ATLAS TRANSLATES

In reality, being a straightforward man, Yan Cheng took quite a while to understand women’s thought processes. His slow reaction probably circled around the capital several times. By the time he finally understood that Chen Jinyao’s hidden meaning was “a woman dresses up for the one she likes,” they had already arrived at the cinema and gotten their tickets.

The theater was dark except for the flickering light from the screen. The showing was full, without any empty seats. The movie was just starting. Due to its reputation, the Avengers had a solid fan base, especially male fans. While Yan Cheng had his own nostalgia for the series, at this moment, he wasn’t focused on the movie’s content. Instead, he was lost in his thoughts.

After a while, Yan Cheng turned to look at Chen Jinyao. She was staring intently at the screen, occasionally putting popcorn in her mouth. She seemed more focused than him, a supposed loyal fan. Since they were in public, Yan Cheng thought for a moment before leaning close to her ear.

This led to the following conversation.

Yan Cheng pulled Chen Jinyao closer, making her lean on his shoulder, and said smugly, “I’ve been thinking – you dressed up so nicely, does that mean you really care about me?”

Hearing this, Chen Jinyao looked up at him from his shoulder, her eyes filled with complex emotions. She thought to herself, how shameless is he? Though, it’s true that when a man and woman spend a lot of time alone together and both are decent people, it’s usually the woman who falls in love first.

“Don’t deny it. Maybe you’ve already fallen head over heels for me without realizing it,” Yan Cheng winked, half-joking.

This time, Chen Jinyao couldn’t hold back her laughter as she leaned against him, shoulders shaking. She gave him a light tap and scolded him quietly, “Shameless.”

“Maybe so,” the man raised his eyebrows, neither confirming nor denying.

Chen Jinyao was speechless.

Even though they were whispering, they still drew glances from nearby viewers. The constant looks made Chen Jinyao uncomfortable. She frowned slightly and moved away from Yan Cheng. When he turned to look at her questioningly, she simply pushed his face forward without hesitation, forcing him to look away from her. “Watch the movie,” she said firmly, her tone completely serious.

Yan Cheng was silent for about three seconds before responding, “…Okay.”

The truth was, women take their first dates very seriously. It’s like going for a first job interview. This has nothing to do with who the other person is.

Sometimes, Chen Jinyao felt she was quite heartless, cold and detached, viewing everything with frightening rationality. Rather than emotional attachments, she preferred the security that contracts could provide. Especially given her current marriage situation with Yan Cheng, with all its future uncertainties. If she allowed herself to fall in love too easily, it would be hard to detach herself if things went wrong. She was used to always leaving herself an escape route.

She wasn’t sure if this counted as being overly cautious. But Chen Jinyao knew she lacked a sense of security. Because she was aware of this, she instinctively retreated into her shell for self-preservation. Even if she appeared calm on the surface, this world was still strange to her – strange scenery, strange people, strange happenings of all kinds.

“Yan Cheng, I’m trying to like you,” she said.

She was trying to manage their marriage as if it were a romantic relationship. But during this process, she still needed some time.

After a moment of silence, Yan Cheng lowered his eyelashes and said, “Oh, me too.”

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but the temperature around them seemed to suddenly drop. Chen Jinyao pulled her neck deeper into her scarf and sighed.

As the movie was ending, the theater became restless. The series’ reputation seemed to take a hit because it had taken an artistic route, suddenly becoming a family drama with romance. Many people expressed their disappointment after watching it.

When they left the cinema, it was already dark outside. The city center’s bustle was just beginning, the usual celebration before the concrete jungle fell into deep sleep. The lively party would probably continue until late.

The night was cool, and everything in sight was a kaleidoscope of colors. Yan Cheng held Chen Jinyao’s hand as they walked through the crowd. He mentioned there was a nearby noodle shop famous for its beef noodles. Chen Jinyao nodded with a smile.

After that, they walked in silence. Feeling the warmth from his palm, Chen Jinyao lowered her eyes, unconsciously staring at their clasped hands before slowly looking away to his handsome profile.

Nothing was really wrong, but girls are sensitive. No matter how composed they are, they can’t help overthinking sometimes. Chen Jinyao tugged at his arm, and he immediately slowed down to look at her. Just one glance, and Chen Jinyao didn’t know what to say anymore.

After a long hesitation, she finally dared to look at him directly and said very seriously, “About me trying to like you, it’s because I’m confident we’ll develop feelings over time.”

The air froze instantly.

“Pfft.” After the silence, Yan Cheng laughed quite rudely.

Then, he pinched Chen Jinyao’s cheek and asked casually, “I have a question.”

Chen Jinyao frowned and swatted his hand away: “What?”

“When you say ‘develop feelings over time’…” Yan Cheng stopped walking and looked at her seriously, “Is the first word a verb or a noun?”

Heaven knows, he really just asked instinctively, following her words with complete innocence, without any impure thoughts.

But heaven’s guarantee meant nothing!

Chen Jinyao: “…” Chen Jinyao: “??????”

In the next second, Chen Jinyao expressionlessly let go of Yan Cheng’s hand. With this, their hand-in-hand date completely fell apart.

Being honest would make everything develop in a good direction. Yan Cheng and Chen Jinyao both strongly agreed on this point. However, they never expected that before the night was over, a sudden event would make Chen Jinyao break this belief.

The banks of the Huai River were showing hints of green as spring approached. Soon, they would welcome the scene of growing grass and flying orioles. At just past eight, not too late, the riverbank was a lovers’ paradise. The weekend probably contributed to there being many more people than on weekdays. Though it wasn’t exactly crowded, it was enough to make one lose interest in continuing to walk around.

They took another small path back. The street lamps were old-fashioned, classical yet worn, giving off a yellow light. This path had fewer pedestrians. The leaves rustled in the wind, and walking under the moonlight was more romantic than staring at the river’s tides.

They walked one in front of the other, Yan Cheng leading and Chen Jinyao following. Chen Jinyao took off the scarf from her neck and made Yan Cheng bend down. The image of a caring wife instantly appeared in Yan Cheng’s eyes. He raised his eyebrows and reached out to pat her fluffy head. Just as he was about to praise her, she wrapped the scarf around his neck. Scarves were really useful – she could lead him even from behind.

“Are you walking a dog?” Yan Cheng said expressionlessly.

Hearing this, Chen Jinyao held back her laugh and curved her eyes, deliberately teasing him: “Well, I can’t help how you think about it.”

“…” He felt oddly annoyed.

After a pause, having figured something out, Yan Cheng suggested for the sake of family harmony: “Let’s not say that phrase anymore.”

‘I can’t help how you think about it’ – just hearing it was irritating.

Yan Cheng: “If there’s something to say, just say it. Let’s all be honest.”

“Okay,” Chen Jinyao naturally agreed, “Then you can’t say it either.”

“Of course.”

Then, Yan Cheng stopped walking and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. He raised his hand, grabbed the scarf at the back of his neck, and pulled hard in his direction. Then he turned around and opened his arms. Chen Jinyao lost her grip and stumbled forward, falling straight into his embrace.

Chen Jinyao fell into Yan Cheng’s arms, and the next moment, he held her waist. The sudden change made her eyes widen.

“A date should have a perfect ending,” the man said.

But she was best at hiding her emotions. After spending several dozen seconds building up her psychological defenses, she also gently wrapped her arms around Yan Cheng’s waist.

She had meant to pat his waist, but accidentally patted his bottom instead. Waist and bottom were clearly quite far apart.

Chen Jinyao: “…”

She buried her entire face in Yan Cheng’s chest, and after a while, secretly looked up to assess the situation, only to inevitably fall into Yan Cheng’s meaningful gaze.

An overwhelming sense of embarrassment arose.

Yan Cheng raised his eyebrows and even recklessly teased her: “Breaking news! On a dark and windy night by the Huai River, a woman openly harasses a handsome man.”

Chen Jinyao gritted her teeth, wanting to stand on her tiptoes and bite him to death.

“Further investigation reveals that said handsome man is actually this woman’s lawful husband.”

Chen Jinyao: “…”

After thinking for a moment, Yan Cheng suddenly lowered his head and whispered a few more words in Chen Jinyao’s ear.

And then, he crossed the line.

Chen Jinyao pushed him away, rolled her eyes, seemingly annoyed and embarrassed, and said somewhat sharply: “Let’s go to Er Guan!”

Her car was still parked at Er Guan. She had work tomorrow, so she needed to drive it back.