Nobody had expected Lu Yicheng to go and pull off something this major without a word — that he’d actually managed to win over Jiang Ruoqiao.

It wasn’t just Lu Yicheng’s workplace that was buzzing.

The comments on Jiang Ruoqiao’s social media post had been pouring in nonstop since morning, and by the afternoon they still hadn’t slowed — a steady stream of people messaging her to confirm the news. Jiang Ruoqiao didn’t post to social media very often, so a bombshell like this had ignited everyone’s gossip instincts:

*”OMG!! Is it who I’m thinking of?? I’ve seen this plaid umbrella before!”*

*”Our little Qiao has been swept away, boo hoo — Lu Yicheng, the best luck is still ahead of you!”*

*”Ha, so many comments and likes — I thought I’d stumbled onto a celebrity’s official announcement. Campus beauty and campus heartthrob really are the perfect match… A high school classmate of mine is gorgeous and ended up with some ugly guy, I was heartbroken. Little Qiao, please post more pictures of your boyfriend so we can cleanse our eyes!”*

Even though school was out for the holidays, the university’s online forum was still active, and people were enthusiastically following this major news:

*”Who was it last time who bet on whether Lu Yicheng could win over Jiang Ruoqiao? Let’s keep the bets going — will they end up getting married? I’m betting yes. Let’s make a pact: five years from now, ten years from now, if there’s an update on this story, anyone who knows about it come back and bump this thread! I am seeing this drama through to the end — whether it’s a bad ending or a happy ending, let’s wait and see!”*

— *I also think they’ll get married, just this strange gut feeling… maybe it’s because they look so right together?*

— *Haha, what the hell do you mean they ‘look right together’?! Marriage is hard, okay. Jiang Ruoqiao is from Xi Shi — the city’s been developing so well these past few years that she might go right back home after graduation. Anyway, I’ve always thought that going from school uniforms to wedding dresses is an incredibly high bar to clear. That said, if they do get married, I’ll absolutely chip in a gift — I’ve been witness to a genuinely beautiful love story after all.*

— *Hard to say. I know a bit about reading faces, and Lu Yicheng’s has the look of someone very steady and reliable — the type with extremely high loyalty to a partner. He’s had so many people chasing him before and never batted an eye, but with Jiang Ruoqiao, I can see he’s completely fallen. The two of them really do suit each other well. I hear they’re both planning to do postgraduate studies — no matter how it turns out, marriage isn’t the finish line anyway. Everyone just enjoy the process of watching them fall in love!*

Jiang Ruoqiao had been run off her feet all day.

She hadn’t had a chance to look at what the forum was saying, hadn’t even had a chance to look at her phone.

When she finally got a break, it was nearly five o’clock. She picked up her phone and nearly had a heart attack — hundreds of unread messages, a mix of ads, group chats, and personal messages.

Lu Yicheng was pinned to the top.

He was the first one she checked.

Lu Yicheng: *”Sold the hair dryer to a coworker — got a decent price for it.”*

Lu Yicheng: *”Are you free after work? If you are, let’s go get dinner and then go shopping?”*

Jiang Ruoqiao took a sip of water and thought it over. Truthfully, she’d originally had something to do — she’d been so busy lately that she hadn’t posted a new video in nearly a week, and lots of followers had been messaging her. When she’d drawn up her weekly schedule a few days ago, today had been designated for video editing. But…

It would have to wait.

After all, today was the first official day of being in a relationship.

She’d stay up tonight if she had to and edit the video after she got home.

Jiang Ruoqiao’s First Rule of Dating: don’t neglect your officially-licensed boyfriend on day one.

Jiang Ruoqiao cheerfully typed back a reply: *”Sure~”*

She knew perfectly well he wouldn’t do anything like that, but just to tease him, she added: *”Please don’t pick somewhere that requires us to walk more than a kilometer in freezing cold, okay.”*

Lu Yicheng was still being bombarded with questions about his love life.

His phone vibrated on the desk. He immediately grabbed it and headed in the direction of the restroom.

He didn’t want to be asked any more questions about what “tricks” he’d used.

To the sounds of his colleagues’ teasing, Lu Yicheng walked to the restroom with ears faintly pink, and then opened his messaging app. A smile crept onto his face despite himself.

He knew she was reminding him of that one dinner incident.

Lu Yicheng: *”I promise that won’t happen. So what do you feel like eating?”*

Jiang Ruoqiao: *”A small dish café?”*

Lu Yicheng: *”Have mercy on me.”*

Jiang Ruoqiao: *”Fine, I’m easy. You decide.”*

Lu Yicheng: *”Alright.”*

Standing at the sink, he pulled up a restaurant review app with complete seriousness. He almost never ate out, so he had no idea which restaurants were good. This was the first time he’d ever slacked off at work — fortunately everything on his plate had been finished before he got the chance to slack. He spent nearly half an hour studying restaurant listings, reading through all the reviews carefully, and finally settled on one place.

Lu Yicheng got off work on the dot at six.

Jiang Ruoqiao was stuck at her company until half past six before she could leave, and by the time she made her way over, the restaurant had called Lu Yicheng’s number at just the right moment.

Their relationship had changed — and yet somehow it felt like it hadn’t. They still interacted the same way they always had.

They’d only just become official, sweet with each other and yet a little shy.

Lu Yicheng used to be able to hold Jiang Ruoqiao’s gaze directly — but today, several times over, he deliberately avoided her eyes.

The main event tonight was shopping.

Though Lu Yicheng had said he was going shopping to buy her something with the proceeds from selling the hair dryer, he’d actually brought his bank card and everything else along with him. That’s just what it was like to truly care about someone — your first thought was to spend money on her… At least in this moment, the phrase “value for money” didn’t enter Lu Yicheng’s head at all. He wasn’t thinking about it or considering it — he simply wanted to buy her things she liked, whether cheap or expensive.

“How do you like this place? Are you happy with it?” Lu Yicheng asked.

He looked so earnest, like he was about to pull out a notebook and pen to write down her answer.

Jiang Ruoqiao was still holding her teacup, eyes bright. “Funny thing — I actually think that little dish café tasted better.”

Lu Yicheng: “……”

“Really! I’m not lying.”

Lu Yicheng said, hopelessly, “I’ve already developed a phobia of the phrase ‘value for money.’ Please don’t make me develop one about small dish cafés too.”

Jiang Ruoqiao let out a quiet huff. “That’s your own problem. You need to learn to tell when I’m being serious and when I’m not.”

Lu Yicheng folded his hands on the table, sighed, and said with great gravity, “I have a feeling this is going to be an extremely difficult course.”

Telling when she was being honest and when she wasn’t.

He somehow felt it would be harder than the college entrance exam — harder than scoring top marks.

After dinner, the mall was blasting warm heat. Lu Yicheng, without being asked, held onto Jiang Ruoqiao’s coat for her.

They strolled around for a while. Jiang Ruoqiao wanted to stop in the restroom to touch up her makeup.

She’d been wearing makeup all day and was worried it might have faded or dulled. For the first date as an official couple, she naturally wanted to look her best.

Mall restrooms were always like this — the women’s line would be long, while the men’s restroom appeared to have no one in it at all.

Jiang Ruoqiao stood in line, sighed, and messaged Lu Yicheng: *”I have to queue — might take a little while. You can find somewhere to sit and wait if you want.”*

Lu Yicheng: *”Okay.”*

He went to see if there was one of those artisan ice cream shops nearby.

He turned in the wrong direction and somehow ended up in the luxury goods section.

The number of shoppers here dropped off noticeably. Lu Yicheng was about to turn around and head back the other way when he caught a glimpse of a very familiar logo.

If he remembered correctly, Jiang Yan had once posted in the dormitory group chat with a photo, saying he wanted to buy Jiang Ruoqiao a bag from that brand.

Lu Yicheng had glanced at it briefly before closing the chat.

But he had a good memory — even after all this time, he recognized it in an instant.

He hesitated for a moment, then went inside anyway.

The store was nearly empty.

A sales associate came over to assist him, and he casually asked about the prices of a few bags. That was all the information he needed. It wasn’t something he could afford. He had savings, and technically buying a bag wasn’t impossible — but he knew Jiang Ruoqiao wouldn’t genuinely be happy about it. And he had no desire to go beyond his means. He gave the sales associate an apologetic smile and walked back out. The entire mall was suffused with a particular scent — nothing like a supermarket, nothing like a wet market.

It was the smell of expense, he thought.

The kind of world that felt entirely incompatible with him.

Lu Yicheng stood in the quiet part of the mall. He had grown up poor, and even now that he was earning his own money — not a bad amount, either — he had always been frugal. Spending five figures on a bag would have been unthinkable to the person he used to be, something incomprehensible. There was a flicker of something dim in his chest — his personality was too plain; aside from dinner, shopping, and movies, he couldn’t think of anything interesting to do, and he didn’t have the financial means to buy her these expensive gifts.

His phone vibrated.

It was a message from Jiang Ruoqiao.

*”Still haven’t reached my turn in line, but almost there… Can you explain to me why there are always so few people in the men’s restroom?”*

Even from this single message, Lu Yicheng could vividly picture the impatient look on her face right now.

He smiled: *”I don’t know either.”*

The message she’d sent chased away that dim feeling.

Not being able to afford it now didn’t mean he’d never be able to afford it.

He wouldn’t always be in this position.

……

Lu Yicheng had gone off that way, and not long after, Jiang Ruoqiao came out from the restroom side. She looked around, and quickly spotted him. Her face broke into a bright, radiant smile as she walked toward him.

She was wearing a pearl-white knit dress that made her complexion look as pale and luminous as snow.

Her hair was styled beautifully, and as she came toward him, the whole of her seemed to be glowing.

Jiang Ruoqiao at twenty years old — truly, extraordinarily beautiful.

Lu Yicheng watched her coming toward him, and in his heart, he said: Lu Yicheng, please remember the way you feel in this exact second. Forever.

Even when surrounded by the mundane realities of everyday life.

Even when the pressures of living come pressing in one after another.

Please, for her sake, always keep a little space for romance.

He thought of what Siyan had once said — that in that future, that version of Lu Yicheng would buy her a bag with every bonus he received. His first reaction at the time had been: impossible. He would absolutely never do something like that.

But now, he yearned for it. He yearned to become the man that future version of himself would be.

Whatever that other him had managed to do — he couldn’t afford to fall short.

—