◎Let’s Officially Date◎
In this era of rapidly developing internet information, where any emotion could be conveyed through a text message, all human feelings could be transmitted in the time it took to edit a single message.
Even if they were in a foreign country, separated by thousands of miles, one could still let the person they wanted to reach know their thoughts and feelings right away.
And just moments ago, Song Chan had received a confession that seemed to have vanished long ago, delivered in paper form.
It came from Su Yicen eleven years earlier, when he was only seventeen.
Only upon seeing this note did she understand that not only could a long dark crush stun one for life, but discovering that the person she liked had quietly loved her for so long without her knowing—this belated realization, this irrepressible emotion, could also send waves surging through the heart.
Under the dim yellow light of the ceiling fixture, the intentions Su Yicen had hidden beneath correction tape in his youthful years long ago were exposed.
Song Chan held the note up with both hands, gazing at those two small lines of hidden text.
This confession, which had crossed eleven years to reach her, still sparked a pounding heartbeat in that instant of surprise, even though she had long passed the age of youthful awkwardness.
It was only now that Song Chan reacted.
So when Su Yicen had said earlier that he had liked her since long ago, he had not been teasing her.
In fact, as early as eleven years ago, he had already taken action on his feelings for her, but perhaps due to his youthful shyness and fear of rejection, he lacked the courage to express his love outright.
The Su Yicen of that time could only hide his intentions beneath the correction tape.
Unconsciously, she relaxed her grip, crumpling the edge of the paper slightly.
Song Chan quickly sat up and carefully smoothed out the note in her hand. But when no more light passed through it, those two small lines of text vanished again as if they had never existed, leaving only Su Yicen’s contact information—an attempt to cover up that only made it more obvious.
Song Chan suddenly felt grateful that Su Yicen had left her this note.
Grateful that his feelings had not been forgotten with the passage of time.
Grateful that, though late, she had discovered his confession.
Her heart remained in shocked turmoil for a long time. Song Chan held up the note to the light again, and as the light pierced through the paper, the boy’s intentions hidden beneath the correction tape reappeared once more.
【Song Chan, I like you】
【It started from the first time we met, even before I knew what liking someone was.】
—Su Yicen
These two not-so-long sentences, Song Chan had read many times, to the point she could recite them.
Yet every time she saw them again, the surging emotions in her heart still rippled like waves in layers.
This was Su Yicen’s confession from his days of youthful innocence.
Back then, he was not yet the top traffic idol, and she was not yet the Fashion editor. They had not yet reached the pinnacle of their respective fields; they were just two utterly ordinary students.
Perhaps it was precisely this ordinariness that made the young Su Yicen too timid to confess, causing Song Chan to only learn of his feelings now.
Song Chan had met eight-year-old Su Yicen. He had been a little fatty who never smiled, always with a stern face as he clutched his book, showing no trace of a child’s demeanor.
So when they first met, she had pegged him as a boring person.
Song Chan had also met twelve-year-old Su Yicen, but she had little memory of that encounter. Even straining to recall, she could not picture what he had looked like at twelve.
She only remembered him saying that during that meeting, she had shared her dream with him—to grow up and marry a big star.
At an age when she did not yet understand what liking or love truly meant, Song Chan’s offhand impractical dream had become Su Yicen’s goal, the one he pursued to this day.
Su Yicen not only wanted to make Song Chan’s dream come true but also to make his own feelings legitimate and open.
Song Chan had also met seventeen-year-old Su Yicen, and it was their most embarrassing encounter. After breaking up with her first boyfriend and getting blackout drunk on the street, she had been picked up and carried home by him.
Song Chan did not know what Su Yicen had felt upon seeing her like that. She only remembered that after he got her home, his grandfather had scolded him harshly. Later, after Su He’s plane crash with her husband, he had been sent abroad to study.
From then on, their youthful intersections ended, and that boring little fatty gradually faded from Song Chan’s memory.
Fortunately, during their last meeting, Su Yicen had left her this note.
Eleven years later, she finally discovered the dark crush that boy had hidden behind the correction tape.
Song Chan would never know how high her place was in Su Yicen’s heart.
Even her memories of the past were somewhat hazy. But now, facing twenty-eight-year-old Su Yicen, after this period of time together, after her heart fluttered time and again,
Song Chan recognized her own feelings and could face the affection that had already taken root and sprouted in her heart.
It all began in their youth, with the QQ she had failed to add in time.
Whether it was Su Yicen’s unwavering original intent or his long-laid plans,
either way, Su Yicen had taken the initiative to approach her so many times. Now it was her turn to take a step toward him.
The last time Song Chan had logged into QQ was to add Su Yicen’s contact.
This time, she was here to respond to his confession from eleven years ago.
The black avatar ‘c’ had been buried under a pile of push notifications. Song Chan scrolled for a while before finding him.
She opened the chat window, and just like last time, there was the green online indicator.
Song Chan remembered Su Yicen saying this QQ account was known only to her; he had created it specifically to add her.
Her fingertips hovered over the screen for a long time, but she hesitated to type a single key.
She had a ton of things she wanted to say, but when it came time to express them, she did not know how.
After a while, Song Chan finally sent two short words.
Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【Are you there?】
After sending them, she felt it was a bit ridiculous. But the reply came quickly.
c: 【Yes.】
c: 【Whenever you message me, I’m always here.】
c: 【Using QQ? I thought I misheard the notification just now.】
c: 【Only the second time hearing that sound. It’s kinda unfamiliar.】
She knew Su Yicen could not stay serious for more than two seconds before reverting to form.
Song Chan could tell he was subtly complaining that, despite adding each other on QQ for so long, aside from the initial friend request, this was her first time initiating a chat.
Su Yicen, who never used QQ, kept this account logged in at all times simply to preserve this contact that belonged only to her.
After hesitating for a long time, Song Chan finally typed on the screen and replied.
Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【Just now… I received a confession…】
c: 【Bragging to me about it?】
c: 【Song Chan!】
c: 【Do you think I’m too good-tempered? Or too easy to bully?】
She had guessed he would react this way, so Song Chan offered no explanation and continued messaging.
Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【It was from seventeen-year-old Su Yicen to sixteen-year-old Song Chan.】
Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【Though it took eleven years to discover, maybe that’s for the best.】
Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【If sixteen-year-old Chanchan had seen it, she probably would’ve been clueless on how to respond.】
Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【But twenty-seven-year-old Chanchan just confirmed her feelings. She wants to officially date Cen Cen Brother.】
After sending that line, Song Chan’s hand trembled uncontrollably.
She switched to a formal address and asked him seriously.
Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【So, Su Yicen, are you willing?】
Su Yicen was in the middle of filming his final scene in Paris, the most important one.
He stood under the spotlights, wearing the tuxedo Song Chan had helped revise, the light hitting him as if the stars in the sky could not compare to his shine.
But at that moment, Su Yicen’s heart was filled to the brim with Song Chan, far away in Hangbei. His mind and eyes were stuffed full of her.
Su Yicen’s reply took a long time, but Song Chan finally received it.
c: 【Song Chan, I’ve waited so many years. This time, let me ask you to wait a bit.】
c: 【Some words are better said in person.】
She had not finished typing in the input box when he sent another message.
c: 【I booked a flight for tomorrow. Should arrive in the evening.】
c: 【Can you come pick me up?】
Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【Don’t you have two more days of filming?】
c: 【I’ll make them work overtime with me. Finish tonight.】
After a while, he replied again.
c: 【Chanchan, I’m too impatient. I can’t wait.】
—
The next day, in the evening.
At Hangbei International Airport, the direct flight from Paris landed smoothly.
Avoiding the peak hours, Song Chan arrived even earlier than the fans who had somehow learned of Su Yicen’s return today.
She was directionally challenged. Even though she had been to this terminal many times, she still got disoriented every time.
Fortunately, this time she did not need to navigate; she just followed the fans coming to pick him up.
Song Chan was fully disguised in baggy clothes that hid her figure, with a mask and hat covering her completely.
In the crowd, she spotted Su Yicen at a glance. His fans reacted half a beat slower.
Blending in with the surging fans, Song Chan slowly approached him among them.
Su Yicen wore sunglasses that could not hide the searching look in his eyes. Protected by Feng Zheng and security in the middle, his gaze swept over the fans, paused, and fixed on Song Chan, who was nearly knocked over.
“Careful, don’t push.”
Su Yicen’s expression sharpened slightly as he warned the security nearby not to shove the fans too hard, though his eyes stayed on Song Chan.
After his cool, low voice rang out, it was drowned by the fans’ even louder excited screams.
As Song Chan was about to be pushed by the oncoming fans, Su Yicen shoved aside security and, in full view of everyone, reached out to shield her.
“I said, be careful.”
His tone carried clear complaint as he tightened his grip on her wrist slightly. It seemed directed at the security beside him, but the deeper meaning was clear only to them.
The surrounding fans, envious of the ‘fan’ Su Yicen had pulled aside, began helping to maintain order.
But with more and more fans crowding in, it became impossible to move. For everyone’s safety, Su Yicen had to detour to the restroom to avoid the crowd first.
Song Chan, fully blended into the fans, waited only a few minutes when her phone vibrated.
She opened it to see a message from him.
Peacock in Full Display: 【Come to exit 2.】
Receiving his message in plain sight made Song Chan’s heart skip. She tugged her hat brim lower and slipped away silently, vanishing into the terminal hall.
She reached exit 2 and spotted the familiar Aston Martin in the parking lot.
As she approached, the interior lights came on. Only Su Yicen was inside.
Song Chan got into the passenger seat and asked, “Where are Feng Zheng and the others?”
Su Yicen replied in a low voice, “I sent them all away. Private matters—they shouldn’t be here.”
Hearing this, Song Chan bit her lip, her hands unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes beneath her.
“I saw it that day…”
Before she could finish, Su Yicen cut her off. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly to hide the uncontrollable tremble from nerves.
He started the car and drove forward. “We’ll talk when we get back. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to control myself…”
His words made Song Chan’s heart pound wildly, so she wisely shut her mouth.
Moonlight and starlight dotted the sky. Hangbei had not seen such a fine night view in a long time; it seemed everything was prepared for tonight’s palpitations.
They rode in silence all the way until the car pulled into the garage of Hermitage Splendor Villa.
After pulling the handbrake, Su Yicen let out a long breath. He turned on the dome light and naturally took Song Chan’s hand. She tightened her grip in response.
Su Yicen turned to her, his dark eyes slightly reddened, as if words he had held back for so long finally had a chance to emerge.
His gentle tone carried indulgence. “Chanchan, you’re so silly. How did it take you this long to figure it out?”
Before she could answer, the moment their eyes met, Su Yicen reached out, caressed her neck, and pulled her toward him.
He missed her so much. Every day and night in Paris, he thought of her. Gentle, fragmented kisses tenderly and intimately occupied her inch by inch. He only tasted shallowly without delving too deeply.
Amidst heavy breaths, he cautiously probed, afraid that he had misheard the night before. “Chanchan, what you said yesterday… it was real, right?”