The intimacy and sense of possession brought by this posture were far stronger than a simple handshake.
His knuckles were firm.
They fit tightly between her fingers.
Skin pressed against skin without the slightest gap.
Wen Chu could clearly feel every line of his palm and the steady warmth flowing from it.
It was also her first time holding hands with someone like this.
The blood seemed to rush straight to her cheeks and ears.
“Like this?”
Xi Liye looked up and asked again.
“Mm.”
Wen Chu nodded.
Xi Liye said nothing more.
He raised his phone again.
In the camera frame, two hands were tightly intertwined.
Under the dim lighting inside the car, the image looked undeniably intimate.
Click.
The shutter sounded.
Xi Liye released her hand and lowered his head to work on his phone.
He didn’t let go immediately.
As his fingers withdrew, they lightly brushed against the spaces between hers.
The touch sent a tingling sensation through her body.
Wen Chu instantly pulled her hand back and hid it behind her.
Her fingers curled slightly.
As if they could still feel the lingering warmth of his touch.
Several minutes later, Xi Liye finally lowered his phone.
“Done.”
Wen Chu looked confused.
“Why did it take so long?”
“Shouldn’t posting on social media be quick?”
“I was enabling social media permissions.”
Wen Chu froze.
There were actually university students who didn’t even use social media?
Even in her previous life, despite being a complete shut-in, she had never disabled hers.
After all, social media was the perfect place to secretly peek into other people’s lives.
So…
The male lead had actually enabled it specifically to announce their relationship?
For some reason, that was kind of funny.
Wen Chu laughed.
Then noticed Xi Liye staring at her.
Wen Chu: “???”
“So.”
His tone carried the exact same questioning tone she had used earlier.
“Why haven’t you posted yours?”
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
The smile on Wen Chu’s face instantly froze.
“You asked whether I announced our relationship.”
“But you haven’t announced it either.”
He…
He was using her own logic against her?!
“Haha…”
Wen Chu laughed awkwardly.
“I was already planning to post it.”
“You just disrupted my rhythm.”
The smile in Xi Liye’s eyes deepened.
Wen Chu immediately saved the photo from his post and copied his approach.
Soon she uploaded her own relationship announcement.
Of course—
Her mother and relatives absolutely had to be hidden from the audience list.
To fit her spoiled-girlfriend persona, she wrote an embarrassingly sweet caption:
My darling boyfriend.
As expected, the moment she posted it, the comments exploded.
Xia Yaoyao:
AHHHHHH ChuChu finally posted a relationship announcement!
Li Yue:
OH MY GOD! This photo! The atmosphere! Their hands look so different in size! 999999999!
Zhou Rui:
Senior Xi’s fingers are so long. You little brat, you really know how to enjoy life. 999999999!
There were plenty of comments from classmates too.
Wow! It’s Senior Xi! Nicely done, Wen Chu!
Congratulations on getting a boyfriend! Beautiful couple!
Wen Chu forced herself to reply to a few of her roommates’ comments with shy and playful emojis.
Immediately afterward, regret hit her.
This was bad.
The male lead had unexpectedly agreed to make their relationship public.
Everything was so high-profile now.
She could already imagine the future campus forum posts after they broke up.
Meanwhile, Xi Liye also picked up his phone.
He didn’t have many friends.
Most comments under his post were simple congratulations.
Except for one person.
Qin Yu:
HOLY SHIT???
Qin Yu:
You actually enabled social media?
Qin Yu:
Since when do you have a girlfriend?!
When Xi Liye didn’t respond, Qin Yu moved directly to private messages.
Their friendship was close enough that messages began pouring in nonstop.
Qin Yu:
Holy shit, is that really your girlfriend in the photo?
Qin Yu:
Wen Chu? The girl from that private room last time?
Qin Yu:
Didn’t you say it was just a truth-or-dare relationship?
Qin Yu:
Brother, what’s going on?
Are you serious this time?
Xi Liye picked up his glass of ice water and took a sip.
His fingers tapped lightly against the screen.
He replied with only a few words.
Xi Liye:
Isn’t she very cute?
The other side went silent for several seconds.
Then the message bombardment became even worse.
Qin Yu:
…Nobody knows you better than I do.
Qin Yu:
Brother, listen to me.
Qin Yu:
Control yourself a little.
Qin Yu:
Wen Chu is a person.
Qin Yu:
Don’t treat her like one of those cute little animals in your laboratory.
Qin Yu understood this friend better than most people.
When Xi Liye lost control, he wouldn’t even recognize his own father.
As a medical student himself, Qin Yu knew exactly how many psychologists Xi Liye had already seen.
Whether Xi Liye becoming interested in Wen Chu was a good thing or a bad thing…
He honestly couldn’t tell.
Qin Yu:
Honestly, the fact that Wen Chu caught your attention is probably the worst luck she’s had in eight lifetimes.
Xi Liye lifted his gaze from the screen.
His eyes landed on Wen Chu.
The glow from her phone illuminated the soft outline of her profile.
Her eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath her eyes.
Bad luck?
He remembered her exaggerated displays of anger.
Her constant clinginess.
Her occasional attempts at acting cute.
The corner of his lips lifted ever so slightly.
Who could blame him?
After all…
Wen Chu had appeared in front of him first.
He lowered his gaze and typed a reply.
Xi Liye:
You don’t need to worry about it.
Qin Yu:
…
Qin Yu:
I don’t want to worry about you.
Qin Yu:
Just don’t get anyone killed.
Qin Yu:
I don’t want my best friend ending up in prison.
Ignoring Qin Yu’s continued complaints and questions, Xi Liye simply muted his phone.
At that moment, Wen Chu had finally finished responding to the teasing messages in her dormitory group chat.
“Um…”
“I’m getting out now.”
“Mm.”
Xi Liye responded softly.
He watched her hurried figure disappear through the university gate.
Then he lowered his head and opened social media again.
His eyes stopped on Wen Chu’s post.
The caption:
My darling boyfriend.
He pressed the Like button.
Then he stared at that post for a very long time.
Completely motionless.
The light filtering through the car window illuminated his face.
He looked almost less like a living person than a statue.
The next day.
It was finally the day she was scheduled to meet Lin Xiuyun.
Over the past several days, Wen Chu and Xi Liye had been eating together regularly.
This time she couldn’t.
So she quickly sent him a message before following her navigation app to the restaurant Uncle Pei had reserved.
When she arrived, she discovered not only Uncle Pei and Lin Xiuyun.
There was also a man who appeared several years older than her.
He was probably Uncle Pei’s son.
The young man sat beside Pei Jianguo.
He wore a perfectly tailored dark gray casual suit.
No tie.
His shirt collar was casually loosened.
His head tilted slightly as he listened to his father speak.
His profile was sharp and handsome.
High nose bridge.
Thin lips.
A calm maturity surrounded him.
Along with an aloofness that made him difficult to approach.
As though sensing her gaze, the man raised his head.
Their eyes met.
For some reason, Wen Chu felt she had seen him somewhere before.
But she couldn’t remember where.
“ChuChu’s here!”
“Come, sit down!”
The moment she saw her daughter, Lin Xiuyun immediately stood.
Joy and nervousness filled her face.
She had clearly put effort into her appearance today.
A simple beige knit dress.
Light makeup.
She looked younger and more energetic than usual.
Pei Jianguo also stood.
A warm and refined smile appeared on his face.
“ChuChu, you’re here.”
“Was traffic bad?”
“Come sit.”
He looked to be around fifty years old.
Elegant and well-maintained.
The affection in his eyes whenever he looked at Lin Xiuyun was impossible to hide.
“Hello, Uncle Pei.”
“Mom.”
Wen Chu forced herself to smile naturally before sitting beside Lin Xiuyun.
“The traffic was fine.”
“It wasn’t crowded.”
“This is Pei Ye.”
Pei Jianguo smiled while introducing him.
“My son.”
“Xiao Ye, this is little sister Wen Chu.”
Wen Chu suddenly remembered the name.
Pei Ye.
A character mentioned in the original novel.
The sole heir of the Pei family.
The future successor of the Pei Group.
A serious and cold personality.
Later in the story, he admired the heroine and crossed paths with her several times.
A supporting male character with relatively little screen time.
Pei Ye lifted his eyes again.
This time his gaze lingered on her face for one extra second.
His tone remained calm and emotionless.
“Hello, Wen Chu.”
He even omitted the word sister.
“Hello.”
Wen Chu politely returned the greeting.
The atmosphere briefly became awkward.
Lin Xiuyun quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
She began asking about Wen Chu’s life at school.
Had she eaten?
Was she dressing warmly enough?
One question after another.
Pei Jianguo joined in as well.
He asked a few questions about her studies.
His attitude remained gentle.
His sense of boundaries was excellent.
Showing concern without becoming intrusive.