I Want Ice Cream!

Su Lexuan, who had been brimming with joy, blushed furiously at the endlessly suggestive misunderstanding.

She gave a soft cough, lowered her head, and took small bites of duck meat glistening with chili oil, secretly watching Shen Lang's reaction to those words.

Shen Lang coughed awkwardly as well, unsure what to say. He could only follow the system's prompt and place some duck meat onto Su Lexuan's plate.

Su Lexuan kept nodding and thanking him, continuously stuffing the duck meat Shen Lang had picked for her into her mouth until her fair cheeks puffed up.

The two of them, who had been chatting and laughing moments ago, inexplicably fell silent. The noisy voices of the surrounding diners became crystal clear.

Yet the atmosphere was not awkward at all. Instead, it carried a suggestive air of mutual understanding.

To put it plainly, the woman knew the man had ulterior motives, and the man knew the woman was only pretending to be reserved.

In such a situation, letting things develop naturally until they bore fruit would have been the most fitting outcome.

But the waitress's words had directly torn away that thin veil between them. How could that not be awkward?

After dinner, Shen Lang paid the bill and took Su Lexuan to a nearby lantern festival.

Once they left the restaurant, the atmosphere between them inexplicably returned to normal, and they once again began chatting enthusiastically.

When they arrived at the old street, the lantern festival had just begun. Dazzling lights shone everywhere.

Colorful lanterns hung along both sides of the old street, each radiating its own unique glow and making it feel as though they had stepped into a dreamlike world.

The crowded street surged with endless noise and prosperity as the two laughed and chatted their way through the bustling throng.

Every shop glittered with vibrant lights, and the words on their signs swayed gracefully beneath the glow, drawing the eyes of passersby.

Walking beside Shen Lang, Su Lexuan happily examined the shops on both sides of the street, occasionally stopping to look around for a while.

The street was filled with thunderous gongs and drums, along with dragon dances, lion dances, acrobatics, magic shows, and other performances.

Such a grand event naturally attracted plenty of streamers as well.

Carrying livestreaming equipment on their backs, they shouted hoarsely into their phones, begging their viewers for support.

The tourists cheered and applauded without end, while the children were even more excited, running back and forth through the old street amid constant laughter.

Besides the performances, the old street's lantern festival offered plenty of traditional foods. Shen Lang even bought Su Lexuan a rabbit-shaped Sugar Painting for her to eat as they walked.

Su Lexuan really liked this place. Her smile had not faded since she arrived, and from time to time, she would have Shen Lang hold her Sugar Painting while she took out her phone and snapped photos wildly.

Ding! Su Lexuan's Favorability toward the host has increased by 6 points. Current Favorability: 17 points. Keep up the good work!

Maybe this was what having a girlfriend felt like?

Listening to the system notification in his ear, Shen Lang looked at the half-eaten rabbit Sugar Painting in his hand, then at Su Lexuan beside him frantically taking pictures of the lion dance. A satisfied smile appeared on his face as well.

Just then, Su Lexuan was bumped by a child in the crowd. She stumbled, and her phone nearly fell to the ground.

The brat did not care in the slightest. He merely looked at her curiously, made a face at Su Lexuan, then skipped away.

"That scared me to death. My phone almost fell."

Su Lexuan looked at the brat running away and pouted in irritation.

1: Go after the brat, slap him, and make him apologize to Su Lexuan. Otherwise, tell his parents!

2: Warn Su Lexuan to stand farther away when filming and not interfere with the performance!

3: Hold Su Lexuan's hand, gently remind her that there are too many people here, and suggest taking a walk by the sea.

Handsome people had partners, ugly people had partners, and only cowards did not deserve partners.

Since his encounter with Su Lexuan, Shen Lang had firmly kept those words in mind.

"Th-there are too many people here."

Without thinking much, Shen Lang stepped forward and took Su Lexuan's soft, fair hand. His gaze drifted as he said, "L-let's take a walk by the sea, okay? There's a place up ahead called Yusha Bay. It's pretty fun there."

Even with the system helping him, Shen Lang was still extremely nervous about taking a girl's hand in public.

He was also worried that such a presumptuous action might upset Su Lexuan.

They had not even officially established their relationship yet, and he was already holding her hand? Would she think he was being too casual?

What if she said it was too soon and that she was not ready, then pulled free? Wouldn't that be unbearably awkward?

While Shen Lang's mind raced, Su Lexuan stared at her hand held neither too tightly nor too loosely by Shen Lang. She was caught completely off guard, and all her earlier liveliness vanished at once.

She shyly raised her eyes to glance at Shen Lang. Her little face immediately flushed, and after parting her lips as though she wanted to say something, she finally answered in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Mm..."

Receiving Su Lexuan's response, Shen Lang smiled so excitedly that he could barely contain himself. "Th-then let's go."

Jianghai City was a coastal city.

Aside from a few historic attractions, the only tourist destination locals ever mentioned with pride was the sea, popular to varying degrees.

Yusha Bay was in a relatively remote location and was not well known in Jianghai City's travel guides.

The entire area had only one fairly large seashell sculpture. Other than that, there were nothing but stretches of beach and an endless sea.

Basically, only nearby residents came here for walks in their free time. Tourists from elsewhere did not even spare this unremarkable little beach a glance.

Shen Lang held Su Lexuan's hand as they strolled along a road paved with pebbles.

Beside them lay the boundless sea, while scattered pedestrians wandered along the beach.

The sea breeze was rather strong tonight, but they were dressed warmly enough, so it did not matter.

Along the way, Su Lexuan did not say much.

From time to time, she looked up at Shen Lang, then blushed as she stared at the hand he was holding, seemingly lost in thought.

Su Lexuan was from inland and rarely had the chance to see the ocean.

In the past, Su Lexuan would have already run to the shore, taken off her shoes, walked barefoot across the sand, and happily taken photos to her heart's content.

She had always been that kind of warm, lively girl.

Unfortunately, her hand was now held in Shen Lang's.

Experiencing the romantic feeling of physical contact between a man and a woman for the first time, Su Lexuan felt both caught off guard and confused, yet also full of anticipation for love.

Just then, the system options appeared again.

1: Tease her with a smile. "Didn't you say before that you'd never seen the sea? So, what do you think? Want to go play on the beach?"

2: Put an arm around her waist and say eagerly, "It's getting late. Let's get a room. I want ice cream. I'll take you back to school tomorrow!"

3: Ask concernedly, "Why aren't you saying anything? Do you want to go back to school? Want me to take you?"