On a winter afternoon, the sunlight lazily falls on people.

A cup of black tea, its aroma filling the air, feels like a relaxing bath for the soul.

Ning Ruoruo lazily turned a page of her book, when suddenly, a beautiful bunch of tulips appeared before her eyes.

In winter, it's hard to find even ordinary flowers and plants, but at this moment, a bunch of vibrant and fragrant flowers suddenly come into view.

Each tulip is like a work of art meticulously sculpted by nature.

Some petals burn like flames, while others are as pure white as snowflakes; some flowers are delicate and lovely, while others are magnificent and dazzling.

Behind the tulips was a handsome face.

Ning Ruoruo felt as if the sky was filled with bubbles of happiness.

"Second brother..."

"Ruo Ruo..."

"Hey hey hey hey—"

Suddenly, a series of abrupt and jarring sounds of the word "ai" broke the mood.

"So that's who did this! It was you, second brother! My grandfather worked so hard to cultivate these tulips, and they just bloomed today, and you just plucked them off like that?!"

Guo Yuxi clicked her tongue repeatedly, constantly condemning Li Xiangdong's ruthless and violent behavior.

He was so engrossed in looking at the flowers that he completely missed Li Xiangdong's murderous glare!

Li Xiangdong gritted his teeth, "What are you doing here?"

Guo Yuxi still didn't notice the displeasure in his voice and cheerfully said, "Hey, it's nothing! I just regained my freedom with Uncle Liu's help, right? I came over to play for a while!"

Li Xiangdong laughed, "Liu Huiyin from our village is quite nice. I'll talk to Uncle Jin Fang about it another day and arrange a blind date for you two."

Guo Yuxi was terrified and stammered as if she had seen a ghost, "I, I didn't offend you... Why did you hurt me... Oh dear... How scary!"

With that, Guo Yuxi disappeared like a gust of wind.

Only after watching his figure disappear from sight did Li Xiangdong's anger gradually dissipate.

That spoilsport brat!

The atmosphere was just right, and I was even thinking of bringing things up with Ruoruo!

Unexpectedly, Guo Yuxi appeared out of nowhere, ruining the pleasant atmosphere. What should we do next?

Li Xiangdong cleared his throat twice, "Um, Ruoruo..."

"Second Brother! Second Brother! I heard you're going to introduce Liu Huiyin to Xiao Xizi!"

A loud voice rang in my ears; Zhao Xiaojun had entered without me noticing.

"Get out! Get out! If you don't knock and come in, I'll introduce Liu Huiyin to you!"

Zhao Xiaojun exaggeratedly covered his collar, "That won't do! I'm a married man! If anyone's going to be introduced, it'll be Guoqing!"

"Get out of here right now!"

Li Xiangdong kicked Zhao Xiaojun away.

"Ahem... Ruoruo, ignore those brats..."

"Second brother! Second brother! I will never marry Liu Huiyin! Her head is covered in lice! And she says it's just milk powder falling on her head..."

Li Xiangdong was speechless.

"Guoqing, when did you come in?"

"Xiaojun and I came in together!"

What brings you here?

Li Guoqing was momentarily speechless. "Ah! It's nothing! I just wanted to hang out with you!"

"I don't want to play with you guys right now! Get lost!"

Zhao Xiaojun, Guo Yuxi, and Li Guoqing exchanged glances, their eyes barely able to contain their laughter.

Seeing that Li Xiangdong was really anxious, the three of them quickly ran away.

This time, Li Xiangdong didn't rush to continue. Instead, he went outside and, seeing that the three people had really left, locked the door to make sure no one would come in and disturb his confession before finally going inside with peace of mind.

"Ruoruo, what I was trying to say just now was..."

"Brother, Jinbu and Dundun are fighting! You have to go check it out!"

It was Li Yan's voice.

Li Xiangdong sighed, realizing he had forgotten about the people taking a nap inside!

Ning Ruoruo smiled secretly.

Li Xiangdong had no choice but to resign himself to mediating the dispute between his younger cousin and nephew.

This delay lasted for an hour.

By the time Luo Jinbu and Hong Dundun had reconciled and were playing with the little frogs together again, Li Xiangdong was already exhausted.

Ning Ruoruo walked in with a smile and placed a vase of tulips on the long table in the bedroom.

Looking at Li Xiangdong slumped on the daybed, Ning Ruoruo chuckled and teased, "Now that no one's bothering us, what do you want to say to me?"

Li Xiangdong looked at Ning Ruoruo pitifully, "...Let's talk about it next time."

With noisy children around, your beloved in front of you, and yourself all disheveled, confessing your love in this setting would be far too unromantic.

Ning Ruoruo suddenly leaned down, her beautiful eyes looking directly into Li Xiangdong's eyes.

The two were only a few centimeters apart, and for a moment their breaths could be heard.

Li Xiangdong suddenly heard his own heartbeat.

"Thump—thump—"

Each beat sounded like a heavy drumbeat.

"If you won't tell me, then I will!"

Ning Ruoruo's breath was as fragrant as orchids.

Li Xiangdong stammered, "Speak, speak, what should I say..."

Ning Ruoruo tilted her head, her long, curved eyelashes blinking. "I like you."

With a loud bang.

It felt as if ten thousand fireworks were exploding in Li Xiangdong's mind.

biu——biu——biu——

Then, he felt as if he were walking on clouds, his whole body light and airy, as if he might float away at any moment.

His heart was filled with joy and excitement, a feeling he could not express in words.

At the same time, a sense of tension and unease arose spontaneously.

Li Xiangdong's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of his chest, and his fingers were trembling slightly. He had completely lost his usual calm and composure.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice that even he himself found unfamiliar, "I... I like you too!"

Ning Ruoruo reached out and gently grasped Li Xiangdong's hand.

Li Xiangdong's entire face turned red.

Actually, it wasn't his first time touching a woman, so he shouldn't be so shy.

But for some reason, he felt a mix of happiness and bittersweetness, bliss and sadness.

A mix of different feelings welled up inside him, and he almost burst into tears.

Of course, he didn't even have a chance to cry.

Just as he was about to hug Ning Ruoruo back, six heads popped out of the window in a neat row.

Guo Yuxi, Zhao Xiaojun, Li Guoqing, Li Jiabao, Li Ping, and Li Weiran were peering out the window, grinning at the two people inside.

Li Xiangdong was momentarily enraged and embarrassed. He grabbed the rag doll that Hong Dundun had thrown at him and threw it at the six people.

"Thud—"

The rag doll hit the glass and fell down the windowsill.

The six people outside laughed loudly and scattered in a panic.

Li Xiangdong rubbed his hands together, then said shyly to Ning Ruoruo, "Um, how about we continue..."

"Waaaaah... You broke my frog!"

"Waaaaah... This is my frog!"

"..."

Li Xiangdong looked up at the sky speechlessly, blaming himself for not checking the almanac before confessing his feelings.