"Will You Be My Girlfriend?"

May 20th, evening.

Chen Wen squeezed out of the subway station and slowly made his way to the entrance of Wanda Plaza, his handsome profile drawing quite a few glances from the opposite sex.

He took out his phone and checked the time. He was half an hour early.

Mm, that much of a buffer made him feel at ease.

As for why he was here, of course it was for a date.

Just not with a girlfriend, but with his childhood friend, to have dinner and watch a movie.

Chen Wen was naturally solitary and had never taken the initiative to make friends.

Even when he added people on WeChat, they rarely interacted.

Now that he was a junior, he was unfamiliar with more than ninety percent of his classmates. Only his three roommates from freshman and sophomore year could be considered acquaintances.

But ever since he had moved out this year, even his contact with his roommates had gradually dwindled to nothing.

Aside from going to school for class every day, Chen Wen spent his time doing handicrafts in his rental apartment, making little things that interested him.

Other than that, the only time he went out for entertainment was when his childhood friend brought him out to have fun.

"Hey!"

A crisp, sweet voice came from behind him.

At the same time, someone patted Chen Wen on the shoulder.

He turned around and saw Jiang Qiuyi, his date for the day, standing prettily behind him.

The girl wore light makeup, a long-sleeved white shirt tucked into the waistband of her cropped pants, and a pair of white casual shoes that showed off her slender waist and long legs.

One button at her collar was undone, revealing her alluring, delicate collarbone. At Chen Wen's height of six foot one, he could clearly see a ravine gazing into the abyss.

Perhaps because he had grown accustomed to the impact of his childhood friend's looks since they were young, Chen Wen showed little reaction and merely raised a hand in greeting.

"I knew it." Jiang Qiuyi grabbed Chen Wen's wrist, her face full of helplessness. "We agreed on five thirty, but you always come this early."

"There was nothing to do at school. Coming early or late was the same." Chen Wen shook his head.

The two walked along the bustling commercial street.

Jiang Qiuyi held Chen Wen's wrist. Seeing that he did not react, she happily refused to let go.

It was not until they reached the restaurant that Jiang Qiuyi reluctantly released him. She glanced at Chen Wen beside her and, seeing his utterly unmoved expression, could not help but sigh.

What a big idiot...

"You order." After sitting down, Chen Wen picked up the menu from the table and handed it to Jiang Qiuyi across from him.

Taking the menu, Jiang Qiuyi saw Chen Wen pull out his phone. She helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead, quickly ordered several dishes Chen Wen liked from the waiter, then casually stood up and sat down beside him.

"What are you watching?"

"Oh, your new video." Chen Wen showed her his phone screen. It displayed a Bilibili video of a girl playing the piano.

The camera only captured the girl from the neck down, but Chen Wen naturally knew that the music creator with over a million followers was the childhood friend sitting beside him.

"The real person is sitting right next to you. What's so good about watching the video?" Jiang Qiuyi said speechlessly.

"Better safe than sorry," Chen Wen said quietly. "Last time we went out, you asked what I thought of your newest video. I hadn't watched it, and you said I didn't care about you."

"..." Jiang Qiuyi was so irritated that she did not know whether to laugh or cry. With both hands on her hips, she asked, "Does cramming at the last minute like this mean you care about me?"

Chen Wen was stumped, so he simply nodded. "That's true. Then I won't watch it."

Jiang Qiuyi's eyes widened at once. Pouting in feigned anger, she asked, "What are you supposed to do after watching the video?"

Startled by the girl's imposing manner, Chen Wen's hand froze just as he was about to close the video. In the end, he could only helplessly press and hold to like it, giving her his precious one-click triple support.

Chen Wen said, "Satisfied now?"

Jiang Qiuyi said, "???"

"Is that what I meant?!" Jiang Qiuyi angrily smacked Chen Wen on the shoulder. "After watching my video, you should obviously compliment me!"

"This..." Chen Wen was left speechless.

To Chen Wen, complimenting someone face-to-face was worse than being locked alone in a dark room for three days and three nights.

"The piano and a beautiful girl are a perfect match."

"Your snow-white wings sweep across the sky, poetic and moving as they flow into my heart."

"Drawn in by the figure, loyal to the talent."

Chen Wen began complimenting her with a completely serious expression.

"Don't read the comments!"

Blushing, Jiang Qiuyi grabbed his phone and covered the screen. Once Chen Wen could no longer see the praise from outstanding viewers, he immediately fell silent.

At that moment, a plate of cold poached chicken with sesame oil was brought to the table.

"Let's eat. It won't taste good once the food gets cold," Chen Wen said, trying to change the subject.

"Cold poached chicken is a cold dish, okay?" Jiang Qiuyi rolled her eyes, but did not make things difficult for him anymore. She picked up a piece for Chen Wen, then took one for herself.

After all, her goal had never really been to make Chen Wen praise her. She simply wanted a perfectly natural excuse to sit beside him.

Compared to sitting across from each other, sitting side by side like this, with their arms occasionally brushing against one another, was far more to Jiang Qiuyi's liking.

Glancing at Chen Wen quietly eating beside her, Jiang Qiuyi secretly smiled. Then she seemed to think of something, and a faint blush spread across her face as her heartbeat quickened.

To ease the tension in her heart, Jiang Qiuyi tried to start a conversation and distract herself.

"Is your next video almost done?"

"The ring was finished yesterday. Once I edit the footage, it should be ready to upload tomorrow," Chen Wen answered honestly.

As he spoke, Chen Wen took a dark blue ring from his pocket and placed it on the table for Jiang Qiuyi to see.

After moving out this year, Chen Wen, who usually loved making things by hand, had been encouraged by Jiang Qiuyi to start posting craft videos on Bilibili.

His first two videos, "Silver Filament Bracelet" and "Silver-Inlaid Wooden Comb," had both received over ten thousand views so far.

And this time, with Jiang Qiuyi providing the idea, his "Meal Card Ring Transformation" video was nearly complete.

"This can be used to swipe a card?" Jiang Qiuyi picked up the ring and examined it from all angles, then casually slipped it onto the ring finger of her right hand. "It's pretty, too."

"I tested it at school today. The side with the chip has to be pressed right against the card reader," Chen Wen said. "If the ring were polished thinner, it should be more sensitive."

"Also, embedding the chip into a bracelet, necklace, or earring should all be possible."

"It's just that swiping a card like that would attract too much attention, so it doesn't suit me."

Whenever the topic turned to handicrafts, Chen Wen clearly became much more talkative.

Jiang Qiuyi raised her hand to admire the ring under the lights and asked curiously, "Then won't you have to use this ring to swipe your card whenever you eat from now on?"

"No." Chen Wen took another meal card from his pocket. "After testing the ring, I got a replacement card. The chip inside the ring is useless now."

"..." Jiang Qiuyi was speechless. Then her eyes shifted. "So this ring is useless now, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then this ring is mine now~"

"Oh."

After receiving Chen Wen's permission, Jiang Qiuyi never took the ring off her right ring finger again.

After dinner, Jiang Qiuyi paid the bill first. Chen Wen transferred her half the cost, and then the two left the restaurant and headed to the cinema.

With two tickets for The Last of Us in hand, they bought popcorn and milk tea. When the time came, they entered the theater one after the other.

Chen Wen followed Jiang Qiuyi all the way up to the last row of the screening room. He paused, a puzzled look appearing on his face. "Why are these couple seats?"

"Hey, it's all the same!" Jiang Qiuyi grabbed Chen Wen's wrist and pulled him toward the couple seats in the farthest corner of the last row.

Under the warm lighting of the theater, the flush on Jiang Qiuyi's face was well hidden, and careless Chen Wen did not notice it.

Couple seats, as the name suggested, were seats specifically designed for couples.

Unlike ordinary seats, couple seats allowed two people to sit together without armrests between them, making it convenient for couples to hug or even engage in more intimate displays of affection.

Because they were located in the last one or two rows, and each pair of couple seats was separated by tall partitions, they were practically semi-enclosed private spaces. There was no need to worry about drawing the attention of other audience members.

Of course, that was assuming you did not make any strange noises.

However, none of that was what Chen Wen cared about.

"Couple seats seem to be a little more expensive than regular seats." Chen Wen set down his milk tea and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Jiang Qiuyi shot Chen Wen a look of utter disappointment and snorted. "Then should I make up the price difference for you?"

"...That won't be necessary."

The lights in the theater dimmed, and the movie began.

The movie told the story of two young people who met, got to know each other, and fell in love during the Spring Festival travel rush, then broke up and met again ten years later.

The story was touching, but Jiang Qiuyi's mind was nowhere near it.

In the darkened theater, in the couple seats tucked away in the farthest corner, only the light from the screen fell across the cheek of the boy beside her.

Jiang Qiuyi kept turning her head to sneak glances at Chen Wen's handsome profile. Her small hands were clenched into fists, her palms soaked with sweat, and her heart beat faster and faster.

As the movie passed its halfway point, Jiang Qiuyi finally gathered her courage. She squeezed her eyes shut and held out her left hand.

The next moment, a warm, soft little hand tightly grasped Chen Wen's right hand.

"Chen Wen."

Jiang Qiuyi's shy voice entered Chen Wen's ears.

"Mm?"

After receiving no response for a long time, Chen Wen was about to turn his head in confusion when the girl's trembling voice sounded beside him again.

"I've liked you for a long time..."

"Will you be my g-girlfriend?"