After holding back the question for so long, Lu Xingyan blurted it out and found his heart starting to race uncontrollably.
Shen Xingruo, perhaps because she didn’t understand immediately or for some other reason, remained silent for several seconds. Suddenly, as if she had figured something out, she began a series of deep, soul-searching questions.
“Can being in a relationship help me become the top student in our grade?”
“Even though I can be the top student, can the other person also be the top student?”
“If he can’t, then his grades are worse than mine. If his grades are worse than mine and he still wants to be my boyfriend, shouldn’t he feel ashamed?”
Lu Xingyan was speechless.
—No, before you said these things, I didn’t feel ashamed, and I still don’t.
“So, you mean that if you were to date, the guy’s grades would have to be better than yours?”
Shen Xingruo didn’t respond.
Lu Xingyan collected his thoughts and continued to speculate, “So, there’s no chance of you dating in high school since there are no boys at Mingli with better grades than yours. Are you planning to wait until college to find a boyfriend?”
At the beginning of his reasoning, Lu Xingyan felt slightly relieved; after all, if he wasn’t good enough, neither were the other boys at Mingli. But as he thought further, he started to feel uneasy.
Shen Xingruo was indeed impressive, but there are always people better than you in the wider world. In college—
He was interrupted by Shen Xingruo again, who said, “Objectively speaking, it’s not that there’s no chance of dating in high school. Even though I’m the top student in my grade, there is also a top student in the science class. Besides, with the start of the new term, there will be new students in grades below us.”
…?
You are meticulous.
Lu Xingyan asked, “Aren’t you reaching a bit far with this?”
“It’s not that I think you’re wrong, Shen Xingruo, but love and grades aren’t related. You can’t use grades as a standard for choosing a boyfriend. Some people, even if their grades are poor…”
Shen Xingruo cut in, “Even if their grades are poor, they can’t even score four hundred points, but they’re good at fighting and wasting money, making them the perfect boyfriend?”
Lu Xingyan paused and quickly denied, “No, I wasn’t talking about myself.”
Ignoring him, Shen Xingruo stood up with the first aid kit. But Lu Xingyan suddenly stood up too, grabbing her wrist, and then, as if possessed, he said, “No, I was talking about myself.”
Shen Xingruo hadn’t expected him to admit it. To be honest, she had vaguely suspected it but wasn’t entirely sure. And now, she wasn’t sure what Lu Xingyan meant by this.
The warmth from his grip on her wrist was somewhat burning. The air was completely silent yet unsettling. Neither of them spoke.
At that moment—
A devilish knocking sound came from the door.
Both of them tensed up simultaneously. Luckily, to prevent Pei Yue from barging in as if no one was there, Lu Xingyan had locked the door.
Pei Yue twisted the doorknob a couple of times without success and finally stood at the door, whining, “Lu Xingyan, are you asleep? I wanted to talk to Xingruo, but I knocked on her door and there was no response, so she must be asleep.”
Instinctively, Lu Xingyan replied, “Mom, I’m also asleep. I just got into bed.”
Shen Xingruo was puzzled, “…?”
Lu Xingyan, committed to the act, pulled Shen Xingruo to the bedside and turned off the light.
Pei Yue continued, “It’s okay, you don’t have to open the door for Mom. I just watched a movie tonight, and it got me emotional.”
“I’ve been so harsh on you! Son, please don’t blame me. The more I love you, the stricter I am. Isn’t that right? I just want you to succeed and make something of yourself…”
Lu Xingyan was speechless.
Shen Xingruo was also speechless.
Pei Yue kept sobbing and mumbling at the door, showing no signs of stopping. Given her heartfelt monologue, Lu Xingyan couldn’t just tell her, “Mom, please be quiet, I’m really tired.” But he couldn’t open the door either. With Shen Xingruo right there, and even the bathroom door being a semi-transparent frosted glass, there was nowhere to hide her.
So, the two of them stood by the bedside, patiently waiting for Pei Yue to finish and leave.
The moonlight was beautiful that night.
As the room darkened, the sky outside became even clearer, like a piece of deep blue silk adorned with a bright moon and a few stars. The soft starlight and moonlight filtered into the room, casting a gentle glow on their faces.
They stood close together, despite the ample space. It felt as if they couldn’t move, standing face to face, each breathing in the fresh scent of grass from the other.
Shen Xingruo kept her eyes lowered, silently noting the rhythm of her heartbeat. Lu Xingyan also looked down, watching her. He reached out, wanting to touch her fingertips—
Suddenly, Mrs. Pei’s voice rose again, “It’s all my and your dad’s fault! We only have one son! We were too afraid to scold or punish you when you were little! Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so unruly and irresponsible…”
Lu Xingyan withdrew his hand. Shen Xingruo looked up at him after hearing Mrs. Pei’s self-reproach from outside.
With Lu Xingyan’s head already lowered, their proximity increased as Shen Xingruo looked up, their breaths mingling.
Instinctively, Lu Xingyan leaned in closer, little by little…
Another loud interruption—
“Don’t worry! Mom will change! I won’t criticize you for not scoring four hundred anymore. I’ll help you reach four hundred…”
At that moment, Shen Xingruo took a step back.
Lu Xingyan felt frustrated. He was just one quiet moment away from kissing Shen Xingruo.
Unable to hold back, he interrupted, “Mom, if you’re so regretful, how about you return my allowance first?”
The sobbing from outside the door abruptly stopped.
It seemed Mrs. Pei had finished expressing her post-movie emotions, as her tone instantly turned cold, “The end-of-term exam results aren’t out yet. Who knows if you even scored four hundred? Anyway, you wouldn’t understand your mom’s complex feelings after watching this film. Go to sleep.”
Lu Xingyan suddenly regretted it. If he had known that mentioning the allowance would make the Empress Dowager leave, he would have brought it up earlier.
The Empress Dowager was gone, but so was the mood.
Shen Xingruo turned on the light and then left his room with the first aid kit as if nothing had happened.
However, lying in bed that night, Shen Xingruo couldn’t fall asleep. She reached for her phone on the bedside table, dug out a pair of earphones from the drawer, and put them on, listening to “Runaway to the Moon.”
In another room, just one flight of stairs away, Lu Xingyan was also unable to sleep. When he couldn’t sleep, he always pulled others into his insomnia, so while the group chat was still lively with voice messages, he abruptly sent a text:
“I confessed to Shen Xingruo.”
For a few seconds, the group chat fell silent as if everyone had collectively gone offline. Then, as if the messages had just caught up, the screen exploded with replies.
Xu Chengzhou: “WTF?”
Li Chengfan: “Lu Xingyan, did someone hack your account?”
Bian He: “…”
Zhao Langming: “Exce?! What happened? Did you confess? How did you do it? Did it work?”
Li Chengfan: “But that’s Shen Xingruo! There’s no way it worked!”
Xu Chengzhou: “But if it didn’t work, why would Young Master Lu even mention it?”
Li Chengfan: “You make a good point. I’m convinced.”
Bian He: “I think Brother Yan messaged Shen Xingruo to confess, and she hasn’t replied yet. He’s just killing time by informing us while he waits for her response.”
Li Chengfan: “You make even more sense. I’m convinced too.”
The group chat then completely ignored Lu Xingyan and ran with their theories, creating multiple versions of the story.
One version had them already in a hotel, with Shen Xingruo in the shower while Lu Xingyan sent the message to show off.
After watching this for a while, Lu Xingyan finally chimed in again:
Lu Xingyan: “Not writing scripts for interactive story games is a real waste of your talents.”
Since his buddies didn’t know he and Shen Xingruo were currently living together, Lu Xingyan decided to go along with Bian He’s theory. He condensed his conversation with Shen Xingruo about dating into a series of WeChat messages and summarized it for the group.
Lu Xingyan: “After I said ‘I was talking about myself,’ she didn’t respond.”
The group chat was silent as they absorbed the story. About fifteen seconds later, someone finally spoke up.
Xu Chengzhou: “Honestly, it sounds like she rejected you.”
Li Chengfan: “Agreed.”
Zhao Langming: “I don’t think you made your intentions very clear. Maybe Shen Xingruo didn’t realize you were confessing.”
Bian He: “Or maybe her phone died, or she lost connection or something.”
Zhao Langming: “Yeah, but the most likely explanation is still rejection.”
Bian He: “I agree.”
Lu Xingyan: “…You guys can go to hell.”
Thus, the summer break quietly began with a sleepless night.
The next day, both of them slept in until late morning. They sat downstairs, eating breakfast and watching the news, avoiding eye contact.
After breakfast, Pei Yue went outside to water the flowers and call her friends. Shen Xingruo went to the fridge to get some milk.
Lu Xingyan got up quietly and walked over to Shen Xingruo. Seeing him approach, Shen Xingruo asked, “Do you want some too?”
Lu Xingyan replied with a nonchalant “Yeah” and then cleared his throat. “I was joking last night. You don’t have to take it seriously.”
Shen Xingruo paused and looked at him for a couple of seconds. “What?”
“About the boyfriend thing I mentioned last night.”
He had thought it over all night and concluded that Shen Xingruo probably didn’t have any feelings for him yet. Pressing for an answer now might make things awkward, and she might not even want to live at Xinghewan next semester. That would be counterproductive. It would be better to let it go for now and gradually pursue her. After all, being nearby could eventually work in his favor.
Boyfriend.
Shen Xingruo had a look of sudden realization and asked, “Oh, is there something I should be concerned about?”
Lu Xingyan interpreted her response as: “If you want to be my boyfriend, that’s your problem, not mine.”
He felt like he was choking on his frustration but swallowed it down. “Yeah, it’s good that you don’t mind. Well…”
The next two or three days passed uneventfully.
One evening during dinner, Pei Yue suddenly brought up something. “What’s today’s date? Hey, Ruo Ruo, the tickets I gave you for the ‘Fairy Tale’ park—aren’t they expiring tomorrow?”
Shen Xingruo thought for a moment. “I think so.”
Pei Yue continued, “Well, you two are just sitting around at home anyway. Why not go tomorrow? Normally, tickets cost four to five hundred yuan, and on weekends, it’s six to seven hundred. Tomorrow isn’t a weekend, so it won’t be crowded.”
Before Shen Xingruo could respond, Lu Xingyan, while picking up some food, said, “Sure.”
Shen Xingruo glanced at him and, after thinking it over, had nothing to add.
Thus, the plan to go to the amusement park was happily settled.
“Fairy Tale” is one of the four major theme parks in Xingcheng, newly opened last year. It features six major sections, each based on a well-known fairy tale.
For example, the water park is named “The Little Mermaid,” and the maze and haunted house adventure areas are named “The Wizard of Oz.”
Shen Xingruo did some research beforehand. The theme park “Fairy Tale” had two security checks at the entrance, and aside from water, no other food could be brought in. This wasn’t a big deal, considering neither she nor Lu Xingyan liked to carry a lot of unnecessary items.
The planning part seemed complicated. Multiple guides suggested arriving an hour before the park opens at 8 AM to queue up early. They also recommended logging into the “Fairy Tale” app during the security check to grab fast passes, visiting one attraction first, and then moving on to another.
Shen Xingruo looked at the guides for a few minutes before deciding to wing it.
Lu Xingyan also did some planning, but he focused on the fireworks show at 8:30 PM at Rapunzel’s Tower. He asked for advice on a popular basketball forum’s chat section: “Taking my girlfriend to Fairy Tale in Xingcheng, where’s the most romantic spot to watch the fireworks? Offering 888 coins for good advice.”
Anonymous Red Scarf: “It’s gotta be the Ferris wheel in the Wild Swans section. Take the 8:10 ride, and you’ll reach the top right at 8:30. Fireworks go off, you kiss, super romantic!”
My Abs Can Crush Rocks: “Roller coaster! The Nightingale roller coaster is a must! But only if you can handle it, bro. Grab her hand during the 90-degree drop! Use some hair gel too, so your hair doesn’t get messed up in the photos. Imagine the fireworks going off, you holding her hand on the coaster’s peak, and then the perfect snapshot! Romantic!!!”
Prostrated under Ran Bao’s pomegranate skirt, “It’s not just me saying this, bros. It mainly depends on what your girlfriend means to you, you know? When I was with my girlfriend (just dating for half a month), we went to the fairy tale theme park. When it was almost time for fireworks, I bought her a bucket of popcorn. We stood by the flower bed, and I covered her eyes with my hands, telling her I had a surprise for her. When the fireworks went off, I let go, and she was so moved, it was like a waterfall of emotions. We stayed in the Sleeping Beauty suite that night at the theme park. I won’t say more; I’ve said enough.”
In less than ten minutes, the comment about the “Sleeping Beauty suite” was pushed to the top with the most likes.
Lu Xingyan watched with interest, distributed some coins to these three, and then got up to pick out tomorrow’s outfit.
The next day, under the blazing sun, Lu Xingyan was awakened by the sunlight leaking through the gap in the curtains.
It was not even eight o’clock yet when he finished his morning routine, changed his clothes, and went downstairs.
When he reached the corner of the stairs, he found Shen Xingruo already having breakfast downstairs.
Lu Xingyan glanced at his clothes, then at Shen Xingruo’s, and quietly turned back to his room.
He had thought Shen Xingruo would dress a bit more girlish for the amusement park, so he deliberately picked out a pink T-shirt for himself. But it turned out Shen Xingruo was wearing a black T-shirt with denim shorts, and there was even a white baseball cap on the table.
He quickly changed his clothes and grabbed the hat before heading downstairs.
Pei Yue was drinking porridge while scrolling through her Moments. When she saw Lu Xingyan coming down, she glanced at him but didn’t pay much attention. However, when Lu Xingyan sat down opposite Shen Xingruo, Pei Yue raised her eyes again, her gaze shifting between the two of them a few times before she suddenly said, “What a coincidence, you two are dressed like siblings, not bad.”
Shen Xingruo almost choked on her milk.
Lu Xingyan remained silent and didn’t say much.
After breakfast, the two set off.
The “Fairy Tale Land” was in the southern suburbs. It was more convenient to take the subway than to drive there, so they went out and took the subway.
Both of them were wearing black T-shirts and jeans, even their sneakers and baseball caps were white. A handsome guy and a pretty girl, sitting on the subway, attracted a lot of attention.
It was hot, and the subway had the air conditioning on.
The journey was quite long, and Shen Xingruo felt a bit cold after sitting for a while.
Finally, Lu Xingyan did something considerate. He rummaged through his bag and found a shirt jacket to cover Shen Xingruo’s legs.
Nearby, a young couple happened to be arguing. The sight of it infuriated the girl even more, and she angrily stomped on her boyfriend’s foot. “Look at them! I feel like I’m suffocating! How could I end up with someone like you as my boyfriend? You’re neither handsome nor tall, and you’re not even considerate! All I wanted was to have some Japanese food, and you refused to accompany me. You’re just impossible!”
With that, she stormed out in a fit of rage when the train stopped at a certain station.
Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo didn’t pay attention to the couple.
However, when Lu Xingyan looked up, he noticed a guy glaring at him.
It was inexplicable.
At half past nine, Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo finally arrived at Fairy Tale Land.
As they stepped out of the subway station, the sun was already scorching.
Shen Xingruo sprayed some moisturizing water and sunscreen on herself, and seeing Lu Xingyan looking eagerly, she sprayed some on him too.
While spraying, she said, “I heard that the Nightingale Roller Coaster and the Time Tunnel Shuttle are the most popular attractions. Let’s try the popular ones first.”
Lu Xingyan replied, “Whatever you say.”
Shen Xingruo asked, “Can you handle it? The Nightingale Roller Coaster is a suspended roller coaster, and it has a vertical drop of ninety degrees. The Time Tunnel Shuttle is very fast, with a top speed of up to 140 kilometers per hour.”
Lu Xingyan retorted, “Are you kidding me?”
Shen Xingruo put away the spray and nodded as if remembering something, “Oh, right, you can do anything, besides studying, according to what the guys said on the night of the birthday party.”
After saying that, Shen Xingruo stepped aside and walked ahead of Lu Xingyan, out of his sight. In a place where Lu Xingyan couldn’t see her, she couldn’t help but curl her lips in a good mood.
Lu Xingyan said, “…”
There were a lot of people lining up for the popular attractions, so Shen Xingruo’s plan seemed quite reasonable. However, when the two reached the security checkpoint, all these rational plans went out the window.
The divided barriers formed a zigzag pattern, with two lines for security checks, and they were packed with about as many people as there would be on a playground.
No exaggeration.
There were just that many people.
Before Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo could hesitate, they were swept into the queue by the crowd.
Before they could even express their soul’s torment, someone nearby spoke up for them:
“Why are there so many people today? Isn’t it a weekday? Don’t they have to work?”
“I also thought there wouldn’t be many people on a weekday.”
“So everyone thought there wouldn’t be many people on a weekday, and then they all came.”
Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo exchanged looks.
With the sea of people ahead of them, Shen Xingruo was initially calm. She said to Lu Xingyan, “It’s okay. Although there are a lot of people, the progress is still decent. I think it’ll be about half an hour.”
Lu Xingyan was a bit skeptical.
But since the top student said so, he didn’t have much room for questioning.
So they patiently waited for half an hour.
Half an hour later, they had only advanced two lines, with eight more lines to go before reaching the security checkpoint.
Shen Xingruo calmly said again, “Many people ahead are giving up and leaving. I think it should be about done in another half hour.”
Lu Xingyan believed her once again.
Of course, half an hour later, they still hadn’t passed through security.
Under the scorching sun, they endured for a full two hours, amidst queue-cutting, children crying, and even someone feeling nauseous and vomiting suddenly—various unexpected situations.
Finally, they caught sight of the light at the security checkpoint.
Shen Xingruo felt like her legs weren’t her own anymore. But she was a stubborn girl; she had decided to queue up herself, and she was determined to stick it out till the end.
So when Lu Xingyan found out from his circle of friends that you could upgrade to a fast pass at “Fairy Tale Land” for an extra fee, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He discussed with Shen Xingruo, “Let’s upgrade to a fast pass when we go in, no need to wait in line. It’s 600 bucks.”
Shen Xingruo asked, “Do you have the money?”
“No, but don’t you?” Lu Xingyan was particularly candid.
Since Shen Guangyao stopped directly giving her living expenses after finding out she didn’t need them anymore, he entrusted Pei Yue to handle it, transferring money to her every month. With that and the savings she had, Shen Xingruo could be considered a genuine rich girl now. However, she had underestimated the need to pay extra for a fast pass, so she only brought 300 bucks with her.
Of course, she wouldn’t tell Lu Xingyan about this kind of thing.
She just glared coldly at Lu Xingyan and said, “We’ve already waited for two hours. If you upgrade to a fast pass now, wouldn’t it make the earlier wait pointless? What’s the difference between that and stopping before reaching the finish line in a 1000-meter race at a sports meet to take a break?”
“Lu Xingyan, why do you always give up halfway through things? You don’t understand perseverance at all. No wonder you scored only 398 in the midterm last time, and you couldn’t even reach 400 in the second and third monthly exams. You were so close to 400, yet you gave up so easily. Someone like you will never succeed.”
Lu Xingyan was taken aback.
Something didn’t quite sit right with this.
Could you even use this analogy for waiting in line for rides?
He was a bit confused. Initially, he wanted to suggest that if she didn’t have enough money, they could ask Xu Chengzhou to transfer some over. But her accusation was so stern and harsh as if upgrading to a fast pass was an unforgivable sin, that he didn’t dare to bring it up.
After mulling it over for a while, he nodded. “Okay, let’s not upgrade, let’s not.”