The words, “Are you going to meet your boyfriend?” rolled around on Shao Yuye’s tongue twice, but in the end, he just couldn’t bring himself to ask.
After holding it in for a long while, what he finally managed to say was, “Want me to drive you there?”
“Sure.”
Shen Wanwan set down her eyeliner pen. Her gaze remained fixed on the mirror, clearly pleased with the eyeliner she’d just finished.
Once she was completely ready, Shao Yuye drove her out.
She and Qi Luozhou had agreed to meet at Chutian. Shen Wanwan had been wanting to try their newly released lava cake—a small, perfectly sized dessert that would make an ideal finish after dinner.
As Shao Yuye drove, he noticed she kept looking at her phone. Every now and then he wanted to sneak a glance at the screen—
Only to remember she’d put a privacy screen protector on it.
He couldn’t see a thing.
After silently suffering another bout of frustration, he tried again, speaking as casually as he could.
“College guys these days really aren’t reliable.”
Shen Wanwan looked up from her phone.
“Why do you say that?”
“Oh, it’s just the usual.
“Yu Cheng’s cousin started dating someone last month, and they suddenly broke up a couple of days ago. She’s been crying her eyes out. Nobody can talk any sense into her. If the guy had been decent, it’d be one thing, but he was a complete scumbag. All he knew was how to sweet-talk little girls and string them along.”
Shen Wanwan hesitated.
“How come he didn’t mention that yesterday?”
Shao Yuye’s heart skipped a beat. Fortunately, he reacted quickly.
“Well… family scandals aren’t exactly something you announce to the world!
“That guy even gave her a ring—a tiny one woven out of dogtail grass. He made all kinds of eternal-love promises, but that didn’t stop him from cheating and dating several girls at once…”
As he spoke, he secretly watched his sister’s expression from the corner of his eye.
But Shen Wanwan showed no reaction at all.
She merely nodded calmly.
“Mhm.”
That reaction wasn’t encouraging.
Growing even more anxious, Shao Yuye hurriedly added,
“So when you’re looking for a boyfriend, you’ve got to keep your eyes open. Don’t ever let appearances fool you.”
His warning reminded Shen Wanwan of the boys in her class.
They weren’t that bad.
At least not nearly as dramatic as he was making it sound.
Still, she’d never interacted much with them, so she nodded in agreement.
“Don’t worry. I like rich men.”
Being wealthy was actually the least important requirement on her list.
Shao Yuye continued rambling.
“Besides family background and ability, his character has to be good too. Character is the most important thing.”
His deliberate concern throughout the conversation had become rather obvious. Shen Wanwan looked at him curiously.
“What’s with you today?”
Shao Yuye froze.
He suddenly felt like a child who’d just been caught red-handed, and for a moment he couldn’t even meet her eyes.
“Huh? Nothing.”
Shen Wanwan was about to say something else when her phone chimed.
A message from Qi Luozhou.
The corners of her lips unconsciously lifted into a smile.
He said traffic was heavy and he might be a little late.
She replied with a simple [Okay].
Then she looked up again. As though sensing exactly what her brother was worried about, she added earnestly, “I’ll find a man who’s as good to me as you are, Brother.”
That single sentence sent Shao Yuye straight to cloud nine.
“You don’t have to use me as the benchmark. That’s setting the bar way too high for everyone else!”
With those words, he finally felt somewhat relieved.
If his little sister judged every potential boyfriend by his own standards, then any young man who passed would surely be outstanding.
—Now I kind of want to meet this ‘876’ fellow.
Chatting and laughing, they soon arrived outside Chutian.
The dessert shop wasn’t located in a busy commercial district, and at this hour on a weekday there were barely any customers inside.
After getting out of the car, Shen Wanwan waved goodbye to her Brother.
But Shao Yuye kept looking around, searching for something.
“Aren’t you going home?” she asked.
“It’s fine. There’s still plenty of time.”
“Not really.”
She glanced at her phone.
“Brother Yu Cheng just texted. He said no one’s opening the door for him.”
Shao Yuye: “…” Why does my own teammate keep ganking me?
“That guy… it’s not like he doesn’t know the door code.”
Grumbling to himself, Shao Yuye turned the steering wheel.
He scanned the area one last time, still failing to spot any sign of ‘876’.
When he reluctantly looked back again, his sister had already walked into the dessert shop.
From inside, through the clear glass window, Shen Wanwan watched him continue looking left and right before finally driving away with obvious reluctance.
A thoughtful look crossed her face.
Shao Yuye hadn’t driven far before a red light forced him to stop.
He was still wondering how he should arrange a meeting with this mysterious ‘876’ when a black Maybach suddenly passed through his field of vision.
His train of thought paused for a moment.
—Seems like Qi Luozhou has one of those too.
—…Wait.
—Why am I thinking about Qi Luozhou?
“Ugh!”
He shuddered dramatically, as though trying to shake off goosebumps, then quickly put the thought behind him and drove home to let Yu Cheng in.
Meanwhile, the black Maybach pulled up outside Chutian.
By then, Shen Wanwan had already bought the desserts. She opened the rear door and got in.
On previous occasions when she’d ridden in his car, there had always been a chauffeur, so the two of them naturally sat together in the back.
Only after she had settled into her seat did she realize something.
“Sorry. I’m just not used to sitting in the front passenger seat.”
Qi Luozhou didn’t mind in the slightest.
She was sitting right behind him. He glanced at her through the rearview mirror. The fair-faced girl apologized with her words, but her expression plainly said: If you dare blame me for this, you’re done for.
He chuckled and, imitating the tone of her chauffeur, asked, “Where to, Miss Shen?”
Shen Wanwan laughed.
She took a small cake out of the shopping bag. “Want some?”
The car hadn’t started yet, and Qi Luozhou answered yes.
Pinching the edge of the molten lava cake between two fingers, she stretched her arm forward.
He turned his head cooperatively and leaned closer. Shen Wanwan held the cake to his lips. As he opened his mouth, the warmth of his lips brushed against her fingertips.
Feeling mischievous, she deliberately let her fingers linger against his lips for another moment. Just as she was about to pull her hand back, a warmth suddenly wrapped around her wrist.
Qi Luozhou gently encircled her wrist with his hand. His fingertips lightly traced across her palm, sending a tingling sensation through her like a tiny electric current.
The moment she tried to catch him, he calmly let go.
As though he hadn’t been the one who had just stirred up such a flutter in her.
Shen Wanwan also withdrew her hand with a perfectly composed expression.
“How does it taste?”
“Very good.”
Sweetness spread through his mouth as he started the car.
“Where to?”
Originally, Shen Wanwan had wanted to go sightseeing with him. But after passing through the downtown area while riding in her brother’s car, a bold idea had suddenly occurred to her.
“Qi Luozhou, how about we go…
“…look for a little excitement?”
Tomorrow was Lunar New Year’s Eve, and the streets were bustling with people.
There was practically no privacy to be had here.
He was dressed simply and neatly, wearing a crisp white dress shirt beneath a light beige trench coat.
Light colors suited him better than dark ones, giving him a uniquely cool, refined aura.
Walking around like that would be far too conspicuous.
So before coming here, she had dragged him into a store to buy matching down jackets.
They weren’t fitted, but puffy, round white couple’s jackets.
Their hats matched too—soft, fluffy knit beanies—along with colorful patterned scarves, one for each of them.
Her color theme was pink, while his was blue.
That wasn’t all. Looking at his signature pair of slightly upturned eyes, she also picked out a pair of gold-rimmed glasses with plain lenses for him.
Qi Luozhou’s temperament wasn’t exactly cold, it was simply detached.
Detached in a way that seemed utterly unconcerned with worldly affairs.
But once those glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, the aura of restrained elegance radiating from him inexplicably thrilled her.
“You look really good.”
The scarf covered most of Shen Wanwan’s face.
She also chose a pair of black-framed glasses, making her look like a diligent college student.
Hand in hand, they openly blended into the crowd.
Dressed like this, they looked perfectly ordinary among the sea of people. Yet because they were both so well-built, even the bulky down jackets didn’t make them appear overweight. Now and then, passersby glanced their way. Not because they recognized them, but simply because they were an unusually attractive couple.
They strolled down the street just like any ordinary lovers.
Yet there was an added thrill beneath it all.
He was the nation’s top movie star, while she had become one of the entertainment industry’s hottest celebrity.
If either of them were recognized, they’d be instantly surrounded by crowds.
“Nervous?”
Shen Wanwan looked up at Qi Luozhou.
One of his hands held hers, while the other rested lightly on her shoulder to shield her from being jostled by the crowd.
“Not really.”
The wind was bitterly cold.
Yet neither of them felt cold at all.
At this hour, the square was mostly filled with retired folks killing time and students enjoying their holiday. A classic romance film was playing on a screen in the center of the plaza.
For a moment, it was impossible to tell whose heart was swelling with emotion.
Even the wind seemed loud.
Shen Wanwan suddenly rose onto her tiptoes and boldly pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“What about now?”
It had only been a fleeting peck, but Qi Luozhou cupped the back of her head with one hand, gently drawing her closer.
“I am nervous.”
That was what he said.
Yet his kisses fell softly and repeatedly upon her lips.
—Liar.
How was it that this man’s nerve was even greater than hers?