Shen Qingyue stood up and went to the bathroom.
The dining table suddenly fell silent.
Lin Mo lowered his head and poked at the food on his plate, pretending to be busy. In reality, his mind was still on what had just happened — specifically, his university application that he had almost accidentally revealed.
Su Qing rested her chin on her hand and watched him.
There was complexity in her gaze, along with a little bit of… something he couldn’t quite describe.
“Lin Mo.”
“Yeah?”
“That application…” She paused. “Did you really apply to Qingbei?”
Lin Mo’s chopsticks halted for a moment.
“Uh… I was just giving it a try.”
Su Qing looked at him, her eyes curving slightly.
“Why bother trying? Your score isn’t high enough.”
“Well, what if?”
“If you actually get into Qingbei, we won’t be in the same school anymore.” She curled her lips. “Then we’d be worlds apart.”
Lin Mo said nothing.
He had actually applied to Haicheng University of Technology, which was 2,300 kilometers away. Meanwhile, the school she applied to was right here in the city.
Su Qing lowered her hand, picked up her glass, and took a sip of water.
“Lin Mo.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you remember…” She paused again. “…what you said when we were kids?”
Lin Mo was stunned for a moment.
When they were kids?
“What did I say?”
Su Qing looked at the water in her glass, her voice very soft.
“You said… you would definitely protect me in the future.”
Lin Mo froze.
How long ago was that? Maybe when they were 7 or 8 years old? Or even younger?
Back then, they played together all the time. Since he was a few months older than her, he always acted like a big brother who needed to protect her.
Once, she had fallen and scraped her knee, crying her eyes out.
He had rushed over, clumsily trying to comfort her.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry! I’ll protect you! I’ll hit anyone who bullies you in the future!”
She had looked up at him with teary eyes.
“Really?”
“Really!”
“Then… will you marry me when you grow up?”
His face had turned red back then, and he had stuttered for a long time.
Finally, he managed to squeeze out:
“That… that’ll have to wait until I’m grown up!”
Lin Mo’s thoughts were pulled back to the present.
He looked at Su Qing.
She was still looking at her glass, her profile appearing exceptionally soft under the warm yellow lights of the restaurant.
“You…” he started, his voice a bit dry. “You still remember that?”
“I remember.”
She turned her head and looked at him.
“You said to wait until you were grown up.”
Her eyes were bright.
“So, I’ve been waiting.”
Lin Mo opened his mouth.
He didn’t know what to say.
Su Qing looked at him and suddenly smiled.
There was a hint of mischief in that smile, but also a touch of sincerity.
“Lin Mo.”
“Yeah?”
“My mom said that some things can’t be rushed.”
She paused.
“So, I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait for the day you take the initiative.”
Lin Mo’s heart rate accelerated.
‘Wait for me to take the initiative?’
He wanted to ask, but the words died in his throat.
Because Su Qing stood up.
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
She picked up her phone and smiled at him.
Then she turned and walked toward the bathroom.
Lin Mo sat in his seat, his mind a complete mess.
‘Wait for me to take the initiative?’
‘Is she talking about… a confession?’
He thought back to that childhood promise.
He remembered saying, ‘Wait until I’m grown up.’
Back then, it was just a casual remark, like children playing house.
But she had remembered it all this time?
(；一_一) …
—
Just then, a figure sat down across from him.
Shen Qingyue had returned.
She glanced at Su Qing’s empty seat.
“Where is the President?”
“She went to the bathroom.”
“Oh.”
Shen Qingyue nodded, picked up her caramel macchiato, and took a small sip.
Then she set the cup down and looked at him.
That look was different from her usual one.
Usually, her gaze was cautious, shy, and evasive.
But now… there was a hint of determination in her eyes.
“Lin Mo.”
“Yeah?”
“Congratulations.”
Lin Mo was stunned for a moment.
“For what?”
She said gently, “You scored 630 points.”
“That’s a lot of progress.”
Lin Mo scratched his head.
“Thanks, Study Representative. It’s all thanks to you.”
Shen Qingyue shook her head.
“It was your own hard work.”
She paused.
“I… want to give you a reward.”
Lin Mo blinked.
A reward?
“What kind of reward?”
Shen Qingyue didn’t answer.
She just looked at him, her eyes shining.
Then —
The surroundings suddenly went silent.
It wasn’t the kind of silence where no one was talking.
It was a type of silence where… everything had stopped.
Lin Mo felt it was too quiet.
He looked forward.
A waiter at the next table was holding a tray, frozen in a bowing position, completely motionless.
The pedestrians outside the window had their steps suspended in mid-air.
Even the dust in the air was frozen in the shafts of light.
Time had stopped.
(°△°|||)
Lin Mo’s head buzzed.
He looked at Shen Qingyue.
She was still sitting across from him, but she looked as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Her eyes were half-closed, and her eyelashes were perfectly still.
‘Did she stop too?’
‘No, did she stop time?’
Lin Mo tried to move his fingers.
He could move.
He tried blinking.
He could do that too.
(；¬＿¬) ‘Why can I move?’
He remembered his Special Ability — Absolute Immunity.
All special abilities were ineffective against him.
Including Time Stop.
So… was he the only person in this frozen world who could move?
Lin Mo took a deep breath.
He looked at Shen Qingyue.
Her frozen expression was peaceful; her eyelashes were long, and her lips were slightly pursed.
He wanted to call out to her, but he swallowed the words.
Because he didn’t know when time would resume.
Nor did he know why she had stopped time.
He could only wait.
Wait for her to resume it herself.
Or wait to see… what she would do.
10 seconds.
20 seconds.
Lin Mo sat in his seat, pretending he was also frozen.
His body was stiff, his eyes were vacant, and he remained motionless.
But his heart was beating fast.
So fast he could hear it himself.
Then, Shen Qingyue moved.
She blinked, her eyelashes fluttering softly.
‘Did time resume?’
‘No, only she has moved.’
She slowly stood up and walked over to Lin Mo.
She lowered her head, looking at his frozen face.
Lin Mo maintained his blank expression, but his heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest.
‘What is she going to do?’
Shen Qingyue looked at him for a long time.
Her eyes held hesitation, nervousness, and a bit of excitement.
She opened her mouth.
She wanted to say something.
But she said nothing.
Then, she leaned down.
She drew closer.
Very close.
Lin Mo could see the curve of her eyelashes and feel the warmth of her breath.
Her face got closer and closer.
So close that —
Something soft lightly pressed against his lips.
(°ãƒÂ°Ù¥)
Lin Mo’s mind went completely blank.
‘That was… That was…’
Less than 1 second.
Maybe only 0.5 seconds.
But that sensation was clearly imprinted on his lips.
Shen Qingyue straightened up.
Her face was so red it looked like it could bleed.
Then —
*Buzz —*
The surrounding sounds suddenly rushed back.
The waiter walked past with the tray.
The people outside continued walking.
The dust in the air continued to drift.
Time had resumed.
And Shen Qingyue was still standing in front of him, leaning over, her face less than 2 centimeters away from his.
The tips of their noses were almost touching.
Lin Mo could see his own reflection in her eyes.
He could see her eyelashes trembling from shyness.
He could smell the faint, book-like scent lingering on her.
Shen Qingyue was also stunned.
She hadn’t expected time to resume so quickly.
She hadn’t expected to still be in this position.
And even more so, she hadn’t expected —
At the door, Su Qing was standing there.
She was still clutching her phone.
Her eyes were staring straight at them.