In particular, her feelings for Xu Shizhen were not something that happened overnight; they were feelings that had existed for a very long time. In the past, they were mostly feelings of gratitude, such as "even if the young master is a good-for-nothing, I will still drag him along."

But now she can't lie to herself anymore; she just likes him.

"Are you done talking?"

Xu listened quietly, then asked a question with a blank expression.

"Um."

Su Lin nodded, forcing herself to meet his gaze; she needed an answer no matter what.

"You know what? My dad actually told me this when he was still alive."

Xu Shi, however, was not in a hurry. He said slowly, "He told me that Su Lin is a very good girl. If there is a chance, he should not let her be a servant for the rest of her life, but should marry her."

"real……?"

Su Lin was stunned upon hearing this. Had the master given such instructions when he was alive? It seemed not... no, that's right, he hadn't!

She hadn't forgotten that "Snake Ring" and "Prism" were engaged. With Xie Qingyan in the picture, Xu Cheng would never make such an arrangement. What era are we living in? The idea of ​​a concubine or maid is outdated.

It was only because Xu Shi had no taboos that he ended up with such a thick book of romantic entanglements.

So this must have been made up by the young master himself, but why... ah...

Clever as she was, she quickly realized that Xu Shi's words had actually revealed his attitude.

"Didn't I tell you before that I'm very grateful for your unwavering support and companionship all these years?"

Xu Shi smiled and stood up, walking up to her. "I just didn't expect you to have the same thoughts as me. It was my fault for not asking you about it earlier."

This statement is half true and half false; at least it's impossible that he didn't expect it, and even leaving her hanging is something this wicked coward did intentionally.

Just a side note: during our last heart-to-heart talk, this jerk said, "Can you bark like a dog for me?" instead of something like "Thank you for being by my side." His despicable nature was on full display.

But he truly felt sorry for Su Lin. He didn't dare say it to others, but he had always had feelings for Su Lin as well. He said that the two of them were too familiar to develop a relationship further, but if you think about it from another perspective, since they were so familiar, wouldn't it be better to just break through that barrier and everything would fall into place?

At least for now, yes.

He even felt a little wistful, wondering if he should really take the initiative himself? He didn't deny that he liked it when girls took the initiative, it gave him a sense of accomplishment... but Su Lin was a real exception.

After all, given her personality, unless it's extremely painful, she really would keep everything bottled up inside and live with that regret for the rest of her life—now she's not young anymore, actually twenty-seven, twenty-eight by the Chinese age reckoning, and in the blink of an eye she'll be twenty-nine, and thirty is just a few years away from old age...

Everyone says that you can find the feeling of first love in Tang Shuang, but the one who has truly accompanied her all the way is Su Lin in front of you.

"Young Master..."

Su Lin stumbled and fell into his arms.

This was the first time she had ever cried. She had never cried when she was beaten and scolded in the orphanage as a child, nor when she endured thousands of hours of training in the Xu family. But now, Xu Shi's casual remark had made her burst into tears.

However, these were tears of joy. She was so glad to hear Xu Shi say that... To be honest, she had always felt rather humble, always feeling that as a retainer she shouldn't think too much, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to watch others fall into his arms before her.

Fortunately, it's not too late. Justice delayed is not justice, but love delayed is definitely love.

"Don't cry, don't cry."

Xu Shi comforted his older sister, saying that he would only tease or joke about others, but he would never deny that Su Lin was his older sister, because she was.

Putting everything else aside, without her, I probably wouldn't have even had a chance to awaken my memories before I was already dead, not to mention the meticulous care she had given me for decades.

Su Lin was very obedient and immediately stopped crying when Xu Shi told her not to.

Then.

Without saying a word, she picked up Princess Xu Shi in her arms.

"?"

Xu Shi was taken aback. "What are you trying to do?"

"I...I'll get back everything you owe me!"

With Xu Shi's reply, Su Lin became bolder. "You've been deliberately ignoring me all this time... I need you to apologize with your actions."

"Why should I apologize?... Have you gone too far?"

Xu Shi sensed something was wrong, but unfortunately he couldn't break free—perhaps he had improved in combat power, but Su Lin would always be Su Lin.

I just saw you walking all crooked and unsteady. So this outfit doesn't affect your movement at all?

"Have you taken care of everything I asked you to do before?"

Su Lin was too lazy to eat any more of that rubbish. She looked at the "Blue Ocean" owner who was waiting not far away and asked him coldly.

Her gentleness and shyness were limited to a few moments; she never lost her dignity in front of others.

"Yes, yes, everything has been arranged as you instructed, Director Su."

The owner of "Blue Ocean" smiled apologetically, explaining that the "things he was told to do" obviously referred to booking a room or something—this guy had a good business sense, having opened a hotel above the restaurant.

Once you've had a good meal, won't you start to have lustful thoughts? He's made a fortune over the years using this trick.

To be able to get such a juicy juicy story and such sweet moments is a huge bonus! To be honest, this is no small story. Before, everyone had only speculated that there was something going on between Xu Shi and Su Lin, but no one had ever seen it for sure.

This was also Su Lin's ultimate goal today—not only to get advice from Jiang Chengcheng, but also to completely put her mind at ease in this way. Who told the young master to have such a bad personality? It's all your own fault…

He was having a good time when he suddenly saw Xu Shi's murderous glare. "If you dare to say a word about what happened today, I'll chop you up and bury you in the City of Sin."

The owner of "Blue Ocean" dared not offend this man, so he shrank his neck and nodded vigorously.

Now it's his turn to feel wronged. I was just watching the show, what did I do to deserve this...?

I'm exhausted. I have to go out of town on Tuesday for an interview and a party, so I probably won't be back until Wednesday night. And I can't bring my laptop with me...

How much do I still owe...? At least the three updates from the Alliance Leader last month and two more, ugh...

(End of this chapter)