“Right, since you’re not tutoring anymore, let me take you to buy something.” Chu Hang kissed Tan Yin’s cheek again, murmuring by her ear, “There’s a gift I really need to get you soon.”
Tan Yin only felt the ear he’d kissed burning hot as she let Chu Hang lead her, dazed, out of the study room. They wandered slowly along the little garden path by the school, all the way to…
All the way to the upscale shopping center near the school?
Afraid Chu Hang would spend too much, Tan Yin hurried to say, “My birthday’s still a ways off, and there’s no holiday coming up either. I don’t need any gifts…”
“Giving your girlfriend a gift doesn’t need to wait for a holiday.” Chu Hang hooked his little finger around hers. “I just really want to buy you something.” He paused, then added, as if that wasn’t enough, “Every day with you is a holiday.”
Just as Tan Yin was about to be touched, she heard Chu Hang clear his throat, his jealousy flaring up again, his voice carrying a note of forcibly restrained bitterness: “After all, this girlfriend was hard-won through being the ‘other woman’—a girlfriend snatched from someone else’s hands. If I don’t buy her plenty of gifts, how could I face all the effort I put into poaching her?”
“…”
Tan Yin thought, the elders really don’t lie—life truly is nothing but the mundane grind of daily necessities, seasoned with an endless supply of vinegar…
Fine, if he wanted to buy a gift, so be it. What else could she do? She figured she’d just have to “reluctantly” accept it.
It was only when Chu Hang pulled her into a brand-name women’s shoe store that Tan Yin grew puzzled. “You’re buying me shoes? Didn’t you already buy me a pair last time? And I’ve heard a saying—boys shouldn’t buy their girlfriends shoes. It’s bad luck, like you’re sending someone off to walk away from you in them…”
Chu Hang froze for a moment, but then walked into the shoe store even more resolutely, holding her hand, and pressed his lips together as he carefully picked out shoes for her.
The idea that gifting shoes to a girlfriend would lead to a breakup was pure superstition, and Tan Yin didn’t actually believe it herself—she’d just said it offhand. Chu Hang was the kind of upright, rational person who could practically star in a science debunking show, so of course he didn’t care.
And it had to be said—you get what you pay for. The brand-name shoes were not only beautiful but also remarkably comfortable, and Tan Yin accepted the gift without a shred of guilt. Inside, she was happy while also calculating when she might get Chu Hang a suitable gift in return. Lately, since her grades had improved, her father had lifted his financial sanctions on her, so she suddenly had plenty of spending money.
After they bought the shoes and walked out of the store, Chu Hang, who had been quietly silent the whole time, suddenly spoke.
“If the shoes I gave you last time might have made you walk away, then this pair will bring you walking back.”
Tan Yin paused, and then was moved. Her heart went utterly soft. She’d noticed that ever since she’d been with Chu Hang, her mood seemed like a soft, juicy peach—any gentle touch from him and she’d turn soft and sweet all over again.
She suddenly wanted to kiss him.
And thinking that, Tan Yin didn’t hesitate. She called out to stop him. “Chu Hang, stay right there.”
Chu Hang looked startled, but stopped and turned to look at her out of reflex.
Tan Yin gathered her courage, rushed forward, grabbed him, and planted a bold kiss on his cheek right there in the open. Then she rose on her toes, and in that same position, wrapped her arms tightly around him, leaning close to his ear, and said softly, “I won’t walk away. I’ll never walk away from you. I’ll wear the shoes you gave me and walk the rest of my life with you.”
Almost the instant the words left her mouth, Chu Hang’s whole face turned red. Then he grabbed Tan Yin, who was trying to make a quick escape after landing her point, and kissed her without a word of warning.
Though the shopping center wasn’t very crowded due to how upscale it was, kissing so openly under the bright lights in a public space still made Tan Yin feel utterly exposed with embarrassment.
When Chu Hang finally let her go, she tugged at his hand and mumbled quietly, “I feel like all this kissing we do isn’t quite proper—dating shouldn’t just be about kissing…”
Before she could finish saying “we should also think about the social implications,” she felt Chu Hang lean down, brushing the hair back from her ear, his lips grazing her cheek lightly, his voice low, seductive, and tinged with something wicked—
“Dating definitely isn’t just about kissing. There’s plenty of other things we could do. Do you want to?”
Now it was Tan Yin’s turn to blush. She glanced at Chu Hang quickly, then looked away at once. If Chu Hang were a fox spirit, he’d at least be a thousand-year-old one—practically demon-tier…
“You’ve really changed, Chu Hang!”
Faced with her furious accusation, Chu Hang remained perfectly composed. He merely glanced at her and said calmly, “Learned it from you. You corrupted me.”
“…”
Chu Hang, as if that still wasn’t enough, added, “Want me to help you remember what was drawn in those comics of yours?”
No need! Absolutely no need!!!
“Why were you even looking at that kind of comic!” Tan Yin nearly cried. “Speaking of which, hurry up and give my comic manuscripts back to me!”
“I’ll just hold onto them here. Might come in handy someday.”
For what use, exactly?! Tan Yin thought. So you can pull them out from time to time and use them against me later?
But regardless, Tan Yin didn’t want to continue this topic—it was too embarrassing. To cover her nervousness, she quickly changed the subject. “You bought me a gift, so I’ll get you one too. What do you want?”
Tan Yin expected Chu Hang to think it over for a moment, but instead he answered almost without hesitation: “I want an electric bike.”
Tan Yin was startled. She hesitated. “You want me to buy you a Tesla? I mean, I could, but you’d have to wait a few years, until I’ve started working and saved up properly…”
“Not a Tesla. Just a little electric scooter.” Chu Hang pressed his lips together. “The kind Zhou Ming has.”
This surprised Tan Yin even more. “What do you need that for? You already have a Porsche! I know the economy’s been rough lately and everyone’s downgrading their spending, but this is a bit much, don’t you think?” Tan Yin glanced carefully at him. “Chu Hang, I heard your dad runs a business, and business is pretty tough right now, especially for big companies like yours—one wrong decision and the cash flow could break and the whole thing could go under. Is your family… is your family having some kind of trouble lately?” She chose her words carefully. “I’m already your girlfriend, you don’t have to put on a brave face for me. I’m not the type who needs expensive gifts. If it’s you, I’d be happy eating street food together. The shoes and everything—they’re brand new, I haven’t even worn them, I don’t need more shoes. Let’s go return them right now…”
Chu Hang patted her head gently, looking a little helpless. “What on earth do you think about all day long?”
“Then why do you suddenly want a scooter…”
“Zhou Ming has one.” Chu Hang looked away, glancing off into the distance as if it were nothing. “I want one too.”
“Zhou Ming rode a scooter with you before. I want to ride one too.”
Though Chu Hang’s voice was perfectly calm and his words entirely reasonable, his whole face was already unmistakably plastered with the words “I refuse to lose.”
Tan Yin nearly laughed and cried at once. Was Chu Hang really this childish?
But soon, Chu Hang would show her that there was no limit to how childish one could get when it came to jealousy—the road of envy was truly endless, the path stretched far ahead, and he would keep pursuing it up and down…
“Ten years of friendship, finally turned into love. You were the one who watched a shooting star with me for the first time. You were the one who ate ice cream with me for the first time. You were the one who flew a kite with me for the first time. You were the one who went to a comic convention with me for the first time. And you were the one who fell in love with me for the first time, too. My youth began with you. Turns out the best kind of love was by my side all along.”
Chu Hang’s voice was calm, but the calmer he sounded, the more Tan Yin felt something was terribly wrong…
He recited, almost word for word, the sentimental public declaration she’d once posted announcing her “relationship” with Zhou Ming in her social media feed…
How many times must he have read this to memorize it so completely… Tan Yin could hardly imagine what state of mind Chu Hang must have been in, staring at that post over and over…
“You—when did you even see this? You’ve got it memorized…”
Chu Hang glanced at her and snorted coldly. “Back when you were someone else’s girlfriend.”
“…”
Kid, that jealousy of yours is getting a little heavy.
But Chu Hang, clearly having thrown caution to the wind, simply went on being blunt about it. “Zhou Ming was the one who ate ice cream with you for the first time?”
“Yes…” Tan Yin honestly confessed. “We’ve known each other since we were in diapers. The first time we ate ice cream was when I had a tooth pulled.”
“And the first time you flew a kite, that was him too?”
“Yes, it was a school spring outing, we were in the same class.”
“The first time you went to a comic convention, also him?”
“That’s right. I’d run out of allowance, no money left, so I had to rely on him. Convention merchandise is expensive—he ended up eating instant noodles with me for a whole month afterward.”
“And the first meteor shower?”
Tan Yin said flatly, “That’s also true. It was near the end of the summer before eighth grade. I hadn’t finished my summer homework, so I dragged Zhou Ming into an all-nighter to help me catch up, and we happened to run into a meteor shower…”
Watching Chu Hang’s expression grow ever more swamped in jealousy, Tan Yin quickly turned the tables. “Don’t just focus on me—what about you? Your first ice cream, your first movie, your first shopping trip, your first kite—so many firsts, are you telling me you still remember all of those?”
“I don’t remember them like that, because all of those firsts were with Xu Yu.”
If this weren’t her own boyfriend, Tan Yin might have jumped up to ask, buddy, what’s going on with you? Your first ice cream, movie, shopping trip, and kite were all with Xu Yu? Are you sure there’s nothing going on between you two?
Chu Hang glanced at her. “I never did those things with any other girl. All my firsts were saved for you.”
Though his tone was calm and his expression composed, every word of that sentence somehow felt loaded with accusation.
Tan Yin could only hurry to smooth things over. “But my first relationship is saved for you. Have you never heard the saying, ‘I can’t be part of your past, but I’ll be with you for your whole future’? We still have so many firsts left to make together.”
At those words, Chu Hang’s expression finally began to clear, though he was clearly still not entirely satisfied. “It’s not just about future firsts. Flying kites, going to comic conventions, eating ice cream—you have to do those with me too. However many times Zhou Ming ate ice cream, went to conventions, or flew kites with you, I’ll do it with you ten times as often.”
“Though the first time matters, if I do something with you many times—ten times, a hundred times—eventually, you won’t even remember your first time with Zhou Ming anymore.” Chu Hang kissed her cheek, leaning close and lowering his voice. “I want it so that no matter what you remember, it’s only ever me, never him.”
In that moment, Tan Yin’s heart couldn’t help but race again. Though it was jealousy, she had to admit, Chu Hang’s particular brand of jealousy was rather charming. She couldn’t help squeezing his hand tighter.
“Even if some things weren’t first with you, the last time will definitely be with you.”