“Alright, I’ll shuffle for you.” Lou Wan enthusiastically picked up the deck of cards from the coffee table, unwrapping them and moving swiftly. With a flurry of motions, he cut, shuffled, flipped, spun, and shot the cards, performing fan spreads, staircases, and more. Switching effortlessly between one-handed and two-handed techniques, his fingers moved so fast it was dizzying to watch. The girls gasped repeatedly in awe.
What a show-off!
Yun Jia was thoroughly unimpressed in her heart.
Unfortunately, in the first round, Yun Jia ended up being the unlucky one. Amid the jeers and laughter, she was forced to choose between truth or dare.
Knowing full well that Lou Wan must have tampered with the cards, she regretted letting her guard down and could only shoot him a fierce glare before reluctantly choosing truth.
The lovestruck girls burst into giggles before pushing Wan Wan forward to ask the question. Wan Wan cleared her throat dramatically and asked, “Please answer: who was your first kiss?”
Yun Jia’s face immediately turned bright red, as if set on fire. “I haven’t had one!”
“What?” The group stared at her in disbelief. “No way!”
“I haven’t!” she insisted firmly.
Still, a slight unease lingered in her heart, a faint sense of guilt for some reason.
But… that didn’t really count, did it?
It happened the evening she received her acceptance letter from P University. It was a sweltering dusk. Overjoyed, she had barely eaten before rushing out of the house.
By then, Lou Wan was already doing well for himself. He had purchased a two-bedroom apartment not far from their old alley. When she arrived, the door was wide open. He was squatting in front of the computer, dominating the online gaming platform. The points on his screen were so high she couldn’t even count the digits. When he saw her, he quickly shut down the computer and asked, “Got the letter?”
She ignored him. “Why are you gambling again?”
Looking aggrieved, he replied, “It’s just a game…”
“Aren’t you still playing cards? What about the promise you made to your grandma?” she huffed angrily. “I’m never talking to you again!”
She slammed the door and stomped down the stairs. He chased after her. “A-Yun! A-Yun!”
She ran quickly, but he caught up to her at the corner, grabbing her arm with such force that she stumbled backward. He instinctively steadied her, but as he did, his lips brushed against her forehead—soft, like a feather.
She froze, stunned. He seemed just as dumbfounded. The world around them fell silent. His chest rose and fell, his breathing quickening. The sound-activated light in the stairwell went out, leaving them in darkness. The summer night had no moon, and the only thing she could see were his eyes, faintly glowing.
Suddenly, she felt scared. His burning lips pressed down on hers—clumsy, hesitant, but deliberate.
The kiss startled them both. She shoved him away and bolted down the stairs, her heart pounding wildly even after she got home.
That entire summer, she avoided him—sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally.
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