Na'er had already been taken as a disciple by Leng Yaozhu, and now Gu Yue had appeared before him in this manner.
That meant the Silver Dragon King must have already separated Na'er from herself. Otherwise, Leng Yaozhu would have surely noticed something was off.
Coming back to his senses, Gu Yue had already run back carrying a bag of sweets, holding it open in front of him. "Here, pick one. They're really good."
Arthur took one and had a bite. He was just about to say thank you when he saw Gu Yue stuffing her mouth with one treat after another from the bag, mumbling through a full mouth: "Come on, let's go — the movie's about to start."
Based on the books she'd been reading these past few days, Gu Yue had learned that sharing things you love with someone helps deepen the bond between two people.
As it happened, the thing Gu Yue loved most since arriving in human society was sweets of all kinds. In her view, pastries and confections were among humanity's greatest inventions. Humans were truly frightening — even their food had developed to such extraordinary heights.
So when she'd spotted the sweets shop, she'd bought some to share with Arthur. It hadn't been part of the plan — it was pure improvisation on her part.
Truly worthy of my own genius. Applying knowledge from books to real-life situations so effortlessly.
She was quietly delighting in herself.
With a casual swing of her arm, Gu Yue naturally hooked Arthur's wrist and pulled him forward toward the cinema.
Arthur let himself be dragged along, his gaze drifting down to their joined hands, then up to the swaying strands of hair at the back of her head.
Strangely, the nagging, unreadable suspicion he'd been harboring seemed to fade a little.
Whatever scheme she might be running, at least the warmth of her palm against his, and the sweetness of the treats — those were real.
Arthur gradually let his guard down.
She treats me with sincerity; I'll meet her with the same.
If Gu Yue was going to treat him like this, then until she showed some ill intent, Arthur resolved to be equally genuine with her.
The crisp tear of the ticket stub at the gate.
Gu Yue dragged Arthur toward the back rows of the theater, a freshly bought piece of cake still clamped between her teeth, its sweet fragrance drifting over mingled with the scent of her perfume.
"Let's sit here," she said, finishing off the cake and settling into the corner seats. She placed the bag of sweets between their two seats. "I heard you telling your classmates last time that you like sitting toward the back when you watch movies."
Arthur startled again.
He'd only mentioned it in passing last week, chatting with classmates in the classroom — something about how he'd come watch a movie occasionally when he was tired from cultivation.
Gu Yue had actually noticed that?
And she'd invited him to the movies because of it?
Come on.
Just what are you trying to do — are you trying to woo me?
The movie was starting. The lights went out all at once.
In the faint glow of the giant screen, Arthur tilted his head slightly and glanced at Gu Yue. She was resting her chin in her hand, eyes fixed intently on the screen, twin ponytails draped over her shoulders, her hair swaying gently with each breath.
Arthur had to admit — Gu Yue in this moment was genuinely captivating. Her looks almost didn't matter; she was radiant enough on her own.
But she really did seem to just be watching the movie.
If Gu Yue were trying to pursue him, she should have started pulling little tricks by now. She hadn't.
Arthur quietly let that thought dissolve. The idea of Gu Yue chasing after him was still a little surreal.
Unless she'd made another bet with Na'er, like in the original story.
Maybe it's because she's a spirit beast, he thought. She probably hasn't adjusted to how humans interact yet — that's why she comes across as having no sense of personal boundaries.
As for Gu Yue — she really was just watching the movie, because that's exactly what the book said: date at the movies. Nothing else had been written.
Time passed. The movie ended.
Arthur had just stood up to leave when Gu Yue grabbed him again.
She glanced at the time, brow furrowing slightly. Then she turned to Arthur with a pleading look: "Could you stay for another showing?"
"I haven't had enough yet."
Arthur looked at her expression, swallowed whatever he'd been about to say, and reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Fine. I was going to take it easy today anyway."
I'll put off cultivation for now. It's been a while since I've actually relaxed.
"Wonderful!" Gu Yue threw her arms around Arthur in a quick hug, then immediately bolted for the ticket counter. "I'll go buy the tickets!"
By the time the second film let out, night had fully settled in.
The signboard lights outside the cinema cast colorful speckles across the pavement.
Gu Yue and Arthur walked side by side.
There seemed to be a lot of wind tonight.
The evening breeze lifted her hair, brushing across Arthur's cheek with a cool, feathery tickle.
"I didn't expect it — watching it a second time, it's actually more interesting than the first." Gu Yue swung the ticket stubs in her hand, her voice brimming with delight.
She truly hadn't expected it. Human films were genuinely fascinating.
Thinking back over everything she'd experienced since coming to human society — it was so much more interesting than the Star Dou Great Forest.
From the moment she had separated from the Dragon God, she'd been met with an ambush from the divine realm.
After that, it had been nothing but recuperating in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Arthur glanced sideways at her. The streetlight fell into her eyes, like stars.
He didn't reply to what she'd said.
They walked together beneath the shadows of the roadside trees. Occasionally a spirit-guided automobile hummed past on the road, its headlights trailing long halos across the pavement before vanishing into the night.
Gu Yue talked a great deal along the way.
Arthur simply listened in silence.
Then, suddenly, he understood. He understood why Gu Yue had done all of this today.
It was like an understanding that came from somewhere wordless.
The elements that permeated the world around him — everywhere, in everything — were telling Arthur, their friend, that their king was far too lonely.
And indeed, it seemed that was so.
As a king, Gu Yue had been born into solitude. She had no friends. Even the spirit beasts were merely her subordinates.
The only one she could speak with as an equal — the Golden Dragon King — had appeared only to be sealed away in the divine realm almost immediately.
Gu Yue's loneliness was measured in tens of thousands of years.
Even the savage beasts had each other to talk to.
They reached the middle of the overpass, where the wind was strongest. Gu Yue, who had been talking nonstop, suddenly went quiet.
"Arthur." She turned to look at him, her voice very soft. "Thank you for keeping me company through two movies."
"It's getting late. Let's part ways here." She smiled, and left him with only her retreating figure. "See you at the academy tomorrow."
Arthur let out a soft "Mm." This kind of night, this kind of walk together — he had to admit, it hadn't felt bad at all.
For years now, he'd done nothing but cultivate. The results had been excellent, but looking at it now, he'd missed a great deal along the way.
Something clarified within him. In that moment, Arthur's Spiritual Power broke through — surging forward by a considerable margin.
He watched Gu Yue's silhouette grow smaller in the distance.
Thank you, he said silently.
Perhaps Gu Yue had ulterior motives. But Arthur had accepted it anyway.
He was a friend to the elements. He could be a friend to Gu Yue, too.
---
Back in her room.
The easygoing warmth Gu Yue had carried all evening vanished in an instant. Her bearing shifted entirely — cold, composed, utterly different from before.
She turned it over in her mind.
Today went fairly well, I'd say. She could sense that Arthur's emotional fluctuations had been far stronger than usual.
"Heh heh."
She regarded her own reflection with smug satisfaction, replaying everything that had happened.
Even she had found herself enjoying the feeling — let alone Arthur.
Foolish little Arthur — taken care of with barely any effort.
All thanks to my transcendent genius. Referencing Na'er's suggestions earlier was entirely unnecessary.
What lonely Gu Yue did not know was this:
This was not love.
The feeling she had enjoyed — it was what it felt like to make a friend for the first time.
And Arthur's powerful emotional response was the answer of someone who had recognized her as a true friend.
Feelings develop step by step — first friendship, and then, in time, love will follow.
---
[Author note]
Romantic scenes are so hard to write — I've been revising and revising, and now I feel like it's gotten a bit too much and out of place.
This is tough. I probably won't be writing too many female lead chapters — I just can't keep up.
Please add to your collection, vote, and keep reading — hehe!