Chapter 17: A Night of Decisions

After returning home, Chen Lin casually tossed his schoolbag onto the coffee table, then flopped face-down onto the sofa.

“Hehe… heh… hehehe…”

Muffled by the sofa cushion, Chen Lin let out a slightly lecherous chuckle.

‘I must be blessed by the goddess of luck,’ he thought.

Who would have thought that misfortune would turn into a blessing, giving him a chance to go to the aquarium with Shihan?

Heaven rewards the diligent—the ancients weren’t wrong.

Only by daring to take the first step is success possible.

Chen Lin laughed for a long time, then rolled over on the sofa to face the slightly yellowed ceiling.

“This is really great, Senpai Meiyue…” he murmured to himself, as if his favorite person had already appeared before his eyes.

He wanted to reach out and touch her, but couldn’t—it was only a fantasy.

Although he grasped at empty air, Chen Lin wasn’t discouraged. Instead, he was all smiles.

After all, compared to being stuck in place before, at least now he had taken a step forward.

After lying on the sofa for over an hour, his stomach began to growl. Only then did he get up to make himself dinner.

After dinner, Chen Lin started on his homework.

Since he had plans tomorrow, finishing his homework today would let him relax at the aquarium. No procrastination allowed.

The weekend homework was heavy, so by the time he finished, it was already eleven at night.

Chen Lin yawned. Writing for so long had drained his energy, and he felt sleepy.

Still, he insisted on showering before going to bed.

After showering, Chen Lin, being a “let my hair air-dry” kind of guy, sat in the living room, planning to wait half an hour for his hair to dry before sleeping.

Yawning again, he picked up his phone from the coffee table.

He had a habit of leaving his phone on the coffee table while doing homework to avoid distractions.

When he unlocked it, he saw many messages.

They were from Yan and Shihan. Shihan had sent only two, while Yan had sent a bunch.

Chen Lin opened Shihan’s messages first—fewer to read, and he was more curious about what she had to say.

Shihan’s first message was a link to a review site. Tapping it led to the aquarium’s detail page with a full introduction of its attractions.

[Tomorrow at 9 a.m., at the station. Be there or be square.]

That was Shihan’s second message.

[Got it!]

Chen Lin immediately replied to Shihan, then exited their chat and opened Yan’s.

There were over twenty messages, mostly sent around 7 p.m. It seemed she had been indecisive about what to wear tomorrow and was asking for his opinion.

Not only that, she had also sent him photos of various outfits.

After carefully reading Yan’s messages, Chen Lin suddenly remembered something. How could he have forgotten?

He had been so thrilled by Shihan’s invitation to the aquarium that he had completely forgotten he had already promised to see a movie with Yan tomorrow.

It wasn’t that he had a bad memory—it was just that, compared to watching a movie with Yan, being invited by Shihan meant much more to him.

If you put both on a scale, Shihan’s side would sink instantly.

“Geez, how could I forget this?” Chen Lin reproached himself.

But honestly, even if he had remembered when Shihan invited him, he probably wouldn’t have turned her down.

After all, watching a movie with Yan was a trivial matter that could be postponed to next week or the week after. But Shihan’s invitation was a once-in-a-lifetime chance—miss it, and there might never be another.

So unless he was an idiot, choosing between the two required no thought.

From Yan’s messages, Chen Lin could tell she was really looking forward to the movie tomorrow.

But he had already made plans with Shihan to go to the aquarium.

He couldn’t be in two places at once, so even though he didn’t want to cancel on Yan, he had no choice.

It shouldn’t be a big deal to reschedule for next week, right? Hopefully Yan won’t get too mad.

Not that it mattered if she did get angry—Chen Lin wasn’t too bothered by a little girl’s temper.

Chen Lin picked up his phone. It was already 11:30.

That time was nothing for a high school student. Even for some adults with reversed schedules, it was just the start of their nightlife. But for a grade-schooler, it counted as deep night.

Yan might already be asleep. Should he wait until tomorrow morning to tell her about canceling the Saturday movie, or try to wake her now?

Chen Lin thought seriously and quickly came to a conclusion.

When it comes to standing someone up, the earlier you inform them, the better.

If he told Yan now, she could even sleep in tomorrow without having to get up early.

He really didn’t want to stand her up, but it couldn’t be helped. So he tapped the virtual keyboard on his phone and composed a message.

[I’m really sorry, Yan. Something important came up, so let’s cancel the movie tomorrow. We can go on Sunday, next weekend, or the weekend after that.]

After editing the message, he checked it for typos and sent it.

Chen Lin’s worry was unnecessary. Yan was still wide awake.

In her pink-themed room, stuffed dolls were scattered everywhere, giving it an adorable, soft vibe that could melt anyone’s heart just by entering.

Yan’s bed was piled high with all sorts of cute clothes, like a small mountain—all her outfits.

Tomorrow was her first date. The thought of going on a date with Chen Lin had her so excited she couldn’t sleep.

It was already 11:30. Normally, she would be fast asleep by around 9:30.

“Ah… ah, what should I do, what should I do… Why are all my clothes so childish?” Yan looked at herself in the mirror, troubled.

There was a soft, cute white hoodie set. If she put on the hood with its long bunny ears, she would look like an adorable little rabbit.

Anyone who saw Yan at that moment would be charmed by the cute little girl. But Yan herself was completely dissatisfied with her outfit—she felt it was too childish.

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