To Yu Yingying’s surprise, the gift box didn’t contain clothes or bags. Instead, it held a full set of electronic products—a laptop, a tablet, headphones, and more—complete at first glance. Probably for her convenience in carrying them, there was also a well-made backpack inside, overall dark blue, understated and good-looking, far better than her old one.
Most of these were things she currently didn’t have but needed. But even with a rough estimate, they had to be worth at least twenty or thirty thousand.
Yu Yingying lifted her eyes to look at Jiang He. “You…”
“You’re not still dissatisfied, are you?” Jiang He asked dangerously, wearing a look that brooked no refusal. “If this still isn’t good enough, Yu Yingying, then you’d better reflect on yourself—why are you so hard to please!”
“It’s not that…” The corners of Yu Yingying’s lips curved into a sweet smile as she looked at him seriously. “I wanted to say thank you. I really like it.”
Jiang He: “…?”
Meeting Yu Yingying’s gaze, he suddenly felt very uncomfortable. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling—like being pricked by a rose thorn. It didn’t exactly hurt, but he couldn’t stop wanting to rub his fingers.
It had to be Yu Yingying’s fault. All her fault! If she was going to say thank you, then just say thank you—why was she smiling? Did she think she was the only one who could smile?
Turning his face away awkwardly, Jiang He couldn’t help grumbling in a low voice, annoyed. “Like it is like it. What’s with ‘really like it’…”
Yu Yingying didn’t hear him clearly and, afraid she’d miss something important, turned her head and asked, “What did you say?”
Jiang He immediately raised his voice. “Nothing! Put your helmet on properly and pay attention to safety.”
Yu Yingying: “…Okay.”
So strange.
As she put on her helmet, she curiously asked about their next plans. “Where are we going tonight? Do you have anything arranged?”
“Just dinner and a movie. Where else could we go? There’s a curfew at your dorm at night, and they might even do room checks—you haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“Mm.” Yu Yingying nodded, a little expectant. Watching a movie sounded nice. A movie ticket cost at least a few dozen yuan; in her memory, she had never been willing to spend that money, so she’d never really had the experience—unless the free outdoor movies the school showed when she was little counted.
……
At 5 p.m., during the evening rush hour, the roads were crowded and the motorcycle couldn’t go fast at all. After being baked by the sun all day and then fumed by car exhaust, even the weather before June felt a bit hot.
When Jiang He parked in the underground garage and took Yu Yingying into the elevator, he noticed beads of sweat glistening on the tip of her nose.
“Hot?” he asked.
“It’s okay.” Yu Yingying smiled with pursed lips. “There’s air conditioning in the mall.”
Actually, it wasn’t entirely because of the temperature. Mainly, she was sitting behind Jiang He, too close to him. He was tall with long legs, and his body temperature was high—more effective than a heater you couldn’t turn off.
Jiang He twirled the motorcycle key around his finger and said casually, “Next time we go out, I’ll drive the sports car.”
“There’s a next time?” Yu Yingying asked. It felt like it would really interfere with studying.
Jiang He let out a short laugh and asked back, “What do you think?”
Yu Yingying: “……”
She didn’t want to talk.
Jiang He’s bright yellow sports car was flashy and ostentatious; driving it on the road would attract attention one hundred percent of the time—worse than the motorcycle. And besides, even with a sports car, as long as it was a date, it would still interfere with studying.
That evening, they had Western food. The restaurant in the mall was mid-range, focused on being affordable and filling. Yu Yingying ate with great interest, the light in her eyes never fading. Seeing her enjoy the meal, Jiang He chuckled softly, and his expression improved quite a bit.
By the time they reached the cinema entrance, Jiang He’s mood looked even better. He leisurely browsed the movies currently showing.
“Romance movies these days are all just whiny nonsense. Even dogs wouldn’t watch them. Animated movies—tsk, only childish brats like those. And this one—what montage technique, trying to be funny…”
Listening to Jiang He’s criticism, Yu Yingying subconsciously looked around at the other couples. On this day, every couple without exception had chosen a romance movie. They held hands, or the girl clung to the boy’s arm, all with happy smiles on their faces.
Unlike Jiang He, who immediately eliminated the most fitting option.
After a long while, Jiang He finally picked one he was satisfied with. “This one! The Youthful Diary. Original families, domestic violence—has depth!”
Yu Yingying: “……”
She thought it was fine.
Although he’d chosen a movie that didn’t match the 520 atmosphere at all, Jiang He glanced at Yu Yingying beside him, observed her for a few seconds, then still went with the flow to the counter and bought popcorn and drinks that better fit the mood.
Yu Yingying held a big bucket of popcorn in her arms and followed Jiang He into the theater, sitting down in her seat, her eyes full of curiosity.
She tried a piece of popcorn—crispy and sweet. The iced carbonated drink fizzed and bubbled. These experiences were luxuries she hadn’t had in her past eighteen years—oh no, very likely twenty years.
She’d never thought her life was particularly hard, but at this moment, her happiness was real.
However, as the movie unfolded, Yu Yingying’s emotions were pulled along by the little protagonist on screen, growing more and more uncomfortable.
A little boy yearning for his parents’ affection.
A little boy, beaten violently by his father, curling up on his bed to read comics, comforting himself that “things will be better when I grow up.”
A little boy unwilling to part with his gentle, beautiful piano teacher, throwing himself into his mother’s arms and sobbing…
At first, Yu Yingying forced herself to hold back, but later she simply couldn’t stop the tears. Embarrassed, she rummaged through her backpack for tissues—only to find none.
Besides her, soft sobbing sounds came from other corners of the theater as well. Many people had been moved by the little boy in the film, shedding tears for his pain.
But they were all lucky, because most of them had brought tissues.
Not wanting Jiang He to notice her embarrassment, Yu Yingying gently sniffed and quietly wiped away her tears with her fingers. Still, she was discovered.
“What are you crying for? Your tear threshold is way too low.” Jiang He tapped the girl in the row in front, asked her for two tissues, and handed them to Yu Yingying. He asked suspiciously, “If I didn’t get you tissues, were you planning to secretly wipe your tears and snot on my clothes? I’m warning you, Yu Yingying—I’m a clean freak!”
Yu Yingying held back. Afraid of disturbing others, she didn’t argue with him and whispered, “Thank you.”
Jiang He clicked his tongue and looked away.
After sitting for a few more minutes, he suddenly tossed out, “I’m going out,” then sprang up and strode outside.
Yu Yingying understood—nature’s call. She quickly withdrew her gaze and immersed herself back into the movie, curious whether the owner of the suicide note would be found.
Gradually, the two tissues in her hand were soaked through and no longer enough.
Ask someone for more? She found it hard to speak up, too embarrassed.
Not ask? The tears wouldn’t stop.
Just as she was at a loss, Jiang He, who had been gone for quite a while, came back. Sitting down beside her, he casually tossed her a big pack of tissues and said with a rather lavish air, “Go ahead and cry. Plenty of tissues!”
Yu Yingying: “……”
Should she say thank you? She probably should. But for some reason, she also really wanted to hit him.
When the movie ended, the lights came on.
Yu Yingying was still immersed in the aftertaste of the film, her expression a little sad, a little relieved. When Jiang He stood up, he glanced at her—sure enough, her eyes were red, her nose red too, like a wilted little animal. He couldn’t help frowning.
Yu Yingying recovered quickly, though. After going to the restroom to wash her face, she felt much better when she came out.
What she didn’t expect was that Jiang He, waiting outside, had bought two more movie tickets. He waved them at her. “One more.”
Yu Yingying: “……”
Pointing at a movie poster not far away, Jiang He said, “Super sweet plot, nonstop laughs. If you don’t laugh after watching it, full refund.”
Yu Yingying: “?”
She looked at Jiang He’s serious face and couldn’t help feeling that there were three words practically written on it: Laugh. For me.