The movie was not scheduled to start until four-thirty in the afternoon,
but Muyang and Suchunsun had both tacitly agreed to meet an hour early. They both wanted to see each other sooner, even if all they did was sit there looking at one another.
Traffic was jammed for a full twenty minutes on the way there.
The black Tesla came to a stop in the middle of the elevated highway, with endless streams of cars stretching out in both directions.
The August sun beat down mercilessly.
Although the air conditioner was running, the area around the steering wheel was still scorching under the blazing sunlight.
Normally, Suchunsun would have become incredibly irritable in a traffic jam like this.
She probably would have started cursing the cars ahead of her, then honked furiously while checking the navigation on her phone over and over again to see how much longer the traffic would last.
But today, she was not anxious at all.
Leaning back in the driver's seat with both hands resting on the steering wheel, she looked as though she had forgiven the entire world. She simply could not suppress the smile at the corners of her lips.
Muyang sat in the passenger seat, turning his head to look at her like that. He really could not hold back any longer. Was she really this happy just because she was sitting with him?
That was genuinely rather innocent of her.
“Pfft.”
He could not stop himself from laughing. He simply thought Sister Chunsun was incredibly cute.
Suchunsun heard him laugh and turned to look at him.
Their gazes collided in the cramped space inside the car.
Muyang's eyes curved into crescents, and two tiny dimples appeared in his cheeks.
They just stared at each other and grinned foolishly without saying a word.
The traffic began to move slowly. Only then did Suchunsun come back to her senses. Blushing, she started the car again.
Muyang also came to himself. The atmosphere seemed far too ambiguous, as though pink bubbles were about to start floating around them.
He immediately turned to look out the window, the tips of his ears quietly turning pink.
By the time they arrived at the cinema entrance, it was nearly ten past four.
Suchunsun parked the car.
After the two of them got out, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
For some reason, the natural intimacy they had shared in the car vanished in an instant.
Suchunsun got out and stood there, foolishly scratching the back of her head with a grin.
Her hand kept curling and uncurling, as though she were rubbing mud between her fingers.
She simply did not dare reach out and take Muyang's hand.
Muyang got out as well and stood beside her.
He was also a complete novice when it came to romance, so he was just as shy.
His gaze fell on Suchunsun's hand hanging at her side, and his heart began to beat a little faster.
Should he take the initiative and hold it?
He hesitated for two seconds, but in the end, he was too embarrassed.
The two of them walked into the cinema lobby shoulder to shoulder, leaving about twenty centimeters between them.
People were coming and going throughout the lobby.
Quite a few people were lined up at the popcorn counter.
When it was their turn, Suchunsun spoke first.
“Two large popcorns and two Cokes.”
The server swiftly filled the containers with popcorn and handed them over.
Suchunsun quickly paid, then handed Muyang one of the Cokes and one of the tubs of popcorn.
Their fingertips inevitably brushed against each other on the side of the cup.
Both of them pulled their hands back at the same time.
“Th… thank you.”
Muyang thanked her softly. Feeling that the atmosphere was unbearably awkward, he simply took a sip of his Coke.
The icy liquid slid down his throat, finally helping him calm down a little.
Holding their popcorn and Cokes, the two of them found two seats in the waiting area and sat down.
Trailers for upcoming movies were playing in the lobby at full volume.
But neither of them had any interest in watching the screen.
Muyang stirred the ice cubes in his cup with the straw, producing a clattering sound.
Suchunsun, meanwhile, placed the tub of popcorn on her lap and stuffed one piece after another into her mouth,
as though she were relying on eating to ease her nervousness.
Time passed very slowly.
Four-thirty finally arrived.
The lights at the ticket checkpoint came on.
“Let's go.”
Muyang was the first to stand up.
Suchunsun hurried after him, clutching the tub of popcorn, which was already nearly half empty.
The two of them had their tickets checked, entered the screening room, and found their seats.
They were in the middle of the back row, with an excellent view.
There were not many people in the screening room. A few couples were scattered here and there,
but they were all groups of several girls accompanying a single boy. There was not a single couple consisting of one man and one woman like Muyang and Suchunsun.
The lights dimmed, and the screen lit up.
The movie began.
Suchunsun had chosen a college campus romance.
It told the story of a couple meeting, getting to know each other, and falling in love on a university campus.
It was an exceedingly pure romance.
Both the plot and the cinematography were quite good, and the leads were deeply immersed in their roles.
Muyang watched with great interest.
For a fool like him, who had not been able to get into university, everything about university life seemed so fresh and appealing.
He stared at the screen, his expression changing constantly with the plot.
One moment, his brows would furrow slightly; the next, the corners of his lips would lift.
Suchunsun, however, was completely uninterested in the movie.
All her thoughts were focused on the boy beside her.
She was terribly distressed.
She had been so brave before getting into the car and had even taken the initiative to hold his hand.
So how had she become such a coward the moment she got out of the car?
She could not even speak properly anymore.
The two of them simply sat there awkwardly, with the width of an armrest between them.
Suchunsun bit her lip and quietly pulled out her phone, lowering the screen brightness to its minimum.
Then she opened WeChat and tapped on her best friend Chuxiang's chat.
【Emergency rescue！！！！】
【I'm at the cinema with Xiaoyang, and things are so awkward. What do I do? Ahhhhh!】
A few seconds after she sent the message, Chuxiang replied.
【You mean you and your little store clerk?】
【Yes, him!】
【Then answer one question first. Did he deliberately dress up for you today?】
【He did! He looks incredibly handsome today. Normally, he just wears ordinary clothes to work, and they are even a little old. Today, he's wearing new clothes.】
【What about you? Did you dress up properly today?】
【Of course! I wore the outfit you recommended. He was completely captivated by me—he even couldn't resist touching my little tummy.】
On the other end of the phone, Chuxiang sat in the CEO's office, utterly dumbfounded.
No way. Did a guy really like her best friend?
It was not that she looked down on her best friend. It was simply that she had practically never seen a guy who liked someone like Suchunsun.
She had even posted a video on Douyin before asking for people's opinions and wondering whether anyone liked a type like Suchunsun.
The responses had all been things like:
【If you want to breed pigs, go to a pigsty.】
【I'm not a furry.】
And so on.
Those comments had infuriated her best friend so much that she had become directly self-conscious. Half an hour after posting the video, she deleted it.
Still, Chuxiang was very comforted that her best friend had found someone who liked her. She immediately sent another message.
【Then it's settled, isn't it? He definitely likes you. One hundred percent.】
【But I still don't know what to talk about. After getting out of the car, things became completely awkward.】
【? After getting out of the car, you didn't take the initiative to speak to him?】
【That's right.】
【Holy shit! You actually arranged a date and then left it at that! You're not seriously going to take him home after the movie tonight, are you?!】
【Isn't that how it's supposed to work?】
【You are unbelievable, child. After the movie, have dinner with him. Didn't you say he doesn't have many good clothes? After dinner, take him shopping for clothes, then go hang out at an arcade. Basically, you have to make sure he has an incredibly happy day and create shared memories between the two of you.】
【Once you have shared memories, won't you naturally have things to talk about?】
【Now, immediately, take his hand carefully. As long as he doesn't resist, keep holding it until the movie ends, until he gets used to your palm. Understand?】
【After that, gradually escalate things—hugs, massages, and unlocking other intimate acts little by little. In short, you have to take the initiative. You can't let the guy take the initiative! Got it?!】
Suchunsun stared at the messages Chuxiang had sent on her phone.
She understood. Of course she understood.
But she was a coward.
She took a deep breath.
Then another.
Then yet another deep breath,
successfully making her own contribution to global warming.
Muyang, sitting beside her, remained completely unaware.
He was watching the male and female leads confess their feelings in the rain, moved to the point that his eyes had turned faintly red.
Suchunsun stuffed her phone back into her pocket and placed both hands on her knees, her palms covered in sweat.
She did not dare look at Muyang. She only felt her heart pounding far too quickly, and she herself could not understand why she was so nervous.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Then she extended her right hand, reaching toward Muyang.
She did not know where his hand was at that moment.
So she reached straight toward the armrest between them, imagining his hand resting there.
But at that moment, Muyang happened to be smiling at the romantic confession scene in the movie.
He was holding a piece of popcorn near his mouth, having forgotten to eat it as he watched the film, completely absorbed.
Just then,
Suchunsun's hand arrived.
Her fingers pressed straight down toward where she imagined Muyang's hand to be on the armrest.
But Muyang's hand was not on the armrest.
So the result was obvious.
The hand holding the popcorn froze in midair.
Muyang's eyes abruptly widened, and his young face flushed bright red.
Suchunsun, meanwhile, had successfully grasped the future.
She mechanically turned her head toward Muyang.
Their eyes met.
On the big screen in the screening room, the male and female leads were passionately kissing.
Below the screen, the male and female leads of the scene were awkwardly staring at each other.