Xu Xiuwen walked to the piano and sat down.
He adjusted the microphone in front of him and then opened the piano lid.
Before playing, Xu Xiuwen showed an apologetic expression and said into the microphone, "Sorry to interrupt everyone's meal. I wrote a song and want to sing it for the girl I love the most. I hope you all understand."
He turned to look at Cheng Lu.
With a gentle smile, he said, "Cheng Lu, I hope you like this song. It's called 'The Wind Rises.'"
Xu Xiuwen pressed the keys and began to play and sing.
"Walking along this road, stopping and going,
Following the traces of a drifting youth.
The moment before stepping out of the station,
There was a bit of hesitation.
Couldn't help but laugh at this homesick feeling,
Still unavoidable.
The sky over Nagano
Is still so warm.
The wind stirs up the past.
Back then, discovering this world,
So many things to linger on.
Looking at the horizon, as if right before my eyes,
Willing to brave anything to walk it once again.
Now, having walked this world,
So many things to linger on,
Turning over the years and different faces,
Unexpectedly, your smile breaks in.
I once couldn't extricate myself from the vastness of the world,
And was immersed in dreamy words,
Unable to discern truth from falsehood, not struggling, not fearing ridicule.
I once turned my youth into her,
And played out the summer on my fingertips.
Whatever moves the heart, let it follow its fate.
Walking against the light, letting the wind blow and the rain hit..."
At this moment, there were more than a dozen guests dining in the restaurant.
Initially, no one paid attention, but as soon as the piano sounded and Xu Xiuwen sang the first lyrics, everyone involuntarily turned their eyes to the young man at the piano.
Cheng Lu was sitting below.
She stared intently at Xu Xiuwen.
From her angle, she could just see Xu Xiuwen's profile, his jawline sharp as if carved by a knife, making her weak in the knees.
Xu Xiuwen was very handsome; otherwise, he wouldn't be known as the school heartthrob of Jiangling.
Cheng Lu knew he was handsome too.
But besides his looks, Xu Xiuwen's talent was what attracted her the most.
She still remembered the scene of Xu Xiuwen performing at the school's welcome party.
That day was the second time she saw Xu Xiuwen.
It was also the second time a boy left such a deep impression on her.
From that moment, she realized she had a good feeling about Xu Xiuwen.
After that, she couldn't help but start paying attention to him.
Cheng Lu never expected that one day, Xu Xiuwen would sing just for her.
Looking at Xu Xiuwen shining in front of the piano, her eyes were full of love, overflowing.
Soon, the song ended.
Xu Xiuwen said into the microphone, "Thank you."
As he stood up, applause filled the restaurant.
Xu Xiuwen walked back to Cheng Lu and saw her somewhat lost in thought.
He smiled and waved his hand in front of her, saying, "Wake up, were you so captivated?"
Cheng Lu snapped out of it and looked at Xu Xiuwen without speaking.
"Do you like this song?"
Cheng Lu nodded.
"As long as you like it, I'll sing it for you again next time."
Cheng Lu nodded again, still not speaking.
Her beautiful eyes never left Xu Xiuwen.
She looked a bit like Su Yanyan in this state.
Xu Xiuwen thought to himself, if Cheng Lu also became his fan girl, it would be quite interesting.
Suddenly, Cheng Lu looked away and calmly said, "Do you think you looked very handsome just now?"
Xu Xiuwen: "???"
Cheng Lu continued, "Xu Xiuwen, you are not allowed to sing for other girls in the future, understand?"
Xu Xiuwen laughed heartily at this.
"Are you afraid that if I sing, other girls will like me?"
Cheng Lu looked elsewhere and said, "I didn't think that."
Seeing Cheng Lu's duplicity, Xu Xiuwen stopped laughing and said, "Don't worry, unless it's a public occasion, I'll only sing for you in private."
Cheng Lu was very happy to hear this, and the corners of her mouth lifted uncontrollably.
Soon, the food began to arrive.
Xu Xiuwen ordered four dishes, but five were served.
Before Xu Xiuwen and Cheng Lu could ask, the waiter proactively explained, "The song you just sang was so beautiful that our boss loved it. He specially sent you a signature dish from our restaurant."
Xu Xiuwen laughed heartily, "Thank you, and please thank your boss for us."
After the waiter left, Xu Xiuwen boasted, "Lu Lu, try this signature dish. I got it by singing."
Cheng Lu rolled her eyes at him, but her lips remained curved in a smile.
After dinner.
Xu Xiuwen said to Cheng Lu, "Lu Lu, I want to take you somewhere."
Cheng Lu asked, "Where are we going?"
Xu Xiuwen replied, "I won't tell you yet. Let's keep a bit of mystery."
Xu Xiuwen then drove to Jiangning Huayuan.
After parking the car, Xu Xiuwen turned to Cheng Lu and said, "Come on, let's get out."
Cheng Lu didn't know why he brought her to this residential area but followed him out of the car anyway.
Xu Xiuwen led her to the door of Unit 1001.
Without a word, Xu Xiuwen took out a key and opened the door.
Once inside, Xu Xiuwen walked in and changed into slippers from the shoe rack.
Cheng Lu followed him in.
Xu Xiuwen said, "I'll get you a pair of slippers."
He found a brand-new pair of women's slippers from the cabinet and handed them to Cheng Lu.
After changing into the slippers, Cheng Lu followed Xu Xiuwen into the living room.
It was then that Xu Xiuwen asked, "So, how do you like this place?"
Cheng Lu looked around the living room and then at Xu Xiuwen, "Is this a place you rented?"
Xu Xiuwen shook his head, "No, I bought it. I bought it during the winter break."
Cheng Lu had guessed as much. She asked, "Why didn't you tell me before buying it?"
Xu Xiuwen chuckled, "A man can't always listen to a woman. Besides, I wanted to surprise you."
Cheng Lu rolled her eyes at him again.
But she neither argued nor got angry at his words.
And she was indeed surprised.
Cheng Lu took a tour around the house, opening each room to take a look.
After looking through the house, she found she quite liked it, both the décor and the layout.
Seeing the smile on her lips, Xu Xiuwen asked, "This will be our love nest in the future. Do you like it?"
Cheng Lu retorted, "Who's going to share a love nest with you?"
But after retorting, she added, "It's okay."
Xu Xiuwen didn't expose her true feelings.
"You sit here. I'll get you a glass of water."
Xu Xiuwen walked to the kitchen and poured a glass of warm water for Cheng Lu and himself.
He walked back to the sofa with the glasses.
Cheng Lu took the glass and thanked him.
Xu Xiuwen sat down next to her, "Lu Lu."
"Yes?"
"Don't go home tonight."
Both Xu Xiuwen and Cheng Lu knew what it meant if she didn't go home tonight.
He didn't know if Cheng Lu would agree.
Cheng Lu stared at him for a few seconds before looking away.
She neither agreed nor disagreed but said, "Pervert!"
Hearing this, Xu Xiuwen was overjoyed.
He could hardly contain his excitement.
If Cheng Lu didn't object, it meant she agreed.
If Cheng Lu stayed over tonight.
This would be the first time they slept together.
As for sleeping separately, Xu Xiuwen never even considered it.
He was eager to take Cheng Lu to bed right away.
But it was still early, and going to bed now would make his intentions too obvious.
Moreover, if he was too hasty, Cheng Lu might change her mind and decide not to stay.
Then he would regret it endlessly.
Xu Xiuwen controlled his excitement and said, "Let's watch some TV."
Xu Xiuwen turned on the TV and changed a few channels, but nothing interesting was on.
At that moment, he noticed two CDs on the TV cabinet.
The CDs were in semi-transparent plastic bags.
Xu Xiuwen hadn't bought any CDs, so they could only have been bought by An Shishi.
Xu Xiuwen suggested, "Lu Lu, let's watch a movie."
Cheng Lu nodded.
Xu Xiuwen stood up and walked to the TV cabinet.
He opened the VCD player and picked up the CDs.
Since there were two, he wanted to choose a good movie to play.
But he was dumbfounded.
Both CDs had vivid and colorful designs.
One look and it was clear they weren't proper movies.
Xu Xiuwen was speechless about An Shishi.
There was no need to guess—An Shishi bought these CDs with other intentions in mind.
Though he didn't dislike them, it was quite awkward at the moment.
Cheng Lu saw him staring at the disc without moving and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xu Xiuwen thought to himself, "If it's got color, then it's got color."
He took the disc out of the bag and put it into the VCD player.
After doing all this, Xu Xiuwen returned to the sofa, and he even turned off the living room light as he did so.
Suddenly, it went dark.
Cheng Lu was startled and asked, "Xu Xiuwen, what are you doing?"
Xu Xiuwen chuckled, "This way, it's more atmospheric."
Hearing him say that, Cheng Lu thought it was a horror movie.
She rarely watched horror movies, so she was a little excited.
At this moment, images started playing on the TV screen.
The next second, a woman in casual clothes appeared.
Cheng Lu was stunned.
By the time she came back to her senses, the plot had already begun.
Cheng Lu turned her flushed face towards Xu Xiuwen.
Xu Xiuwen awkwardly smiled, "I bought the wrong disc, just make do with it."
"Pervert, you did this on purpose," Cheng Lu said through gritted teeth.
Xu Xiuwen shook his head firmly, "I really didn't do it on purpose. I really bought the wrong one. I didn't expect it to be this kind of movie."
He hesitated for a moment, "Lu Lu, you decide if we watch it or not."
Cheng Lu stared at him for a few seconds, then turned her head away without saying anything.
Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but laugh.
It seemed Cheng Lu was quite interested in this sort of thing too.
A girl with such a good upbringing probably hadn't had the chance to watch "movies" like this.
Then the two of them started watching the "movie."
This "movie" wasn't very impressive; it had no plot and no attractive bodies—truly dull.
But for Cheng Lu, it was already a shocking scene.
Her face was as red as a monkey's butt.
She was extremely uneasy.
Suddenly, a particularly impactful move appeared.
Cheng Lu's eyes widened in surprise, and her mouth involuntarily opened.
She stammered, "You can... do that?"
Xu Xiuwen was already burning with desire. Now, with the "movie" and Cheng Lu sitting beside him, her flushed face was constantly tempting him.
Xu Xiuwen couldn't hold back any longer.
He reached out, pulled Cheng Lu into his arms, and then kissed her.
Cheng Lu didn't resist, going limp like water in Xu Xiuwen's arms, letting him do as he pleased.
As Xu Xiuwen kissed her, he began to want more.
He stopped, found Cheng Lu's eyes in the dark, and said tenderly, "Lu Lu, let me carry you to the bedroom."
Cheng Lu didn't speak, she bit her lip and turned her head to the side.
Silence meant consent.
Xu Xiuwen immediately turned off the TV, then quickly came back, picked Cheng Lu up in a bridal carry, and headed to the bedroom.
Once inside, Xu Xiuwen nudged the wall switch with his shoulder.
The light came on.
The room was suddenly bright and dazzling.
Cheng Lu said, "Turn off the light."
Her voice was soft, her face flushed, and she looked elsewhere.
Since it was the first time, Xu Xiuwen wouldn't force Cheng Lu to accept anything.
So he turned off the light as she asked.
Then, he groped his way to the bed, gently laid Cheng Lu down, and immediately bent down.
He quickly took off his clothes, and seeing Cheng Lu wasn't moving, he tried to help her undress in the dark.
Cheng Lu held his hand, nervously asking, "Will it hurt a lot?"
Xu Xiuwen immediately said, "No, it'll feel very good."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Lu pushed him away, then lifted the blanket and hid under it.
She clutched the blanket tightly, buried her face under it, and said shyly, "You think I don't know anything? Everyone says the first time hurts a lot."
Although Xu Xiuwen had already guessed that Cheng Lu was a virgin, hearing her admit it still made him very happy.
He lifted the other side of the blanket, got in, then moved next to Cheng Lu and held her.
He brought his mouth to Cheng Lu's ear and gently explained, "It might hurt a bit at first. It's always like that the first time. It'll stop hurting once you get used to it."
Xu Xiuwen spoke as if there would be many more times in the future.
Cheng Lu felt extremely shy and annoyed, saying, "There won't be a next time, just this once."
Xu Xiuwen couldn't help but laugh.
Girls were like that, fooling themselves.
Saying there would only be one time.
Saying there would only be one time.
Once they gave in once, there would be a second, a third, and many more times.
And once Xu Xiuwen got through the first time, there was no way Cheng Lu would refuse him again.
But for now, he still had to coax Cheng Lu.
He coaxed her like coaxing a child, saying, "Okay, okay, just this once. If you disagree in the future, I absolutely won't touch you."
Cheng Lu felt very conflicted upon hearing this.
She was worried that if she didn't give in to Xu Xiuwen, he would be angry and disappointed, but she also worried that if she did give in, he might become careless and not value her as much.
But Cheng Lu really loved him deeply.
She didn't want to see Xu Xiuwen angry or disappointed.
Cheng Lu bit her lip and said, "Turn your head away."
"Why?"
"I'm taking off my clothes."
"Don't worry, I won't peek."
After saying that, Xu Xiuwen voluntarily turned his head to the other side.
Anyway, there was no rush.
Seeing him with his back to her, Cheng Lu started to undress.
But as soon as she thought about what was going to happen next, her face felt like it was on fire, and she couldn't help but stop.
"Are you done?"
Hearing no movement, Xu Xiuwen asked.
"No!" Cheng Lu glared at him.
"Oh, take your time, I'm not in a hurry."
Cheng Lu thought: If you're not in a hurry, why ask if I'm done? Big liar.
After a fierce internal struggle, Cheng Lu finally took off her coat, pants, sweater, and thermal underwear.
At this moment, she was only wearing a set of underwear.
Cheng Lu hid under the quilt, clutching the corners tightly.
Xu Xiuwen didn't hear any more sounds and asked again, "Are you done?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll turn around."
"Wait a minute."
Cheng Lu wanted to tell him not to turn around yet, but before she could finish, Xu Xiuwen had already turned around.
Xu Xiuwen moved closer.
Their skin touched.
Cheng Lu's skin was cool and smooth, incredibly comfortable.