I finally understood why Allen had given me the diary.
"Quincy, can you remember when we were kids?"
Quincy arched a brow. "What are you even—"
But I didn’t let her finish.
The most embarrassing thing written in Allen’s diary.
"When we were five, and you wanted to take a dump in the park and didn’t know how to get rid of it, so you—"
In an instant, a hand clamped over my mouth.
Quincy’s breath came fast, her face completely red.
"I get it, okay. You’re Allen."
I almost burst out laughing at her expression.
Removing Quincy’s hand, I turned to Melissa.
"Aunt Melissa, can you remember—"
The sound of a mug slamming on the table echoed through the restaurant as Melissa glared at me.
"Please don’t say anymore~!"
The laughter I had been holding in burst out at once as I laughed heartily.
"It’s been so long since I laughed this much."
The words might have been misunderstood by Allen’s family, but they weren’t meant for them.
Ever since the betrayal in the crew, I hadn’t had the chance to laugh so freely.
Holding back the last of my laughter, I looked back at them. "Sorry."
But their expressions showed relief mixed with tears.
To them, the Allen they knew hadn’t laughed either.
He had been sad and depressed.
At that moment, I realized they didn’t care how much I had changed—they just wanted to see me smile.
I knew what a family was all too well, and Allen had a truly good one.
Naomi raised his mug and declared, "Cheers to Allen for conquering his depression and becoming more handsome than me!"
The entire restaurant cheered with him.
As if waiting for the mood to lighten, many women who had been silent rushed toward me.
Before they could speak, however, a strange man approached.
"May... May I ask for your number?"
I stared at him blankly. "I’m a boy, not a girl."
The man licked his lips. "Does it matter? Gender is just something people made up."
’What the hell is wrong with this guy?’
I wanted to reply, but Quincy beat me to it.
The entire room went silent at her words.
"Uhmm..." Her face flushed as she struggled to speak. "Me and Allen have been dating for a year, so stop trying to steal him!"
Without waiting for their reaction, she grabbed my hand and dashed out the door.
As I glanced back at Naomi and Melissa, they just waved.
Quincy, however, didn’t turn back or stop until we had run for another twenty minutes. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ NoveI[F]ire.net
A sharp breath escaped her lips as she released my arm. "Sorry."
I nodded, rubbing my hand. ’Damn, she’s strong.’
Quincy looked at me, looked away, then back again. "Are you really Allen?"
I turned to her and smirked. "What? Fallen for me already?"
She punched me lightly on the shoulder. "Don’t flatter yourself."
Her hand slowly dropped. "Does that mean you’re awakened now?"