Douglas Town, in northeastern Queens, New York, was surrounded by water on three sides and picturesque in scenery.
This had originally been the domain of Old Money, but the New Money that had risen in recent years had also begun gathering here.
It was dinner time, and lights came on one after another in every home, embellishing the town's tranquil night.
Beside a small white villa, Lin Yuan sat beneath a large tree, waiting for Liu Yifei to arrive.
More than ten days had passed since their trip to Big Bear Mountain Park. After returning, the busy Lin Yuan had not seen her again.
Although they often spoke on the phone, meeting in person was still essential.
In two days, Lin Yuan would join the Jurassic Park 3 crew to film, which meant they would not be able to see each other for another stretch of time.
So Lin Yuan had chosen to meet her tonight.
Lin Yuan looked at the white villa. It was Liu Yifei's home.
A woman stood at the second-floor window, looking outside.
Lin Yuan knew that was Liu Yifei's mother, but her view was blocked by the shade of the tree, so she probably could not see him.
Right under Madam Liu's nose, he was going to lure away her precious daughter for a date.
Thinking of that, Lin Yuan actually felt the thrill of being a thief.
This sneaky date was damn exciting.
Since he was after excitement, then...
Impossible! The time was not right yet!
After waiting more than ten minutes, Lin Yuan saw Liu Yifei leave the house, step out of her mother's line of sight, and come before him.
She wore a pale pink long trench coat, looking graceful and sharp without losing a young girl's sweet charm.
Sure enough, girls and pink were the perfect match.
There was no moon tonight, yet Lin Yuan still found the night beautiful.
"Qianqian, long time no see," he greeted her with a smile.
"That again? If you were sincere, it shouldn't have been so long since we last met."
"We're both busy. Deliberately maintaining a meeting frequency would make us seem less close. We don't need that," Lin Yuan said sincerely.
There was no need to mention just how busy Lin Yuan had been lately.
Liu Yifei's schoolwork was also quite demanding.
According to Madam Liu's arrangements, she would finish her studies before the end of next year and return to China to take Yanying's entrance exam.
This meant that since arriving in America in 1997, she had to overcome the language barrier and complete seven years of coursework—three years of middle school and four years of high school—in just over four years.
Lin Yuan knew that Liu Yifei in the future timeline had followed this very path through life.
In 2001, she returned to China and filmed The Story of a Noble Family during the summer vacation before Yanying began.
After entering Yanying, she immediately went on to film her second television drama, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.
Liu Yifei was also someone constantly racing against time. In that respect, she was exactly like Lin Yuan in this life.
Both of them had ambitions in their careers, so it was impossible for them to spend every day idly meeting each other.
But Lin Yuan felt things were quite good as they were. While maintaining an appropriate distance, they had not grown apart; instead, they cherished every chance to meet even more.
"You've become much more eloquent lately," Liu Yifei said.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Come on. I have to be home before ten." Liu Yifei did not answer and instead walked ahead.
Lin Yuan caught up and walked beside her.
The 1.83-meter Lin Yuan and the 1.68-meter Liu Yifei were perfectly matched in height. On top of that, both were stunningly attractive, creating a beautiful sight together.
Just as men liked staring at beautiful women, women had no resistance to handsome men either.
With Lin Yuan and Liu Yifei walking together, everyone along the way inevitably turned back to look at them.
They were scenery in other people's eyes, but the only scenery in Lin Yuan's eyes was Liu Yifei.
He studied her expression. She did not seem unhappy at all?
Just as Lin Yuan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she spoke.
"I watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It was very well made. Congratulations, your first step as an actor was a success."
Lin Yuan had feared she would bring up Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. After all, it was best not to touch the landmine of that bed scene if possible. He answered cautiously.
"With so many big names in it, my role wasn't important. The audience might not even remember me."
"But your scenes were very eye-catching!"
"No way..." Lin Yuan sensed there was something behind her words.
"That passionate scene, of course. It was nothing. You're an actor; that's the professional dedication you should have. Did you think I would be angry?"
Liu Yifei said with a smile, her expression natural and without the slightest hint of anger.
After saying that, she turned and walked ahead first.
Lin Yuan followed behind her, looking at her slender back.
His uneasy feelings should have completely faded, yet he felt somewhat disappointed.
Liu Yifei was not jealous at all, and that made him uncomfortable instead.
Realizing what he was thinking, he could not help cursing inwardly. Isn't it good that she's reasonable and understanding? Do I have to be happy only if she's jealous?
But just then, Liu Yifei suddenly stopped ahead of him.
Lin Yuan stopped as well and asked in confusion, "What is it?"
"She is really beautiful!"
"Ordinarily beautiful." Lin Yuan would not be stupid enough to praise Zhang Ziyi's looks in front of her.
"I haven't even said who it is yet!"
"..."
The moment he let his guard down, he had fallen into the trap!
The next question would either be, "How did you know who I meant?" or, "Who do you think is prettier, me or her?"
Lin Yuan immediately tensed up, several possible answers flashing through his mind.
"You've become much better at talking lately. There must be more women who like you now, right?"
Good grief, so that first remark when they met tonight had been a pitfall she had dug for him.
No, why weren't you following the script? You were even doing a callback?
"There are no women. Lately, I've only been dealing with tall, rough men," Lin Yuan naturally could not admit it.
Liu Yifei said nothing, and the two simply stood there quietly.
After a while, she finally spoke. "I'm a little angry."
"You should be."
"No, I'm angry at myself. I clearly told myself to be tolerant and generous, not to get angry with you, but I still couldn't help getting angry."
She pouted, looking deeply aggrieved.
To Lin Yuan, that sight was simply adorable.
His earlier disappointment had vanished completely. Could a woman this understanding, yet so appropriately jealous, really exist?
What kind of science fiction was this? It completely crushed The Three-Body Problem!
Liu Yifei thought for a moment and said, "Anyway, you caused it. Let me hit you a few times, and I won't be angry anymore."
"Fine. As long as it helps you vent, please hit as hard as you want."
With Lin Yuan's current physical condition, a few punches from her would be no more than a tickle.
Liu Yifei did not approach him. Instead, she walked in the opposite direction and widened the distance between them.
Would a few punches not be enough to vent her anger?
Was she preparing to take a running start and flying-kick him?
Amid Lin Yuan's confusion, Liu Yifei followed his shadow to where the head of that long shadow stretched beneath the streetlamp.
Then she forcefully stomped on the shadow's head twice.
Smack! Smack! The sounds were really loud.
Still not satisfied, she jumped with both feet and heavily stomped on Lin Yuan's shadow several more times.
Only then did she smile happily. "Now I've vented enough. I couldn't bear to really hit you, so I could only vent like this!"
"Why are you looking at me like that? You're not angry, are you?" the Celestial Fairy asked.
Lin Yuan smiled and shook his head, his eyes full of affection.
The Celestial Fairy walked two steps, and their shadows overlapped.
Then she stretched out her hand. From the shadows, it looked as though they had embraced.
Her eyes curved like crescent moons as she smiled. "I've already comforted you, so you're not allowed to be angry anymore!"
Looking at that figure not far away, Lin Yuan felt his heart melt. How could she be so specifically adorable?
Before you continue