Chapter 35

In the following days, Lu Yan kept explaining to Lu Zhen, swearing that she really didn’t like Liang Ting anymore.

“I’ve thought it through. Uncle Liang is smart, but he’s too smart for me to handle. Hmm, I just can’t keep up with him. Forget it, forget it.”

“Really?” Lu Zhen expressed doubt about her words.

She nodded repeatedly. “Really!”

Seeing that his daughter seemed to have truly returned to normal, Lu Zhen finally relaxed his guard against Liang Ting a little.

“It’s not that your dad doesn’t want you to date.”

After getting his way, Lu Zhen started to act all kind and reasonable. He patted Lu Yan’s shoulder and said earnestly, “You can date, but the other person’s character has to pass your dad’s test. In other words, your dad has to be the first one to approve.”

Lu Yan looked at him curiously. “Are you saying Uncle Liang’s character isn’t good?”

“Not exactly,” Lu Zhen shook his head. “Your Uncle Liang is definitely a good person, but he’s my brother. If you’re with him, where does that leave me?”

Lu Yan thought about it carefully and realized he was right. If she were with someone like Uncle Liang, he’d have to be treated as Lu Zhen’s junior, and that was… kind of strange.

In that case, Shen Kuo would also…

Rough. She shuddered at the thought.

Lu Yan immediately cut off that line of thinking and decided not to go down that path any further.

The girl eagerly awaited the evening of Saturday.

She sat at her vanity in her room, applying a light, refreshing makeup as she prepared for the date tonight.

At that time, mobile phones weren’t common among high school students. Only the wealthy families, like Lu Zhen and Liang Ting, had them. Shen Kuo didn’t have a phone, so Lu Yan couldn’t contact him. They had only verbally agreed on a time.

Although it wasn’t convenient to get in touch, it was precisely because of this communication barrier that her longing for him slowly brewed, becoming rich and lasting.

Downstairs, Lu Zhen had already changed and left the house.

Lu Yan leaned by the window, watching him leave, and immediately sent Liang Ting a message: “Uncle Liang, thanks!”

Liang Ting: “No need to thank me.”

At 7:30, Lu Yan checked the time and rode her bicycle out the door.

The movie started at 8:00, so riding there now would be just right.

The cinema was a rare source of entertainment in Beicheng, and there were only three cinemas in the entire area.

Each cinema had a large hall that could accommodate hundreds of people. There were no smaller halls, and no other showtimes to choose from.

A crowd of young people had already gathered outside the cinema. Lu Yan locked her bike to a lamppost, then took out a small mirror and her tinted lip balm, reapplying it.

“You’re here.”

“Ah!”

The familiar voice rang from behind her, and Lu Yan was startled. Her hand trembled, and the lip balm went crooked on the corner of her lips.

“…”

Shen Kuo looked at the faint red stain on the corner of her lips, wanting to laugh but forcing himself to hold it in. He turned his head away.

“Just laugh if you want to,” Lu Yan said, closing the lip balm and wiping her lips, deflated. “Is it fun to scare me?”

“I didn’t scare you,” Shen Kuo said flatly. “You were just too nervous.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Oh.” Obviously, he didn’t believe her.

Sometimes, Lu Yan really felt like she couldn’t outplay this guy. His mind was sharp, his eyes keen—whatever she thought, he could see right through her.

Shen Kuo pulled her closer, bending down to meet her eyes. He reached out and gently touched the corner of her lips with his fingertip, slowly wiping away the excess lip balm.

His fingertip wasn’t delicate at all, on the contrary, it had a rough, calloused texture.

A surge of electricity ran through her spine as he wiped her lips, and Lu Yan’s body froze.

This… felt like the first crush.

Her body felt like melting ice cream, soft and weak.

Shen Kuo wiped off the lip balm from the corner of her mouth, completely indifferent that his thumb was stained with color.

Lu Yan was afraid of looking too messy and quickly reached for her lip balm to fix it, but Shen Kuo said, “Don’t put that on again. It’s fine.”

“Ah.”

“You don’t need makeup. You look great just the way you are.”

Lu Yan’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She had put on makeup today—very light, but still… deliberate. Shen Kuo had said they were just going to watch a movie like friends, but she hadn’t acted very “friend-like” today.

Not wanting to make her feel awkward, Shen Kuo changed the subject. “I bought some popcorn. Don’t put on lipstick, it’s not good for your health.”

“Oh, okay.” Lu Yan obediently put the lip balm away, then blinked her big eyes and nervously glanced at him.

She was really being so good, Shen Kuo thought. He’d never met such an obedient, well-behaved girl. Being with her felt like lying on soft clouds, completely at ease.

The movie began, and the crowd slowly made their way to the theater.

There were so many people, and even though it wasn’t a premiere, Stephen Chow’s movies were always very popular.

The crowd surged into the theater, shoulder to shoulder. Some people bumped into Lu Yan, and she furrowed her brows, moving closer to Shen Kuo.

Shen Kuo immediately pulled her to his side, gently shielding her to prevent anyone from bumping into her.

This gesture really screamed boyfriend material.

Lu Yan looked up at him and realized he was wearing a clean white shirt today, the buttons neatly fastened all the way up to his neck, and the edges crisply ironed.

He didn’t look this formal at school.

The little girl pursed her lips and chuckled softly to herself.

Actually, he must have dressed on purpose today.

The seats weren’t assigned and were random, but fortunately, their two adjacent tickets were together. Lu Yan double-checked them, or she really would have cried.

They got lucky, though, and their seats were right in the middle toward the back.

After sitting down, Shen Kuo noticed that the little girl was constantly sneaking smiles, not sure what she was so happy about.

She always seemed to have so many things that made her happy, and so few worries.

Unlike him, who was always brooding and full of resentment. Who wanted to live with such hardship, who wanted to constantly feel down and out?

Shen Kuo looked at the faint red mark on his thumb, lost in thought.

Just then, a piece of popcorn was offered to his mouth. Shen Kuo looked up, and the little girl, with her big, dark eyes, looked at him earnestly: “You bought it, have one.”

Shen Kuo shook his head. “You eat it. I don’t like sweet things…”

Before he could finish, the popcorn was already at his bottom lip.

Fine.

Shen Kuo took the piece of popcorn, and the faint sweetness melted instantly on his tongue.

Lu Yan smiled, her eyes squinting with delight, then grabbed another piece of popcorn and offered it to him. Shen Kuo said, “No need.”

This continued for several rounds, every time he said no, but she still fed him the popcorn.

For the first time, Shen Kuo felt helpless. The popcorn tasted faintly sweet, but after eating so much, it was… surprisingly sweet in his heart.

The lights suddenly dimmed, and the movie began. Both of them straightened up and focused on the screen.

There was a reason The King of Comedy became a classic. Lu Yan had watched it countless times since she was little, but every time, she could still immerse herself in the plot, watching it with great interest.

But this time, Lu Yan’s mind was a little distracted.

She secretly glanced at Shen Kuo. The faint blue light from the movie screen cast on his sharp profile, his expression soft, his gaze fixed on the screen, watching intently.

So handsome. His looks were truly out of this world.

Why did the girls at school choose Lu Zhen as the school heartthrob? Are they all blind?

In the movie, Zhang Bozhi said, “Your lips are chapped, do you need some lip balm?”

Stephen Chow replied, “Sure.”

Then Zhang Bozhi kissed Stephen Chow.

Exciting.

Lu Yan secretly pulled out her lip balm and applied a layer. Of course, she wasn’t bold enough to do what the female lead did, daring to “apply lip balm” to Shen Kuo, but…

Just thinking about it was enough.

Shen Kuo noticed the little movements of the girl next to him applying lip balm. His lips parted slightly, then closed again.

He felt the collar of his shirt was a bit tight, and it was getting warm, so he unbuttoned the first button with one hand.

The scene in the movie continued. Stephen Chow said, “My lips are chapped, but I don’t want to.”

Zhang Bozhi replied, “Then why don’t you apply more lip balm?”

Stephen Chow waved his hand, “Well, just apply it then.”

“Go to hell, if you don’t want to, don’t force it.”

“Actually, I do want to apply it.”

—

The conversation seemed a bit nonsensical, but it stirred up a ripple of unease in his heart.

The little girl next to him seemed to keep reapplying lip balm, and it seemed to be getting thicker and thicker—what exactly was she trying to do with all that?…

Shen Kuo swallowed hard, forcing himself to focus and continue watching the movie, ignoring her little movements.

Just then, Lu Yan’s phone suddenly vibrated.

She put the lip balm back into her bag and checked her phone. It was a message from Liang Ting:

“You and Shen Kuo are watching a movie?”

Lu Yan’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly typed a reply: “How… how do you know?!”

Liang Ting: “Guess?”

Lu Yan panicked, looking around nervously. Just then, another message from Liang Ting arrived: “Don’t look around, your dad and I… are sitting behind you. Don’t turn around.”

Lu Yan was so shocked that she nearly fell off her seat.

She had asked Liang Ting to distract Lu Zhen, but she never expected Liang Ting to bring Lu Zhen to the cinema to watch the movie. What a coincidence!

If she had known, she would’ve just clearly told Liang Ting the time and place.

Another message from Liang Ting came through: “Don’t worry, your dad hasn’t noticed. Just be careful, don’t let him see you.”

Shen Kuo noticed that after Lu Yan finished applying lip balm, she lowered her head and began texting someone. He furrowed his brow and quietly asked, “Who are you texting…”

Before he could finish, Lu Yan immediately leaned in and covered his mouth with her hand.

“Shh.”

The little girl clung to his neck and whispered in his ear, “Lu Zhen is behind us. You must not let him see, or I’m done for.”

Her soft body pressed against his, her lips almost brushing his ear.

Shen Kuo felt his whole body stiffen, his heart pounding faster and faster.

After Lu Yan finished speaking, she began to shrink down, lowering her head and hiding beneath the armrest.

Shen Kuo naturally extended his arm, resting it on the back of her seat, using his wide arm to block her head.

The position looked… as if he was holding her.

Lu Yan hid for a few minutes, and when she saw that Lu Zhen wasn’t moving, she relaxed considerably. She quietly curled into Shen Kuo’s embrace, resting her head on his chest, shamelessly taking advantage of him, and occasionally glanced up to watch his expression.

He didn’t show any expression, keeping his gaze fixed on the movie screen.

But his hand had already clenched into a fist.

His heart was racing, almost reaching its limit.

Lu Zhen looked at the couple ahead and muttered quietly to Liang Ting beside him, “These couples in love are really annoying.”

Liang Ting twitched the corner of his mouth and agreed, “Yeah…yeah.”

After the movie, Lu Yan and Shen Kuo didn’t leave immediately. They waited for Lu Zhen to leave before standing up and walking out of the cinema with the crowd.

The scare passed without incident.

However, just when she thought everything was over, it wasn’t that simple.

As soon as she stepped out of the cinema, she suddenly received a call from Liang Ting.

Amid the crowd pushing and shoving, Lu Yan struggled to answer the phone.

“Liang Uncle.”

“Lu Yan, don’t go outside, your dad saw your bicycle!”

“Ah, I’ve already… left.”

Lu Yan looked up and saw Lu Zhen standing by the street, bending down to examine her pink bicycle.

“This one.”

“This is our girl’s.”

The bicycle was the only one of its kind in the whole city, and Lu Zhen had bought it for her, so he immediately recognized it.

Lu Yan wanted to run, but it was too late. Lu Zhen’s loud voice rang out, “Hey, hey, hey, I knew it, the bike’s here, but where’s the person? You came to watch a movie too!”

“I…”

Lu Yan turned around, only to find that Shen Kuo had already disappeared, and all she could see around her were unfamiliar faces.

The tense knot in her heart suddenly relaxed.

“Y-yes, I also came… to watch a movie.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? If you had, we could’ve gone together,” Lu Zhen looked at her curiously. “Why are you alone?”

“I… I’m alone.”

“Who watches a movie alone, silly? You should’ve told me, I would’ve come with you.”

“Uh…”

Lu Yan cautiously glanced around, and indeed, Shen Kuo had completely disappeared.

Liang Ting tossed his soda bottle aside, walked over, and smiled, “Well, let’s head back together then.”

“No, no, you go on ahead. I’ll take my daughter home.”

Lu Zhen was still wary of Liang Ting and pushed him away, “Goodbye, old man.”

“That works.” Liang Ting looked at Lu Yan and said meaningfully, “Let your dad take you home, and don’t wander around alone at night.”

He deliberately emphasized the last three words.

“Mm…” Lu Yan nodded, feeling guilty.

Lu Zhen put Lu Yan in the car and impatiently said, “Alright, enough with the small talk. You two aren’t even close.”

After Lu Zhen drove off with his precious daughter, Liang Ting turned around and saw Shen Kuo near the cinema entrance.

Well, he sure knew how to get out of sight quickly.

Of course, Liang Ting knew it wasn’t because he was afraid of Lu Zhen, but because he didn’t want to cause any trouble for Lu Yan.

Shen Kuo was walking away, and Liang Ting called out to him, “Wait.”

Shen Kuo didn’t turn around. “What’s up?”

Liang Ting caught up with him and said, “Whatever happened between you and Lu Zhen is your business, but it has nothing to do with Lu Yan.”

Shen Kuo paused, casting a cold glance at him. “You really care about her, don’t you?”

There was a subtle hint of hostility in his otherwise indifferent tone.

“Of course I care. She’s my good friend’s… sister.”

“Don’t stretch your hand too far.” Shen Kuo continued walking. “My business has nothing to do with you.”

Suddenly, Liang Ting grabbed Shen Kuo’s collar and yanked him back, saying fiercely, “Shen Kuo, if you dare hurt her, I won’t let you off.”

His usual gentlemanly demeanor was gone, replaced by a sharp, threatening edge.

Shen Kuo shook off his hand, straightened his collar, lifted his chin, and gave him a disdainful smile. “Spending too much time with Lu Zhen has made you this brainless?”

Liang Ting didn’t respond, and Shen Kuo’s pitch-black eyes stared at him.

“If you won’t let me off, when have I ever needed your forgiveness?”