"There are advantages to each, it's just that becoming a couple raises the threshold. Some actions, like kissing and hugging, should be a natural expression of affection that comes when the relationship naturally progresses, rather than reasons to become a couple."
Xu Musen spoke slowly, lowering his head to look at An Nuannuan, "In any case, the identity of a couple carries more weight in terms of responsibility. Friends can easily make up after a dispute, but once a couple breaks up, it's basically impossible to reconcile. So, if you haven't recognized true affection, it's better not to cross that line too hastily."
As Xu Musen spoke, he also felt a wave of melancholy in his heart.
In his previous life, he and Yao Mingyue definitely had feelings for each other, but they both only stood from their own perspectives.
They both ignored how the other felt.
Maybe he had long confused the dependency and friendship of childhood sweethearts with love.
An Nuannuan nodded vaguely as though half-asleep, half-awake.
She didn't know, but as she looked at Xu Musen, it seemed she could read some complex feelings in his eyes.
She pursed her lips, her mind wandering to things from the distant past
"Xu Musen, do you still like..."
At this moment, a figure ran over from the side.
It was He Qiang, wearing a black T-shirt, his tanned skin almost blending into the darkness as evening approached, his white teeth the only thing visible.
The pair of startled young lovers, especially the girl who looked up to see a dark figure leaping from the edge of the field,
Looked just like a member of an African cannibal tribe.
Damn, why do they look as if they've seen a ghost?
"I was just passing by; carry on," he said.
He Qiang gestured with his hand and then went to find Xu Musen.
The mood of the young couple, now disturbed, turned their attention above and saw two other people; their faces flushed, they quickly left with the girl dragging the boy away.
"Interrupting others' good times, are we?" Xu Musen greeted He Qiang with a laugh.
"Who told them to sneak around? An Nuannuan, hello," He Qiang said as he greeted her.
"Hello," An Nuannuan nodded.
He Qiang sat down next to Xu Musen and sighed, "The three of us sitting here really gives off the vibe of being back in high school's backyard."
"Yeah, we had just met back then," Xu Musen nodded in agreement.
"I had just met Lil' Black [He Qiang], but I knew you from before," An Nuannuan shook her head.
Xu Musen was taken aback for a moment, figuring it must be because An Nuannuan always picked up the flowers whenever he confessed his love.
There probably wasn't anyone in the whole school who didn't know him.
"Hahaha, Moriko, you could say you're a celebrity at our school. Who doesn't know you?" He Qiang reveled in schadenfreude.
Although he always felt it was a pity that his good brother had given up so easily on his wealthy childhood sweetheart,
An Nuannuan was also wealthy, and besides, she seemed like a delicate beauty easy to fall for.
Most guys still tend to prefer a somewhat frailer girl.
They feel more important that way.
Every man has a bit of that 'emperor' mentality; it's normal.
But An Nuannuan merely pursed her lips slightly as if to say her 'knowing' him wasn't like that.
"Cough, cough, let's not bring up that dark past," Xu Musen was really not keen on recalling his days as a lovestruck fool.
He Qiang looked at Xu Musen and An Nuannuan, who had known each other for two or three months now.
While not a long time, in this era of fast-food-style relationships,
Being able to hold back from confessing for a month is considered patient enough.
For most people, a couple of dates with mutual attraction is all it takes to establish a relationship.
At the very least, they'd act as a couple under the guise of friendship without declaring it openly.
Unfortunately for Yao Mingyue, Xu Musen's childhood sweetheart and school beauty,
She wasn't inferior to An Nuannuan in terms of credentials, and the two of them had completely different temperaments and characters.
He Qiang, having grown up with Xu Musen, knew the families' situations of both Xu Musen and Yao Mingyue, as well as the relationship between the two families.
He had thought that it would be ideal if Xu Musen ended up with Yao Mingyue.
But looking at the current situation, Xu Musen and An Nuannuan seemed to be drawing closer.
Knowing his good friend well, He Qiang understood that at heart, Xu Musen was someone who treasured his relationships deeply. Could he really just ignore his own childhood sweetheart?
The bright voice of the stage host traveled through the speakers.
"Next, Yao Mingyue from the Business Administration Department will perform a song for us!"
"Again with the singing, it's so... Wait, who?!"
He Qiang started to speak instinctively but suddenly paused.
Xu Musen's gaze stalled as well, his eyes swiftly turning toward the stage.
An Nuannuan, upon hearing that name, quickly turned her large eyes toward the stage.
Xu Musen's brows twitched slightly. Yao Mingyue, who came from a family of privilege, was naturally skilled in music and dance.
But she always disdained performing these talents in public. In her words,
She pursued the arts for personal enjoyment, not to please others.
Therefore, she seldom performed on stage.
And certainly not at such trivial occasions.
Xu Musen suddenly remembered that Yao Mingyue had asked him if he'd be at today's performance evening...
Not only they were astonished, Lin Daiyu, Zhao Lianmai, as well as An Nuannuan's roommates, and even Li Rundong,
All turned their eyes toward the stage at that moment.