Chapter 53 Fang Minzhou hasn't actually done much yet...

Fang Minzhou hadn't really explored the good restaurants in Beicheng yet, so she took Wang Kan to a well-regarded Cantonese restaurant. It was a bit pricey, but the food was really good. However, when they were about to pay the bill, Wang Kan had already paid.

When they went out, Wang Kan always insisted on paying the bill, which left Fang Minzhou feeling a bit helpless. Wang Kan, however, had anticipated this and immediately put his arm around her, leaving Fang Minzhou with no choice but to give up, thinking she would invite him back another time.

It was getting late after dinner, so the two of them took a taxi back to school. Wang Kan's hotel was near Beicheng University.

Hotels near the school weren't cheap, and he was flying back to Jiangcheng on Sunday night. Fang Minzhou couldn't help but silently calculate Wang Kan's round-trip expenses in her mind. Suddenly, Wang Kan gestured for her to look to the side.

Fang Minzhou didn't think much of it and looked over, seeing couples hugging or kissing goodbye downstairs in the dormitory.

Fang Minzhou: "..."

Wang Kan laughed again.

She's the kind of girl who blushes even when taking pictures in front of others, so Wang Kan naturally didn't expect her to kiss him first. He gently pinched Fang Minzhou's cheek and said, "I'm leaving, see you tomorrow."

"……Um."

Wang Kan's figure disappeared into the night. For a moment, Fang Minzhou wanted to run over or call out to Wang Kan, but she let him leave and went upstairs with a bag of snacks in her hand.

Back in the dorm, I was inevitably questioned.

"I remember you said you were high school classmates?"

How did you two get together?

"Who confessed first, and how did they confess?"

Fang Minzhou's roommates are now very interested in his love life.

Because apart from the beginning of the semester, Fang Minzhou never mentioned her boyfriend on her own initiative, nor did she make phone calls from her dorm room. There were no signs of her being in a relationship, but looking at her today, she seems to be deeply in love.

They didn't tell Fang Minzhou that some boys in the department had asked them about her, since everyone was eager to find a partner. When they said she already had a boyfriend, they were thought to be lying.

Fang Minzhou spoke concisely, mentioning some things and omitting others. She tried to silence her roommates with snacks, but when asked who bought them, she was teased.

The second day will be cloudy.

Autumn had not yet officially arrived in the northern part of the city, and the leaves were half yellow. Wang Kan had been to the northern part of the city before and the two of them had visited all the famous attractions. On this day, they wandered around at their leisure, passing through alleys and lanes, and eventually arrived at the ancient site park.

Strictly speaking, this was their first solo trip together, and Wang Kan had brought his camera with him. He took pictures of Fang Minzhou, and some enthusiastic elderly people passing by would compliment her. Fang Minzhou was embarrassed, but Wang Kan was particularly proud and would even retort with a few words.

Afterwards, Fang Minzhou secretly pinched him. Wang Kan tried to dodge for a while, but couldn't. He then grabbed Fang Minzhou's hand and said, "What are you doing? What did I say wrong? You are my girlfriend."

"Then you can't..."

"What?"

Fang Minzhou shut up; she was too ashamed to repeat Wang Kan's glib tongue.

She felt that she would need to keep some nitroglycerin pills on hand when she was with Wang Kan in the future, otherwise he would always tease her until she blushed and her heart raced.

Sitting on a park bench, Fang Minzhou leaned over to look at the camera in Wang Kan's hand and suddenly remembered the first photo Wang Kan had taken for her.

She couldn't help but glance at Wang Kan, who looked back at her. The golden sunlight of early autumn fell on him. "What's wrong?"

Fang Minzhou hesitated for a moment, then said, "I have a question for you."

"don't want."

"..."

"Judging from your tone, it's definitely not a good question."

“…Oh.” Since Wang Kan had already said that, Fang Minzhou didn’t press the matter further.

"You're giving up already? Not even trying?" Wang Kan said, displeased. "Go ahead and ask, what's the question?"

But Fang Minzhou no longer wanted to ask.

She got up and continued walking into the park. Wang Kan persisted, accusing Fang Minzhou of speaking in a halting manner and deliberately teasing him. Fang Minzhou had no choice but to turn around and say, "I originally wanted to ask you when you fell in love with me."

These were the questions her roommates asked her yesterday, and she couldn't give a proper answer. Just now, she had a sudden thought and wanted to ask, but now she no longer meant to probe; she simply had a question.

But Wang Kan's stunned, flushed face subtly changed the atmosphere.

Fang Minzhou didn't know what to say, so she walked into the lakeside corridor and sat down again. Wang Kan strolled over and sat down next to her.

Atop a distant hill stands an ancient pagoda, willow leaves on the shore peek out from the shimmering blue lake, several mandarin ducks of various colors nearby, and a few leisurely boats in the distance.

Wang Kan would glance at the scenery for a while, then at Fang Minzhou, who seemed to be admiring the scenery as well, while in reality she was frantically thinking about her problem.

I'm a little anxious because I need to give an answer quickly.

Was it during the midterm exam in the second year of high school? He tried to comfort Fang Minzhou but ended up making her cry, and he still felt quite guilty when he thought about it now. It seemed like that was the only time he saw Fang Minzhou with red eyes. Or was it the time the praying mantis jumped onto her desk? For some reason, an earlier image popped into Wang Kan's mind: she was sitting in front of the podium flipping through a dictionary when he said something that made her tremble like a cat. She looked up at him with wary eyes.

When the time was up, Wang Kan said in a low voice, "...I don't know either."

Fang Minzhou glanced at him and gave a soft "Oh" as if she didn't care about the answer.

Why are you asking me this?

"Just asking."

"And what about you?"

"……What?"

When did you start liking me?

Fang Minzhou looked away, then looked back after a while, saying, "I don't know either."

The two stared at each other for a second or two, then suddenly looked away shyly, pursing their lips and secretly smiling.

As they walked for the latter half of the trip, the sun had not yet set, and the sky was getting dark. It started to rain outside when they were having dinner.

The weather forecast predicted a low probability of rain, and they were still hoping for the best. If it didn't rain, they planned to go on a boat trip and watch the musical fountain that evening, but now their plans are ruined.

"How about we watch a movie?" Fang Minzhou suggested.

"OK."

But when I opened my phone, there weren't many movies that interested me. The cinema had already stopped selling tickets for the next showing, and I wouldn't be able to wait two hours for the next one.

After walking all day, Wang Kan was quite tired. She swiped her phone to the bottom and put it away. "Let's go, I'll take you back to school."

Fang Minzhou looked at him and nodded in response.

It was rush hour and traffic was congested, so the two took the subway instead.

The subway wasn't swaying in the rain, but it was more crowded than the buses I remembered from high school after evening self-study. There were no empty seats, so Wang Kan sheltered her in a corner.

Fang Minzhou was initially a little embarrassed because, although Wang Kan tried his best to keep his distance from her politely, the crowd surged when they stopped, and it was inevitable that they would bump into each other. Fang Minzhou didn't think it was a big deal, but Wang Kan was nervous on his own, which made her curse him in her heart for being a hypocrite. However, after standing for a long time, she no longer felt that he was doing it on purpose. Her calves were sore, not to mention that Wang Kan had been tense the whole way.

She tugged at his sleeve, and Wang Kan looked down at her, puzzled.

Fang Minzhou pulled him closer to her again, and Wang Kan finally understood. He carefully relaxed, no longer forcing his arms, and when they accidentally bumped into each other, he didn't dodge away as if avoiding fire. The two of them naturally and gently leaned against each other.

Amidst the screeching and whistling of the subway train, you can't hear each other's breathing or heartbeats; only the warm sensation of skin pressed together for a long time feels real.

The rain stopped as soon as they got off the subway. It was only eight o'clock, which was usually before evening classes were over. So the two of them walked from the subway exit to the pedestrian street near the university. The wet asphalt reflected the neon lights of the shop signs on both sides.

The lively atmosphere wasn't dampened by the rain shower; juice was buy-one-get-one-free, bakeries had freshly baked egg rolls, and takoyaki stalls were surrounded by customers. Although they had just eaten, they bought this and that, and soon their hands were full. The two of them stood on the street corner, looking at each other in bewilderment.

There were some things Fang Minzhou couldn't say, so she slowly drank her juice.

"How about..." Wang Kan asked hesitantly, "...come to my place?"

Fang Minzhou bit her straw and looked up.

Wang Kan suddenly felt a surge of heat coursing through his body. He forcibly averted his gaze from Fang Minzhou's lips, which were sipping from a pink straw, and looked around. "I mean... you can come to my place to watch a movie."

In all honesty, he really didn't mean anything by it; he just couldn't bear to see Fang Minzhou leave now.

It was his last night; he was going back to Jiangcheng the next day.

Fang Minzhou almost bit through the straw in her mouth. She's the kind of person who easily tries to be a hero. She's shy, but when Wang Kan became even more shy than her, she went to meet her.

"Let's go," Wang Kan heard Fang Minzhou say calmly.

He was stunned.

They said that, but they hadn't thought about what to do next at all. What movie? Really watch a movie?

But Fang Minzhou knew which way the hotel was going, so he followed behind hesitantly until they entered the elevator. He glanced at Fang Minzhou and then pressed the button for his floor as if he had made up his mind.

The feeling of weightlessness during the elevator's ascent acts intensely on the heart within the enclosed space.

The corridor was covered with a thick carpet, quiet and dimly lit. Wang Kan walked in front, swiping the door, opening the door, inserting the card, and turning on the light. The somewhat messy room came into view.

Wang Kan suddenly realized what was happening and quickly put down the food and drinks he was holding, wanting Fang Minzhou to wait outside. But she didn't move, so he had no choice but to quickly tidy up the room in frustration.

He pulled the messy blankets aside and smoothed them out, closed the open suitcase and pushed it into a corner, then swept the things on the table into the trash can, and finally turned on the TV. After looking around the room again, Wang Kan scratched his head and chuckled at Fang Minzhou, "...Okay, sit down."

Fang Minzhou: "..."

Wang Kan regretted it.

Fang Minzhou let him choose any movie he wanted, and without much thought, he picked an American blockbuster. Now the whole room is making a rumbling noise.

what to do?

If he had a second chance, he would definitely perform better.

"...Should I dim the lights?"

Fang Minzhou nodded, her eyes fixed on the screen.

The lights went out.

Wang Kan stood up and asked again, "...Are you cold? Or hot? Should we turn the air conditioning down?"

Fang Minzhou said, "No need."

Really? Then why is he all sweaty?

He sat down again.

Fang Minzhou gestured to the juice in her hand, "...No need."

"oh."

He took a sip of ice water, aimed at the distance, and then sat down.

I'm in the right seat, just right.

But after a while, I felt something was wrong; we were too close.

He was so close that he could hear Fang Minzhou drinking juice and smell her faint, familiar fragrance.

This is not the same as going to the subway or the movie theater, which are all public places. Now that things have come to this, Wang Kan realizes how outrageous he was, actually thinking he could be a saint.

During the past summer vacation, they had touched each other lightly, through their clothes, and while kissing, but that was all; their feelings were expressed but kept within the bounds of propriety.

Wang Kan stood up for the third time, and Fang Minzhou could no longer bear it: "What exactly do you want?"

"Ah, I, I..." Wang Kan stammered, "Nothing, it's just too hot, I'm turning the air conditioning down."

Fang Minzhou stopped watching the movie and watched Wang Kan rummage through drawers looking for the air conditioner remote, but he just couldn't find it. His clueless behavior only made Fang Minzhou's shyness and nervousness more palpable, and all she could do was laugh.

“The remote control is over there,” she said, pointing to the bedside table.

Wang Kan looked down and said, "..."

The air conditioner beeped twice. Wang Kan turned to look at Fang Minzhou. Although Fang Minzhou had a blank expression on her face, there was a clear smile in her eyes.

Wang Kan was a little depressed. He also had his pride, but now he had lost face completely. "You're laughing at me."

"No."

Wang Kan was even more embarrassed and angry when Fang Minzhou denied it. He walked to the sofa and looked down at her, leaving Fang Minzhou completely in his shadow.

Fang Minzhou slowly slowed her breathing and calmly met Wang Kan's emotions, because she was not afraid of him at all.

The main characters in the movie are chasing each other, amidst the howling wind and heavy breathing.

After a long while, Wang Kan looked away and said, "Fang Minzhou, don't look at me like that."

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Author's note: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!