Su Man closed her eyes and answered blankly, “But I don’t know what I like most……”

“Do you like sweets?”

“They’re alright.”

“Chocolate?”

“Mm, that’s good~”

“Then imagine — you have a chocolate lava cake in front of you. You pick up a small silver teaspoon and gently cut into the center. The cake is soft and springy, and the chocolate inside slowly flows out — silky, velvety, with the faint bitterness and rich fragrance of cacao. What would it taste like when it melts in your mouth?……”

A subtle change came over the expression on Su Man’s face.

Then she heard Lu Yuwen say, “Alright. Now open your eyes and look at me.”

Su Man opened her eyes as instructed, and then heard Lu Yuwen say, “Got it.”

Huh?

That was it?

She blinked, and immediately closed the distance. “Let me see~ let me see~”

On Lu Yuwen’s phone was the picture he’d just taken — a horizontally framed photograph——

A woman leaning against the railing with graceful lines, her figure occupying two-fifths of the entire frame. The soft, hazy lamplight played across her face, tracing a beautiful glow along the edges. The tips of her hair lifted ever so slightly in the air, light and dancing, giving her whole presence an easy, romantic quality.

And those eyes — usually sharp and clear with a certain keenness to them — were softly lowered in the photo, as if filled with deep emotion, turned gentle and warm, and carrying an air of ambiguous pleasure.

Su Man couldn’t believe this was herself.

True, the woman in the photograph looked exactly like her — yet she also looked so different. Especially those eyes, as if they held unspoken feeling. And yet who could have guessed that in that moment she had only been thinking about chocolate……

Su Man snuck a glance at Lu Yuwen.

“I wasn’t lying to you, was I?” Lu Yuwen’s lips curved up, and he sent the photo to her on WeChat. “Manman is beautiful.”

Su Man: “……”

After a brief silence, she muttered quietly, “It doesn’t even look like me……”

“Then what do you think you look like?” Lu Yuwen looked at her with a smile. “A little fiercer? Or a little cooler?”

“……” Su Man turned her head away awkwardly. “It just doesn’t look like me.”

“Of course it does.” Lu Yuwen said with a laugh, “I think it looks exactly like Manman — just as beautiful as Manman, just as gentle as Manman, just as enchanting as Manman……”

“Stop!” Su Man reached out and covered his mouth. Her cheeks were flushed crimson — she genuinely could not take compliments. One word of praise and she’d be flustered to bits!

She had quite a lot of strength, so when she covered his mouth, Lu Yuwen truly couldn’t get a single sound out. All that was left were two dark eyes, quietly gazing at her.

Su Man sheepishly removed her hand and insisted quietly, “No more of that.”

“Then I’ll stop.” Lu Yuwen smiled, very easygoing about it.

Then he added, “But it really is a little unlike her. Compared to the Manman in my heart, it falls quite short.”

Su Man: “……”

Even though that sweetness hit her full-on, she still felt a flicker of deflation. She sighed and asked, “Is everyone in business as silver-tongued as you?”

“It depends on the person.” Lu Yuwen took her hand and strolled slowly along the riverbank. “Only for the most important customers does one rack their brains to fawn and please. As for you — you’re currently my VIP Gold Card Supreme Member.”

Su Man burst out laughing, thoroughly tickled by the phrase “VIP Gold Card Supreme.”

She laughed, “A title that impressive must come with a very expensive annual fee!”

Lu Yuwen stopped walking and said, “Not particularly expensive. If you’re willing to sign up for a lifetime membership, I can offer you a special rate.”

It sounded like a joke — and it also sounded like a sincere proposal.

Given the stage of their relationship, a proper proposal would have been premature, so there was mostly a playful element to it. But his intentions behind it still made Su Man feel moved.

After all, she and Li Li had known each other for so many years, and she had never once waited for a line like that from him.

Before, she hadn’t understood where her restless anxiety came from. Now, she finally did.

She looked at Lu Yuwen standing before her, and said with heartfelt feeling, “Lu Yuwen, you’re really so good.”

—