55: Chapter 55 When did you learn to say sweet nothings?

Li Jingran threw an arm around Lu Chengyue's shoulder. "Old Lu, you're glowing. It's so enviable."

Lu Chengyue quickly composed his expression. "If you want to be like this, then go find someone yourself."

Li Jingran sighed. "I want to find someone too, but it's not like anyone is interested in me. It's still our Pretty Miss Xu who has good taste, falling for you at first sight. Men like us are great, aren't we? Full of masculine charm, tsk tsk."

Jiang Yishen punched him, rescuing Lu Chengyue. "I think it's the smell of sweat. Hurry up, we still have morning exercises. Don't hold things up."

Lu Chengyue had been immersed in the joy of going on a date all morning; he only focused when he had to demonstrate.

He finally managed to wait until the time came. He stared outside, constantly looking out, until a familiar car drove up.

Xu Wanning arrived at the Fire Station right on time, just as the parents and children were leaving.

Lu Chengyue walked over in a few strides. Xu Wanning rolled down the window and smiled sweetly at him. "A-Yue, I'm here."

The tips of Lu Chengyue's ears turned red. "Um, I, I'll go change clothes first and take a shower. You, wait for me for ten minutes." After saying that, he turned and fled.

His comrades were all peeking from inside. Xu Wanning waved openly to greet them, and they all waved back foolishly, until Lu Chengyue pushed them inside.

While waiting, Xu Wanning carefully checked her makeup, confirming everything was fine. Her lipstick wasn't smudged, and her eyeliner wasn't crooked. Perfect.

He said ten minutes, and it was exactly ten minutes. Lu Chengyue came out wearing casual clothes and sat in the passenger seat. "Let's go."

Xu Wanning stared at him, making him feel uneasy. "Wh-what's wrong?"

Xu Wanning chuckled. "So handsome! And he's mine."

Lu Chengyue's face was red enough to boil an egg. "Don't, don't tease me."

Xu Wanning started the car and hummed. "Can't even speak the truth now?"

Lu Chengyue's hand kept rubbing the seatbelt. He sat stiffly, eyes fixed straight ahead, not daring to even glance out of the corner of his eye.

When they arrived at the movie theater, they walked in side-by-side. Lu Chengyue stared straight ahead the entire time, not daring to look at her at all.

Arriving at the ticket machine, he stared at the screen for three minutes. "How does this work?"

Xu Wanning leaned over. He had seemed so composed just a moment ago; she thought he knew everything. "Have you never been to the movies before?"

"I have, at school. Paper tickets." Lu Chengyue shifted to the side.

"Then what kind of movies did you watch before?" Xu Wanning looked at the movies available on the screen; there were quite a few genres.

Lu Chengyue shyly pinched the corner of his shirt. "I've only watched war films."

"Then let's watch something you're interested in." She flipped through two pages and actually saw a movie about that era.

Lu Chengyue quickly stopped her. "Watch what you like." He knew he was on a date; what would it look like to watch a war film?

"Alright then." Xu Wanning chose a sweet youth romance. Regardless of whether it was good or not, the main goal was the date, not watching the movie.

After buying the tickets and entering the theater, there were quite a few people. During the movie, Lu Chengyue was very quiet, but when a scene came up where the male and female leads had a misunderstanding, he suddenly grabbed Xu Wanning's hand.

He held it very tightly, his fingers interlacing with hers, palm against palm. His palms had calluses—rough and abrasive, but very warm.

Xu Wanning looked down. His hand was a full size larger than hers, with rough knuckles, short-trimmed nails, and a few small scars on the back of his hand. These were all things she was familiar with, things she had traced over time and time again.

She turned to look at him. Because of his nervousness, sweat was breaking out on his forehead, trickling down his cheeks. His face was red, looking as if it were steaming.

Xu Wanning shook their joined hands. "Don't be nervous." It was very difficult for him to take this step, and it was worthy of praise.

After the movie ended, Lu Chengyue couldn't remember what it was about at all; all his attention had been on their hands.

As the audience began to get up to leave, he also quickly pulled Xu Wanning up, then let go of her hand. Looking down at his sweat-dampened hand, he apologized embarrassedly, "Sorry, it's all sweaty."

Xu Wanning didn't mind at all. "It's fine."

"You don't mind?" Lu Chengyue was very surprised. Didn't girls like clean and fresh guys? Someone like him felt very dirty.

"Mind what?" Xu Wanning pulled him outside. "You're nervous because of me; I'm too happy to mind. When the time comes that we hold hands and feel nothing, that's when it'll be sad."

Walking out of the theater, she lifted Lu Chengyue's hand. "Every scar on here has a story." Turning it over, the long scar on his palm was even more shocking. She lowered her head and kissed the back of Lu Chengyue's hand.

Lu Chengyue's fingers curled up instantly as if scalded. "You..."

"I told you I don't mind." Xu Wanning swung his hand and pulled him along as they continued walking.

Lu Chengyue's ears, from the lobes to the rims, had turned red. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "Thank you." His hand subconsciously gripped hers even tighter.

"Let's go eat." Xu Wanning suggested. She hadn't been eating lunch lately, but Lu Chengyue couldn't go hungry; his stomach was already bad.

"Okay." Lu Chengyue scanned the area. "What do you want to eat?"

"Let's walk around and see." There were many shops around; she needed to choose.

While walking, Lu Chengyue unconsciously slowed down to match Xu Wanning. He had long legs; Xu Wanning couldn't keep up with his normal stride. He deliberately shortened his steps, walking very slowly, sometimes even half a step behind her.

After noticing, Xu Wanning looked up at him. "Why are you walking so slowly?"

Lu Chengyue tightened his fingers. "I'm afraid you can't keep up."

Xu Wanning smiled. "So thoughtful."

Lu Chengyue's gaze was fixed straight on Xu Wanning's face, making her cheeks heat up too.

"What are you looking at?" She averted her gaze.

"You're beautiful." Lu Chengyue said truthfully.

"What did you say?" Xu Wanning opened her mouth in surprise. "When did you learn to say sweet nothings?"

"It's not sweet nothings." Lu Chengyue held her hand. "It's the truth."

Xu Wanning's heart skipped a beat. "I believe you."

In the end, the two chose a regular home-style restaurant. There were some things Lu Chengyue couldn't eat, so this kind of home-style restaurant was the most suitable.

"What do you want to eat?" Lu Chengyue handed the menu to Xu Wanning.

Xu Wanning looked at it. "I'm not a picky eater. You choose what you can eat." She wasn't very clear on this.

Then he listed four dish names. "Sweet and sour pork ribs, tomato and egg drop soup, shredded pork with garlic sauce, and dry-pot cauliflower. Is that okay?"

Four dishes were enough for two people; too much would be a waste. Most importantly, these four were all things she loved to eat.

"How did you know I love eating these?" Xu Wanning was very puzzled. She didn't seem to have told him.

"You posted it on your social media." Lu Chengyue's cheeks were red.

"When did I post it?" She hadn't posted anything recently.

"The sweet and sour pork ribs were on September 20th of last year, the shredded pork with garlic sauce was on August 15th of last year, the tomato and egg drop soup was on March 11th of last year..."

Xu Wanning reached out. "Stop! You went through all my social media posts?" He even looked at ones from so many years ago?