"What are you thinking! Use your head properly!"

Wen Mo laughed at the prank, which immediately eased the tense atmosphere and made him feel much more relaxed.

He reached out and patted her shoulder, letting out a long breath and forcing a smile. "What I'm about to say might seem unbelievable to you, but it's all true, and you have to believe me."

Xiang Xiaonan was taken aback by his words and became serious. She quickly straightened her posture and nodded earnestly, her big eyes not even blinking, as if afraid of missing any key words.

Incidentally, Wen Mo is not unlikable; on the contrary, he perfectly embodies Xiang Xiaonan's preferences.

The rejection just now was indeed from the heart, because even though Wen Mo is her type, just thinking about him becoming her boyfriend... makes her feel strange.

"I do have someone I like, and this person is very special."

"You don't actually like Qin Zhou, do you?"

"...Can you please not interrupt the emotions I've finally built up..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's my fault, it's my fault." Xiang Xiaonan obediently covered her mouth.

Wenmo felt a slight itch and dryness in his throat. The closer he got to that name, the more uncomfortable he felt, as if it would be extremely difficult to utter her name.

With his hands crossed on his lap, Wen Mo's heart was beating much faster than usual. He was afraid, yet also somewhat longing. This secret had been buried deep in his heart for three whole months. Perhaps from the very first day he met Xia Lian, he had already fallen into an abyss.

Perhaps feeling that procrastination was pointless, Wen Mo steeled her resolve and, with a slight tremor in her lips, uttered the name hidden in her heart:

"I like Xia Lian..."

After saying that, he hugged his legs, buried his head in them, and his breathing became rapid.

Wen Mo had no idea how Xiang Xiaonan would react. Five words were enough to summarize his life with his cousin, and the pleasure of confiding in her made him feel much better.

When she raised her head again, the blush on her cheeks had spread across her entire face, making her already fair and rosy complexion even more flushed.

"Um……"

Xiang Xiaonan rested her chin on her hand, nodded thoughtfully, and occasionally raised her head or scratched her hair, as if she was still savoring Wen Mo's words from earlier.

He has someone he likes.

Um……

The person I like is Xia Lian.

Um……

Cousins.

Um……

I can understand each individual character, so why is it that when they're put together in a sentence, I can't understand a single one? Is this still Chinese?

"Wait a minute... I don't really want to talk to you right now. Let me process this." Xiang Xiaonan reached out and pushed him aside, then huddled in another corner of the bench, pondering the situation carefully.

I've known Wen Mo for almost three years now, and I know his character better than anyone. I just never expected that this kid would actually know how to play tricks.

Because of his good looks and excellent grades, many girls have been flirting with him, but he has never clearly identified his type and has always politely rejected their advances.

Now I understand why Wenmo doesn't like the girls around him; the girl he likes has always been by his side.

"Really...?"

Because of the sheer volume of information, it took Xiang Xiaonan a while to recover. She glanced at him with a slight hesitation, the ends of her hair tucked around her ears.

Wen Mo looked down at the floor, his hand unconsciously gripping the armrest of the bench. After a long while, he nodded gently.

"It's all true, I have no reason to lie to you."

Hearing this, Xiang Xiaonan frowned again. She knew that Wen Mo was not joking about this, especially in the current serious atmosphere. Even though it sounded fake, she still chose to believe him in the end.

"Now I understand why you kept it to yourself all this time."

After figuring things out, Xiang Xiaonan became much more open-minded. She didn't show any discrimination or even disgust in her eyes. Instead, she patted Wen Mo's back with a smile and said, "Actually, you could have told me sooner. It's hard to keep this to yourself, right? You feel like you can't tell anyone."

Good friends are supposed to listen to each other's feelings, even if it's unbelievable. After three years of getting to know each other, it's impossible not to have some feelings for each other. Wenmo must have mustered up a lot of courage to reveal his secret to me.

"I dare not say it. If this gets out and others find out... it's not a big deal if something happens to me, but I'm afraid Xiaolian will also be gossiped about..."

Wenmo's voice trembled slightly, as if he had already imagined what the scene would be like, and he grabbed his head and rubbed it hard.

Seeing him like this, Xiang Xiaonan was a little stunned.

In her eyes, Wen Mo was usually incredibly confident, whether in solving problems or speaking. She rarely saw him with such an expression, especially now... He looked fragile and helpless, like a lost child.

"Don't think like that! Look! You've already taken the first step! Now you're not the only one in the world who knows the secret!" Xiang Xiaonan tried to ease the tension by poking Wen Mo's cheek with a smile.

Seemingly amused by her silly expression, Wen Mo sat up straight, her expression no longer showing the helplessness she had just displayed.

"Thank you for listening to me. I feel much better now that I've talked it out."

"Are you being too formal? We're practically family."

Xiang Xiaonan patted his head with a grin, and his originally stylish hairstyle was immediately messed up, making him look a bit disheveled.

"Oh, I'm sorry I messed up your hair..." She glanced at him a little guiltily. Wen Mo usually wouldn't let her touch his head, but for some reason, she had suddenly forgotten about it today.

Wen Mo smiled and didn't seem to care.

"I'll let you off the hook today, consider it an exception."

"You've suddenly become very easy to talk to, which makes me feel a little uncomfortable."

“I’m usually quite easy to talk to.” Wenmer shrugged.

"Easy to talk to? What a joke!" Xiang Xiaonan rolled her eyes at him, and the two returned to their usual way of interacting. "So, what are you going to do next? Confess to her?"

"How could it be so fast! And I haven't figured out what to do next... It's because I've been so hesitant that I feel so bad, I just can't get over this hurdle in my heart."

Wen Mo let out a long breath, feeling much more relaxed. He looked up at the cloudless sky, a wave of melancholy washing over him. "Maybe I'll subtly hint at it to her when I get home?"

"Huh? After you get home?"

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you we were living together?” Wen Mo asked, a little puzzled.

Unexpectedly, Xiang Xiaonan didn't react at all. She simply took out her phone, dialed a few numbers, and put it to her ear.

"Hello? Is this a police officer?"

"Damn it, let me explain!"