"Lu Ke, can I get your autograph?"
"What's it like playing with those professional players?"
"A picture, I want a picture. Can I?"
"Oh my god, oh my god, it's really him. He's so much more handsome than on TV! Oh my god!"
"Can I ask, what were you thinking when you made 'that throw'?"
...
The incessant chatter and questions surrounded Lu Ke and Julia. The two of them were caught completely off guard, and faced with such a strange and chaotic situation, they had no idea how to handle it.
As the crowd around them continued to grow, Lu Ke raised his voice and shouted, "Quiet, everyone be quiet!" His shout cut through the noisy music, and the chaos finally subsided a little. "Thank you, thank you all for your... curiosity. Today is the homecoming dance, please enjoy the dance. I'm here as a date, so please forgive me, I need to fulfill my duty as a chivalrous escort."
The onlookers immediately let out a knowing and meaningful "Oh!"
The drawn-out sound was full of unsaid meanings. Julia's cheeks immediately flushed, and she couldn't help but secretly clench her teeth. 'That damn Lu Ke.' She should have known that Lu Ke loved to play pranks, and he was good at it. Even Logan had fallen victim to them countless times.
"Please make way, everyone. I'm going to invite my date to start our first dance tonight," Lu Ke said again.
"Oh..." The onlookers let out a second knowing sound, their eyes full of shared understanding. This time, however, the crowd finally dispersed, making a path directly to the dance floor.
Clearly, this was not part of the plan, and things were slowly going off the rails. Without realizing it, they were now in a tricky situation.
Lu Ke also let out a wry smile. He had dug his own grave, and now he had to lie in it. So, he politely extended his right hand. "My dear Julia, may I have the honor of this dance?"
Julia could feel the stares from all directions, like arrows, shooting at her. If these arrows were tangible, she would have been a hedgehog by now. The feeling of being the center of attention was truly strange.
She looked up and saw the smile in Lu Ke's eyes. She gritted her teeth and said almost in a whisper, "Are you sure? Didn't you say you couldn't dance?"
Lu Ke raised an eyebrow, his face innocent, as if to say, "Do you have a better idea?" Wait, was that playful look in his eyes saying, "The audience is waiting, we can't disappoint them"? What did he mean?
However, Lu Ke didn't give Julia time to think. His gaze fell on her right hand. Involuntarily, Julia's gaze also fell. His hands were wide and large, with long, distinct fingers, like bamboo shoots growing in spring, strong and powerful, as if he could create a safe harbor just by closing his fingertips.
Her cheeks inexplicably flushed. Julia realized her mind was wandering and coughed exaggeratedly to cover her embarrassment, but then she realized that her coughing was only drawing more attention to herself. This made her face scrunch up, and she gritted her teeth in frustration.
She cut off all her distracting thoughts and placed her left hand in Lu Ke's right hand. It was thick and wide, with a faint warmth. She could feel his pulse through her fingertips. Her mind was blank. Julia had no idea how things had gotten to this point. The next moment, her body followed Lu Ke's lead and glided onto the dance floor.
Mark, who was standing outside the crowd, still hadn't left. He was staring blankly at Lu Ke and Julia. His date seemed to have disappeared without a trace. His friends, one by one, were excitedly cheering and shouting for Lu Ke in a crescent shape. Even Francis was no exception.
Mark was all alone, standing on the periphery, as if he had been exiled, ignored by everyone. The dance was loud and bustling, but it all seemed to have nothing to do with him. Mark couldn't help but start to wonder: How did things get to this point? Where did it all go wrong?
"Hoo hoo hoo," the cheers and shouts were endless, making the background music even more chaotic. Julia's thoughts were interrupted, and she realized something very important.
"Didn't you say you couldn't dance?" Julia looked up at Lu Ke, her eyes full of suspicion and surprise.
Lu Ke's smile slightly faltered, and he looked away as if to avoid her gaze. "No, I never said that."
Julia opened her mouth to retort, but then she thought about it carefully. It was true, Lu Ke had never said that. He had only said, "I'm not responsible for being your dance partner tonight," which was a misleading and ambiguous statement. Realizing her mistake, Julia bit her lip and glared at Lu Ke in frustration.
At this moment, the lively dance music stopped, and a gentle love song slowly began to play. The teenagers who were enthusiastically swaying on the dance floor embraced their partners and started to sway slowly, dancing a waltz, enjoying their small world of two in the gentle melody.
Originally, Lu Ke and Julia had only entered the dance floor hand in hand and swayed to the rhythm a few times before they could even get into it. Now, the music had suddenly switched to a different mode, and the atmosphere instantly became subtle. There was nothing there before, but the group of people who kept cheering them on made Julia feel restricted.
"My dear evil witch, may I have the honor of this dance with you?"
Lu Ke's familiar voice came from her ear. His serious tone carried a hint of relaxation and humor. Julia couldn't help but smile. She looked up at Lu Ke's smiling eyes, and her heart relaxed. She let go of her inhibitions, then politely lifted her skirt and slightly curtsied, giving a clumsy imitation of a noble's thank you.
"My honorable royal knight, of course, the pleasure is all mine," was Julia's response.
The two of them began to dance the waltz, following the melody.
The smile on Julia's lips sank into her eyes. She looked at Lu Ke and said sincerely, "Thank you." After she said it, Julia chuckled. "Thank you not just for accompanying me to the dance tonight, but also for helping me out just now and not letting me be embarrassed in front of Mark and Jenny."
"You're welcome," Lu Ke said, not being polite, but nodding with a smile. Then he added, "Thank you."
Julia's expression was slightly stunned, and she couldn't react for a moment. Why was Lu Ke thanking her?
Then, Lu Ke said seriously, "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to enjoy the treatment of a superstar."
Out of the corner of her eye, she could still see the large group of people standing next to the dance floor, waving their arms and looking overjoyed. They seemed to be enthusiastically telling their other friends about the wonderful experience tonight. The scene was truly full of... vitality.
Julia couldn't help but smile. "If this is considered superstar treatment, then what should the cheers and shouts at Candlestick Park be called?"
"Adrenaline," Lu Ke replied cleverly and slyly. Julia savored the words and then burst into a brilliant laugh. Her entire face lit up, truly showing the brightness and joy of a young girl. The shadow of her temporary date change had finally completely disappeared.
"Julia, you deserve better," Lu Ke said. Julia looked confused. Lu Ke then explained, "I'm serious, you deserve better."
There was no further explanation, no philosophical rambling, and no inspirational speech. Just a simple "you deserve better." But Lu Ke's eyes were so sincere and earnest that Julia's heart stopped for a moment. The music in her ears and the neon lights in the corner of her eyes seemed to disappear in an instant. The entire world fell silent, and she could clearly hear the sound of her heart beating: thud, thud.
But the next moment, Julia's calf felt a sharp pain. All the flirtatiousness and all the romance disappeared. Her face scrunched up, and she looked at Lu Ke in confusion, wincing in pain. "I thought you could dance!" The kick just now was Lu Ke's masterpiece. In a turn, her shin bone had been a goner.
Before Lu Ke could say anything, he immediately took a step back, but he was a little too slow and stepped on Julia's toe. Then, Lu Ke saw Julia's mouth open wide, her expression exaggerated, as if the pain had gone straight to her bones. Lu Ke also winced, his features scrunching up. "But I never said I was good at it."
Julia's breath was stuck in her chest, not going up or down. It was both frustrating and funny.
Then she saw Lu Ke's cautious movements. His muscles were stiff, and he looked a little clumsy. It seemed that the two consecutive mistakes had flustered him, and he didn't have the same heroic demeanor as he did on the field. Julia couldn't hold back anymore and chuckled, teasing him, "Tell me, back when you and Logan had that dance-off, who won?"
Lu Ke opened his mouth, and then imagined the awkward dance scene back then. It was a massive car crash. Then, he closed his mouth and replied earnestly, "I think we should stick to talking about important matters of state."
"Pffft," Julia couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. She saw Lu Ke close his eyes, an expression of resignation on his face, as if he was ready for a "spit bath." Julia had wanted to explain that she hadn't spit.
But Lu Ke's expression was so vivid that her shoulders started to shake. It was too hard to hold back her laughter. She deliberately stayed silent and watched Lu Ke. After a while, she saw Lu Ke cautiously open one eye. Julia finally couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing.
The homecoming dance was a lot more fun and a lot happier than she had imagined. Starting her last year of high school this way, Julia felt, was a pretty good beginning.
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