Chapter 171: A Date?
After convincing Xiao Jing to stay home, Li Mu and Yu Fan took the bus to the center of the county town.
The town was much livelier on the weekend than usual. Even though most people in their twenties or thirties had gone to work in big cities, the students still studying there gave the place a lot of energy.
Li Mu and Yu Fan walked side by side, about half a meter apart. On both sides of the street were old, low buildings. The road was crowded with people, and the trees above were so thick that sunlight barely came through.
The buildings in the town center were usually short, no more than seven or eight floors. You only saw taller buildings in the suburbs.
The atmosphere between the two of them felt a bit awkward. Since they got on the bus, they hadn’t talked much, both were mostly looking at their phones.
Li Mu would glance at Yu Fan from time to time and noticed that his face looked a little red.
Was this… a date?
She couldn’t help but wonder. For some reason, she started feeling a bit nervous.
"Want to get some milk tea? I used to go to school around here and often got drinks from this place. It's pretty good," Yu Fan said, stopping in front of a milk tea shop.
"Sure," she replied, not turning him down, even though she didn’t really like milk tea.
It was too expensive. Back in elementary school, one cup cost just 3 to 5 yuan. But now, even simple milk tea with pearls or jelly usually costs around 10 yuan.
Yu Fan went to the counter, and not long after, came back holding two cups of milk tea.
He smiled with his eyes slightly squinted and said, "Try it. It’s getting cold, so I got you cocoa milk tea."
"Okay."
Li Mu took the drink but suddenly remembered something Yu Fan said last night. She looked up and asked, "Doesn’t drinking milk tea make people gain weight?"
"You're only a little over 50 kilograms. Why worry about getting fat?"
Liar! Last night you secretly called me fat!
Even though she had been half-asleep, she heard it clearly and didn’t forget it.
Grumbling about Yu Fan in her heart, she took a sip of the milk tea. It tasted like warm, melted chocolate, and she narrowed her eyes slightly.
She didn’t especially like chocolate, but having something hot in winter did feel nice. Her whole body seemed to relax.
"How is it?" he asked.
"A little too sweet," she answered.
After that one sip, Li Mu just held the cup in her hands to keep warm.
The temperature was around 20°C, the cold wind on the street still made her exposed skin feel chilly.
"You seem to like lighter flavors?" Yu Fan asked, trying to learn more about what she liked. Some things were easy to guess, but others he had to ask.
"I guess. I just don’t like things that are too greasy or too sweet... except fried chicken legs."
Maybe because small talk like this felt awkward, Yu Fan quickly changed the subject to games.
Even though Li Mu wasn’t really into playing games like many people her age, she loved watching game livestreams. So as long as it was a popular game, she could usually join in the conversation.
They kept talking as they walked. The space between them slowly closed, until their shoulders bumped.
Li Mu looked up at Yu Fan and saw him quickly move a little to the side, looking a bit flustered.
This guy... Last time he acted all bold and confident. Now he was backing off like a scared quail.
She wasn’t really expecting anything, it just felt strange seeing such a big change in his attitude.
Li Mu didn’t usually enjoy shopping, but chatting and walking with Yu Fan like this, it felt like they had endless things to talk about. She could clearly feel her mood lifting. Little by little, the cold look on her face softened, and even her steps became lighter.
Yu Fan noticed her change, and his eyes lit up.
He wiped the sweat from his hands on the edge of his shirt, swallowed nervously, and carefully reached out from behind, trying to hug Li Mu around the waist.
Wait, would Li Mu even be okay with something this close?
Last time he just held her hand, and she already struggled so much.
"What food did you say you’d bring back for Xiao Jing?"
He quickly pulled his hand back and pretended nothing happened as he replied, "Maybe McDonald’s or KFC. Kids love that stuff."
"Isn’t Wallace good enough?" Li Mu frowned a little. "At least Xiao Jing won’t get a stomachache from it anyway."
The local Wallace restaurants always seemed to have some problem, maybe the ingredients. Every time Li Mu was tempted by the cheap prices and gave it a try, she’d end up with an upset stomach the whole day.
"That feels a bit too careless."
"True."
They didn’t really have a destination in mind, and after walking for a while, they arrived at the town’s public square.
Li Mu’s legs were feeling sore. Ever since she started dressing and acting more feminine, she hadn’t walked this far in one go.
She found a stone bench and sat down, yawning as she looked at the nearby stalls, the kind where people play balloon-popping or ring toss games.
Yu Fan also plopped down, leaning against the back of the bench. Suddenly, he realized that even though he and Li Mu hadn’t officially said anything about their feelings, the way they were getting along already felt like they were dating.
So… hugging her waist should be fine, right?
He glanced at Li Mu’s slim waist, and the idea popped back into his head.
His hands were extra sweaty today. After wiping them again on his pants, Yu Fan slowly reached out his hand.
"Do you think Liu Shenglong will be okay?"
Li Mu suddenly spoke, which startled Yu Fan and made him quickly pull his hand back. He sat up straight and answered seriously.
"Of course. I don’t have such bad luck with what I say."
"Good."
"Want to play the balloon-popping game?" he asked, trying to change the subject and distract her while sneaking his hand out again.
"Not really. I was just thinking, if I win one of those big plush toys and give it to Xiao Jing, she’d probably be really happy."
"Then why don’t we buy one for her?"
But just then, Li Mu seemed to sense something. She turned her head and asked, "What are you doing?"
Thankfully, Yu Fan pulled his hand back quickly and wasn’t caught.
"Nothing, I was just reaching for my phone."
"Hey! Brother!"
A sudden shout came from behind them. Li Mu and Yu Fan turned around and saw some guy in the crowd looking very excited.
"Just hug her already! Damn, you’re such a coward! You’re making me anxious just watching!"
Yu Fan froze. Then, without thinking, he quickly reached out and hugged Li Mu’s waist.
Her body stiffened, and her face instantly turned bright red. She stood up to leave.
He stood up too, still hugging her waist. When he turned his head, he saw her blush had spread all the way down to her neck.
"Why are you hugging me?!" Li Mu whispered angrily, "People are watching!"
"It’s fine. I already hugged you anyway, there's no way I'd suddenly let go of you."
He had already taken the leap, there was no going back now.
He could clearly feel that Li Mu was walking a bit stiffly. But surprisingly, other than a small protest, she didn’t try very hard to push him away.
That made Yu Fan even happier. His eyes narrowed with joy as he smiled.
"Doing this in public..."
"So you mean it’s okay if we do it at home?"
Li Mu’s ears turned completely red. She looked up and gave Yu Fan a soft but embarrassed glare with her big eyes.
She knew Yu Fan liked her, but… how did he just go ahead and hug her like that?
Her mind was a mess.
He hadn’t even officially confessed, right? They weren’t even a couple yet. Wasn’t this a bit too close?