30. There will be lingering kisses in the evening breeze.

Lu Jincheng had waited for a dozen seconds, yet Zhong Ruixi still hadn't shown any reaction.

This meant she was still wavering, like a small deer standing on the edge of a cliff, uncertain whether to advance or retreat.

For a girl, at this moment, one should definitely not push her or force her to respond as you wish; it would only make her more tense.

What he needed to do was change the situation in front of him and continue with his indirect approach.

So, Mr. Lu extended his hand to her.

"Have you rested well?"

"If we don't go back now, people will start to worry."

"Ah... um."

Zhong Ruixi's pretty face turned rosy, and obediently, she stretched out her hand, which was then held in his larger one.

The alcohol's effect was still spreading through her body, making her head feel heavy and her body soft.

Outside the Red Mill, there were long steps; Lu Jincheng took a step, and she followed, their shadows overlapping under the street lights, flickering on and off.

"Why did you help me block the drinks?"

"What do you think? Drinking that quickly could lead to losing control, and that wouldn't look good."

"Do you really think I look good?"

The long hair she had tied up because of the drinking was pulled lose by her, and the strands fluttered in the night.

She stopped walking, her fingers gathering her hair behind her ears, her eyes sparkling like stars under the neon lights.

"You look beautiful."

Lu Jincheng turned around, put his hands in his pockets, and stopped at the step in front of her.

"As the acknowledged beauty of the school, do I still need to ask?"

"But you never look at me, whether at dinner or just walking, most of the time you're looking at other people."

Zhong Ruixi tilted her chin up slightly, her eyes drunken yet lucid, and her breath was fragrant.

Lu Jincheng didn't respond, just staring straight at her.

From the sides of her dress, large expanses of fair skin came into view.

Lu Jincheng, already tall, looked down from his angle and could vaguely see the curve of her shoulders fluctuating like hills.

She was a typical northern girl with long legs and a proportionate frame, extremely smooth lines front and back, and not a trace of excess at her waist.

Mr. Lu had just confirmed, indeed there was none.

"Stop looking!"

Zhong Ruixi covered her neckline as if realizing something.

"When I don't look at you, you're unhappy. When I do look, you won't let me."

Lu Jincheng shrugged with a playful look and teased her smilingly.

"Women, we honest men really don't understand."

"What kind of honest man are you!?"

Zong Ruixi's emotions were easily stirred by Lu Jincheng, and she hit him huffily.

"What honest man touches others on the first day of military training?"

She looked up at Lu Jincheng, her lips tight, her eyes and eyebrows somehow morphing into a teasing smile.

"Very honest. I thought I was dreaming. Only in dreams would I dare to reach out to you."

Lu Jincheng answered honestly.

"Really?"

Zhong Ruixi's voice quivered as if she had mustered a great deal of courage.

He nodded.

Suddenly, his hand was caught by her and gently touched her blushing cheek.

"And this time?"

The warm cheek, the cool fingertips.

After many days, Lu Jincheng touched her beauty mark again.

His arm pressed against hers, her delicate and boneless hand was like a cloud.

Under the shimmering multicolored lights of the Red Mill, the tall boy was first led by the girl, hesitatingly touching her cheek with his fingertips.

The warmth from the fingertips was magical, like unblocking the vital energy channels.

The next second, the boy took the initiative.

One hand cradled the back of her neck.

The other hand reached for her chin.

With the prolonged evening breeze, Lu Jincheng lowered his head and kissed her directly.

"You... mmm..."

Enclosed within the small barrier formed by his hands, she was bare and vulnerable, her eyes widened, instinctively on tiptoes, with no struggle or resistance.

Thus, her first kiss was satisfyingly plucked from his dreams and tucked into the box of memories in reality.

Some things don't need to be learned.

The lips were easily parted, teeth clashed together with a click, each quickly dodging, mouths opened, and with a gentle touch, everything was understood.

That softness felt like being placed to sleep atop the Milky Way, with stars twinkling in the mind.

Perhaps it was the rush from the alcohol, perhaps it was the more enticing scene seen in that second, perhaps a moment of heartbeat.

Zhong Ruixi's symbolic resistance didn't last a few seconds, like the ocean, she engulfed the man in her embrace.

She let the man do as he pleased, allowed Lu Jincheng to crumple the back of her dress into unsightly wrinkles.

"Mr. ..."

At that moment, on the long stairway of the Red Mill.

Qiang Zhihao, having not seen them for a while, finally found the main characters, poked out his head about to greet, precisely catching sight of this lingering kiss.

"Damn, I believe in your evil."

In the long night, he watched the reflection of the man and the girl merge into one.

...

...

"Rui Rui, did you drink a bit too quickly? Are you feeling okay, any better?"

The three of them returned to the room, one after another, and their roommates immediately came forward, clinging to Zhong Ruixi.

"It's nothing, no need to fuss over me, everyone keep having fun."

Zhong Ruixi, with flushed face, hid near the song selection screen, pretending to swipe through it.

Her mind was a mess, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, utterly unsure of what to do.

The timing of Qiang Zhihao's appearance was way too delicate.

Although they had already separated from their long kiss when he called out to them, had Qiang Zhihao seen anything?

And also.

Why did he kiss me, was he also drunk?

What was he really thinking?

"No more games for me, this game is too scary, let's sing some songs, I truly can't drink anymore."

Xu Ya waved her hands and walked towards the song selection screen, even she, the most capable girl there, had raised a white flag.

The male classmates from dorm 603 were no different, each with a flushed face and swollen neck, any more and they would lose their composure.

"I think it's okay, let's sing for a bit."

Lu Jincheng nodded his head, also stood up, and ran to select a few songs.

Singing slightly drunk always seemed more liberating than before.

Not only did Zhang Gaoqiang initiate singing a few duets with Xu Ya, Liu Yisheng also approached Ni Jiayun with an invitation.

"You go, Gaoqiang, why don't you sing a song with Zhong Ruixi?"

After finishing the song "Plain Face" with Xu Ya, Zhang Gaoqiang slumped back onto the sofa, his face unable to hide his excitement.

"Never mind, I'm a bit tired."

Qiang Zhihao shook his head, feeling that he must have seen something wrong, staying put, his expression dazed.

What exactly was going on with Lao Lu, he was kissing Zhong Ruixi!

During military training, he said he wasn't close to her, yet now they had advanced to kissing?

Are they dating?

But this... Even as high school classmates, it was clear before that they weren't in a romantic relationship.

How could things progress so quickly?

The kissing under the late-night breeze by Lu Jincheng had surpassed freshman Qiang Zhihao's understanding.

His nascent crush on Zhong Ruixi withered away in the long night at the Red Mill.

"All night I wildly ponder,

The night so fine,

Keeps me awake—"

The melodious sound of a violin began to slowly ring out, a clear and pleasing voice transmitted through the microphone.

It was Jin Haixin's "So Proud", which he had once played through headphones.

Zhong Ruixi held the microphone with one hand, leaning against the soft sofa, her expression deeply immersed.

"It sounds lovely~!"

This was Zhong Ruixi's first time singing tonight, and as soon as she started, she dazzled all the young men and women present.

Liu Yisheng clapped along with everyone else while patting Qiang Zhihao's shoulder, signaling him, lost in thought, to listen carefully.

"Oh no~"

The lyrics moved, the sweet and soft voice sounded like a melody from heaven.

The aftertones were pleasant, lingering from the microphone to the heart, unceasingly swirling around.

Hearts fluttered—indeed, it was truly terrible.