By the time they reached Central Street, evening had fully descended, and the neon lights on the street gradually lit up. Jiang Baizhou and Cen Jin strolled holding hands for over half an hour before choosing a restaurant to sit down.
After dinner at the restaurant, it was already eight-thirty. They drove straight back to the villa neighborhood. Looking out at the two villas that were very close to each other, Cen Jin pondered seriously, feeling very conflicted, and turned to ask, "Jiang Baizhou, should we tell them about us dating?"
Jiang Baizhou turned off the car, looked at her frowning face, and chuckled lightly: "If they ask, we’ll tell them, otherwise we won’t. Even if we do tell, there’s no issue."
"Okay." Jiang Baizhou’s words gave her confidence. Although she didn’t intend to hide anything, she felt telling them abruptly might scare them.
"Then I’ll head in first." Cen Jin unbuckled the seatbelt, grabbed her bag, and prepared to leave the car after saying this.
"Hold on." Jiang Baizhou grabbed her wrist.
"Are you going to the studio tomorrow?"
"Yes! I have several appointments tomorrow."
"What time are you leaving?"
"Hmm... Same time as before!"
"Not avoiding me anymore?"
Cen Jin froze, blinking in confusion, suddenly recalling how she’d deliberately left early and returned late to avoid him a few days ago. But now was definitely not the time to admit it, so she quickly denied: "When did I avoid you? I was just busy those days, okay?"
"Yeah, busy." Jiang Baizhou nodded and deliberately dragged the tone, not exposing her. Her evasive expression and tightly clasped hands were already telling.
Those two simple words held an obvious deeper meaning. Cen Jin glared at him and said: "By the way, it’s September, school’s started, have you, as an associate professor, opened courses?"
"So that’s the day after tomorrow?"
"Alright then, I’m heading back."
"Wait." Jiang Baizhou still didn’t loosen his grip on her wrist, his sharp eyes turning gentle: "Did you forget something?"
"What?" Cen Jin asked reflexively, still confused.
Cen Jin shook her head honestly: "I don’t know!"
"This." As the words barely fell, Jiang Baizhou leaned forward, his large hand sliding around her waist, pulling her into his embrace. His cool lips gently landed on her pink lips, murmuring in a deep, sexy voice: "Goodnight."
Feeling the warmth on her lips, Cen Jin’s mind went blank; she completely forgot to react. When she regained her senses, Jiang Baizhou was resting one hand on the steering wheel, tilting his head, with playful humor in his eyes, looking at her. Instantly, two blushes crept onto her fair face, and she raised her hand to cover half of her face: "Mhm, goodnight." After saying this, she quickly pushed open the car door and ran out.
Watching her silhouette merge into the night, heading towards the villa, Jiang Baizhou once again smiled genuinely and happily from the bottom of his heart.
Having lived for twenty-six years, today was arguably the happiest and most joyful day of his life. After all these years, she... finally belonged to him.