Chapter 213 - 140: First Time Holding Hands and Watching a Movie (Part 2)

Chapter 213: Chapter 140: First Time Holding Hands and Watching a Movie (Part 2)

’Aaaah, Yi Chen, you idiot! Why did you send him a ’good night’ text? How am I supposed to start a conversation with him now?’ She rolled over on her bed, utterly regretting her decision.

She buried her face in her comforter for a long moment before suddenly sitting up and murmuring to herself.

’Wait, that’s not right. He never officially asked me out. Does this mean we’re actually together?’

’It should count, right? We held hands!’

’But he didn’t ask me to be his girlfriend. So are we or aren’t we?’

Yi Chen suddenly became fixated on this question. In all the dramas she’d ever watched, there was always a formal confession.

Besides, when she was in school, it wasn’t as if none of her classmates dated. They all went through the whole confession phase before they were considered officially together.

So what exactly was her situation?

’We’re not just friends. Friends aren’t this affectionate!’

’Maybe I should ask someone else?’

Yi Chen currently had three close female friends: Zhao Jiajia, Jin Enfei, and Xu Zhina.

She was closest with Zhao Jiajia and often hung out with her at night.

So, after some deliberation, she decided to send her a message.

"Jiajia, a friend of mine just asked me for advice. She held hands with the guy she likes and they even watched a movie together, but he never officially asked her out. Does that count as them being a couple?"

At that moment, Zhao Jiajia was lounging on the sofa at her brother’s house with a face mask on. Hearing her phone buzz, she casually picked it up.

The moment she saw the message was from Yi Chen—and about *that* kind of problem—she was instantly energized. She shot up and began typing furiously.

"You held hands with Boss Gu and saw a movie? Who made the first move? Did you guys kiss? Was there tongue?!"

’Tongue?!’

’What kind of wild talk is that?’

Yi Chen’s face was hot enough to boil water. She held her phone and typed back through gritted teeth, "Could you be a little more decent? Kissing with tongue... how could that even happen? You’re disgusting!"

"What’s so disgusting about it? I’m just worried you’ll get addicted and kiss your man until he’s scared of you!" Zhao Jiajia scoffed.

She had a roommate back in her college dorm who loved making out. She kissed her boyfriend so much that he’d cover his mouth whenever he saw her coming. It wasn’t like she’d never seen anything like it.

"What do you mean, *me*? I told you, I’m talking about my friend! And I was asking if *they* are considered a couple. By the way, the guy was the one who initiated the hand-holding." Yi Chen was regretting this big time. ’Why did I even ask Zhao Jiajia?’

Neither Jin Enfei nor Xu Zhina would have said such things, even if they teased her a little.

And yet... the thought that Gu Nan might kiss her someday made Yi Chen instinctively cover her flushed cheeks. She was shy, but also a little expectant. ’What would it feel like?’

"Of course it counts! Why wouldn’t it? Him taking your hand first *is* the confession. Your situation is a bit different from most people’s." Zhao Jiajia completely ignored the whole "a friend of mine" charade and started to give her best friend a serious analysis.

Seeing this, Yi Chen also dropped the pretense and quickly asked, "How is it different?"

"You two already liked each other and were both aware of the other’s feelings; you just hadn’t crossed that final line. So when Boss Gu took the initiative to hold your hand, it was basically the same as a confession."

"Under normal circumstances, a guy holding a girl’s hand is his way of testing the waters to see if she’s interested in him."

"It might not have been a grand, formal confession, but the fact that Boss Gu waited this long to hold your hand and take you on a movie date clearly shows he’s in this with marriage in mind. He only took this step after thinking it all through."

Gu Nan’s intentions couldn’t have been more obvious. It wasn’t just Zhao Jiajia; all of his friends could see it too.

Otherwise, given Yi Chen’s prior attentiveness and initiative, any guy just looking for a casual fling would have confessed long ago. Who would drag it out for so long?

’Marriage?’ At that moment, her former distrust of marriage completely vanished. Instead, she was enveloped by an immense wave of happiness, and a sweet smile bloomed on her face without her realizing it.

She believed every word Zhao Jiajia said. Her IQ plummeted to zero.

In reality, Gu Nan was, at that very moment, planning his confession.

He wanted to give Yi Chen a relationship she would never regret, so how could he possibly not consider the importance of a proper, memorable confession?

...

「The next day.」

The sun was shining brightly. Gu Nan arrived at his shop before six in the morning.

After finishing breakfast, it was just past six. Yi Chen was usually there by this time. Her absence today was because she had, in fact, been up all night, only drifting into a hazy sleep in the small hours of the morning.

Zhao Chunlan didn’t wake her granddaughter. Instead, she snuck into her room that morning and took her phone so the alarm wouldn’t disturb her.

As an elderly woman, she was a light sleeper. She had heard everything Gu Nan said at the door the previous night, so she naturally knew that her granddaughter was now with him.

When she went to get the phone, she saw that her granddaughter was smiling in her sleep.

This couldn’t help but remind her of her late husband.

They had been childhood sweethearts who got together not long after the founding of the country.

It was rare in that era for two people who truly liked each other to end up together. They treated each other with mutual respect until old age.

If her husband hadn’t made her promise, before he passed, to one day bring him news of their great-grandchild, she probably would have followed him soon after, because he had taken her heart with him.

She had interacted with Gu Nan several times recently, and combined with what she’d heard about him, she knew he was a dependable young man. That’s why she felt at ease entrusting her granddaughter to him.

Yi Chen hadn’t fallen asleep until the sky began to lighten at dawn. She would likely sleep until noon or even the afternoon.

Gu Nan had no plans to go out to sea during the day for the time being. Fishing could wait until late at night.

Besides, he really did have some business to attend to at the shop today, like the wedding banquet order for the Junhao Hotel.