Zhu Yaya had been on edge the entire way home. Seeing that Yan Heng remained as silent as before, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and steadied her emotions.
Soon, they reached the downstairs of Zhu Yaya's apartment building. After saying goodbye to Yan Heng, she was just turning to leave when he called out to stop her.
"Yaya."
Zhu Yaya turned back around. "What's wrong?"
"This Saturday," Yan Heng's eyes grew deep and dark, "can you accompany me to a few places?"
Zhu Yaya froze, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks.
Was Yan Heng asking her out on a date?
"Ahem," Zhu Yaya hurriedly turned around, putting her back to Yan Heng so he wouldn't see her shy expression. Forcing her voice to sound calm, she replied, "Sure!"
Because Zhu Yaya had her back to him, she couldn't see Yan Heng's expression. But thinking about how he always kept a straight face anyway, she figured there was no need to look.
Then, she heard Yan Heng's slightly husky teenage voice, accompanied by a soft chuckle.
"Saturday afternoon at two o'clock. I'll come pick you up."
"Okay." Zhu Yaya gave a flustered response, hastily bid him goodbye, and bolted straight up the stairs.
With a bang, Zhu Yaya opened the front door of her home. She slammed it shut behind her, dashed into her small bedroom, threw herself stiffly onto her bed, and buried her face in her pillow.
By now, Zhu Yaya's face was as ripe as a red tomato.
A date!
And he initiated it!
Zhu Yaya gripped her pillow with both hands, shrieking like a rubber chicken and kicking her feet wildly.
She rolled around on her bed over twenty times and squealed for ten solid minutes before finally managing to suppress the restless excitement in her heart.
Today was Wednesday.
With her rationality returning, Zhu Yaya began to ponder what she should wear for her date on Saturday.
She first unlocked her phone, intending to check the weather forecast for the next few days. However, as soon as the screen lit up, she saw QQ messages and several missed calls from Yan Heng.
[Are you home yet?]
[Did something happen?]
The messages were sent ten minutes ago and three minutes ago, respectively. Zhu Yaya's phone had been on mute, so she hadn't seen them.
Zhu Yaya touched her burning face, bit her lip gently, and replied to Yan Heng's messages.
"Don't worry, I got home a while ago."
Just as she sent the message, Yan Heng's reply arrived instantly.
"Okay."
It was just a simple word and an ordinary period, but in Zhu Yaya's eyes, they seemed to be haloed with the light of love, turning into two sweet pink bubbles.
What Zhu Yaya didn't know was that Yan Heng was standing right outside her front door at that very moment. Looking at the chat screen with Zhu Yaya on his phone, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed. He shoved the phone back into his pocket and headed down the stairwell.
Zhu Yaya let her imagination run wild for another fifteen minutes before remembering her original intention of checking Saturday's weather forecast.
Saturday: Sunny turning cloudy, 19C to 24C.
The weather looked great, neither too cold nor too hot. It should be perfect for wearing a skirt.
Zhu Yaya bounced up, jumped off the bed, and started rummaging through her closet.
What exactly should she wear?
A long skirt? Or a short skirt?
This white one, or that floral one?
This lotus-pink dress, or that pleated skirt?
Zhu Yaya pulled out all her skirts and dresses, changed into them multiple times in the bathroom, and struck several poses in front of the mirror.
She was caught in a deep dilemma.
After choosing for a long time, she finally decided to wear the new white denim overall skirt Zhao Jing had bought her, paired with a creamy-yellow short-sleeved T-shirt.
Having solved the wardrobe issue, Zhu Yaya began agonizing over her hairstyle.
Should she leave her hair down, or tie it up in a bun?
Wait, a half-bun seemed pretty good too?
Also, should she wear any hair accessories?
...
Zhu Jianjun looked at the bathroom door that hadn't opened for a long time and sighed. He really had no idea what Yabao was doing in there. Fortunately, they had two bathrooms in the house, otherwise, he would...
However, after being excited all night, Zhu Yaya woke up the next day only to realize that it was still only Thursday.
Why was time passing so slowly?
When Zhu Yaya arrived at school, she discovered that the news of Murong Beichen and Xu Chun's argument yesterday had already spread throughout the entire Scott High School.
All along the way to her classroom, she kept hearing things like:
"Did you hear? Prince Chen argued with that Xu Chun!"
"Hey, hey, did you hear? Our handsome Young Master Chen had a fight with that scheming girl!"
...
It seemed everyone was taking pleasure in this drama. Her desk-mate Xu Baoying cupped her face in her hands, looking hopeful. "Yaya, do you think our Prince Chen will break up with Xu Chun?"
"No." Zhu Yaya bluntly shattered her fantasy.
What a joke! Murong Beichen and Xu Chun were the official couple! How could they not be together? They might break up and get back together, but in the end, they would definitely end up together.
Xu Baoying curled her lips and said, "Prince Chen is probably just playing around anyway! A top-tier wealthy family like the Murongs would never let Murong Beichen and Xu Chun be together. Their class difference is just too vast."
"No! I have faith in them. They will definitely get their happy ending!" Zhu Yaya's tone was very certain.
She, Zhu Yaya, was someone who had read a bit of the original novel, after all!
Xu Baoying remained unconvinced by Zhu Yaya's words.
"By the way, Yingying!" Zhu Yaya's face flushed a weird shade of red, and she lowered her voice significantly. "Um, I have a friend. The guy she likes took the initiative to ask her out on a date. Are there, like, any things to watch out for on a date?"
Xu Baoying: "...Why are you asking a single dog this question?"
Zhu Yaya: ...Right!
Forget it, forget it. Asking Xu Baoying was less reliable than asking Baidu!
Today, Xu Chun and Murong Beichen had zero interaction, acting like complete strangers. But Zhu Yaya still couldn't relax. Who knew how these two people's brains worked? It wasn't impossible for them to make up in the very next second.
After returning home, Zhu Yaya sat up straight at her desk, took a deep breath, spread a flawless white sheet of A4 paper on the desk, and held a fountain pen filled with ink in her right hand.
With a solemn expression, she opened Baidu on her phone and nimbly typed [Dating tips for girls] into the search bar with her left hand.
There were many self-proclaimed "relationship gurus" online who had left behind a lot of "profound insights." Zhu Yaya nodded as she browsed, occasionally jotting down key points on the A4 paper.
This was Yan Heng's first time asking her out, after all.
However, she just didn't know where Yan Heng was going to take her.
To the library, or the movie theater?
Some netizens stated that when boys ask girls out, it usually goes like this: first, take her to the movies to close the distance; after that, take her out to eat.
Yan Heng would probably do the same, right!
