Isn't This a Contract Marriage? Why Are You Sneaking Kisses! - Chapter 23

“Wuyu, how did your exams go?”

Song Wuyu lowered his gaze to the red pulp in the bowl, his beautiful eyes hidden in the shadows, not daring to look directly at the person beside him. He stammered: “I sliced… some watermelon for you.”

The sliced watermelon was soaked in clear water; the bright red flesh formed a sharp contrast with the boy’s faded black shirt.

He hadn’t fully inherited his father’s intellectual issues, but he was slightly affected. Since birth, Song Wuyu’s thinking was slower than average; he often had to react for a long time before understanding what someone was saying.

He had been bullied many times as a child for this reason, and he started school several years later than his peers. He relied entirely on the help of Cheng Muxia’s family, who had moved to the village midway. Cheng Muxia had a tough and cheerful personality and often protected Song Wuyu at school.

Therefore, Cheng Muxia was used to Song Wuyu not answering her questions. She leaned close to his ear and asked again.

“Where do you plan to go to school?”

Song Wuyu blinked slowly. As his eyelashes trembled, his head drooped, and his spine curved into a fragile arc, like a wildflower being pressed down.

“In Lan City.”

His slight mental slowness caused his academic progress to lag behind his peers. Even under the tutelage of the top student Cheng Muxia, he only barely passed the undergraduate cutoff line.

Naturally, there weren’t many elite schools available to him; in the end, he had chosen a local ordinary college.

Cheng Muxia wasn’t too surprised by this answer, though she felt a bit of regret that the distance between them would be so great.

She simply took a piece of watermelon from the plate Song Wuyu was holding and popped it into her mouth. The girl was beautiful; even with a loose ponytail, she was bright enough to draw every eye.

Song Wuyu’s gaze, hidden behind his thick lenses, stared blankly at her, unmoving.

After finishing a piece of watermelon, Cheng Muxia casually wiped the juice from her lips before speaking: “I got into a university in the Capital. From now on, we’ll only see each other during the holidays. Take good care of yourself. If anyone bullies you, call me.”

She made a hand gesture like a telephone.

Hearing the words “Capital University,” the emotion on Song Wuyu’s face flickered for a moment before returning to normal. He smiled and nodded at the girl.

Cheng Muxia turned around and pulled a glasses case from her pocket. Under Song Wuyu’s somewhat bewildered expression, she took out a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

She reached out and removed the heavy glasses from his face. His eyes, suddenly exposed to direct light through the clear lenses, squinted instinctively from the glare.

Moisture filled his honey-colored pupils; his eyes were shrouded in a misty haze.

Song Wuyu was nearsighted. His old glasses were a pair discarded by a teacher. Although his prescription worsened every year, there was simply no extra money to buy a new pair.

As Cheng Muxia put the new glasses on the boy, she explained: “The birthday gift I prepared for you before I leave.”

“How many years have you been wearing those old ones?”

Song Wuyu stood quietly as she fitted the glasses. Through the clear lenses, the world that had always been a blur suddenly became sharp.

He looked at the Cheng Muxia before him—looked at those eyes: bright, sunny, and cheerful.

Just like her future.

Through those eyes, he saw his own reflection.

The cowardly, lowly, and mediocre version of himself.

Song Wuyu lowered his eyes gently. That hidden affection sank slowly, falling into a bottomless depth.

Having fitted the glasses, Cheng Muxia reached out her hand: “Hey, where’s mine? Today is my birthday too.”

“Don’t tell me you only prepared watermelon for me.”

She smiled brilliantly. Though she was asking for a gift, her tone was purely joking. “If you didn’t prepare a gift, your punishment is coming over to my house tonight to help out in the kitchen.”

She was inviting him.

Song Wuyu shook his head.

Cheng Muxia arched an eyebrow, about to ask why.

Song Wuyu took her outstretched wrist. A crystal bracelet, still carrying the warmth of his touch, dropped from his fingertips, sliding down slowly until it settled on her wrist.

It was a string of beautiful blue crystals.

Cheng Muxia’s favorite color.

The girl froze in a rare moment of daze.

Song Wuyu, mimicking the gestures of pleasing he had seen before, leaned forward. Submissively and gently, he pressed his face lightly against her hand.

It was an incredibly ambiguous posture, but coming from the boy, there wasn’t a hint of flippancy—only a lingering, endless attachment and reluctance.

He said, “Happy birthday.”

“Sister.”

His warm breath hit her palm; a cozy orange scent rushed into her nose.

Song Wuyu looked at her, his long lashes casting butterfly-wing shadows beneath his eyes. In those stunningly beautiful eyes sat a sour, suppressed love, blurred by moisture, rippling out like layers of honeyed water.

Like a stray cat about to be separated from its owner, with only a few years of life left, not knowing if they would ever meet again after this parting.

Yet he didn’t dare throw a tantrum, didn’t dare howl, didn’t dare try to make her stay. He only leaned against her side submissively and lingeringly, as he had countless times before, only daring to beg for a final bit of pity.

Xu Tang’s breath hitched. She could hear her own heart beating violently.

“Okay, cut—!”

The moment Song Yuan’s voice fell, Xu Tang immediately yanked her hand back, the tips of her ears flushed an unnatural red.

She turned her face away to unfasten the crystal bracelet.

Shen Silie took off the glasses, his expression returning to normal.

At the judges’ table, the group looked at each other.

The middle-aged man who had initially opposed him stopped talking.

The woman with the gemstone earrings pursed her lips and spoke first: “No need to audition the others. I think he is very suitable for Song Wuyu.”

Song Yuan also nodded, the scrutiny in her eyes clearly fading. she instructed Shen Silie: “Time is tight. Go back and memorize the lines. You’ll officially join the crew in a week.”

Within half a day, the time and location were confirmed, and the contract was signed efficiently.

The role was officially landed.

Shen Silie felt a surge of relief. As soon as he got home, he stripped and hopped into the shower. He had just finished washing and was lying on his bed, ready to rest—

When he suddenly bolted upright.

!!!

Crap. His invitation.

Sure enough, when he opened his phone, there were several unread messages.