exchange

Xu Feifei stared at him in astonishment, looking at the scene before her in disbelief, and asked again uncertainly, "What did you say?"

Zhang Jiayi guessed that she would have that expression, and took a deep breath. Then, seriously and carefully, he said, "Feifei, I like you."

After receiving a definite answer, Xu Feifei began to panic. She had originally thought Zhang Jiayi was asking her for help to solve his family's company problems, but it turned out he was confessing his feelings to her.

The rose was held in front of her, and they hesitated for a few seconds. If she didn't take it, it wouldn't be put down. Xu Feifei looked at the bright red rose and found it somewhat dazzling. "Put the rose down," she said.

"Feifei, I really like you. I had a crush on you the first time I saw you. As we got to know each other better, I became sure of my feelings for you."

Zhang Jia paused for a moment before continuing, "But you were engaged to Nangong Ye before, so I never dared to confess my feelings. After I took leave to return to school this time, I heard from others that you and Nangong Ye had broken off your engagement."

So I wanted to give it a try, I wanted to see if there was any possibility between us.

His voice trembled slightly and he sounded nervous as he spoke, his whole body tense, and his eyes held a hint of expectation and pleading as he looked at her.

Xu Feifei was stunned by such a long confession. She'd been confessed to before, but face-to-face, with flowers, and such a long speech—this was a first. She was at a loss, unsure how to refuse.

She only had a good friend with Zhang Jiayi and had no intention of developing a deeper relationship with him. Besides, she didn't even belong to this world; returning was inevitable.

Xu Feifei's mind raced, trying to piece together her fragmented words of refusal. She said hesitantly and helplessly, "Jiayi, I..."

Seeing this, Zhang Jiayi knew the answer. He was heartbroken and felt like a deflated balloon.

But he was unwilling to give up so easily, and said a second before she could refuse, "Feifei, could you give me your reply a few days later? Can you give me your answer this Friday? I really hope you can think things through with us and think this through."

Xu Feifei frowned, her brows almost knotted with worry. Looking at his pleading and cautious expression, she hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "Okay."

Zhang Jiayi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled contentedly, "Okay, I'll wait for you."

"I have some things to do in my dorm, I'll head back now." Xu Feifei couldn't wait to find an excuse to escape this scene.

Zhang Jiayi stood up and said, "Let me go back with you."

Xu Feifei refused without even thinking, "No need, no need, I can go back by myself. You should go home too, you're from another school, it's not safe outside the school after dark."

"It's okay, my driver is here to pick me up."

"Then don't keep your driver waiting any longer, hurry back."

Zhang Jia handed her the flowers on the table and said, "Take this bouquet back with you."

This bouquet of red roses, wrapped in black paper and tied with a black ribbon, is clearly a bouquet for confessions of love and for couples.

"Here, take this first. I'll give you my answer on Friday." After saying this, Xu Feifei fled the small pavilion in a panic.

Zhang Jiayi watched her retreating figure, then looked dejectedly at the roses in his hand. He rubbed his face hard, understanding Xu Feifei's feelings for him, but he still held onto a sliver of hope for Friday.

After running out of the small pavilion in a panic, Xu Feifei's mind was still in a daze, her thoughts in disarray. When she came down to the first floor, the late-night snack stalls were selling briskly.

The tables were already quite full, and some shops had queues.

Before leaving, Xu Feifei didn't forget to pack some late-night snacks for Lin Yuan: steamed buns and sweet soup. Back in the dorm, her mind was still a mess.

She lay on the sofa thinking a lot, recalling her previous interactions with Zhang Jiayi, and realized that Zhang Jiayi had given her some hints before.

Perhaps she didn't just realize it now; she simply hadn't believed it before. The first time they ate together, her comment about the beautiful moonlight was a veiled confession. But she pretended not to understand, pretended not to know, because she really didn't want to break the ice between them.

She really didn't expect the confession to come so quickly. How should she respond? How can she say a rejection in a way that won't hurt him?

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He scratched his head with both hands, muttering to himself, "How could this happen? How could this happen..."

"Feifei, Feifei!" Lin Yuan's voice came from outside the door.

Xu Feifei took a deep breath to compose herself and went to open the door.

The moment the door opened and she saw Lin Yuan, half of her worries vanished. She greeted her happily, "You're finally back! I got some late-night snacks from the cafeteria, are you hungry?"

Lin Yuan walked into the living room, placed the bag she was carrying on the table, took out the cake inside, and said, "I brought you some snacks, matcha cake and osmanthus cake."

When Xu Feifei saw the osmanthus cake, she was reminded of Zhang Jiayi's incident, and her worries returned. Her brows furrowed, her lips pursed, and she looked distressed.

"What's wrong?" Lin Yuan asked with concern when she saw this.

Xu Feifei hesitated whether to tell Lin Yuan about this. In her heart, the two were already best friends, and it was normal for best friends to talk about such things. However, Lin Yuan's attitude towards Zhang Jiayi had only just begun to improve; would telling her cause her to dislike Zhang Jiayi again?

"Did something serious happen to you while I was away from school?" Lin Yuan asked, her heart filled with worry as she watched her remain silent.

"No, no, it's nothing. You should eat your xiaolongbao while it's still warm; it won't taste good when it gets cold."

Xu Feifei first tried to distract Lin Yuan by pushing the steamed buns on the table in front of her. Then she opened the lid of the sweet soup, and in her haste, she accidentally spilled some milk.

She hurriedly pulled out a tissue to wipe herself, saying, "It's hot now, so I bought some iced mango pomelo sago."

Lin Yuan knew from her expression that Feifei was hiding something. "Feifei, what happened?"

"It's nothing, just trivial matters." Xu Feifei turned her head away guiltily, avoiding looking in her direction.

"Look at me and say it again," Lin Yuan said, her tone commanding.

Xu Feifei looked at her, but after only two seconds of eye contact, her gaze involuntarily drifted away.

"Um?"

Xu Feifei lowered her head guiltily, and after weighing the options in her mind for a while, she said, "I'll tell you after we finish our late-night snack."

She wanted to delay as long as possible, and besides, she had something to ask Lin Yuan, so this topic definitely wouldn't allow her to finish her midnight snack in peace.

Seeing that she was willing to talk, Lin Yuan agreed.

Ten minutes later, Lin Yuan quickly finished the late-night snack that Xu Feifei had brought back and asked, "So, what happened?"

Xu Feifei had just finished eating a piece of matcha cake when she couldn't help but say, "So fast? Then have some osmanthus cake."

Lin Yuan shook her head and said, "No need, I've already eaten. These were brought especially for you."

"Huh? You made this yourself?" Xu Feifei noticed the small box of osmanthus cake in front of her, which looked exactly the same as the one she had at Grandma Xu's last time.

"Yes, I made it at Grandma Xu's house before I came back tonight."

Xu Feifei looked at the delicate osmanthus cake in front of her and could see the care Lin Yuan had put into it. However, she was already very full, having eaten both dinner and cake, and there was almost no room left in her stomach for the osmanthus cake.

"Then I'll have to try it properly." Not wanting to spoil Lin Yuan's mood, he forced himself to eat two pieces, let out a satisfied burp, and laughed, "Delicious!"

Lin Yuan frowned slightly, noticing her reluctance, and said, "If you're full, don't eat anymore, lest you overeat and upset your stomach."

"Okay, there are a few left. We'll use them for breakfast tomorrow."

Xu Feifei slowly and deliberately put the lid on the osmanthus cake.

Lin Yuan knew she was stalling for time, but she wasn't in a hurry. She quietly watched as the woman carefully put away the osmanthus cake.

She enjoyed Xu Feifei's serious attitude towards everything she brought, and the process made her feel exceptionally happy.

Seeing that she seemed quite happy, Xu Feifei felt it was a good time to speak. After hesitating for a while, she asked, "Lin Yuan, why do you always ask for a day off when you go back? Is something wrong?"

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow upon hearing her question. "Shouldn't you be the one telling me what happened first? Why are you asking me this question instead?"

Xu Feifei carefully observed her expression and realized that she wasn't angry. Relieved, she became more assertive and said, "You speak first, then I'll speak."

Lin Yuan smiled helplessly, hesitated for a moment, and said, "My biological father's company is having some problems, and he just asked me to go back and help him."

"Biological father? Is that what your dad means?" This was the first time Xu Feifei had heard someone call her father that, and it felt very strange and unfamiliar.

"Hmm." Lin Yuan nodded, the smile fading from her eyes, replaced by a disdainful sneer.

The room was quiet, and Xu Feifei heard the cold laugh clearly. She could also clearly feel the atmosphere in the room suddenly drop.

Xu Feifei took a deep breath; it seemed Lin Yuan and her father didn't get along. She bit her lip and tentatively asked, "You two don't get along, do you?"

Lin Yuan parted her lips slightly and said, "No."

Xu Feifei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to continue asking when Lin Yuan said, "I have no relation to him, we are just related by blood."

Lin Yuan said this with extreme disgust. This disgusting blood relationship... sometimes she really wanted to go to the hospital for a full blood transfusion to remove this disgusting connection.

After those words, the room fell silent again. Xu Feifei felt flustered, even more so than when Zhang Jiayi confessed his feelings. How was she supposed to handle this? She knew nothing about these mundane family matters.

Xu Feifei's mind raced, trying to think of how to comfort her, before she cautiously asked, "Then you, then you..."

She was completely speechless, utterly at a loss for words. She felt like she was losing her ability to speak, and tears welled up in her eyes!

Lin Yuan didn't want to continue this topic. "Alright, I've finished explaining. You still haven't told me what happened to you."

Xu Feifei was taken aback; the topic had shifted back to her so quickly. However, compared to Lin Yuan's matter, this was a minor issue.

"Then remember to come to me when you're unhappy!"

Xu Feifei suddenly hugged Lin Yuan and patted her back to comfort her. Lin Yuan's gloomy mood was largely swept away by this unexpected hug.

He replied in a deep voice, "Yes, I will."

"Actually, nothing much happened to me, it's just that Zhang Jiayi confessed to me."

"What?"