Once the idea came to him, Old Xu felt it was perfect, and he smiled and patted the young man on the shoulder:

“Xingmian, your grandfather and I were very good friends. We originally wanted to arrange a marriage between our children, but in the end, it didn’t work out.”

He paused and said:

How old are you this year?

Shen Xingmian said expressionlessly, "Twenty-eight."

Old Xu smiled and said, "You're two years older than Jingzhi, so are you engaged?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Xingmian glanced at Nan Zhi. The girl was eating with her head down, but he noticed that her hand paused for a moment. The man replied, "There has never been a marriage yet."

Upon hearing the answer, Old Xu's eyes lit up. He glanced at Xu Yao, but Xu Yao was too preoccupied with her meal to think about it and felt a surge of nervousness.

A blush rose to her cheeks. She stole a glance at the person sitting beside her, then quickly turned her head away.

Xu Jingzhi noticed her little gesture, raised his hand and patted her head with a smile. It was clear that Shen Xingmian was indeed exceptionally capable.

Old Xu pressed on, asking, "Xingmian, since you're also unmarried, what do you think of my granddaughter?"

He shifted his gaze to Xu Yao and continued speaking to Shen Xingmian:

“My granddaughter has been well-behaved and sensible since she was little, and her academic performance is also quite good. Although there is a big difference in the grade, you can get engaged first and then get married after she graduates.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Yao lowered her head even further, feeling utterly ashamed.

Nan Zhi stopped eating at this moment, and looked up at Shen Xingmian with a smile.

Shen Xingmian: "......"

He turned to look at Old Xu, his expression cold, and directly refused:

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Xu. Although my family has never arranged a marriage for me, I already have a girlfriend and have no intention of changing her."

Old Xu's face stiffened for a moment, then he chuckled and said, "In that case, it was my old man who was being presumptuous."

Old Xu was, after all, a friend of my grandfather and Nanzhi's maternal grandfather. He said calmly, "Miss Xu is a good girl and deserves a better man."

His words were very tactful and gave Old Xu a way out. Old Xu's expression softened a lot. It was indeed too sudden of him to blame Shen Xingmian.

Xu Yao, standing to the side, felt ashamed and indignant upon hearing Shen Xingmian's straightforward rejection. She had no reason not to please him. She lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

Seeing his daughter's face slapped, Xu Guang's expression turned sour. He glanced at Shen Xingmian with a sullen face, and his good impression of her instantly turned negative.

Xu Jingzhi turned to look at his younger sister beside him, feeling angry but unable to say that she was in the wrong.

For the past twenty years, Xu Yao has been the pampered darling of her family. Whatever she wanted, her family would give her. They basically granted her every wish. But now, she is seeing her first crush on a boy, only to be rejected by him.

Thinking about all this, Xu Jingzhi no longer had any good feelings towards Shen Xingmian.

“Our Yao Yao truly deserves the best. Mr. Shen is quite self-aware.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Xingmian turned her head and gave Xu Jingzhi a cold look.

Xu Jingzhi could feel a chill rising from the soles of his feet. He appeared nonchalant, but his palms were actually sweating.

Nan Zhi frowned, looked up at Xu Jingzhi, and then turned her gaze back to Xu Yao.

She was probably moved by her brother's words and was staring at Xu Jingzhi with teary eyes.

It wasn't until Old Xu chuckled and made light of the situation that the little incident was brought up.

That night, Xu Yao and her father also stayed over.

Shen Xingmian was assigned to a guest room next to Nanzhi.

At night, the moonlight shines on the garden, making the flowers appear even more vibrant.

Nanzhi looked at the night view from the balcony. From here, she could almost see the sea. Nanzhi sighed in her heart, "This is really a good place to retire."

Immediately, she heard a noise from the balcony next door.

Peeking out, I saw it was Shen Xingmian, who had just opened the balcony door.

Nanzhi looked at him, and suddenly wanted to see how startled he would be.

She silently climbed up the railing and stood on it. It wasn't too far from the other person's balcony, and for Nanzhi, jumping over was easy.

Nan Zhi smiled brightly and said, "Shen Xingmian," her voice rising in tone.

Shen Xingmian clearly hadn't noticed what was happening on her side. Upon hearing this, she stepped out a little, looked up, and saw Nan Zhi standing on the fence.

This was a very dangerous move. He immediately frowned, his expression darkening, and upon closer inspection, a flash of panic crossed his eyes.

Nan Zhi hadn't noticed the other person's change yet, and with a light leap, she stood on the railing in front of Shen Xingmian.

Before she could even stand properly, the man grabbed her waist and lifted her down.

Immediately afterwards, a familiar scent filled her nostrils, and Nan Zhi was held tightly in the man's arms, and the embrace grew tighter and tighter. Whether it was her imagination or not, Nan Zhi felt the man trembling slightly.

"Shen Xingmian? You're holding me too tightly."

Even after Nan Zhi said that, Shen Xingmian still showed no sign of letting go of her, as if she was caught up in some kind of emotion, her whole body exuding an aura of death surrounding her.

Although Nan Zhi was puzzled, she didn't say anything more. She reached out and put her arms around the man's back, patting him gently.

The moonlight spilled onto the balcony, and the scene of the two embracing added a touch of romance.

But only the person involved knows how terrified he was at that moment.

After a long while, Shen Xingmian finally came to his senses. He released Nanzhi and looked into her eyes, his gaze filled with turbulent emotions, and his tone was colder than ever before towards Nanzhi:

What exactly are you doing?

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