Shen Xingruo was typically straightforward, but being kissed twice in a row left her unsure of how to respond.
She remained still, keeping her eyes closed. The fireworks outside the Ferris wheel seemed to explode in her mind, one cluster after another, momentarily depriving her of her ability to think.
—Should she just keep pretending to sleep and act like nothing happened?
That didn’t seem like a bad idea.
So, amidst the chaos, Shen Xingruo settled on pretending to sleep.
After kissing Shen Xingruo twice, Lü Xingyan felt like he was in a dream, unreal.
Once he regained his senses, he glanced down at Shen Xingruo.
Still, sound asleep.
His gaze slowly moved downward, from her hair, skimming over her eyebrows, nose, and porcelain-like cheeks, and finally resting on her lips.
It was like going on a trip; since he had already come this far, he might as well get a souvenir.
Since he had already kissed her once, Lü Xingyan felt that he should kiss her on the lips to make it count.
Familiarity breeds confidence, but even though this would be the third time, Lü Xingyan still felt a bit nervous. But recalling how in TV shows and books, most attempts to do something naughty failed due to overthinking, Lü Xingyan decided not to think about it and just go for it.
So, without hesitating, he leaned down and kissed Shen Xingruo on the lips.
Shen Xingruo originally thought that pretending to sleep was the best way to handle the situation, but she didn’t expect Lü Xingyan to take advantage of the opportunity and go further—he stole her first kiss.
After all, Shen Xingruo was just seventeen, a girl who hadn’t even read two romance novels yet, so she still cared about her first kiss.
Her ears grew warm, and her eyelashes began to flutter irregularly.
—If only he paid a little attention, he would know she was awake.
But Lü Xingyan was now ten thousand times more nervous and agitated than she was. Even if she opened her eyes, he would probably stare at her for several minutes before coming to his senses.
No, this was too much.
His heartbeat was too fast, like a sports car with failing brakes, crashing forward uncontrollably.
Lü Xingyan thought he might die of a heart attack on the Ferris wheel before Shen Xingruo could nail him in a coffin.
No, get a grip.
It’s just a kiss, what’s there to be nervous about? Would it be any different in bed later?
Lü Xingyan kept reassuring himself mentally while also holding Shen Xingruo a bit tighter.
As seconds ticked by, his restless thoughts gradually calmed down.
After experiencing a tumultuous moment, Shen Xingruo finally began to realize the reality of losing her first kiss.
She could hear that the fireworks outside had stopped.
The Ferris wheel wouldn’t be long before reaching its lowest point.
Shen Xingruo’s mind was still in turmoil, but she had a feeling that as long as there was one minute left, Lü Xingyan wouldn’t miss the chance to kiss her again. So, she furrowed her brows, pretending to be on the verge of waking up, and tilted her head slightly.
This trick worked quite well.
Initially, Lü Xingyan planned to kiss Shen Xingruo a couple more times, anticipating this rare opportunity that might not happen again for a while. But when Shen Xingruo showed signs of waking up, he didn’t dare to make any more moves.
When they got off the Ferris wheel, Lü Xingyan woke Shen Xingruo up.
Shen Xingruo couldn’t muster up a sleepy look just waking up, so she simply opened her eyes with a wooden expression and got off the Ferris wheel.
Fortunately, Lü Xingyan was too preoccupied with his guilt to notice anything wrong.
After the fireworks ended, “Fairy Tale Land” was about to close.
Following the crowd, they walked towards the exit along the path illuminated by pumpkin lanterns.
Both of them were lost in their thoughts and remained silent throughout the journey.
As night fell, the temperature dropped sharply. The subway station still had powerful air conditioning. Shen Xingruo stood near the ventilation duct, subconsciously hugging her arms and rubbing them.
Lü Xingyan snapped out of it and offered his shirt to her.
But Shen Xingruo didn’t take it.
So, Lü Xingyan simply helped her put it on.
Shen Xingruo shrank a little, her lips pressed tightly together, but she didn’t refuse.
On the way home, Shen Xingruo wore headphones and listened to music, resting her head against the handrail beside her, lost in thought.
Lü Xingyan wanted to say something to her several times, but every time he glanced at her lips, he felt particularly awkward.
Back at Falling Star Lake.
Pei Yue wasn’t home; she had gone out to play cards with her girlfriends and probably wouldn’t be back until late.
Lü Xingyan found bread and milk in the refrigerator and asked Shen Xingruo if she wanted any.
Shen Xingruo stared at him for a few seconds and then shook her head, heading straight upstairs.
Lü Xingyan didn’t feel like eating either. He casually put the food back in the refrigerator and followed Shen Xingruo upstairs.
Before Shen Xingruo closed the door, Lü Xingyan called out to her.
She turned around.
Lü Xingyan leaned against the staircase railing, scratching his nose, and mumbled, “It’s nothing, I noticed you seemed tired today. Get some rest.”
The only response was the sound of the door closing firmly.
Lü Xingyan stared at the door for a moment, unconsciously brushing his lips with his fingertips, then smiled wryly.
Shen Xingruo spent an hour in the bathroom until she was almost suffocating from the stuffiness before coming out.
She couldn’t sleep, so she dried her hair and sat on the balcony, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, Lü Xingyan in the other room was quite busy.
After taking a shower, he put all the candid photos he had taken of Shen Xingruo into frames and hung them on the wall.
Although he couldn’t keep them up forever, tonight he felt like admiring the photo wall of Shen Xingruo.
After hanging them up, he took a photo with his phone. As he flipped through the album, he accidentally stumbled upon the candid photos that Xu Chengzhou had sent him before.
An idea struck him, and he rummaged through his belongings to find the photo printer he hadn’t used in ages. He pointed out the photo of Shen Xingruo on the high-speed train and hung it on the wall as well.
After doing all this, he leaned back in his chair, resting his head on his hands, and admired his work with satisfaction.
Unexpectedly, he heard the sound of the door lock turning at the entrance.
Oh crap, he realized he hadn’t locked the door!
But he couldn’t stop Shen Xingruo from barging in even if he tried.
By the time he put on his slippers and stood up, Shen Xingruo had already walked unhindered to his desk.
Shen Xingruo’s gaze swept over him and then landed on the photo wall.
The set of Little Red Riding Hood-themed frames happened to form a heart-shaped photo wall, just as Lu Xingyan had hung them according to the instructions provided with the frames.
The air was silent.
Shen Xingruo walked slowly to the photo wall, examining each photo one by one.
Lu Xingyan’s brain seemed to reboot, waiting until Shen Xingruo had finished inspecting all of them before restarting.
He attempted to explain, “No, you mustn’t misunderstand, I’m not some weirdo. This well, today at the amusement park, they have this, you know, candid photography thing.”
“And then the staff insisted I buy it. I thought it was quite nicely taken, you see, isn’t this one quite handsome? So, I bought a few… Plus, those were complimentary, and this frame was also a gift.”
Even as he said it, he couldn’t believe it.
That amusement park was a supreme rip-off.
A gift? What a joke.
Lu Xingyan continued to make amends, “Their photos are particularly expensive, so they give away frames. Besides, this one, it’s naturally in this shape, the blueprint is still on the table, don’t believe me? Take a look yourself.”
Shen Xingruo remained silent.
After a while, she suddenly pointed to the bottom-most photo on the wall. “What about this one?”
—The one she pointed at was the sneaky photo of Xu Chengzhou.
Lu Xingyan’s brain stalled once again.
He stared at Shen Xingruo for a good while before explaining, “This one was taken by Xu Chengzhou it’s his. I just bought too many frames, I thought it would look nice if they were all filled up neatly.”
He opened his mouth as if to say something more.
But really…
Even he didn’t believe it, so he decided to keep quiet.
Shen Xingruo didn’t make any sarcastic expressions, just quietly watched him.
Lu Xingyan met her gaze, feeling extremely guilty inside, his eyes involuntarily wanting to avoid hers.
Suddenly he remembered something, coughed, and asked, “By the way, why did you come into my room? Anything you need?”
Shen Xingruo didn’t answer, just slowly approached.
After showering, she was wearing a thin sleeveless nightgown, a shade of grass green, barely reaching her knees, accentuating her skin’s tender whiteness.
As she drew closer, the refreshing scent of her shower gel mingled with the fragrance of a young girl, stimulating Lu Xingyan’s brain nerves…
And as she got nearer, approaching him closely, she even took off her shoes, stepping barefoot on his instep.
Then her hand slowly climbed up his neck, encircling it.
Tiptoeing slightly.
Their lips were infinitely close.
Lu Xingyan couldn’t even begin to fathom what Shen Xingruo’s sudden gesture meant.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, eyelids drooping.
Below, his body swiftly reacted, perhaps stirred by Shen Xingruo’s unintentional teasing.
“What are you doing?” His voice sounded hoarse.
Shen Xingruo’s expression and actions were completely at odds; she seemed distant, even serious.
Then Lu Xingyan heard her ask, “What have you done?”
“Lu Xingyan, do you dare to own up? Why not admit it?”
Lu Xingyan’s mind was a mess of confusion, thinking she was referring to the photo wall. He didn’t know how to respond or what Shen Xingruo wanted to hear.
Shen Xingruo waited for a moment but didn’t get an answer.
Suddenly, she let go of his hand, withdrew from his instep, and took a step back.
She lowered her head to put on her shoes, her expression unreadable.
Sensing that she might leave in the next second, Lu Xingyan instinctively grabbed her wrist without thinking, then slowly slid his hand down, holding hers.
Shen Xingruo looked at their intertwined hands, her gaze pausing momentarily, then lifted her eyes calmly and asked, “What do you mean?”
“…I like you.”
“I like you.”
Lu Xingyan didn’t know where the courage came from, but suddenly, it slipped out of his mouth.
He gazed into Shen Xingruo’s eyes, refusing to let go of her hand. “The photos were intentionally bought by me, and the photo wall was intentionally hung by me. I admit it.”
“…Oh.”
It was strange. Hearing his response, she… felt strange.
A little happy, yet also somewhat indescribable, and temporarily wanting to escape… Although she found his avoidance irritating, she also wanted to escape for a moment.
Seeing no change in her expression and her response so indifferent, Lu Xingyan’s heart suddenly cooled down considerably.
So, before Shen Xingruo could refuse, he spoke first—
“I know you might not have feelings for me, but I hope you can give me a chance to pursue you.”
Feeling like his words lacked strength, he impulsively added more fuel to his thoughts—
“I might not be outstanding right now, but I’m not stupid. Maybe if I work hard, I can strive for a score of five or six hundred in the college entrance examination.”
“If you don’t dislike me, don’t rush to reject me. After all, it’s still a year away from the college entrance exam, and you, being such a good student, surely haven’t thought about early relationships. Just consider this year as an observation period. You’ll just have one more admirer, without any loss.”