"Then, and so on, all sorts of things, but in the end, we ended up together." Shang Zhengxin's eyes were filled with nostalgia for those youthful days. After savoring the memory for a long time, he suddenly realized that he had gone a bit off-topic again, so he continued.

"Later, after I got together with Xiaoxuan, I found out that her house was separated from mine by a river, less than 200 meters away as the crow flies. However, because we were not in the same village and there were no bridges across the river, and the two villages had little contact, I had never seen her before."

"I might have met her before the matchmaking event. But we're six or seven years apart. When I was in college, Xiaoxuan was probably around your age. Even if I had met her, I probably wouldn't remember her."

"So..." Shang Zhengxin said, trying to lower his voice and speaking with a hint of flattery, "Don't tell your Aunt Xuan what I told you in the car earlier, okay? That was all out of youthful ignorance."

After a brief silence, Chen Bing quickly agreed. He thought Shang Zhengxin was telling him all this to impart some profound wisdom…

"And another thing, Xiao Chen, you're a smart kid, you can understand what I meant just now, right?"

Pretending to be confused, Chen Bing nodded and then replied, "It means that your relationship with Aunt Xuan is as strong as gold, and the romantic affairs of your youth are all in the past."

Shang Zhengxin's expression changed slightly, and he replied somewhat awkwardly, "Well, that certainly accounts for a small part. But more importantly, Uncle, I want to tell you that in this life, you may encounter too many things. Before I met Xiaoxuan, how could I have imagined that such a beautiful girl would make my heart flutter, and how could I have imagined that she lived right across the river from my house?"

After mentioning these two matters, Shang Zhengxin drew a conclusion.

"Good love is something that has been refined and appears suddenly in the long course of life. If you seize it, you will be happy; if you let it go, you will regret it. If I had been confused and started dating those girls in high school, or if I had compromised and agreed to any blind date when I was 25 or 26, I would never have met Xiaoxuan."

The more he listened, the more uneasy he felt, and the more depressed he became. He thought to himself, "Is Uncle Shang trying to tell me that Shang Yunmiao might not be the best choice for me in life, and that I shouldn't put all my eggs in one basket, but rather be more selective and consider other people?"

Despite his continued vague and ambiguous explanations, Shang Zhengxin still hasn't expressed his most accurate and core meaning.

But vaguely, Chen Bing sensed from the other person's words that he should stop getting entangled with Shang Yunmiao.

It was this vague, unsettling feeling that made Chen Bing very uncomfortable. He didn't want to hear those words anymore, nor did he want to beat around the bush with Shang Zhengxin. He wanted to be direct and state his position clearly.

"Uncle Shang." Chen Bing put down her fishing rod, not caring whether she caught any fish or not, and turned to look at him, saying, "Are you trying to talk about me and Xiao Yunmiao?"

Shang Zhengxin nodded noncommittally.

"Then I'll be frank with you. I first met Xiao Shang when I was three years old. Before that, I was quite precocious and popular among the children in the village. Many little girls liked to stay by my side and play house with me. But I had no interest in them at all. I just thought they were a bunch of little kids and not interesting at all."

On my first day of kindergarten, Shang Yunmiao sat next to me, but she kept her head down and cried quietly.

I didn't notice any of this. I thought that everyone else in the class was crying, and she was the only one who was independent and didn't cry. So I started to look at her with more respect.

When the teacher came over, I realized when she looked up that this little girl had been crying harder than anyone else, but she just didn't have the courage to let others see it.

She had long hair at the time, and her cute yet aggrieved fair face was hidden among the strands of hair. Her expression seemed to reveal a sense of despair, but she was trying hard to restrain herself.

When she looked up, she glanced at me timidly, like a frightened little rabbit. For the next day or two, she was bullied or afraid to do what she wanted because of her timid nature. Out of compassion, I helped her. And to thank me, she brought me a bag of homemade cookies the next day.

I didn't think much of it when I accepted the cookies, but the more I thought about it, the more touched I became. She was such a well-behaved and sensible child, yet so gentle and easily bullied. I couldn't suppress the urge to help her and stay with her.

After saying all that, what I really want to tell you is that I fell for Shang Yunmiao when I was three years old. Just like you meeting Aunt Xuan, this is the kind of happiness I wanted to hold onto—a happiness that suddenly appeared. It came somewhat hastily, but after more than ten years of reflection, it's a decision I've come to realize is absolutely right.

"Hmm..." After listening to Chen Bing's words, Shang Zhengxin simply hummed in response, then stared intently at the bobbing float on the water's surface, his calm eyes revealing his inner turmoil.

The float swayed, and Shang Zhengxin's eyes followed suit, bobbing up and down with it.

After a moment of silence, Chen Bing waited nervously for a while before Shang Zhengxin suddenly burst into laughter.

"Xiao Chen, you've misunderstood what I meant. What I meant by talking about those old stories wasn't to advise you to separate from my daughter or anything like that. I've never had that kind of thought."

What I'm trying to say is, you're different from your uncle; happiness has always been by your side. My daughter has always been with you, so you don't need to be so anxious and watchful over her. My daughter likes you very much, and she won't run away. Xiaoxuan and I won't let such a good boy like you get away either; we've always treated you like our own child.

So what I'm trying to say is that you and Yunmiao don't need to rush things; just let everything happen naturally. Study when it's time to study, date when it's time to date, and get married when it's time to get married.

What lies before you is a flat road that stretches as far as the eye can see.

But this also means you need to take responsibility for the girl in advance. Good love can't just be about indulging and protecting her all the time. You also need to help her become better and keep up with you.

As a teacher, I've observed many couples. Today, I can tell you definitively that only couples who grow together are most likely to go the distance.

Let's not talk about anything else, just take the matter of school admissions. I know you have excellent grades, you're truly gifted, and my daughter can't compare to you. But once you're in high school and university, can you guarantee you'll stay together?