Walking into the establishment, Su Long had his arm slung over a girl's shoulder, a confident smirk plastered on his face. They were a power couple of black and chains as their signature aesthetic. Following right behind them, Luo Shao was carrying an innocent yet goofy grin as he talked with his date, they were a much toned down couple looking like a pair out of a teenage drama. Youthful and with a much friendlier palette.
They all glanced casually at the ice skating ring as they walked towards the shoe counter, talking about the number of people inside the ice skating rink. They never noticed a certain black-haired boy observing them.
Li Minghao looked away as he chuckled to himself.
Today, Chen Jingyun invited all of them to go out and have fun, but those two interrupted her and said no. They already had plans.
Who would have thought they would end up in the same place either way?
Su Long and his date reached the counter and whipped out at the same time a club member's card.
Looking at each other with amusement clear in their eyes, they poked fun at each other.
"You must be great at teaching others how to skate." The girl commented with a smirk.
"And you must be good at falling into the other's arms." Su Long returned in the same spirit.
They both received their own ice skates, used by only them.
Different from them, Luo Shao and his date gave their shoe size and used the establishment's skates. The girl that accompanied him seemed to be new towards skating, so Luo Shao taught her how to put the skates properly.
"I... I am a little green myself, but I can teach you a bit." Luo Shao smiled shyly at her.
"Thank you." Her voice was soft.
Fighting back the blush, Luo Shao tried his best to compose himself.
Gah! He could text her and be cool with Su Loung's help but... by himself and in her presence. This was not going to be an easy day.
"Ready to go?"
The girl nodded.
When they entered the ice skating ring, they noticed Su Long and his fiery date were already playing the game. Instead of looking like a sweet couple, they looked like rivals showing off their skills. Their energy was quite ey catching.
They were truly similar in demeanor.
If Li Minghao recalled well, this girl was the same one as the girl Su Long was sitting next to at the bubble tea shop. This must be their second date.
Skating by the railings, Luo Shao accompanied his date.
"They are amazing." She said.
"Yeah, they are." Luo Shao quickly agreed with her leaving an open window for silence.
"Ahem... how about I teach you a few of the basics?"
The girl smiled almost helpless. "I'm pretty sure you would have much more fun out there."
Luo Shao widened his eyes and shook his head energetically.
"No no! Who said that?"
The girl chuckled.
"If you say so..."
How could she not notice them?
At first, Chen Jingyun was excited to see Su Long on the ring. Seeing how good he was at skating, she was tempted to go for a race with him. But she held back since he was already playing with someone else, his date.
But when she saw Luo Shao and his date... It felt like her heart stopped for a second.
It was safe to say she would never get used to seeing her after all that happened.
Yu Yan.
Wanting to go unnoticed, she kept her head lowered down as she tried to leave the ring. It was a good thing she wore a hoodie with a cape, otherwise, this would have been mission impossible.
When Luo Shao and Yu Yan were already quite far from the entrance and exit of the ice skating ring, Chen Jingyun made a beeline for it.
Looking around, Chen Jingyun looked for the face of a certain dark lord. When she caught him already looking back at her, Chen Jingyun made meaningful signs to Li Minghao, pointing towards the exit of the establishment. She wanted to let him know they are leaving.
Although he didn't know what was happening, Li Minghao started to pack his things up. He already noticed something was amiss.
Taking the skates off in a quite hasty manner, Chen Jingyun gave them back to the clerk and asked for her own shoes back. The clerk was surprised once again since it was the second customer checking in way before their time was up. But he didn't say anything.
Walking towards her, a certain golden retriever appeared in the establishment.
Fu Wang wore a big grin. He was tremendously excited. All week he was anticipating this day. He had thought about the outfit combinations, taking into account which one would make him appear even more dashing and handsome than he already was. He had also sneaked off to practice on his own as he wanted to show off to her. He even bought new skates and a club member card in this establishment as he expected this would be the first of many outings!
And of course! He would recognize her anywhere, no matter how inconspicuous she looked.
When he saw Chen Jingyun sitting in front of the skates counter, he thought she was lacing up the skates and preparing forward. He would have never thought she was instead of putting on her shoes.
Acting playfully, Fu Wang covered her eyes as he looked over her.
"Guess who~" He sang out before losing his harmony. "Oh? Where are your skates?"
He dropped his hand and sat next to her instead. His eyebrows were arched in question. He was a confused golden retriever.
Chen Jingyun was direct.
"Yu Yan is here."
Fu Wang did a double-take.
"Who?"
"Yu Yan." Chen Jingyun repeated and stood up.
"Did she recognize you?"
Chen Jingyun shook her head. "I don't think so."
"Then we better leave. Let's come back another day." Fu Wang discarded his disappointment.
"Sure."
"We could go on a... foodie round thought?"
"You pay?"
Rolling his eyes at Chen Jingyun, Fu Wang smiled.
"Obviously."
However, before they could continue on their way, they were met with the dark lord watching them.
Walking toward them, Li Minghao looked unfazed as always. Whatever he thought, whatever he felt, remained a mystery. He also carried a little hand sanitizer that he put on Chen Jingyun's hands once he reached them.
"Clean your hands." Those were his first words.
Looking surprised, Fu Wang turned to glance at Chen Jingyun and then back at Li Minghao.
Catching onto his expression, Li Minghao collected information.
"Was I supposed to not be here?"