33 : Like to give roses

 But it seems... something's wrong?

Even if it's a forced plot mission from the system, years of education made Yin Luo feel guilty. If he just left like in the plot, would something happen to Lu Ran?

Besides, Lu Ran's current appearance is definitely not right.

Thinking that he had kicked the other person as if he were a monster, Yin Luo immediately got up and went to Lu Ran's side: "I'm sorry! Did I kick you somewhere? Does it hurt?" It would have been

better if he hadn't said anything. After he said this, Lu Ran's expression changed several times, and in the end, he just mumbled "It's nothing" and quickly got out of bed.

It was only because Yin Luo had just woken up in the morning that he would have noticed the different smell on him.

Lu Ran went to the bathroom as soon as he got out of bed. He didn't come out until Yin Luo had changed his clothes and washed up, and his expression was not good. It

was probably still related to what happened at the swimming pool last night.

Yin Luo felt guilty. Since he and Lu Ran had the same class that day, he quietly asked Lu Ran, who was drying his hair, "I'm at school today. I'll save you a seat later. Also, what do you want to eat? I'll buy it."

Lu Ran paused, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end only said, "Okay."

*

For the next few days, Yin Luo stayed by Lu Ran's side, only feeling relieved after realizing he had returned to his old ways, and he didn't mention the swimming pool incident again.

Perhaps the drug was taking effect slowly.

To outsiders, it just seemed that the two of them had become closer—Lu Ran was already always clinging to Yin Luo, and this time Yin Luo was also actively seeking him out, so they did almost everything together.

The CP (couple) posts on the forum were trending, and sometimes his roommates would tease him, "You went to college and even found yourself a wife?"

Lu Ran lifted his eyelids and looked at Yin Luo, "She does look like my wife."

"..." Yin Luo realized that the "wife" they were talking about was him, and his eyes widened, "I'm a guy, not a wife."

"It's all the same, look at how Lu Ran treats you, even better than most people treat their girlfriends."

"Yeah, I thought you hated him, but now you're so close!"

Yin Luo pursed his lips and didn't say anything.

Who would have guessed that he was playing the villain who bullies guys? While

he was still pondering these things, Duan Muze sent a message: [Filming is about to start, are you ready?]

Shen Qing's assistant had posted the news about the start of filming and related matters in the group a couple of days ago. Fortunately, Yin

Luo had finished his exams and didn't have any classes anymore. It seemed that quite a few of his classmates in the acting major had already joined the crew.

Yin Luo was studying directing in the real world, which was also a major, but he hadn't started his internship yet, so he didn't know much about these things.

He sent Duan Muze a message: 【Okay, I know.】

The other party replied quickly: 【Have you finished reading the script?】

Yin Luo: 【Yes.】

Duan Muze: 【Want to see a movie?】

Yin Luo paused for a moment.

In the end, he agreed to go out.

Duan Muze hadn't sent many messages these past few days, but they hadn't stopped contacting each other. Sometimes Yin Luo would receive several WeChat messages after class. They

were mostly asking how he was doing, and offering to treat him to dinner and a movie.

The first few times, Yin Luo refused because of classes or staying home, but refusing all the time wouldn't make the relationship progress.

Anyway, since Duan Muze said he wanted to pursue him, he definitely wouldn't dare to make a move. Lu

Ran saw that Yin Luo was staring at his phone and knew who he was messaging. This time, he wasn't as angry as before, but his expression wasn't very happy.

Yin Luo had just arranged a time and place with Duan Muze when Lu Ran asked him, "Who did you meet?"

"Hmm..." Yin Luo thought for a moment, then told him, "Duan Muze."

Lu Ran knew without guessing: "His shoulder isn't healed yet?"

Yin Luo: "My shoulder is healed, but I have other things to do."

Lu Ran snorted and didn't say anything more. After a while, seeing Yin Luo about to leave, he couldn't help but ask, "What time will you be back tonight?"

Yin Luo hadn't thought about this question because he didn't know what time the other person had booked the movie tickets for.

"You're not not coming back, are you?" Lu Ran frowned, quickly walked to the door, and blocked it with his tall body, as if he wouldn't let Yin Luo leave without his assurance. "The dormitory curfew is 11 p.m., are you coming back before then?" "

..." Yin Luo said quietly, "I'll definitely be back by then."

Only then did Lu Ran step aside.

*

The appointment with Duan Muze was at the school gate. As soon as they arrived, Yin Luo heard two car horns.

The car window slowly rolled down, revealing Duan Muze's handsome face.

His appearance was somewhat gloomy, and his skin had a sickly paleness, giving him an overall air of profound despondency and decay. But at this moment, it was completely unrecognizable.

Seeing that the other person had already unbuckled their seatbelt and opened the car door, Yin Luo was startled and quickly ran over: "

There are a lot of students here, they'll definitely recognize you, don't get out."

Duan Muze stared intently at the pale fingers gripping his sleeve, then fastened the seatbelt back on. As

soon as Yin Luo got into the car, Duan Muze leaned closer, thinking the other person was about to do something strange again, and held his breath. However, Duan Muze simply helped him fasten the seatbelt.

Yin Luo: [He's so obedient, I'm still a little unaccustomed to it.]

System: [After all, the male lead's affection level for the host is already ninety points; at this stage, he can go crazy for love.]

Duan Muze had never been in a relationship before, and only decided to be with Yin Luo after several of her advances.

—He should be a high-and-mighty type.

But Yin Luo could still recall the last time the other person had held him on the sink, staring intently at him, asking with such a cold face, "Can I pursue you?"

The plot seemed to be getting increasingly off...

but the original book didn't say who confessed first, and the system had said that such blank plot points could be freely developed. Yin Luo planned to quickly raise his favorability rating to 95,

without touching anything.

Duan Muze chose a relatively secluded movie theater. Because it was a weekday, there were fewer people. When he went to the front desk to collect his tickets, the staff recognized him but didn't dare to approach him. After

getting the tickets, he turned around and saw Yin Luo carrying two cups of cola and a large bucket of popcorn.

The boy's hands were small; he put the popcorn bucket aside and took out a cup of cola from the bag: "Here you go."

Duan Muze was stunned.

Yinluo's hands were so cold she felt uncomfortable. She urged him, "Don't you drink these when you come to the movie theater?"

Duan Muze replied, "I've never been to a

movie theater before." Yinluo looked at him in surprise, then thought that maybe actors shouldn't just come to public places like this. "Then didn't you go to the movie theater before?"

"Never before either."

Duan Muze's tone was no different from usual.

His expression was indifferent, as if he were saying something like "I didn't eat today," causing Yin Luo to almost not realize he had said something inappropriate.

Previously, in his efforts to win over Duan Muze, Yin Luo had watched all the movies Duan Muze had acted in through the system, including his early, minor roles.

It seemed the Duan family had deliberately made things difficult for him; those roles involved him jumping into water or leaping down steep slopes, and Yin Luo's heart pounded every time he watched him perform those dangerous stunts.

At that time, Yin Luo had wondered—why was Duan Muze so capable of enduring hardship?

The original book

only mentioned "living a difficult and impoverished life with his mother," which was far from summarizing Duan Muze's childhood.

Perhaps he had already experienced even more difficult times.

Yin Luo suddenly felt somewhat guilty towards Duan Muze; he had only treated him as a target for his pursuit, yet the other man liked him because of these hardships. A

warm touch brought Yin Luo back to his senses. Several times he had felt that the man's palms weren't smooth, even bearing faint calluses.

Perhaps he should be nicer to Duan Muze.

Duan Muze noticed he was lost in thought: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." Yin Luo picked up the popcorn bucket next to her, pursed her lips and thought for a moment, "You don't seem to like sweets, so I bought a bucket."

"If you want to try some, you can get some from me."

"If there's any that aren't sweet next time, I'll buy you a bucket too."

Duan Muze was stunned.

After a while, he felt a little dry in his throat: "...Yeah."

The mechanical voice reminding people to check tickets sounded, and the bucket of popcorn looked particularly large in Yin Luo's hand: "Let's go, it's about to start."

The two walked side by side to the ticket gate. Duan Muze's gaze swept around; the couples around him were also holding buckets of popcorn and drinks.

He had never been to a movie theater before.

Back when he was in school, movie theaters were rare, but many of his classmates had been. But the price of a movie ticket was a week's living expenses for him.

Besides, Liu Nan wouldn't allow him to go.

And now, he was like an ordinary person, queuing to get his ticket checked, holding a drink, with Yin Luo next to him.

They looked like a couple.

He had never imagined he could live like this.

Duan Muze moved closer to Yin Luo. The boy's face was small, and his lips looked soft and sweet—he knew exactly how sweet they were.

He felt that this gradual, step-by-step approach was the right thing to do. He shouldn't force Yin Luo, nor should he be consumed by jealousy because other men were courting him.

He should give him his best and let him know—he liked him.

*

Yin Luo was still waiting in line to have his ticket checked when he felt his hand go empty. Turning his head, he saw that Duan Muze had taken his popcorn and cola.

He asked hesitantly, "Are you hungry?"

"I'll take them." Duan Muze hesitated for a moment, then added, "I've seen other people's boyfriends help them too."

Yin Luo

was speechless .

Fine, he'd take them…it fit his playboy persona perfectly. But this person was too close, constantly rubbing against his shoulder.

Yin Luo looked up, wanting him to move aside a bit, but inadvertently noticed his ear piercing.

It's normal for actors to have pierced ears, but the area around Duan Muze's ear piercing wasn't smooth. Aside from some visible, winding scars, his ear was also missing a small patch compared to a normal ear.

Perhaps noticing the boy's gaze, Duan Muze asked, "What are you looking at?"

Yin Luo replied, "You seem to have pierced ears. When did you get them?"

"When I was very young." Duan Muze chuckled softly, lowering his voice, "What? You want to get them too?" Yin Luo

immediately waved his hand.

He had indeed considered it when he was in junior high, but after searching online for photos of inflamed and swollen ears after getting them, he immediately gave up.

He couldn't handle that during his rebellious adolescence, let alone now that he was older; he couldn't bear the pain.

But he was still a little curious, so he asked Duan Muze, "Did it swell up after you got it? Did it hurt?"

"No, it didn't." Duan Muze held the popcorn bucket under his arm. "If it hurts... it's probably like being stung by an ant."

An ant sting... Yin Luo had never been stung before, and was lightly biting his lip, thinking about what that kind of pain would be like, when he felt his earlobe being touched—

Duan Muze was leaning down, his warm, slender fingers pressing on a small piece of soft flesh on Yin Luo's earlobe.

He gently pinched it inward.

The soft flesh wiggled.

"About like this."

*

The whole movie theater was quiet, not many people were there, and the movie was a rather slow-burning art film.

After an hour and a half, the two of them finished watching the movie, and Duan Muze drove to a relatively secluded restaurant to eat. They had watched the movie, were full, and the man was particularly obedient today, not suddenly kissing him, but quietly driving him to his dormitory.

It wasn't even dark yet.

Yin Luo unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, but Duan Muze got out with him. He assumed the other person wanted to visit their dorm, so he said, "Are you coming to my dorm? If you are, you'll need to show your ID to the dorm manager."

"I'll bring it next time. I won't go today." Duan Muze walked to the trunk, took out a bag, and handed it to Yin Luo.

Yin Luo took it, not really intending to open it, but just casually glancing down—inside was a wooden rose.

It was polished very smoothly

and looked very realistic, clearly handmade.

Yin Luo took the item out of the bag: "Did you carve this yourself?"

"Yes."

Yin Luo was surprised: "You know how to do this?"

"I did it when I was little."

"That's amazing..." Yin Luo exclaimed sincerely.

Duan Muze had originally wanted to give her roses; he had always felt that Yin Luo and roses were a good match, and he had also overheard Yin Luo and Shen Qing talking on set—the boy liked roses.

But giving a large bouquet of roses downstairs at the dorm was a bit too conspicuous, and he didn't want to put Yin Luo in a difficult position, so he carved one out of wood himself.

He learned this wood carving skill from an old man who ran a stall next door when he was a child, and after learning it, he helped out there, using the money from selling the wood as tuition.

He had prepared himself for being disliked, but Yinluo unexpectedly praised him.

With their parting imminent, Duan Muze really wanted to hug Yinluo, but remembering what she had said last time, he held back.

*

After Duan Muze left, Yinluo entered the dormitory with the gift, only to be stopped by the dormitory manager.

The manager often received his packages and recognized him: "Yinluo, right? A bouquet of flowers was delivered this afternoon, come and sign for it."

Yinluo looked at the large bunch of roses on the manager's desk: "..."

He probably knew who had sent it.

Carrying the large bouquet of roses upstairs, Yinluo felt his face burning as passing classmates glanced at him. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he reached his dorm room.

The dorm door wasn't locked, but no one was home.

Yinluo put the flowers and bag down and immediately messaged Shang Chengnin: [Did you send these roses?]

Shang Chengnin quickly replied: [Sorry, I ordered them half a month ago and forgot to change the address.] A while

later, he sent another message: [Did you receive them? Do you like them? You said you liked roses last time.]

Yinluo did like roses, but why did they all seem to like sending them?

So he replied: [Received them, but I don't have room in my dorm, so I have to take them back to your apartment.]

Shang Chengnin: [Coming tonight?]

Yinluo: [Yes.]

If I have time.

Yinluo didn't look at his phone again. After being out all day, he was a little disgusted by the dust he had picked up, so he grabbed a change of clothes and prepared to take a shower.

The dorm room was air-conditioned and warm, so he only brought a long nightgown and a towel.

*

At this moment, Shang Chengning, who was off work, left his office.

His female assistant, seeing it was still early, assumed he needed to speak with her: "Mr. Shang, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I can go home after finishing Mr. Wang's project."

"Okay. Take care, Mr. Shang—"

Why did Mr. Shang's pace seem much faster than usual?

Shang Chengning didn't bring a driver; he drove himself to the apartment. After hearing that Yin Luo would be coming today, he had been somewhat distracted.

He and the young man hadn't seen each other for a while; their relationship needed time to develop, and he needed to dedicate as much of his free time as possible to her.

So, the usually busy President Shang spent two hours in the kitchen, meticulously preparing a candlelight dinner, just to await Yin Luo's arrival. What

he didn't expect was that the young man he had been longing for day and night was now having his snow-white legs held by another man's hands, being pulled onto the cold tile counter, and his mouth was immediately and forcefully sealed.

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