Extra 1: If-1  

August 24, 2014, afternoon.

Shanghai, hotel.

Lu Jin went to take a shower.

With the bathroom door closed, He Ye felt weak all over. This weakness came from extreme fear. Lu Jin treated her very well, and He Ye made many compromises for him, but she wasn’t ready to take a big step yet.

The curtains were still drawn, and the atmosphere in the guest room felt even more intimate after their earlier closeness. It was so quiet that He Ye could hear Lu Jin taking off his shirt, and that image appeared in her mind. He was tall, and she remembered seeing a part of him under his white shirt; he looked fair and slim.

Why is he taking a bath? 

He Ye felt anxious and confused, and also very thirsty from being outside in the sun for too long; her boyfriend had drained her energy. She felt as if she would die of thirst without water.

Looking at Lu Jin’s backpack on the desk, she noticed the hotel provided two bottles of mineral water on the bedside table. Feeling weak, she sat on the bed, picked up a bottle, and twisted it open after a few tries. She drank half the bottle in one go. The cool water quenched her thirst and restored some energy.

There was the sound of running water; her boyfriend had already started his shower.

He Ye bit her lip. No matter what Lu Jin thought, she wouldn’t indulge him anymore. No more kissing or hugging!

She straightened her skirt and pulled the left curtain open all the way down, then opened the other curtain completely. The bright afternoon sun filled the room, and the view of the river and traffic outside made her feel relaxed.

There was a mirror at the entrance, and He Ye fixed her hair in front of it. Even though Lu Jin was in the bathroom behind her, she was no longer shy or nervous; she was angry with him. After tidying up, she sat by the floor-to-ceiling window with her phone in hand.

Lu Jin finished washing, dried his short hair with a towel, put on a short-sleeved shirt, looked at himself in the mirror, and opened the door.

A bright light shone outside the door.

Lu Jin turned and saw He Ye standing up from the small sofa. She looked at him, lowered her eyes, and calmly announced, “I don’t want to go shopping anymore. I just bought a high-speed rail ticket for six o’clock.”

It was already 4:25. It would take at least an hour to get there by taxi, plus the time to walk to the station. He Ye didn’t leave any room for her boyfriend to change her mind.

Lu Jin knew her well. Though she looked beautiful in her dress, her drooping eyelashes and tightly pursed lips signaled her unhappiness.

Earlier, Lu Jin couldn’t control his feelings even in the cold shower. From the moment he saw her at the supermarket, his feelings had sparked into flame. Liking her was real, and wanting her was also real. 

Because he liked her, he treated her well. Because he wanted her, he would coax and gently push for more intimacy. But Lu Jin wouldn’t force her, especially when she was already unhappy.

“Well, it’s better to go back early,” Lu Jin said, agreeing as he changed back into his sports shoes at the entrance.

Seeing her boyfriend so cooperative eased He Ye’s tension. She watched as he changed his shoes, picked up his black backpack, and extended his hand to her, saying, “Leaving?”

The boy who had just showered looked fresh and clean. 

He Ye took his hand.

As she followed him out, she glanced at the big bed, which had a few wrinkles on it. 

Lu Jin noticed and whispered, “I’m sorry, did I scare you just now?”

He Ye looked away and didn’t answer. She was indeed scared. If Lu Jin had persisted, she might have found it hard to be normal with him again.

At the door, Lu Jin hugged his stiff girlfriend, kissed her hair, and said again, “I’m sorry.”

He Ye finally expressed her frustration and leaned against him, asking softly, “Did you do this on purpose?”

They had said they just wanted a room to rest for a few hours, but their intentions were not innocent.

Lu Jin didn’t deny it. He stroked her head with one hand: “Yes, I thought about it when we first kissed, and I’ve been thinking about it even more lately.”

He Ye: “…”

She pushed him away and turned her back. If her face hadn’t been so hot, she would have opened the door and left immediately.

Lu Jin leaned against the wall, observing her red ears. He glanced at the backpack on his shoulder: “He Ye, I know this isn’t good, but I can’t control it. I don’t know if other boys just want to date their girlfriends, but I don’t. Every time I see you, I want to…”

“Stop talking.” He Ye covered her ears. How could he say such things?

Lu Jin: “Okay. What I mean is that I’m not as innocent as you think, but I’m not that bad either. If you can’t accept it now, I won’t rush you. You can take your time.”

He Ye looked through the half-open bathroom door and saw water stains on the floor from his shower.

Since he admitted this problem, He Ye shared her thoughts.

“I definitely can’t accept this. I just graduated from high school. I’ve never heard of anyone graduating from high school being like this.”

Her voice was soft, and her tone of accusation seemed a bit silly.

Lu Jin smiled, thinking her high school life had been too simple, focused only on studying. He had heard of more complicated situations before, but he didn’t want to give any serious advice to his naive girlfriend. He decided to go along with her feelings.

Just as he was about to speak, He Ye interrupted. 

She clenched her hands and said, either seriously or angrily, “If you really can’t control yourself, then break up with me and find someone who can accept this.”

She might have been angry, but He Ye genuinely believed that if it wasn’t a good match, they should break up and live their lives better.

Lu Jin’s expression changed. He stood up straight and turned her to face him.

He Ye looked away.

Lu Jin lifted her face and hugged her tightly before she could react, kissing her hard.

Although He Ye was still angry and didn’t want to cooperate, Lu Jin relaxed for a moment, looked at her, and said, “Don’t say that.”

He Ye pouted: “Who told you to…”

Lu Jin replied, “I can control it. I don’t need to look for someone else. I’ve only had feelings for you since I was a kid. I don’t care about anyone else.”

He Ye was speechless.

Lu Jin kissed her again.

Every time he said such things, He Ye felt embarrassed and powerless. This weakness made it hard for her to push him away, and once he started kissing, she could only let it happen.

Eventually, Lu Jin remembered that they had already bought train tickets, so he held back and ended the kiss.

Their lips parted, but he stayed close, shamelessly.

He Ye turned away in anger and hit his chest.

Lu Jin grabbed her hand and said firmly, “No one will touch it except you.”

He Ye didn’t care about this kind of touching; she just wanted him to move away quickly.

Lu Jin asked, “Are you still breaking up?”

He Ye replied angrily, “Yes!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Jin leaned in to kiss her again.

He Ye was really scared, so she covered her face and said, “Okay, okay, we won’t break up anymore. Get up quickly.”

Lu Jin said, “Swear, then I will believe you.”

He Ye hesitated.

Lu Jin opened a recording app on his phone and said, “Just say that if you break up with me again, you will fail a college course every time you mention it.”

He Ye looked at him in disbelief.

Lu Jin was serious: “If you don’t say something like this, how dare you mention breaking up?”

He Ye protested, “…It’s not fair. What if you really upset me one day? Can’t I just break up with you?”

Lu Jin replied, “Then I’ll swear first.”

He sent a voice message to her: “If I make He Ye seriously angry again, I will let her break up with me, and the punishment will be based on the afternoon of August 24, 2014.”

He spoke into the phone while looking at her.

He Ye pursed her lips.

Lu Jin opened the recording app again, pointed it at her, and clicked “Start Recording.”

He Ye’s eyelashes fluttered as she stammered, “If Lu Jin didn’t make me seriously angry, I wouldn’t say break up again. If we break up, I will be punished by failing a college course.”

It was such a childish promise that her face felt hot afterward.

Lu Jin was pleased. He stepped back and clicked “Play.”

He Ye was stunned.

She didn’t care whether anyone was outside; she opened the door and rushed out.

With a bang, the door closed, and she walked away to avoid being overheard.

He Ye stopped in the elevator hall.

About ten minutes later, Lu Jin joined her.

He Ye glared at him.

Lu Jin held her hand with one hand and pressed the elevator button with the other.

The elevator quickly went down to the first floor.

Seeing the front desk, He Ye thought about the 3,500 yuan and quietly asked her boyfriend, “Can we check out now? We only stayed for an hour. Even if you don’t want a full refund, 80% or 50% would be okay?”

Lu Jin smiled at her: “No need to check out.”

He Ye replied, “…Forget it; it’s your money anyway.”

Lu Jin explained, “What I mean is it’s worth spending 3,500 yuan to let you know my thoughts and to know yours.”

He Ye was speechless.

Lu Jin continued, “From now on, I will tell you directly what I want to do. If we have conflicts, we can talk and solve them. Let’s not fight?”

He Ye lowered her eyes and nodded.

Lu Jin touched her head and asked her to wait in the hotel entrance while he checked out.

He Ye really didn’t want to go over; even though the front desk clerk wouldn’t think much of it, she felt embarrassed.

She faced outside, and after a while, she saw Lu Jin coming towards her. Her hair, still not completely dry, showed evidence of what happened in the room.

Before Lu Jin got closer, He Ye went outside first.

Lu Jin quickly caught up with her.

He Ye, feeling embarrassed and curious, asked, “Did they? Why did they look at you with such strange eyes?”

Lu Jin replied, “Why are you looking at me with strange eyes?”

He Ye explained, “You only stayed in such an expensive room for an hour.”

Lu Jin checked his watch and said, “Check-in at 3:10, check-out at 4:45; that’s one and a half hours, right?”

He Ye asked, “What’s good about that?”

Lu Jin looked at the road and said, “I’ll take a taxi.”

He Ye: “….”

While waiting for the bus, He Ye suddenly got angry, grabbed the umbrella, and pushed her boyfriend out to stand in the sun.

They had dinner on the high-speed train, arrived in Ancheng at seven o’clock, and took a taxi for over half an hour to get back to Xiaofeng South Gate. Lu Jin pushed the bicycle parked at the bus stop and took He Ye back to Building 7.

It was already dark, but Lu Jin still wanted to take his girlfriend upstairs.

He Ye said, “Don’t go up. I need to change my clothes and go to the supermarket to find my dad.”

Lu Jin replied, “Then I’ll wait for you here.”

He Ye insisted, “No need. I don’t have anything either. Come down quickly.”

Lu Jin asked, “Are you going to take a shower?”

He Ye didn’t admit it.

Lu Jin said, “Okay, I’ll go home and take a shower too, and come back after. Don’t worry, I’ll be faster than you.”

He Ye remembered that she had spent nearly half an hour in the hotel bathroom and didn’t believe him.

Lu Jin took out her ID card, sunscreen, and other small items, watched her go inside, then looked in the inner pocket of his bag and went home.

It took He Ye half an hour to shower and dry her hair. After changing clothes, she saw that Lu Jin had sent her many photos from their day in Shanghai just ten minutes ago.

As she looked through them with a smile, she realized that, aside from the hotel, the trip had been enjoyable. Lu Jin was good at navigating unfamiliar places, helping He Ye get familiar with the Jiaotong University campus ahead of her arrival, which made her less nervous about her upcoming enrollment.

Ye Ziyuanyuan: [I went downstairs.]