After Xi Cheng spoke, he seemed to notice Jiang You had fallen silent beside him.
His silver eyes flickered as he changed the subject. "I heard that if two people who are in love place their hands on the glass sphere, the purple lightning inside will turn pink. Want to try?"
Xi Cheng turned to look at her.
Just then, a mother and daughter nearby each placed a hand on the surface of the crystal glass sphere, and the purple electrical arcs inside slowly turned pink.
"Wow!" The child watched excitedly, hopping up and down.
A moment later, the two of them left happily, hand in hand.
Jiang You blinked lightly and looked at him. "Are they in love, too?"
Faced with the question, Xi Cheng replied calmly, "Of course. Familial love is still love."
Jiang You drew out a soft, "Oh..."
’Actually, she knew it didn’t matter who it was. As long as two people put their hands on it, the giant crystal sphere’s purple arcs would turn pink.’
"Come on, let’s try it." Jiang You walked over.
’After all, watching other people have an experience is different from trying it for yourself.’
She placed her hand on it. Xi Cheng walked over as well, raising his long, slender fingers to touch the crystal glass sphere.
In a moment, the purple lightning slowly became tinged with pink, until finally it was all pink lightning, cracking through the air. The pink flashes reflected endlessly in Jiang You’s eyes.
Jiang You found it quite beautiful. An idea came to her, and she turned to Xi Cheng, asking leisurely with a hint of teasing, "So, God Xi, what’s the principle this time?"
Xi Cheng’s silver eyes flickered. He had been watching her the entire time. At her words, he said, "When two people in love have the same magnetic field, pink electrical arcs appear."
"That can’t be right. I remember everyone’s magnetic field is unique." Jiang You raised an eyebrow.
"I meant the magnetic field of our auras," Xi Cheng said, then turned his head to look at the crystal sphere.
When Jiang You heard this, she almost burst out laughing.
’This time he wasn’t spouting scientific principles, but talking about the ’magnetic field of auras.’’
’The kind of magnetic field that means you have the same vibe and get along well.’
"Oh, the same magnetic field." The corners of Jiang You’s lips curled up.
She didn’t even realize how radiant her own smile was.
Xi Cheng, who had been looking at the crystal sphere, couldn’t resist glancing over at Jiang You. When he saw the radiant smile on her face, his gaze froze. He couldn’t look away, his heart pounding in his chest.
When Jiang You realized, she noticed his slow, searing gaze. She quickly composed herself, wiping the smile from her face and turning back to the crystal sphere, her proud expression returning.
A momentary silence fell between them as an unidentifiable emotion began to spread through the air.
’Jiang You realized she was starting to feel something for Xi Cheng and quickly pushed the feeling down.’
’She couldn’t fall for the male leads like in the novel.’
’Even though the plot had already gone off the rails, she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t still meet a tragic end like her character in the original book.’
After finishing their tour of the science museum, the two of them left.
Xi Cheng had booked a restaurant, and they went to have dinner together.
Aside from the waitstaff, they were the only two people in the restaurant.
"Did you book the whole place?" Jiang You asked casually, glancing around.
"Yes. It’s a bit of a quirk of mine—I don’t like crowds." Xi Cheng nodded. "Since it’s within my means, I can indulge this little habit."
"Alright." Jiang You didn’t really understand this ’habit.’
’Well, he was rich. He could be as eccentric as he wanted.’
Just as Jiang You was about to reach for her napkin, a long, fair hand extended toward her. A neatly folded napkin rested in its palm.
It was a silk napkin.
She paused, surprised by his thoughtfulness, and took it from his hand.
"What movie would you like to see later?" Xi Cheng asked as he handed her the napkin.
Jiang You had only agreed to the date to maintain her persona; deep down, she wasn’t taking it seriously at all.
"Up to you." Jiang You tossed the question back to him.
"Alright." Xi Cheng simply agreed without another word.
So when Jiang You found herself sitting in a privately booked theater watching a horror movie, she was completely dumbfounded.
’She didn’t like horror movies; they gave her nightmares.’
"Why a horror movie?" Jiang You asked, staring at the sinister scene on the big screen. The immersive surround sound made her heart beat uncontrollably, and her eyelid twitched violently.
’According to horror movie tropes, a slow-panning shot like this meant a ghost face was about to jump out at any second.’
Xi Cheng was silent for a moment before speaking. "I heard it was a must-watch for couples. The title is *To Not See You*. I thought it was a romance."
’If she doesn’t like it, we can leave,’ he thought.
He was just about to say so.
But in the next second, a ghostly face suddenly filled the massive screen, and the person next to him, terrified, grabbed his hand.
Xi Cheng froze. A beat later, he squeezed her hand back and looked over at her. His gaze softened as he saw the young woman’s eyes squeezed shut, gripping his hand tightly without a word.
When the frightening sound effects faded, Jiang You finally opened her eyes and realized she was clutching Xi Cheng’s hand.
Snapping back to reality, she quickly let go, about to apologize.
’But then she remembered—they were supposedly a couple now. What was there to be embarrassed about?!’
Seeing Xi Cheng looking at her, Jiang You put on an arrogant air and said, "Hah. How calculating of you. You put on a horror movie on purpose just to scare me so I’d grab your hand, didn’t you?"
Xi Cheng reached out, took her hand, and stood up. "Let’s go. I’m not a big fan of horror movies either."
Jiang You paused for a second, then followed him out.
Outside, a biting wind was blowing, though it was still afternoon.
"Looks like our plans ended a bit early," Xi Cheng said as he led her to his car. "Still, we finished our date. I’ll take you home."
"Okay," Jiang You replied nonchalantly.
On the way, Xi Cheng stopped the car to buy a bouquet of roses, which he handed to Jiang You. "A date should have the proper romantic gestures."
Jiang You accepted them.
’She’d lost count of how many bouquets of roses she’d received in her life. Shen Lan had sent her plenty, too.’
When they arrived outside her house, Jiang You was about to get out when Xi Cheng caught her by the wrist.
Jiang You turned back to see Xi Cheng looking intently at her as he slowly leaned in. "To end our date... may I kiss you?"
Jiang You wanted to say no. "N—"
[OOC Warning.]
"Of course," Jiang You said with a slight smile.
’It’s fine. The male leads are all so handsome, it’s not like I’m losing out.’
’Xi Cheng’s brow furrowed. A bitter taste seemed to fill his heart. She had wanted to say no, but the system wouldn’t let her.’
He leaned in, but only pressed a light kiss to her forehead before pulling back.
"There. You should head inside," Xi Cheng said, his fingers gently brushing through her hair.
Jiang You paused for a moment before getting out of the car.
[Task Issued]
Jiang You: ...
Because she was ’rejected,’ the villainous supporting character becomes increasingly annoyed the more she thinks about it. Turning her shame into anger, she must now forcibly kiss Xi Cheng.
’I have to forcibly kiss Xi Cheng!’
’Why not a forced kiss this morning? Why does it have to be this afternoon?!’
Seeing that Xi Cheng was about to drive away...
Jiang You quickly called out, "Xi Cheng, wait!"
Xi Cheng stopped the car. His expression was unreadable for a moment as he subconsciously licked his lips, moistening them as if preparing for a kiss.