Hua Yan felt his gaze on her and suddenly sensed something was wrong. She had already drunk half of her beverage, but the cup in her hand still felt heavy, as if she hadn’t drunk much from it.
She lowered her head just as the theater suddenly went dark.
Hua Yan blushed instantly, hastily handing back the drink in her hand, stammering, “…I drank from the wrong cup. Here, take it back.”
In the darkness, she fumbled to hand it back. Lu Chengsha took it without saying a word.
As the introductory sound and opening scenes of the movie began, Hua Yan wished she could bury her head in her knees. Her lips, which had been clenching the straw, felt a slight warmth, and she couldn’t even focus on the movie’s opening scenes.
To make matters worse, after a while, she heard the sound of someone drinking through a straw on her right.
…It was from the cup she drank from!
An indescribable mix of embarrassment and shyness surged up. Hua Yan stole a glance with the corner of her eye. Lu Chengsha was intently watching the movie screen, drinking from the cup. His side profile was hard to read, but the contours of his face were highlighted by the screen, making his lips around the straw distinctly visible.
She only glanced briefly before quickly looking away.
Pressing the still-cool drink cup against her cheek to cool down, Hua Yan’s heartbeat suddenly quickened.
Despite coming to watch a long-awaited movie, she couldn’t focus at all.
Nibbling tastelessly on popcorn, Hua Yan couldn’t help but whisper, “…Should I go buy you another drink?”
Lu Chengsha took a moment before replying, “No need.” His voice was equally low.
“Oh…”
She continued eating the popcorn.
Before long, Hua Yan noticed, to her dismay, that she had almost finished the entire bucket.
“…Should I buy another bucket for you?” Lu Chengsha’s voice came.
Hua Yan felt even more dismayed, “No need!”
Hugging the empty popcorn bucket in frustration, she then heard a strange noise from the front. The couple ahead were unabashedly making out in the darkness.
Hua Yan’s face, which had finally calmed down, suddenly burned again. She instinctively turned to look at Lu Chengsha.
He hadn’t noticed initially, but when Hua Yan turned, he followed suit, and so…
Both of them froze.
Next to them, the faint and face-reddening sounds continued.
Hua Yan tugged at Lu Chengsha again, whispering, “…Let’s change seats.”
They moved to a more secluded spot.
However, every time she thought about it, her mind was filled with the earlier scene and Lu Chengsha’s lips on the straw. Hua Yan felt completely out of sorts and could only rub her cheeks harder, trying to calm down.
The movie became even harder to focus on.
Once you lose yourself in an artistic film, it becomes particularly dull and boring.
Moreover, she had been so excited the previous night that she didn’t sleep well… After the initial thrill passed, Hua Yan even started to feel a bit sleepy.
Lu Chengsha originally intended to watch the movie attentively, not missing even the opening scenes. But now, he found himself unusually distracted, taking another sip of the drink, and his mind wandered even more.
The sound of popcorn being chewed next to him didn’t escape his notice from start to finish.
Until it fell completely silent.
He glanced over slightly, seeing her hugging the popcorn bucket with one hand, her other hand propping up her face, which looked even fairer wrapped in a scarf. Her long hair cascaded down one side of her face, and her head nodded gently downward.
Lu Chengsha suddenly recalled the recent memory of her dozing off in the taxi, swaying left and right.
So, he carefully and quietly moved his shoulder closer.
About ten minutes later, her head predictably leaned against his shoulder, her eyes closed, breathing softly.
Lu Chengsha stayed in that position, not moving an inch.
Half an hour ago, Lu Chengsha was watching the movie.
Half an hour later, Lu Chengsha was watching Hua Yan.
Until the movie ended and the cleaning staff came over, noticing the young couple nestled together in the corner.
“Excuse me…”
The worker barely got out two words before the handsome yet aloof young man silenced him with a gesture, placing a slender finger to his lips in a “shh” motion. He then pulled out his phone, indicating the payment screen, and bought two more tickets for the next show.
His expression remained cold, but there was an inexplicable softness in his eyes as he looked at the sleeping girl beside him.
***
When Hua Yan woke up, she felt that something was terribly wrong!
Was she a pig? Falling asleep in the cinema!
She looked up to see the movie still playing, and felt relieved. But as she rubbed her head, she realized what she had been leaning on while sleeping, and her face turned slightly red again.
So she glanced at the time…
???
She suddenly looked up, “The movie already ended?”
“Mm.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Lu Chengsha paused, “You were sleeping soundly.”
“But still…” She quickly crouched down to stand up, “Let’s go quickly.” She decided she’d come back and watch it again during the weekend.
“Wait a moment…”
She turned to look at Lu Chengsha, “What is it?”
Lu Chengsha lowered his gaze, pressing his shoulder lightly, “…It’s a bit numb.”
Hua Yan: “…”
As they stepped outside, they found it had started pouring rain in the middle of the night.
The sound of the rain was deafening, and all the nearby shops were closed, making it impossible to buy an umbrella.
Though the distance wasn’t far, just under a kilometer…
Hua Yan stood at the cinema entrance, her knees trembling. She couldn’t help but shrink her shoulders against the bone-chilling wind mixed with the heavy rain, shivering silently. “What do we do…”
A jacket, still warm from body heat, was draped over her shoulders.
Lu Chengsha hadn’t fully processed the situation before he had already taken off his jacket and thrown it over. The online tips he read didn’t tell him how to deal with such a scenario.
He thought for a moment…
“Can you run?”
“Huh?”
“Run back.”
Hua Yan was startled, just about to say “Are you serious?” but then realized it wasn’t entirely unfeasible. It was just a short distance, and calling a cab would be more trouble. She glanced down at her boots… and she had just been practicing running recently.
In those few seconds of hesitation, she had already put on Lu Chengsha’s jacket and pulled up the hood, grabbing his sleeve.
“Then…” she said, gritting her teeth, “…let’s run!”
The rain wasn’t as heavy as it seemed, and running made it feel less cold.
As she started to run, the sound of her boots splashing through the puddles brought an unexpected sense of lightness. The rain dampened her bangs and eyelashes, and the road ahead looked blurry. She looked down, pulling on Lu Chengsha’s sleeve, which wasn’t very convenient.
Just as she was thinking this, his fingers, not far from her own, suddenly grasped her hand.
Hua Yan didn’t think much of it and held his hand.
Lu Chengsha’s hand was cooler than hers but very large, as if it could completely envelop her hand. Strength seemed to flow through their interlocked fingers, making it effortless for him to lead her forward.
Hua Yan kept moving, but her heart was beating faster.
The scenery and shops around them blurred as they rushed past.
She looked up slightly and saw the back of his head, covered with black hair, dripping with water. In the hazy rain, Hua Yan couldn’t help it and pulled off her hood, running through the rain with him, taking large strides.
A small smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.
It was such a mess. She didn’t get to watch the movie and got drenched, but she wasn’t unhappy at all.
In fact, she wished the road could be a bit longer.
Unfortunately, the distance that had seemed so long was quickly covered.
Their pace slowed, and their hands gradually separated.
Lu Chengsha turned around, realizing she had taken off her hood. Her long hair hung wet, her head and face dripping with water, looking like a drenched chicken.
He immediately went over and helped her put the hood back on.
Of course, he wasn’t much better off himself.
“We’re here, no need… It’s just a bit further to the building,” she said, pulling the hood off again, breathing lightly, her eyes shining brightly. Even in the night, they looked like two twinkling stars.
Lu Chengsha withdrew his hand, lowering his gaze. His eyes inadvertently brushed past her red lips before quickly looking away.
He could still feel the sensation of her touch on his hand.
He wasn’t sure how he felt. His whole body was soaked.
He suddenly thought of the book she had lent him, filled with disjointed, illogical words and sentences that made no sense. His current emotions seemed to mirror that confusion.
No logic, no reason.
Just a mix of confusion, strange excitement, and impulsiveness.
Just like when he had reached out and held her hand.
A kind of inexplicable thrill.
They stood in the pavilion within the residential area. By rights, they should part ways and go home, but neither of them made the first move to leave.
Hua Yan took a tissue from her bag to wipe off the water on her body and then handed one to Lu Chengsha, saying, “…Do you want your coat back now or should I return it to you tomorrow?”
Lu Chengsha silently accepted it and replied in a low voice, “…Either way is fine.”
Perhaps it was because she had just woken up, but Hua Yan wasn’t sleepy at all. Instead, she felt a strange excitement that rooted her to the spot. Tugging at the coat that belonged to Lu Chengsha, she tiptoed and awkwardly asked, “What time are you going to school tomorrow?”
“Six o’clock.”
“…Then you won’t have many hours to sleep!”
“Mm.”
He actually just replied with “Mm.”
“Why don’t you just skip the morning classes?” Hua Yan hesitated, glancing at her boots, then looked up at Lu Chengsha, who had his eyes slightly averted. “Um, that is…” A myriad of fragmented thoughts flashed through her mind.
What should she do?
She herself didn’t know what she wanted to say!
Lu Chengsha turned his gaze slightly back to her, as if waiting for her to continue.
Hua Yan tiptoed again and grabbed Lu Chengsha’s soaked collar.
He wasn’t on guard and was pulled down by her grip.
The distance between them suddenly became very close.
The sound of rain outside the pavilion hadn’t stopped, continuing to pound the ground with an earth-shattering noise.
Before Hua Yan could decide what to do next, she suddenly felt a soft touch at the corner of her lips.
Lu Chengsha’s presence completely enveloped her, mixed with the humid air.
At this extremely close distance, she could see his half-closed eyes, like deep black whirlpools. He slightly tilted his head, and raindrops continued to drip from his hair.
Some even rolled down to her collarbone.
Amid the deafening rain, her heartbeat grew louder and louder.
She was clearly the one who made the first move.
But…
Hua Yan’s cheeks instantly turned bright red.
She frantically released Lu Chengsha’s collar and then hurriedly fled back to her own home.
Whether she was changing clothes or soaking in the bath, Hua Yan’s mind was filled with the image of Lu Chengsha lowering his head to lightly kiss her cheek. The scene replayed incessantly, refusing to be banished from her thoughts.
She covered her face and rolled around on her bed, unable to sleep the entire night.
Of course, what she didn’t know was that she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep.
Lu Chengsha lay on his bed, eyes closed, lost in thought, feeling as if he were bewitched.
His previous understanding was turned upside down.
He had to admit that there are indeed some things in this world that don’t require logic.