Shrek City, the Gold-Silver Dragon King's First Kiss

Tang Wulin became the class monitor.

When the news exploded through Class Three of Shrek's first year, the students reacted differently. Some were amazed, some envious, and some muttered, "Why him?" But Tang Wulin merely smiled shyly, keeping that small sense of accomplishment to himself.

The dismissal bell rang, and the classroom gradually quieted down. Tang Wulin packed his books and was about to leave when a familiar figure blocked the doorway.

Gu Yue.

She still wore that cool, distant expression, her black hair glowing faintly beneath the sunset. As she looked at him, there seemed to be a trace of barely noticeable anticipation in her eyes.

"Hey," she said, as unhurried as ever. "You became the class monitor."

Tang Wulin froze for a moment, then scratched his head awkwardly. "Yeah... I guess."

Gu Yue tilted her head slightly, as though mentioning it casually. "So how are you planning to celebrate?"

Tang Wulin was taken aback. He had never thought something like this needed celebrating. But when he looked into Gu Yue's bright eyes, he suddenly felt that perhaps it was a good opportunity.

"I... I'll take you shopping?" he said, gathering his courage.

Gu Yue seemed not to have expected him to be so direct. She paused for a moment, then nodded lightly. "All right."

The two walked side by side along the street outside the academy. The setting sun stretched their shadows long behind them.

Tang Wulin was a little nervous, unsure where to put his hands. Gu Yue, meanwhile, seemed especially quiet, only occasionally glancing at the shops around them.

"Um..." Tang Wulin could not help asking, "Why are you... so easygoing today?"

Gu Yue glanced at him. "Isn't becoming the class monitor something worth celebrating?"

Warmth filled Tang Wulin's heart, and even his steps became lighter.

They visited accessory shops, snack stalls, and Gu Yue's favorite spirit-material store. Tang Wulin bought her a bracelet woven from Star Grass. Gu Yue initially refused to accept it, but under his persistence, she silently put it on.

Lowering her head to look at the bracelet, she said softly, "Tang Wulin, you have to keep being the class monitor."

"Hm?" Tang Wulin did not understand.

"That way," Gu Yue said, raising her eyes to him with a firm gaze, "you can always stand somewhere I can see you."

Tang Wulin's heart trembled faintly.

At that moment, he suddenly felt that becoming class monitor meant more than he had imagined.

Spirit-material shops stood in neat rows along both sides of the street. Gu Yue had stopped before a display window, gazing at an Ice Marrow Stone that glimmered with a deep blue light, her fingers unconsciously brushing the Star Grass bracelet on her wrist.

Standing beside her, Tang Wulin could not stop his gaze from drifting toward her profile. He was still wondering whether to treat her to dessert—after all, when they had passed the dessert shop earlier, he had clearly caught Gu Yue's eyes lighting up.

"This Ice Marrow Stone isn't very pure," Gu Yue said, withdrawing her gaze and turning to speak to him, her tone still carrying that cool certainty. "It wouldn't be as good for assisting cultivation as..."

Before she could finish, a burst of commotion suddenly came from behind them. Several roughhousing children crashed into Tang Wulin's back. He had already been standing very close to Gu Yue, and the collision threw him off balance, sending him pitching forward.

Caught completely off guard, Gu Yue only had time to widen her clear eyes. The next instant, a warm, soft sensation landed on her lips.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Tang Wulin's mind went completely blank. The shy smile on his face stiffened, while the tips of his ears reddened at a visible speed, the flush spreading from his cheeks down to his neck.

He could clearly feel the softness against his lips, along with the faint fragrance of grass and trees clinging to Gu Yue. His heart pounded like a drum, and he even forgot to breathe.

He wanted to pull back, but nervousness left his entire body stiff. Instinctively, his hands braced themselves against the display window on either side of Gu Yue, his fingertips trembling slightly. He looked exactly like an inexperienced young boy who had been frightened into complete helplessness.

Gu Yue was stunned as well. She had always been cool and self-possessed, able to remain calm even before the strongest opponents. Yet this sudden touch upon her lips made her body stiffen. Unprecedented panic surged through her silver-gray eyes, instantly washing away all her usual distance.

She instinctively wanted to push Tang Wulin away. Her fingertips touched his warm chest, but she pulled them back as if burned. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, strikingly visible against her fair skin and shattering her usual cool demeanor.

After only an instant, Tang Wulin finally came to his senses. He abruptly staggered half a step back, waving his hands in panic, his voice trembling. "S-sorry! Gu Yue, I didn't mean to! Someone bumped into me just now..." He was so flustered that his words came out in a jumble. He wished he could crawl into a crack in the ground, his youthful inexperience completely exposed.

Gu Yue lowered her lashes, avoiding his gaze. Her fingers lightly gripped the hem of her clothes, and her voice was softer than usual, carrying a trace of barely perceptible hoarseness. "I-it's fine."

She tried hard to maintain an outward calm, but her slightly reddened ears and somewhat hurried breathing revealed the unrest in her heart. The warmth unique to Tang Wulin, lingering on her lips, was like a stone dropped into a tranquil lake, sending ripples spreading outward for a long time.

The two stood side by side at the roadside. For a while, neither spoke. There was only their slightly hurried breathing and the faint commotion in the distance. Sunset afterglow fell over them, overlapping their shadows and lending the air a youthful, ambiguous feeling.

Tang Wulin's face was red enough to burst. After scratching at his head for ages, he suddenly slapped his thigh as though he had remembered a lifesaving straw. Flustered, he said, "I-I'll go buy you that! The strawberry pudding you looked at earlier!"

Before his words had even faded, he dashed into the dessert shop beside them as though fleeing for his life, leaving Gu Yue standing there alone.

She raised a hand and gently touched the corner of her lips. The lingering warmth at her fingertips seemed to still carry the sunlike scent of the boy. A hint of confusion she did not even notice herself passed through her cool eyes, before she quickly suppressed it and returned to her usual indifference. Only the redness at the tips of her ears refused to fade.

Not long afterward, Tang Wulin jogged back carrying two puddings, a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. He held one out to Gu Yue, not daring to meet her eyes. His voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "H-here. Strawberry flavor. It should... suit your taste."

Gu Yue accepted the pudding. Its cool touch spread from her fingertips, slightly suppressing the strange feeling in her heart. She scooped up a spoonful, and the sweet strawberry sauce melted over her tongue. Unexpectedly, it was not bad.

The two simply stood together on the street corner, neither mentioning what had happened earlier. Tang Wulin secretly glanced at Gu Yue several times. Only when he saw that she was not angry did the stone in his heart slowly settle, and he could not help grinning foolishly.

Gu Yue noticed his gaze and turned to glare at him. Her tone still carried a touch of haughty toughness. "What are you grinning about? Idiot."

"N-nothing!" Tang Wulin hurriedly lowered his head and dug into his own pudding, though the corners of his lips kept rising higher.

The evening breeze drifted past, carrying the fragrance of the roadside snacks and quietly blending the youthful, subtle atmosphere between the boy and girl into the twilight of Shrek City.