Unexpectedly, the other person then said, "Actually, there's no rule that writing a love letter to someone means you like them, right?"

Xiao Shang opened her eyes a crack, eager to hear what Chen Bing would say next.

"Speaking of which, I remember a story I read online before: a younger sister, thinking about her brother's studies, secretly sent him a love letter and left her contact information for her alternate account."

After being added as a friend, the younger sister, based on her understanding of her brother, quickly won him over, and the two began an online romance.

During their online relationship, she encouraged her brother to study hard and strive for excellence every day. With her secret help, he eventually got into a top university.

After everything settled down, the younger sister confessed the truth to her brother, who was deeply moved and vowed to take care of her for the rest of his life. From then on, the brother and sister lived a wealthy and happy life.

Although the above story was made up by Chen Bing on the spot, it was like a lifeline, giving Shang Yunmiao a glimmer of hope for survival.

She opened her eyes and stared intently at Chen Bing. Clearly, her gaze was telling Chen Bing that this was her intention: to write love letters so that Chen Bing's studies wouldn't be disrupted by other girls!

"However..."

Noticing the change in Shang Yunmiao's eyes, Chen Bing changed the subject and continued, "Actually, the brother and sister are not biologically related, and the sister does indeed like the brother."

As he said this, Chen Bing's eyes were fixed on Shang Yunmiao, and his playful gaze seemed to be asking, "Is this you?"

Before Shang Yunmiao could argue, Chen Bing continued, "But did my brother really not know about these things? No, he actually knew, but he just pretended not to know."

But... a small merchant?

"Yes...yes!"

"Have you ever heard the saying, 'Judging by actions, not intentions, no one is perfect when judging by intentions'? In fact, no emotion is pure. For example, kinship, friendship, and love are all mixed together, but one emotion just has a larger proportion."

Do lovers often call each other brother and sister?

So, what I'm saying is actually to tell you that what you think in your heart is not important; what matters is what you do.

Although the brother and sister in the story have feelings for each other, if they keep these feelings hidden and live their entire lives as siblings, then from a behavioral perspective, wouldn't they be siblings?

Shang Yunmiao was confused by Chen Bing's whole set of theories, feeling like she understood them but also not quite. However, overall, she felt there were no problems, especially the line "Judging by actions, not intentions, for no one is perfect by intentions," which was both reasonable and cultured.

So she nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice, which could be considered as her acceptance of the other party's theory.

Seeing this, Chen Bing nodded in satisfaction and then helped Shang Yunmiao summarize the conclusion.

"So, if I feel you had a legitimate purpose in writing those love letters, then you had a legitimate purpose. Otherwise, you have ulterior motives and are not innocent at all!"

Stunned by Chen Bing's words, Shang Yunmiao, whose mind had been somewhat clouded from the start, readily accepted this conclusion. She then began to fret about how to convince Chen Bing that she had a legitimate purpose in writing those love letters.

Do you want me to admit it?

"Mmm! Mmm!" Xiao Shang nodded twice, looking like he really wanted to.

"Well..." Chen Bing drawled, revealing her sly expression again, "Let's trade something else, like what you've been thinking about these past few days. If you tell me honestly, I'll reluctantly admit that you've been scheming to write me love letters with a perfectly legitimate purpose."

Upon hearing this, Shang Yunmiao hesitated, her remaining rationality desperately trying to stop her, reminding the girl that these words were nothing more than the rhetoric of a bad man to lure girls.

However, when Chen Bing reminded Shang Yunmiao that this reasonable and fair transaction had a time limit and was about to expire, Shang Yunmiao weighed the contrast between having another taciturn girl who wanted to sit next to her but didn't dare to, and the urgency of the other person knowing that she liked him. In the end, the girl gave up the former.

"Actually..." After mustering her courage, Shang Yunmiao blushed and looked directly at Chen Bing, whispering, "The reason I've been like this these past few days is actually because... because I want to sit next to you..."

Xiao Shang's last sentence was spoken very softly, but Chen Bing could still hear it clearly in the quiet environment. He pinched Shang Yunmiao's little face with great interest, signaling her to continue.

In this way, Shang Yunmiao told Chen Bing everything about her criminal psychology, criminal preparation activities, and all her mental activities from preparation to the final attempt of the crime.

When Xiao Shang recounted the changes in her heart when she met her father at the night market, Chen Bing couldn't help but smile.

So that's how it is. I was wondering why this small merchant, who usually confesses everything when questioned, has held out for so long this time. Turns out it was his own fault.

That evening, what happened next goes without saying. After being thoroughly ridiculed by Chen Bing, Shang Yunmiao's embarrassing past was added to the list...

The good news is that on the way to school the next day, Chen Bing made a solemn promise to Xiao Shang.

"How about this? I already told Zhang Yuan yesterday that we'd be deskmates. If he doesn't get into the science and technology class after the monthly exam, then I'll be your deskmate then, okay?"

After what happened yesterday, Shang Yunmiao had completely become Chen Bing's obedient follower. Faced with such a promise, how could she dare to say no?

However, being kind-hearted, she thought of her current deskmate, Ma Lele, so she changed her request and tentatively said to Chen Bing, "Actually, it would be fine if we could sit at adjacent desks. Lele is still my deskmate, and I'm afraid she'll be sad if I leave."

Upon hearing this, Chen Bing nodded and agreed to his younger brother's suggestion.

"That works too, I approve."

Sitting on the back of the electric scooter, Shang Yunmiao smiled happily. Although she had said a lot of nonsense and done a lot of embarrassing things last night, the result was good in the end.

"Oh, right. Seating after the monthly exam is assigned in order of scores, so don't get too low a score and end up with no seats around you. After all, you're a bit silly; you don't even know the cell structure we looked at this morning."

Realizing Chen Bing was teasing her, Shang Yunmiao blushed slightly. But thankfully, the morning breeze was cool, and feeling the gentle breeze brush against her ears, while pressing her face against the boy's back, the blush slowly faded along with the sunrise...