Chapter 31: Saving the Gentle Senior 07

After Shen Qingci calmed his emotions, Jin Chen finally got to see him practice dance.

He wore a white dance outfit, perfectly showing his slim waist and long legs, pressed play, and the gentle, tranquil pure music flowed slowly in the room.

He raised his hand, toes gliding, body turning; each movement was lively and graceful, like a mountain forest elf fairy.

Jin Chen watched, somewhat entranced, his thoughts rising and falling with the dance moves.

Shen Qingci's mood while practicing dance today was unusually different.

Normally, even with thousands of spectators below, he would feel no tension at all, just immersing himself in the movements and melody.

But today, being watched by Jin Chen, he would get distracted, wondering if the move wasn't quite right, how his performance was, and whether Jin Chen was satisfied.

The more nervous he became, the easier it was to make mistakes.

After missing two small beats in a row, Shen Qingci stopped moving, his expression helpless.

What's wrong with me? This warm-up dance, he has repeated countless times, even to the point of being second nature; why did he mess up today?

Shen Qingci lifted his gaze, just about to ask Jin Chen how it was, when his figure disappeared.

He blinked his eyes; the door was half-closed, he knew Jin Chen might have gone to eat.

But his heart inexplicably felt a bit lost.

He quickly adjusted his emotions and continued practicing.

Ten minutes later.

Jin Chen returned to the dance room carrying two takeout meals.

Seeing him, Shen Qingci's inner sense of loss vanished instantly: "You didn't go eat?"

"How could I let senior go hungry?"

Jin Chen smiled as he opened one: "I got you a healthy balanced meal; not eating rice at night wouldn't do."

He was obviously carrying the meals and running back; his shoulders were quite wet, even his hair damp.

Shen Qingci rolled up his sleeves, feeling moved, patted his shoulder, brushing off the moisture.

"I'm not skipping dinner; usually I avoid the crowds and go after practice."

"At that time, the cafeteria probably has little food left."

Jin Chen broke apart the disposable chopsticks for him: "If senior doesn't mind, how about letting me handle the sacred duty of getting your meals from now on?"

"No need, that would be too troublesome..."

"Not troublesome at all; being able to help senior makes me honored."

Jin Chen leaned close to his face: "Senior, could you give me a chance, okay?"

Shen Qingci slowed his chewing, inexplicably feeling that this opportunity wasn't just about bringing food.

He looked at Jin Chen's wide peach-blossom eyes, instantly recalling the big dog emoji Jin Chen often replied with in WeChat chats, and a smile involuntarily welled up in his eyes.

"Then I'll trouble you, little Jin classmate."

He poked Jin Chen's cheek: "Hurry up and eat, or it'll get cold."

But Jin Chen seized the moment, grabbed his hand, and brought it to his lips to kiss the fingertips.

Shen Qingci's fair face instantly flushed red.

He pulled his hand back: "What are you doing?"

His tone was somewhat at a loss.

But unusually, there was no rejection at all; instead, his heart rate sped up.

Shen Qingci's eyelashes trembled; he thought he wouldn't have feelings for Jin Chen...

... could he be moved?

Seeing the shyness in the depths of his eyes, Jin Chen happily curled his lips.

Great, my wife finally had her Opening Apertures.

He seemed offhand: "Sorry, senior; in Yingguo this is a gesture of etiquette; I got excited and forgot we're in the homeland."

"Senior, please don't be angry."

"Etiquette?"

Shen Qingci rubbed his fingers, still warm: "You in Yingguo, do you often do this?"

"No, only with intimate people do I do this..."

Jin Chen seemed to realize he'd let slip, instantly covered his mouth, ears turning deep red.

"Senior, stop asking, hurry up and eat!"

He scooped a few mouthfuls of rice, using the fast-food bowl to shield his face.

Shen Qingci was amused by his even more innocent appearance, watching him smile, his mood improved further.

Feeling a bit itchy-handed, Shen Qingci reached out, pinched Jin Chen's earlobe, tone amused.

"Little Jin classmate's ears are so red."

Jin Chen tilted his head, cheek pressed against his palm, rather shamelessly like a broken pot: "Senior, guess who it's because of."

Shen Qingci: "..."

Instead, he was turned the tables; now it was his turn to feel shy and withdraw his hand.

Thus, one genuinely innocent, one pretending innocence, the two finished lunch in harmony and warmth.

After finishing the meal, it was only around six; Jin Chen tidied up the trash and timely suggested leaving.

Now we can't be too clingy; we need to keep a distance that Shen Qingci can accept.

"I'm heading back to the dorm to battle advanced math; senior, remember to rest a bit, then keep practicing dance."

Shen Qingci hummed: "If you don't understand something, send me a message."

He stood up, and then suddenly Jin Chen embraced him fully.

「Partinghug！」

Shen Qingci hadn't even reacted yet, Jin Chen already had his backpack brimming with energy and left the Dance Room.

After a long while, he placed his hand on his left chest.

The thumping feeling revealed his inner flutter.

After finishing dance practice, it was already nine o'clock at night.

Shen Qingci changed clothes and went out; the moon was already high, and in the quiet campus occasional cheers from ball games could be heard.

He took a deep breath, his inner feeling unprecedentedly smooth.

Since the photo incident, Shen Qingci hadn't been this happy for a long time.

Meeting Jin Chen, everything was gradually getting better.

He walked toward the dormitory, took out his phone to check messages.

His fingertip instinctively opened the chat with Jin Chen, but there were no new messages.

He lowered his eyes, opened the keyboard and typed a few words.

——"Is there no problem you can't solve?"

Before sending, he felt asking like that wasn't good; what if Jin Chen really could do everything, that would be too disparaging of him.

Shen Qingci deleted that line and typed again.

——"How's your studying? Are my notes useful?"

That also didn't work.

What if Jin Chen had something in the afternoon and didn't look at the notes; that would be really awkward for him.

Shen Qingci felt for the first time in his life that he had come down with indecision.

He tapped with his thumb and entered Jin Chen's Moments.

His eyes widened slightly.

Such rich content.

Starting from the newest and scrolling back, Shen Qingci slowly moved the screen.

The latest post was from half an hour ago.

This is the first time in his life he's liked looking at advanced math notes this much (happy emoji).

The accompanying picture was a few lines of handwriting; Shen Qingci recognized it as his advanced math notebook.

Immediately after was a post from evening.

Oh no, I almost made my moon angry.

The accompanying picture was a photo of an artificial lake.

Moon?

Shen Qingci blinked, somewhat puzzled, wondering who this was about.

In the evening at the artificial lake, did Jin Chen see anyone else?

He scrolled down again, wanting to see if there was any more content about the moon.

There was another post at three in the afternoon.

Everyone says praising one's partner like Desales is a lofty affection, but my moon is unlike anyone.

It was during the previous class.

Shen Qingci frowned, his fingertip unconsciously sliding on the screen.

Jin Chen's mentioned moon...... who could it be.

Such high praise and veiled poetic words— the other person must be someone he really likes.