At this point, Zhou Haiyan couldn't help laughing. She continued, "But I just fell in love with him. Although he's not handsome and tone-deaf, he's very talented. To be honest, I just admire his talent and slowly fell in love with him. He also has some flaws, such as arrogance, but these are character issues that can't be changed, and I don't need him to change for me. From another perspective, aren't these advantages?"

"He wrote poetry, published books, and sold his paintings, and he paid his own way to study music abroad. I really admired him, and so I fell hopelessly in love with him. We established a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship abroad, but he respected me very much. We always maintained a very pure relationship, and even held hands very rarely. I gave him my first kiss, and he later said it was his first kiss, too."

As she spoke, Zhou Haiyan's expression became dazed. She seemed to have completely entered into the scenes of the past. Her face was filled with joy and satisfaction, as well as a little shyness, which left Tang Xiaobao stunned.

But Zhou Haiyan seemed to ignore Tang Xiaobao completely. She was still immersed in her memories and continued to tell the story in a quiet voice.

"I lied to him and told him that my parents were just ordinary civil servants. We fell in love and continued to be together until graduation, when we returned to China. During that time, he worked three jobs to buy an apartment in Yanjing and to give me a better life. He really worked very hard. Then one day, my family and I were having dinner at a restaurant, and he finally ran into us. He naturally came over to say hello, but he was just a waiter, and my parents were very indifferent. Afterwards, my mother asked me to bring him home. At home, my father and him had a heart-to-heart talk. After the meal, he left and sent me a message proposing a breakup."

“How ridiculous!”

Tang Xiaobao couldn't help but shout.

"It's quite bloody."

Zhou Haiyan smiled bitterly and said, "Of course I didn't want to break up. I searched for him for a long time before I found him. I asked him why we broke up, and he told me that it was because I had deceived him from the beginning and concealed the situation at home. He was right, and I was speechless. This became the reason for our breakup. Sometimes I think it's so ridiculous."

"I didn't quarrel with him. I just said seriously that in this life, I would never marry anyone except him, and then we broke up." Zhou Haiyan sighed: "In fact, I was not very sad, because I knew he still loved me. I found him watching me from a distance many times. Once, when I was going home at night, two drunks tried to molest me. He stepped forward and got into a fight with them. That time, he had more than a dozen stitches on his head. In the end, he said he happened to be passing by and would hit any girl he met."

"I believed him. That's just the way he is. It's only natural for him to help others. He didn't ask me to take him to the hospital, but I already knew that every night he would follow me on his motorcycle from a distance and escort me home. That was my happiness."

Zhou Haiyan said.

Tang Xiaobao was also in a complicated mood. He looked at Zhou Haiyan and said with emotion: "He is such a good man."

"Yes, he is."

Zhou Haiyan affirmed without hesitation: "Later, I had a conflict with my family, and I used my savings to buy a house here. The idea was very simple, because my family hurt me. I don't hate them, but I don't want to see them every day. After I came here, he also moved nearby. Every night, he would go to the subway passage to play guitar. And every night, he would play the song he wrote for me, but I couldn't sing, I could only listen to the music he played. He also knew that I was watching him in the dark. I had this strong feeling, but he didn't point it out. We maintained this wonderful relationship until now. Five years have passed. He is no longer young, and I am not young either, but we don't know what the future will be like. This is my story."

Tang Xiaobao listened without saying anything. After a long moment, he sighed, "This is like a movie, a song, or even an excellent romance novel. It's full of twists and turns, yet romantic and incredibly touching, you know?"

"I have no idea."

Zhou Haiyan smiled calmly and said, "But I am very touched."

"He's truly talented, especially artistic. I thought the 1980s was the era of art, but I never expected to meet a pair of artistic young people like you in this day and age. I admire you deeply: your knowledge, your refinement, your silence, your artistry, your perseverance, and most of all, your vision and persistence."

Tang Xiaobao used a parallel sentence very seriously to express his feelings.

"Thank you, you're a good listener."

Zhou Haiyan said sincerely.

Tang Xiaobao frowned: "Do your parents know that you still have this kind of relationship?"

"Know."

Zhou Haiyan said: "But he and I haven't reconciled, and they know it, so they can't say anything."

"They just let it go. This isn't like their style. Shouldn't they try to break up the couple or force them to go on a blind date?"

Tang Xiaobao blinked curiously.

"You really have read too many novels."

Zhou Haiyan laughed and said, "My parents are very well-mannered. They wouldn't do something so rude. Just like when they advised my boyfriend to break up, they definitely didn't say it so explicitly. They repeatedly encouraged us to be good friends and to see things through first. But those words were obviously lies, yet people couldn't blame them. This is what I feel most helpless and disgusted about."

"Your family is really..."

Tang Xiaobao didn't know how to describe it.

"Weird?"

"I didn't say that."

"I think so."

Zhou Haiyan smiled and said, "Of course they won't let it go. I've been engaged since I was a child, and he's already been pursuing me. I guess it won't be long before we get engaged. This has been dragging on for years, but he hasn't pushed me and has always been patient, just like when we were little. He's always protecting me like an older brother would a younger sister, making it impossible for me to hate him, and I have no reason to refuse him."

"puff!"

Tang Xiaobao frowned, "Damn, this is so ridiculous! Why do I feel like your fiancé is so sinister and scheming?"

"You're right, he is that kind of person, but he is really good to me." Zhou Haiyan also frowned.

She doesn't like to hear Tang Xiaobao swearing.

Tang Xiaobao coughed and asked curiously, "Your relationship is quite complicated. What are your plans? We can't maintain this kind of relationship forever. It's not good for anyone."