Scent of a Woman

An Nuan hadn't actually seen the movie. A movie over 150 minutes long was a bit of a luxury for a high school senior. An Nuan had only seen a short video of the film during her senior year of high school; it was a scene of the male lead dancing with a girl, featuring some repetitive and exciting moves accompanied by music, which looked romantic and beautiful.

Learning to dance isn't something that can be rushed, nor can it be mastered in a short time. An Nuan decided to take advantage of a rare afternoon when she and Liu Chang'an were alone at home to watch a romantic movie together, something that's hard for any girl to resist.

Leaning against his shoulder, with my arm around his strong shoulder, my nose filled with his familiar scent, I could see a face that made me smile just by turning my head. Watching the movie, we looked at each other with unspoken understanding, the sweetness in our eyes seeming to be a silent commentary on the plot. If we could intertwine our fingers and lean against each other in the quiet environment, remaining immersed in the lazy, sweet atmosphere until the movie ended, that would be even better.

So An Nuan suggested watching a movie, and Liu Chang'an naturally had no objection.

The two moved to the sofa opposite the wall. Below the wall opposite the sofa was a laser projector. For an artistic woman, how could her study not have a projector?

Although Liu Yuewang said it was for work when she discussed with An Nuan whether they needed a projector, in reality, after buying it, it was mainly used for Liu Yuewang to learn dancing and yoga.

An Nuan felt a little guilty. Since she was the one who suggested watching this kind of movie, she wondered if she wasn't reserved enough and made Liu Chang'an think that she really wanted to do things like couples with him. Anyway, he didn't seem very enthusiastic, so An Nuan couldn't help but want to be more reserved.

An Nuan sat on the sofa, wearing only a pair of athletic shorts at home. She sat there with her knees drawn up to her chest, looking very serious. Her legs were outstretched, and her toes were bouncing around like Little White Pig that had just learned to run. Because of her posture, her slender legs looked more like a piece of white jade art placed on the sofa.

When a girl has some little thoughts, it's often accompanied by some unconscious little gestures, such as her eyes looking left and right, her toes twitching, and her seemingly calm expression without any expectation.

Liu Chang'an sat down next to An Nuan and started watching the movie.

The movie started, and to An Nuan's surprise, it didn't seem to be the sweet, romantic movie she had envisioned.

"This is a film that conveys positive energy, saves the decadent and upholds justice. It is highly sought after by many people, and people will say things like, 'My heart was impacted, my soul resonated with it, and some of my emotions were rekindled...'" Liu Chang'an was also very calm.

"I haven't seen this movie, but I've heard of it. You seem quite dismissive of it," An Nuan asked, puzzled.

"Truly wise and strong-willed people draw upon enough insights and experiences from life. They are never deeply moved by fabricated stories. The more life experience they have, the more their mindset improves. The various feelings life gives you are far more profound, thought-provoking, or even... despairing than any story." Liu Chang'an smiled. "To feel that watching a movie has elevated or cleansed your soul, or that you feel inspired and courageous... is just a three-minute fad. Writing film reviews to express that is just being pretentious or just work."

An Nuan was very unhappy because she saw some people who were deeply moved by the stories. "You're just talking nonsense while watching a movie! According to your logic, then movies aren't worth watching and have no purpose!"

"That's not true. Watching a movie may be a meaningless thing, but accompanying you to a movie is one of the things that makes life beautiful." Liu Chang'an turned to look at An Nuan and smiled.

"That's more like it." An Nuan's voice carried a sweet, coquettish hum. She proudly raised her head, a mixture of smugness and shyness in her expression. Then she turned her head and leaned against Liu Chang'an's shoulder, no longer sitting upright with her knees drawn up to her chest, but instead resting against him in a comfortable and natural posture.

The film begins with a naive young boy who encounters several so-called "friends" who play pranks at school, demanding that one of the witnesses, a girl, keep a secret. The pressure from the school puts the boy in a difficult position, but as a poor student, he resists the school's attempts to coerce him with his principles.

"This male lead looks a lot like you," An Nuan remarked.

Not at all. If it were Liu Chang'an would be happy to sell off his so-called "friends" for a good price.

But Liu Chang'an didn't say anything, and even nodded, because the girl felt that she just wanted to tell him, and didn't need him to criticize or correct her.

After a while, the other male lead also appeared. This film is basically the story of two male leads, one young and one old.

"Rabbits, big ones, small ones... Rabbits stare at you with eyes like secret searchlights, and their legs, whether they conform to the golden ratio or resemble a second-hand Steinway piano, are passports to heaven... There are only two words in this world that sound beautiful: XX..."

These were lines from the older male lead, leaving An Nuan speechless and slightly embarrassed. After all, her boyfriend, whom she had only recently started dating, was standing next to her. Such a direct and blatant critique of women was an insult to them. If she tagged feminist warriors on Weibo, they would definitely criticize her!

"You're just like that old man!" An Nuan grumbled, wanting to express her anger as a woman, so of course she had her boyfriend take the blame.

"That's true. He's an excellent actor, and 'The Godfather' is one of his works. I can also portray another person's life, and I can dedicate myself to it for decades, being very professional." Liu Chang'an nodded in agreement.

I mean when he said those vulgar things.

"I never use vulgar language."

"When you were telling me about 'The Duck Favorite'!"

"Oh, I was just telling a story. Stories are like that. I even read you classic passages from Jin Ping Mei before, like when Pan Jinlian scolds her mother, making her mother have an old man between her legs..."

"Let's watch a movie!" An Nuan couldn't let him continue, so she reached out and covered his mouth.

Liu Chang'an quickly discovered that An Nuan had a quirk: she liked to fast-forward through movies! When the plot wasn't progressing much and it was just the two of them arguing or exchanging thoughts, she would glance at Liu Chang'an and then fast-forward without hesitation.

"If you're in a movie theater, you can't fast forward."

"Watching movies is meaningless. Watching movies with me is the most beautiful thing in life, so my fast-forwarding won't bother you, right?" An Nuan turned her head and blinked at Liu Chang'an.

"But you'll shorten my precious time." Liu Chang'an was still very dissatisfied.

An Nuan happily hugged Liu Chang'an's arm and twisted her body, letting out a few coquettish hums through her nose. She handed the remote control to Liu Chang'an to show that she had admitted her mistake.

I stopped fast-forwarding and even shortened a long movie clip, finally arriving at the scene with the dance music "One Step Away".

An Nuan was somewhat expectant, because she wanted to remember this feeling. Would it be the same when she danced with Liu Chang'an later?

The girl dancing with the older male lead went from being reserved to relaxed, from relaxed to immersed, and from immersed to enraptured. An Nuan's eyes were unblinking, her legs were tightly pressed together, kicking the other end of the sofa, and her heart was pounding. She realized that the gentle and intimate dance between men and women was so infectious.

An Nuan took the remote control and turned off the movie.

"You haven't finished watching it yet?" Liu Chang'an was still dissatisfied, even though he had just fast-forwarded and then turned it off.

"Let's learn!" An Nuan stood up from the sofa and jumped onto the floor.

The girl's body followed her bouncy movements, spreading like ripples on water. An Nuan stood on one leg, spun around, her movements graceful and supple. There is no doubt that most beautiful mothers would let their daughters have a childhood of learning dance.

An Nuan only remembered these few dance moves; compared to dancing, she undoubtedly loved sports much more.

Learning to dance the tango from Liu Chang'an is another matter entirely.

"It's not about us learning, it's about me teaching you." Liu Chang'an shook his head.

"You can dance!" An Nuan wasn't surprised that Liu Chang'an could dance; what mattered was which girls he had danced tango with. She wasn't the first girl to dance tango with Liu Chang'an!

"Don't worry, the girl I danced tango with could be your great-grandmother. It happened over a hundred years ago, what's the big deal?" Liu Chang'an watched An Nuan raise her voice and then lower it again, her eyes clearly darting around as she thought about something random, and he knew what she was thinking.

There were two periods in China were particularly enthusiastic about Western lifestyles, social etiquette, and culture and art. One was from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, when this was the setting for high society, and the other was after the 1970s and 1980s.

"No, you're talking nonsense. If Grandma danced the tango with you, you'd definitely break all her bones." An Nuan hopped over to Liu Chang'an, put her hands behind her back, and looked at Liu Chang'an expectantly. "How do you dance? I don't know how at all..."

"There's one thing you have to promise me," Liu Chang'an said after thinking for a moment.

"Go ahead and say it," An Nuan said obediently. "Teacher Liu, I'm a good student, I'll listen to whatever you say."

"Tango involves a lot of embracing movements and makes it easy for people to get emotionally involved, such as gazing lovingly into each other's eyes and intimate physical contact. A tango is often considered a three-minute romance, and many men like to invite girls to dance, using the opportunity to get closer to them and make it easier for the girls to develop romantic feelings for them." Liu Chang'an paused for a moment and then stopped talking.

"Okay, I'll only dance with you." An Nuan pursed her lips. Men, they all have these little thoughts, who doesn't know that?

"You said it yourself."

"Yes, yes. But you can only dance with me!"

"Certainly."

Liu Chang'an reached out and put his arm around An Nuan's waist.

An Nuan was slightly shy and reserved, and lowered her voice, "Shouldn't we start by teaching footwork?"

"No, let's start with a hug," Liu Chang'an whispered in An Nuan's ear.

An Nuan's cheeks flushed slightly, and she unconsciously tiptoed. Dancing inevitably involves tiptoeing; if... if it felt right, should she tiptoe closer?

So shy... An Nuan looked at Liu Chang'an with gentle eyes, raising her soft eyebrows and gazing at him with Dan Dan expression.

"Um?"

Liu Chang'an was gazing at An Nuan's beautiful face, her features so close to his. The girl's beauty was like a fleeting flower blooming in the long river of time. Could he protect this moment of youthful beauty and make it last forever?

At that moment, he sensed some movement on the balcony, released An Nuan's waist, and took her hand as they walked over.

Liu Chang'an quickly approached the balcony, pulled back the two thick layers of gauze curtains and one blackout curtain, and saw Liu Yuewang trying to pry open the balcony door a little bit with a small screwdriver.

"Mom, what are you doing!" An Nuan was both ashamed and angry.

Liu Yuewang hurriedly dropped the screwdriver, looked around, stood up, glanced at the scallions growing on the balcony, and cleared her throat. "I originally wanted to pick some scallions, but I found that the balcony door seemed to be broken, so... I'll fix it, um... I'll just fix it."

"I change all the light bulbs in the house, and you can fix the balcony door?" An Nuan's cheeks flushed red, and she stamped her foot in embarrassment. What... what... what does she mean by that! What kind of mother is that!

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