Chapter 42: Like… So, Are We Going on a Date?

The next day, Fang Chuning woke up before dawn. Although she had stayed up until one o’clock playing games with Gao Qiong last night, she was still refreshed and humming while washing up.

She, who never used skincare products before, started applying moisturizer to her face.

The young girl’s good mood quickly disturbed the sleeping Gao Qiong, who struggled to open her eyes a crack and grabbed her phone to check the time. “……It’s not even six o’clock yet, why are you up so early!?”

Fang Chuning, who had already changed into her school uniform and tied her ponytail, sprayed a tiny bit of perfume on herself. She had never been so meticulous before and felt quite good about it.

“Get up quickly, or I won’t wait for you later.”

Gao Qiong painfully stretched her limbs on the bed, whining but unwilling to get up.

After speaking to her, Fang Chuning didn’t bother with her anymore and left the room to go downstairs. At this time, the servants hadn’t started working yet. It was still dark outside, with only two wall lamps lighting up the pitch-black living room.

She opened the social media app on her phone and clicked into the chat dialogue with Xu Muzhou. It was too late when they got home last night, so they didn’t chat much.

Fang Chuning read through last night’s chat history again, then clicked on his profile picture, looking at it while taking milk from the refrigerator.

The profile picture was just a book cover, with no desire to make people want to click on it.

If he put up his own picture… it would definitely be used as a profile picture by others online.

Fang Chuning sat at the dining table lost in thought. Before she knew it, the sky outside had brightened, and the kitchen had started preparing breakfast. Although she got up early, the time to leave was still the same as usual.

Arriving at school, she had just gotten out of the car and walked a few steps when she saw Jiang Luoyu standing at the school gate, raising his hand high to wave happily at her.

As bright as the newly risen morning sun.

“President, good morning.”

Jiang Luoyu’s bright eyes looked at her, his face radiating youthful energy.

“Morning.” Fang Chuning nodded at him. Gao Qiong, who had gotten out of the car with her, had already run off and disappeared.

Feeling as if he hadn’t seen her in a long time, Jiang Luoyu caught up to walk beside her, deliberately matching her pace. He secretly observed the girl’s profile and probed with a deliberately casual tone, “Did the president have a good weekend?”

“Very good.”

The unconsciously upturned corners of the girl’s mouth when she answered made Jiang Luoyu’s heart sink, and the smile on his face became a bit forced. “Xu classmate is so lucky to have so many people accompanying him on his birthday.”

“You can also invite more people when it’s your birthday.”

“Of course I want to, but my popularity isn’t as good as Xu classmate’s……”

This was something Fang Chuning couldn’t help him with. She was a bit distracted, her gaze wandering, sweeping over some boys in front of them.

Has he not arrived yet, or did he come too early and is already in the classroom? Fang Chuning took out her phone and, after some thought, sent him a message: Are you at school yet?

Almost the next second, he replied: Behind you.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned around.

Xu Muzhou was about five meters away from her. He was carrying books in his arms, tall and slender, his unhurried demeanor causing people passing by to frequently look back at him.

Fang Chuning’s eyes suddenly brightened, and she quickly went over. “Come! I’ll carry that for you!”

As a woman, of course she should take on all weighted things for her boyfriend, even if it’s just a few books.

Xu Muzhou’s expression froze slightly, realizing her intention. The tips of his ears tinged with a hint of red. “It’s alright, I can carry them myself…”

“No, I’ll help you carry them!”

Fang Chuning, deeply immersed in her girlfriend power, had a forceful attitude, almost to the point of snatching them.

However, her “forceful” attitude seemed to have scared the person in front of her. The young man’s beautiful phoenix eyes widened slightly, staring at her blankly.

Fang Chuning hurriedly waved her hands to explain: “I just wanted to help you carry your things, I didn’t mean to scare you!”

But she didn’t know that Xu Muzhou wasn’t scared by her, but rather captivated by this personality that was so different from before. His heart was beating so fast that he thought his asthma might act up again.

He lowered his eyelids, his cheeks flushed, and obediently handed her the books he was carrying.

Fang Chuning took the books, carefully observing his expression. “I didn’t mean it like that, you understand, right?”

The young man looked up, his eyes seemed to sparkle like stars, like a shy flower bud about to bloom. The corners of his mouth curved into a sweet arc as he nodded gently at her.

Fang Chuning seemed to see pink little flowers radiating around him, just like in those colorful manga books where the angelic male protagonist smiles healingly at the world.

Isn’t Xu classmate originally a kind-hearted little angel?

As expected of her boyfriend, he’s really too cute.

Hehe, Fang Chuning, with her self-imposed filter, was wagging her non-existent tail frantically, smiling somewhat foolishly.

If it wasn’t almost time for class, Xu Muzhou wouldn’t have wanted to wake up from this gaze that was making his heart race. “The class bell is about to ring, let’s go to the classroom first.”

The two of them passed by Jiang Luoyu as if they hadn’t seen him, their shoulders almost touching, their smiling profiles showing an intimacy and ambiguity that had never been there before.

Every interaction between the two revealed their current relationship to him. Jiang Luoyu’s face turned pale. Even though he knew the rumors about them dating that had spread like wildfire through the school before were false, now he wasn’t so sure.

It had only been two days since he last saw them……

He was the one who fell in love with the president first, and the president had agreed to give him a chance.

A feeling of resentment spread through his chest. Jiang Luoyu gritted his teeth and walked quickly towards the classroom.

After several classes, Fang Chuning was a bit absent-minded. She suddenly understood a little of what adults meant when they said that puppy love affects studies. She hadn’t felt it before, but now with the person she liked sitting right next to her, the urge to steal glances at him from time to time was distracting her.

Fang Chuning was fidgeting with her ballpoint pen, her eyes on the blackboard, but her mind was elsewhere.

Just as she had finally managed to put aside her distractions and focus on the lesson, the back of her hand resting on the desk suddenly felt as if it had been brushed by a feather. She looked over to see a small note on the back of her hand.

Fang Chuning was stunned for a moment, her puzzled gaze turning towards her deskmate. The young man’s eyes sparkled, but when they met her gaze, he shied away as if burned, the tips of his ears turning an adorable pink.

What’s this about?

She picked up the small note. The handwriting was graceful and neat, and it said: I don’t have anything else to do after school.

……So what?

Fang Chuning frowned deeply. Was he hinting at something again? Why couldn’t he write a few more words? It’s tiring to guess, and most importantly, she was afraid of guessing wrong.

After staring at the note for quite a while, she picked up her pen and wrote below that sentence: So, are we going on a date?

As soon as she finished writing, she immediately slipped the note back to him, her heart pounding. If she hadn’t guessed wrong, that was his way of asking her out, right?

Fang Chuning bit her pen cap anxiously waiting. Soon, in her peripheral vision, a fair hand gently pushed the note onto her desk.

She opened the note, and it read: It’s up to you.

Fang Chuning’s mouth corners curled up uncontrollably. She lay on the desk and continued to write: Where do you want to go? Shopping? Eating? Or to the arcade to play games?

These were the only places she usually went for leisure, and she had no experience when it came to dating.

After school, Fang Chuning went out to the school gate and tossed the Meiwu Novel Website into the car. “Liu Yi, you go back first, I’ll come back later on my own.”

“But the master instructed me to pick you up early, he probably has something to discuss with you, young miss?”

Fang Chuning just remembered that she had promised to accompany her father shopping after school this morning at the breakfast table. She glanced at Xu Muzhou waiting for her in the distance and decisively made a decision, “You go back and tell dad I’ll accompany him next time, I have other plans today.”

“Is the young miss going on a date?”

Having her little secret exposed so directly, Fang Chuning’s ears turned red: “No… Liu Yi, please don’t tell dad about this when you go back.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything. Go on then, that boy must be getting impatient waiting.” Driver Liu had long noticed the boy who kept looking in their direction.

Fang Chuning returned to Xu Muzhou’s side, her expression a bit unnatural. “Th-then shall we go to Century Plaza?”

Fang Chuning had originally wanted to take him to West City Street, where there was a variety of food and drinks that suited her taste. But that area was in the civilian district, with low consumption levels and not very hygienic. Although she had never been on a date with a boy before, she knew that clean and pampered boys like them probably wouldn’t like such places.

As the girl walked towards him, Xu Muzhou shifted his gaze that had been glued to her. His heart felt like it was soaking in a honey jar. He lowered his eyelashes, his heated fingertips gently pinching his trouser leg. “Anything is fine, I’ll follow your lead…”

His voice was soft and gentle, reminding her of newborn kittens, docile and weak without any ability to resist.

“Then, let’s take a taxi.” Fang Chuning felt like even her breath was scorching hot.

Century Plaza is the most prosperous area in Z City, and the most eye-catching and representative building here is the Century Building, which is the Fang Group, where Fang Hong works.

Although it’s quite close, the possibility of running into her is practically zero. A workaholic like Fang Hong would never go shopping, so Fang Chuning felt at ease.

After getting out of the taxi, Fang Chuning checked the time: “It’s past six, shall we go eat first?”

“Okay.”

Fang Chuning took him to a high-end Western restaurant. The restaurant was decorated in a classic and elegant style, with a quiet atmosphere where you could clearly hear the pianist playing relaxing melodies.

All the customers in the restaurant were dressed formally and elegantly. The two of them in their school uniforms stood out particularly, quickly drawing some strange glances.

“This way, please.” The waiter led them to a window seat and then handed them a menu.

Western food doesn’t really suit Fang Chuning’s taste, but she thought he would like it: “You order.”

Xu Muzhou’s mind wasn’t on eating. He casually ordered two dishes and returned the menu to the waiter, then looked at her: “Shall we go shopping at the mall later? I want to buy a few clothes.”

Fang Chuning had no objections at all. Whether it was due to the romantic atmosphere of the restaurant or not, she felt that every move Xu classmate made at this moment seemed particularly charming. She was a bit curious: “How come you don’t wear glasses anymore?”

She couldn’t remember when it started, but it seemed like she had rarely seen him wearing glasses since before they went to the island.

“Can you see clearly without glasses?”

Xu Muzhou pursed his lips, “I’m not nearsighted.”

“Huh? Then why did you always wear them before?”

A blush appeared on the young man’s porcelain-like face. He didn’t directly answer her question, “Do you… prefer me with glasses or without?”

Fang Chuning thought for a moment and answered honestly: “I like both, but I think you look a bit better without glasses.”

Although he was already very good-looking, she always felt he was more approachable without glasses.

This “sweet talk” that was similar to a confession made Xu Muzhou pause. He stared at her for a good while, the corners of his rosy lips curving up sweetly: “Then I won’t wear them anymore.”

I will always present the side of me that you like best.