"You... get up first." Lu Huai'an's voice was slightly hoarse.
Lin Jiayu looked at his reddened earlobes, and the amusement in her eyes deepened. She didn't move, just looking at him like that.
"What's wrong? Are you shy?" Lin Jiayu asked softly.
Lu Huai'an only felt his face burning. He averted his gaze, not daring to look at her, and replied in a low voice, "No..."
"No? Then why are you blushing?" Lin Jiayu teased him deliberately, a hint of playfulness in her tone.
Lu Huai'an felt it was difficult even to breathe. He took a deep breath, only to become even more flustered by Lin Jiayu's proximity.
"I... I'm hot." Lu Huai'an came up with a lame excuse.
"Hot?" Lin Jiayu raised an eyebrow and glanced at the air conditioner in the room. The temperature display showed 26 degrees Celsius—could anyone possibly feel hot at that temperature?
"Do you want me to turn down the AC for you?" Lin Jiayu said, making a move to get up and grab the remote.
Seeing this, Lu Huai'an quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
"No need. Weren't you going out for a walk? Let's go," Lu Huai'an said hurriedly, wanting nothing more than to leave this place immediately.
His palm was very hot. Lin Jiayu paused for a moment and looked at Lu Huai'an, noticing that his eyes were darting away, not daring to meet hers.
"Alright then, let's go." Lin Jiayu smiled slightly and used the momentum to stand up, releasing her "imprisonment" of Lu Huai'an.
Lu Huai'an breathed a sigh of relief, quickly stood up, and strode out of the apartment.
Watching him like that, Lin Jiayu couldn't help but laugh out loud.
It was already around 7:30, and the sky was gradually growing dark.
The summer night breeze felt cool against his face. He took a few deep breaths, but still felt his heart pounding fiercely.
"Walk slower, Huai'an, wait for me," Lin Jiayu's voice came from behind.
Lu Huai'an slowed his pace and waited for Lin Jiayu to walk up beside him.
The two walked side by side along the tree-lined path outside the apartment, the streetlights stretching their shadows long.
"Just now... you did that on purpose, didn't you?" Lu Huai'an was silent for a moment before suddenly speaking up in a muffled voice.
Lin Jiayu paused slightly, turned her head to look at him, and couldn't help letting out a soft laugh. "On purpose about what?"
Flustered by her laughter, Lu Huai'an felt a bit awkward and his tone turned slightly stiff. "On purpose... getting that close."
She blinked, looking completely innocent. "I just wanted to see if you were really shy. Who knew you'd react so strongly?"
Lu Huai'an opened his mouth, unable to say a word for a long time. He couldn't possibly admit that he *was* shy, could he? That would be far too embarrassing.
Lu Huai'an's cheeks began to flush again. He gave a light cough, trying to mask his embarrassment. "I... I did no such thing."
"Still denying it?" Lin Jiayu teased him deliberately. "Then why are your ears red again?"
Lu Huai'an touched his ear—sure enough, it was burning hot. He gave Lin Jiayu a helpless look.
"Stop teasing me all the time!"
"Teasing you? I'm not teasing you, I'm just stating facts." Lin Jiayu put on an innocent look.
"Fine, fine, I won't tease you anymore." Seeing that Lu Huai'an had fallen silent, Lin Jiayu quickly changed the subject. "I'll take you somewhere."
"Where?" Lu Huai'an asked, somewhat curious.
"You'll know when we get there." Instead of answering, Lin Jiayu simply took Lu Huai'an by the wrist and pulled him forward.
Being pulled along, Lu Huai'an shifted uncomfortably, but seeing as Lin Jiayu had no intention of letting go, he stopped struggling and followed her.
The two walked a short distance along the tree-lined path outside the apartment and then turned into a small alley.
The alley was flanked by high walls covered in green vines, casting dim shadows over the path.
"Where on earth are you taking me?" he couldn't help asking.
"Don't be impatient, we're almost there." Lin Jiayu still refused to tell him, merely pulling him along as she walked.
After walking a bit further, the alley finally came to an end. Before Lu Huai'an's eyes appeared a wide open space, with a small lake right in the center.
It was very quiet all around, save for the chirping of summer insects and the rustling of the breeze through the leaves.
"This is...?" Lu Huai'an asked in surprise. He hadn't expected such a place to exist nearby.
"This is a small lake near the school. Very few people come here usually." Lin Jiayu let go of Lu Huai'an's hand, walked to the lakeshore, and sat down on a patch of clean grass.
Lu Huai'an walked over and sat down beside her.
After a long silence, Lin Jiayu finally spoke to break the quiet. "Whenever I was in a bad mood before, I liked coming here alone to sit and zone out."
Lu Huai'an turned to look at her. The moonlight washed over her face, tracing the delicate profile of her cheek.
He noticed that Lin Jiayu's eyes were somewhat vacant, completely different from when she had been teasing him earlier.
"What's wrong?" Lu Huai'an asked softly.
Lin Jiayu shook her head and turned the question back on him. "Have you ever kissed anyone?"
Lu Huai'an was taken aback; he hadn't expected Lin Jiayu to ask such a question out of the blue. He hesitated for a moment before answering honestly, "No."
"And you've never had a girlfriend either?" Lin Jiayu pressed on, a trace of curiosity in her voice.
"About that..." Lu Huai'an hesitated, unsure of how to put it.
"Can't talk about it?" Seeing him hesitate, Lin Jiayu smiled. "It's fine, everyone has their secrets."
"In junior high, I liked a girl."
"And then?" Lin Jiayu watched him with keen interest.
"And then... before I even had the chance to confess, I was rejected." Lu Huai'an scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Ah? Why?" Lin Jiayu was surprised.
"She said... she didn't like my type." Lu Huai'an gave a bitter smile.
"What kind of reason is that?" Lin Jiayu pouted. "So what happened after that? Did you ever like anyone else?"
"I did." Lu Huai-an nodded. "In high school, I had a crush on a girl for a very long time."
"Is that the one you like now?" Lin Jiayu asked, her tone carrying a subtle nuance.
Lu Huai'an didn't deny it, simply nodding lightly.
Lin Jiayu was silent for a moment before speaking. "Matters of the heart don't always give you a return just because you put effort into them."
Lu Huai'an was startled. He raised his head to look at Lin Jiayu; there was loneliness in her eyes, along with a quiet helplessness.
"And you?" Lu Huai'an asked softly.
Lin Jiayu didn't answer. She looked up at the night sky, the moonlight falling on her face and dusting her eyelashes with a faint silver hue.
"Me? It's a secret." Lin Jiayu tilted her head and smiled at Lu Huai'an. "Don't you know you shouldn't just go around asking girls questions like that?"
"What is this..." Lu Huai'an pouted. He could tell that Lin Jiayu had been through things, but since she didn't want to talk about it, he knew better than to pry further.
"It's getting late, let's head back." Lin Jiayu stood up and brushed the bits of grass off her clothes.
Lu Huai'an got up as well and nodded.
The two slowly walked back along the way they had come. Along the entire path, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.
As they neared the apartment, Lu Huai'an suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong?" Lin Jiayu looked at him in confusion.
"Um..." Lu Huai'an hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up. "If... if you're ever in a bad mood in the future, you can come to me."
Lin Jiayu was stunned. She hadn't expected Lu Huai'an to suddenly say something like that.
She looked at Lu Huai'an and saw that his eyes were entirely sincere, devoid of any impure motives.
A strange feeling stirred in Lin Jiayu's heart. The corners of her mouth ticked upward as she nodded, "Mm, okay."