We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

This is practically a public declaration of love.

Ye Chen glanced at her, a smile playing on his lips, and continued walking forward without stopping.

He didn't even pick up the words that had been left on the ground.

Xu Jiao stomped her foot in anger, chased after him in a few steps, and pressed her shoulder against his again.

"Since you treated us to that big meal, it's my turn to shine at the movie, right?"

She tilted her head back, her tone carrying a defiant spirit.

"I heard that Zhang Yimou's 'Under the Hawthorn Tree' just came out. Let's go to the nearby cinema to watch it and digest our food. This time, it's a deal, I have to buy the tickets!"

A movie theater, a closed and dimly lit space, showing a romance film.

It has always been a catalyst for warming up relationships between men and women.

Ye Chen raised his wrist and glanced at the time.

1:30.

There were still more than four hours between when I went to meet Gu Yuxuan at the Half Sugar Dessert Shop at 6 p.m.

"Sure, I haven't seen it before." He agreed casually, as if he were saying the weather was nice today.

Xu Jiao was overjoyed, feeling that she had finally won back a point.

She quickly took out her phone to check the latest movie theater screenings, afraid that Ye Chen would change his mind.

Twenty minutes later, the two checked their tickets and entered a cinema near the university town.

The screening room was dimly lit, and the pre-screening segment was playing on the big screen.

Xu Jiao, carrying a large bucket of caramel popcorn and two cups of cola, specifically chose a couple's seat in the middle of the third-to-last row.

After sitting down, she handed the cola to Ye Chen, then hugged the popcorn bucket herself, like a squirrel guarding its food.

The movie officially begins.

On the big screen, a pure and beautiful love story with a vintage filter unfolds. Jingqiu, wearing a floral shirt, stands under a hawthorn tree, the scene as clean as a faded old photograph.

In the darkness, Xu Jiao subtly moved her body closer to Ye Chen.

She turned her head, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Do you think the female leads in movies are prettier, or the girls in school?"

The warm breath sprayed onto my earlobe, carrying a sweet caramel scent.

"There's no comparison." Ye Chen leaned back in his chair, creating some distance between them.

"What you see in movies is the sense of era and the artistic conception. When it comes to dressing up, you college students definitely have more variety."

His words were perfectly tactful. He didn't offend anyone, nor did he offer her any excuse to back down.

Xu Jiao bit the straw unwillingly.

She placed the popcorn bucket on the armrest between the two of them, deliberately slowing down her movements each time she reached for it.

Her fair fingers stirred the contents of the bucket, once, twice, precisely brushing against the back of Ye Chen's outstretched hand.

Ye Chen paused slightly with his fingers holding the popcorn, but then continued holding it as if nothing had happened.

He withdrew his hand, his gaze fixed on the screen, but his shoulder unconsciously tilted slightly towards her.

The plot on the screen gradually reached its climax.

The heart-wrenching farewell between Jingqiu and Lao San in the hospital room brought tears to many eyes, and the sound of scattered sobs filled the screening room.

Xu Jiao's eyes reddened, and taking advantage of the moment when her emotions were at their peak, she turned her head and gently pressed her cheek against Ye Chen's shoulder.

Her warm breath, seeping through the thin fabric of his clothes, touched the nape of his neck, carrying a delicate, feminine fragrance.

Ye Chen did not move.

They neither pushed him away nor embraced him.

He let her stay close, his gaze still fixed on the screen, his right hand resting on the armrest, his fingertips tapping unconsciously twice.

It can be considered a form of tacit approval.

Xu Jiao felt his body relax, and boldly snuggled closer to him.

His shoulders were broad, and his body was warm beneath the fabric of his shirt, making one want to stay still forever.

The film ends with a melodious end credits song, and the lights gradually come on.

Xu Jiao lifted her head from his shoulder, her cheeks flushed and her eyelashes glistening with moisture.

"This movie was so moving." She sniffed.

Before she could even reach for a tissue, Ye Chen had already raised his hand and gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes with his fingertips, as if he were wiping a fragile item.

"You've cried your eyes out." He said in a low voice, with a hint of laughter at the end.

Xu Jiao's heart skipped a beat.

She followed Ye Chen out of the screening room, her steps tinged with a lingering reluctance.

Following the classic formula of idol dramas, a man's protective instincts should be aroused after watching a tear-jerking romance film.

Next, take a walk by the lake, feel the breeze, and perhaps even hold hands. It will all fall into place naturally.

Stepping out of the movie theater, the afternoon sunlight felt much softer.

Just as Xu Jiao was about to suggest a walk along the lake at Jiaotong University, Ye Chen took out his phone and glanced at the screen.

"The movie's over, and I have some important things to do later. Let me take you back to your dorm first."

His tone was calm, as if he were talking about something completely ordinary.

The pink bubbles in Xu Jiao's mind burst everywhere.

It's only a little past four in the afternoon, what important business could there be?

But she dared not make a fuss at this critical juncture, for fear of ruining the goodwill she had painstakingly built up today.

"Alright then, business comes first." She bit her lower lip and forced a kind smile.

The two walked back towards Jiaotong University along the same route they had come from.

Along the way, Xu Jiao tried to find topics to salvage the atmosphere, talking about movies, weekend plans, and the new spicy hot pot in the cafeteria.

Ye Chen answered all the questions, but each response was no more than ten words long, his emotions as calm as a lake.

As Ye Chen approached the fork in the tree-lined path leading to the girls' dormitory of the Foreign Languages ​​Department, he stopped.

"Alright, that's enough for now, I'm leaving."

He picked up his phone and glanced at it, his tone swift and decisive.

The dormitory building was just a stone's throw away, and no matter how reluctant Xu Jiao was, she could only obediently nod.

She turned and walked seven or eight steps away, but ultimately, unwilling to give up, she stopped and turned back.

"You must come out and keep me company next time you have time."

She waved to Ye Chen, her eyes filled with undisguised anticipation.

Ye Chen nodded casually, turned and left, his steps neither hurried nor slow, without even pausing for half a second.

The figure disappeared around the corner of the tree-lined road.

Xu Jiao stomped her foot, turned around, and continued walking towards the dormitory.

After walking a few steps, she inexplicably took out her phone, scrolled to Ye Chen's profile picture, and stared at it for several seconds.

He shoved the lock screen back into his pocket, a smirk playing on his lips.

I felt as light as if I were walking on cotton.

Ye Chen did not stop walking.

He glanced down at the time on his phone screen.

5:18.

With a long stride, he headed straight for the Half Sugar Dessert Shop outside Jiaotong University.

The early autumn sun had lost its daytime scorching heat, casting a warm yellow glow on the sycamore trees lining the street.

The wind chimes on the sliding door of the dessert shop tinkled once.

Ye Chen walked in with one hand in his pocket, his gaze casually sweeping around before landing on the quietest corner booth by the window.

Gu Yuxuan has arrived.

She wore a light gray knitted short-sleeved shirt, dark blue high-waisted jeans, and her long hair was casually tied up with a black hair clip, revealing a slender neckline.

She was clean and neat, and compared to the flamboyant female college students in the dessert shop, she was like a cup of unsweetened iced Americano.

It is crisp, clean, and carries a sense of aloofness.

Two desserts were placed in front of her. She had only taken a few sips of a mango smoothie, while the other, a tiramisu, remained untouched on the opposite side.

The moment the wind chimes rang, Gu Yuxuan looked up.

His gaze met Ye Chen's as he walked in.

Her lips twitched slightly, as if she wanted to laugh, but she quickly suppressed it.

Ye Chen walked over, pulled out the chair opposite him, and sat down.

"Have you been waiting long?" He casually put his phone on the table and asked.

"fine."

Her voice sounded calm, but she stopped stirring the shaved ice.

Ye Chen arrived almost half an hour earlier than the agreed time.

This caused a hint of undisguised joy to appear in Gu Yuxuan's usually calm eyes.

To hide her slight displeasure, she quickly pushed her phone, which was on the edge of the table, further in.

"I thought you'd show up right on time at six o'clock." Her tone was unusually light, even a little bit tentative.

"I finished my business ahead of schedule, and it was too hot outside, so I just came here to enjoy the air conditioning and have a cold drink to quench my thirst."

Ye Chen smiled and leaned back on the sofa in a relaxed manner.

He seemed very natural.

Completely different from his perfunctory attitude when he was with Xu Jiao earlier, where he would only say less than ten words, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when he sat opposite Gu Yuxuan.

Gu Yuxuan put down the beautifully presented menu, beckoned to the waiter, and ordered an afternoon tea for two.

"I took the liberty of ordering it for you and ordered a tiramisu." She gently pushed the plate towards Ye Chen, her tone calm. "Can you have something sweet?"

This seemingly polite inquiry, coupled with her practiced ordering and the tacit understanding between them, actually revealed a subtle intimacy.

Ye Chen lowered his eyes, picked up the small spoon, and took a bite.

"Not bad," he commented. "Not too sweet, just within my acceptable range."

"That's good, looks like I didn't order the wrong thing." Gu Yuxuan lowered her eyelashes, looking at the slushy undulating in the glass, a barely perceptible smile spreading across her eyes.

Just as the waiter turned to walk towards the bar with the order slip, the wind chimes at the entrance of the dessert shop rang again with a "ding-a-ling".