Feels Like Falling in Love Again

Su Yang couldn't be bothered to look any longer and walked over to the seating area to wait while Lu Yun made her selection.

Under the enthusiastic recommendations of the sales assistant, Lu Yun finally settled on a bottle of Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet Eau de Toilette, 50ml, priced at 990.

This wasn’t too expensive nor too cheap—it was the usual price range she spent on perfumes, and one bottle would last her a long time.

She declined the sales assistant’s suggestions for pricier options in the two to three thousand range. After all, Su Yang was paying, and she didn’t want to feel too presumptuous.

Seeing that she had made her choice, Su Yang approached and asked, "All set?"

"Mm-hmm, this one’s fine."

"Great, as long as you like it. How much?" Su Yang turned to the sales assistant.

"This perfume retails for 990 at our counter."

"Alright, wrap it up."

The sales assistant smiled and took the perfume to the counter for packaging.

Su Yang glanced at Lu Yun, who was fidgeting awkwardly as if embarrassed, and chuckled. "Why are you so shy? Want to look at anything else?"

"No, no, I’m good," Lu Yun quickly replied.

She was afraid Su Yang might buy her something else. While she was undeniably happy—even a little thrilled—that he was treating her, she didn’t want him to think she was materialistic. And she genuinely wasn’t.

Su Yang understood this well. Seeing her refusal, he simply smiled and said, "Alright, let’s go then."

After paying, the two continued strolling around the mall.

At 9:10 PM, Su Yang bought two cups of milk tea and a bucket of popcorn before heading into the cinema with Lu Yun.

Inside the dimly lit theater, they fumbled their way to their seats. The movie had been out for a while, so the audience was sparse.

Once the film started, Lu Yun became engrossed.

Su Yang sat beside her, their shoulders almost touching, with no one else in their row.

The faint fragrance from Lu Yun’s perfume distracted him entirely from the movie.

His hand began wandering restlessly.

Su Yang’s heart raced—this was exactly how he had felt the first time he watched a movie with Lin Xiaomo.

For a moment, it felt like he was falling in love all over again.

He stole a glance at Lu Yun’s exquisite profile.

Swallowing hard, he stared dazedly before his right hand accidentally brushed against her left pinky.

The moment they touched, Lu Yun shivered slightly, but she didn’t pull away. She kept her eyes fixed on the screen, not turning to look at him.

Su Yang took a deep breath, mustered his courage, and boldly clasped her soft, delicate hand.

If not for the loud movie soundtrack, Lu Yun’s pounding heartbeat would have been unmistakable.

Su Yang’s pulse quickened too. When she didn’t resist, he pretended nothing had happened and focused on the film.

......

Before long, their hands had shifted from a simple hold to fingers intertwined.

They spent the entire movie hand in hand.

As the credits rolled and the lights came on, Su Yang turned to see Lu Yun’s face streaked with tears.

Panicking, he quickly let go of her hand. "Hey... what’s wrong?"

"N-nothing. The movie was just really moving. I couldn’t help crying. It’s fine."

Lu Yun turned away, wiping her tears with her sleeve.

Su Yang pulled a tissue from his bag and handed it to her.

"Here. It was emotional, yeah. Next time, let’s watch a comedy."

Lu Yun nodded silently and accepted the tissue.

"I’m okay now. Let’s go."

"Sure."

They stood and left the theater, this time without holding hands.

Outside, it was already 11:30 PM.

Su Yang checked his watch. "It’s late. Hungry? Want to grab a bite?"

Still subdued from the movie, Lu Yun shook her head. "No, I have work tomorrow."

"Then I’ll drive you home."

"Mm."

They walked slowly back to where they’d had dinner earlier, barely speaking, neither mentioning the hand-holding.

At the parking lot, they got into the car. Su Yang entered Lu Yun’s neighborhood into the GPS and started the engine.

Twenty minutes later, he pulled up at her apartment gate.

Turning to her, he said, "We’re here. Oh, and I’m inviting a few friends over for a housewarming soon. I’ll let you know the date—you have to come."

Lu Yun had shaken off her earlier mood by now. She smiled and replied, "Of course, I’ll be there."

"Great. I won’t walk you in. See you then."

"Okay."

As Lu Yun moved to leave, Su Yang suddenly—almost impulsively—grabbed her arm.

"Wait."

"What is it?" She turned to face him.

Their eyes met, the car’s ambient lighting casting an intimate glow.

Lu Yun’s cheeks flushed visibly as Su Yang leaned in slowly.

She shyly closed her eyes.

But two seconds later, instead of the cinematic kiss she expected, she only felt his fingers brush her cheek.

Su Yang spoke softly. "You had something on your face. All good now. Go on, get some rest."

"Ah... oh... okay..."

Like an embarrassed butterfly, Lu Yun swiftly opened the door and dashed off without even a goodbye, disappearing into the complex.

Su Yang exhaled deeply as he watched her run. "Whew... almost lost control there."

He knew that if he had kissed her, given what he understood of Lu Yun, they’d likely have entered a relationship soon.

But he had only just activated his "system" a few days ago. He wasn’t ready to settle down yet—not when there was so much of the world to explore.

Admittedly, it was a scummy mindset. But Su Yang feared that committing now would only make things worse if he later succumbed to temptation with other women.

He didn’t want that either. So, torn between being a jerk and an even bigger jerk, he chose the lesser evil.

Pushing the thoughts aside, he drove home.

After a quick shower, Su Yang emerged shirtless from the bathroom just as his phone buzzed.

He picked it up to find Pan Ning had added him to a group chat titled: "Modern Youth Escape Guide."

Su Yang blinked at the name, noting six members in total.

"Huh? What’s this about?"

Tapping the info button, he saw Meng Wenzhou and Liu Bo were also in the group, along with two others—a man and a woman—he didn’t recognize.

Messages started popping up.

Conqueror (Liu Bo): What’s going on?

Lonely Soul (Meng Wenzhou): Same question.

Winter Snowflake: @GreenGrass (Pan Ning) Pan, what’s this group for?

GroceryRunInSportsCar (Su Yang): Yeah, same.

......