Luo Qingchuan stared at Chen Yanyu with a blank expression for a while, then slowly got to his feet as if it had only just hit him.

“You sit first.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll figure something out for you.”

Chen Yanyu edged over to the sofa, visibly uneasy. Her two little pale hands nervously pressed at the hem of the shirt against her waist. Her legs were tightly together as she shrank into the corner of the couch, pitiful like a little pet.

“Luo Qingchuan...” Chen Yanyu looked at him with a sweet, aggrieved gaze. “Did you do this on purpose again?”

“Definitely not this time.”

Still expressionless, Luo Qingchuan found her a light blue blanket and lightly draped it over her legs.

Then he sat back down beside her on the sofa, leaving a small gap between them.

“Let’s watch TV.” The boy’s voice was calm as still water, like some great sage who’d seen through the mortal world.

His heart was pounding fast.

White-haired beautiful girl. Boyfriend shirt. Bare legs...

So good.

Chen Yanyu finally relaxed. She smiled sweetly, a pair of cute dimples seeming to appear. “Thank you.”

A refined, faint fragrance lingered around him. With the girl beside him, Luo Qingchuan let out a breath without thinking and silently handed her the remote.

Don’t get greedy. Seriously, don’t.

If Chen Yanyu got bullied into going dark and started tearing the house apart with lightning arts, then all the disguise work he’d painstakingly done tonight would be totally screwed.

“Pick whatever you want. I’m fine with anything. But only one episode. After that, we rest. I’ve got things to do tomorrow.”

“O-okay!”

Chen Yanyu immediately picked up the remote and started clicking away. She looked nothing like her clumsy self when using a phone.

Even though she pressed fast, she spent a long time choosing. Maybe she was afraid the boy beside her would get impatient, because Chen Yanyu’s eyes started reddening again.

“I don’t know what to watch...”

This was such a rare chance. Chen Yanyu wanted this “first time” watching TV with a friend to be as perfect as possible, something that could stay forever as a beautiful memory in her heart.

Her indecisiveness had struck again.

“Take your time.” Luo Qingchuan wasn’t in a hurry. He scrolled through posts on his phone, learning more about the mysterious “Inner World” that had emerged after the spiritual revival.

Among young cultivators, an unspoken understanding had gradually formed.

They called the ordinary world the “Outer World.” That was where people sang, played cards, gamed, hit bars at night, ate barbecue, and took the subway to work in broad daylight.

And when cultivators interacted with each other, that was the “Inner World.”

They discussed cultivation insights, sparred now and then, traded extraordinary items, formed teams to explore hidden treasure lands, or went together to deliver calling cards to some master’s sect.

Then Luo Qingchuan found something called the “Seeking Dao Ranking.”

It seemed that after completing your profile, you’d qualify to be listed.

Getting into the top ten would earn support from the righteous Dao Alliance of Longxia. It also made it more likely for hidden experts to notice you. If one of them took a liking to you as a disciple, then even just forming a good connection could bring plenty of benefits.

The top ten names on the Seeking Dao Ranking were mostly unfamiliar to Luo Qingchuan, though a few felt vaguely familiar.

They’d probably go on to do something big in the future.

But for now, Luo Qingchuan had no time to think about it.

Because Chen Yanyu had finally picked a show and was tugging at his sleeve.

“All set, all set!” she said, full of anticipation.

Seeing that, Luo Qingchuan stood up again under Chen Yanyu’s puzzled gaze and went to grab two bottles of iced sparkling water.

“Here.”

“Wah, thank you!”

After the fifteen-second ad was skipped, the boy and girl sat side by side on the sofa, twisted open their drinks, and tilted their heads back for a big gulp in perfect sync.

Then...

““Hah—””

A little cold.

Luo Qingchuan turned his head and glanced at Chen Yanyu.

Her cheeks were no longer flushed with embarrassment like before. They were fair as fresh snow, the kind that made you want to cup them in your hands.

Chen Yanyu hugged a small pillow. Her golden eyes shone brightly, reflecting the warped light of the TV screen. Her pretty little face was completely focused.

Seeing how happy she was, Luo Qingchuan couldn’t help feeling his own mood ease with hers.

He hadn’t paid much attention to the title of the drama. It was probably something like Classmate from the Zhang Family.

“You seen this before?” Chen Yanyu asked, pointing with the remote.

Luo Qingchuan shook his head, then paused. “What about you?”

“My first time too!”

Luo Qingchuan suddenly understood why she’d taken so long to choose.

She’d seen countless shows, but she wanted a perfect first drama-watching experience with him, so she’d deliberately picked something new.

It had only started airing these past two days.

The drama began. Luo Qingchuan didn’t actually mind watching shows. Usually, idol dramas were pretty boring, and you could more or less guess where the plot was going.

But...

Honestly, once he got into it, it was pretty interesting. And Chen Yanyu had picked well. The male and female leads weren’t amazing actors, but they were at least solid. Their crying scenes weren’t the kind that made people recoil in fear.

Around the midpoint, the drama got forcibly interrupted by an ad... even a paid membership didn’t help.

“Oh right.” Luo Qingchuan suddenly remembered something and smiled. “Let me check what new movies are coming out soon.”

Chen Yanyu’s eyes lit up at once as she looked at him eagerly. “It has to be anime-style!”

“Mm.”

Luo Qingchuan started searching on his phone.

Chen Yanyu wanted to lean over and look, but she forced herself to wait. She lifted her big eyes as high as she could to peek at his screen, so anxious it made people want to hug her.

“There really is one.”

Luo Qingchuan checked the comments and couldn’t help smiling. “Looks like we struck gold. Everyone’s praising it. It’s probably pretty good. Let’s find time to go.”

“Okay, okay!” Chen Yanyu agreed instantly without even thinking.

Her curiosity finally won out. She braced both hands against the sofa by her legs and quietly, little by little, edged closer to Luo Qingchuan.

She leaned in beside him, slowly and carefully, like a bird afraid of being startled. Then she lightly rested her head on his shoulder, just like at the bar.

In a tiny voice, Chen Yanyu asked, “What’s it about?”

Luo Qingchuan scrolled with his finger and glanced at the title and summary.

“Mm... let me see...”

A smile touched his lips. “It’s about an insecure girl and a socially anxious boy falling in sweet love over summer vacation. At a fireworks festival, they confess their feelings and overcome their cowardice and weakness together, bravely chasing happiness.”

Chen Yanyu’s lashes trembled slightly. Something stirred in her heart, and she murmured, “That sounds so beautiful. What’s the title?”

Then Luo Qingchuan froze very slightly. In a gentle voice, he slowly read it out:

“Words...”

“Words?”

“Hold on, don’t rush me. It’s a bit of a tongue twister...”

Luo Qingchuan read it one word at a time, his voice soft and warm.

“Words... must... be... mutually... understood.”

Silver hair drifted down past her cheek. Chen Yanyu’s eyes softened like rippling water, clear and luminous as a holy moon. “Words Must Be Mutually Understood.”

She repeated it once. Her heart felt lightly tickled, and she murmured in a daze, “Words... must be mutually understood...”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“L-Luo Qingchuan...”

“Mm?”

Chen Yanyu tilted her gaze toward him at her side, then shyly looked away again.

“I...”

“‘I like you.’”

Luo Qingchuan froze.

So did Chen Yanyu.

The two of them turned toward the TV screen at the same time. Under bright sunlight, the heroine was confessing to the male lead.

Even the BGM in the show had stopped. Only the cicadas of midsummer kept chirping tirelessly.

The camera cut to the actor’s face.

He opened his mouth coldly, about to give his answer.

That answer felt like it could silence everything.

Even Luo Qingchuan got hooked and stared straight at the screen.

And then...

“‘Please watch the next episode preview.’” A rich, infectious male voice rang out abruptly.

Bang!

The remote got hurled at the TV by a soft little hand, bounced off, and skidded far across the glossy floor.

Chen Yanyu’s silver hair was in disarray with arcs of electricity crackling around it. Biting her lip, she said, “I’m going to smash it!”

Luo Qingchuan: “???”

Miss, that TV is mine!

But Chen Yanyu had already exploded in rage. She threw off the little blanket and jumped onto the coffee table, charging forward like a crazed kitten. Her soft, slender bare legs were fully exposed to the air, and her little feet were rosy red.

Luo Qingchuan jumped in fright and hurriedly wrapped his arms around Chen Yanyu from behind as she stood on the table.

“Calm down. That’s my TV.”

“Why would they cut it there?! Make him say he likes her! Make him say it!!!”

“It’s not the TV’s fault! Blame the screenwriter and director! They’re the ones using every dirty trick to make you watch the next episode!”

As she struggled, Chen Yanyu’s anger faded quickly. But the moment her strength gave out, her body inevitably tipped backward, and Luo Qingchuan, who was holding her by the waist, fell back onto the sofa with her.

The girl landed in Luo Qingchuan’s arms, like a kitten rolling over and showing its belly. Her snow-pale fingers, having failed in their attempted crime, spread awkwardly over her chest.

They stared at each other in silence, both a little stunned.

...