Xu Hengkai: "Taotao's brother is engaged, but her eldest cousin doesn't have a partner yet."

"Okay, then you have to let me meet her eldest cousin."

"Her eldest cousin's appearance and character are basically like mine. What do you think?"

"What a coincidence? Of course it's great to look like you."

Xu Hengkai: "So you mean you are quite satisfied with me? Then why bother to go far away? I am Shen Yu's eldest cousin, Tao Tao's eldest cousin, so we can be together."

Gu Yingying giggled: "What nonsense are you talking about? How can we be a couple?"

"Why not?"

"Are you stupid? What's the relationship between us? Liwen and I are the same. We are both your sisters."

"Liwen is my biological sister. You and I have no blood relationship at all."

"That's my sister too. We grew up together. Don't you remember that I'm two years older than you?"

"Remember, isn't it said that a girl three years older than her husband will get a gold brick? We are one year, eight months and twelve days apart, which is not even enough for a gold brick. I can only get half a gold brick."

Gu Yingying: “…”

He turned around and looked at Xu Hengkai carefully: "Did you eat something wrong today? Or were you stimulated by something?"

Xu Hengkai paused and nodded: "I guess so. After Shen Yu and Taotao got married, the elders in the family have been keeping an eye on me. It seems that they are not going to let me go. There must be a result by next year at the latest. I only want to marry you, Yingying, and no one else."

Gu Yingying was smiling leisurely while listening to the first few sentences, but the last two sentences came too suddenly. She highly doubted her ears and came back to her senses after a while. She asked, "You...Xu Hengkai, do you know what you are talking about?"

"Gu Yingying, do you remember how old we were when we first met? We've known each other very well over the years. I know you didn't take me seriously. I won't tell you that you were forced into an engagement by your family, and you didn't know about it either. But you ran away from your marriage, eloped, and pretended to be married to someone else, and you never thought of looking for me. But I've liked you since I was a child, and you're the only woman I've ever thought of being with until old age."

"No, I, you...you are my younger brother!"

"I'm Liwen's younger brother. I'm not related to you. We can get married."

"Can't!"

"Why?"

"No, anyway."

“You have to give a reason.”

"I, I'm quite old. If I want to get married, I won't accept a man younger than me. I've thought about it and plan to find someone who is at least ten years older than me. That way, when I get older, he will be older and I won't be disliked by him."

"What are you thinking about? How can you live if you are despised? You will not be able to bear to find an old man. I am the most suitable one. We are only one year apart in age. When I was a child, I was indeed the same height as you. After entering middle school, I grew faster than you. Now when the three of us stand together, people will think I am your and Liwen's brother. In fact, you look younger than Liwen. If I don't shave, people may think I am your uncle."

"Yingying, every word I say comes from my heart. I can announce to the whole world: My greatest wish in this life is to marry you, Gu Yingying."

"Heng Kai, you..."

"I know you like romance, poetry and music, and your life is full of fun, but I'm a bit boring and always in a hurry. Maybe this is unfair to you, but I can't control myself. Even if I don't deserve you, I still want to be with you! I 've always wanted to tell you, but I haven't found the chance. You'll be going back to Hai City to work in a few days, and I'll be busy too. I may not see you or contact you for a long time. I'm going to bring it up today, please consider it seriously, and don't rush to answer. No matter what your final answer is, I will accept it."

Gu Yingying: “…”

She was confessed to so suddenly, and the person she loved was Xu Hengkai. It was totally unexpected. She felt like she was dreaming and it was so unreal. She was shocked, her heart was beating as fast as a drum, her mind was buzzing, and she lost the ability to express herself in words for a while.

After that, both of them were silent. One seemed calm but actually he was not sure what was going on inside, and the other was still in a daze. After a while, Gu Yingying said haltingly, "Well, Heng Kai, you should know that Gu Panpan likes you very much. No, she has had a crush on you for a long time, and her family supports it... If our two families want to get married, maybe you and her..."

"That's not possible. I don't like anyone except you. If you marry someone else, I will live alone for the rest of my life."

"You are the grandson of the Xu family. It is impossible for you not to get married."

"If it really comes to that, I know what to do. Fortunately, our Xu family has more than one grandson. Just tell them not to consider me. It will only harm the girl. Not only will it not achieve the goal of long-term friendship between the two families, it may even create hatred."

Gu Yingying was silent again. Xu Hengkai had explained it so clearly, so there was no need for her to say more and tell him what kind of person Gu Panpan was.

As Gu Yingying had said, Xu Hengkai drove her to the entrance of an alley and parked the car. He had been to this place before. The alleys were narrow and long, crisscrossing each other. If one was not careful, one would take the wrong route and might end up wandering around for a long time without being able to get out. Xu Hengkai wanted to accompany her inside, but Gu Yingying said no, as he was afraid of wasting his time.

Xu Hengkai asked: "Which one are you going to and how long will you stay?"

Gu Yingying: "I don't know either. One of my colleague's parents lives here, but I have to find out which family they are. When she heard that I was back in Beijing, she asked me to bring some money and pass on a few words."

"Then I have to take you there, otherwise you won't be able to find it until dark." Xu Hengkai said.

"It's not that exaggerated. I will ask for directions."

"What's the use of a ready-made guide?"

"You are too busy, don't delay."

"I'm not busy at the moment."

"Oh well."

Xu Hengkai took a piece of paper with the address on it from Gu Yingying, looked at it, and led her into the alley. They turned left and right, and the alley became narrower and narrower. Gu Yingying wanted to fall behind, but Xu Hengkai pulled her forward. It was really uncoordinated to walk side by side but not close to each other. Finally, Gu Yingying took Xu Hengkai's arm, and now they were in step. They both thought of the same thing at the same time and couldn't help laughing.

This is a long-lost feeling. From childhood to adulthood, on the way to school, especially in the windy and snowy winter, Xu Liwen and Xu Hengkai practiced martial arts since childhood, and they had to exercise and be self-reliant. Gu Yingying was afraid of hardship and did not practice martial arts. She was not as strong as them and did not walk fast. She just hung on Xu Hengkai's arm like this, not only as a mobile hand warmer, but also so that he could drag her along, saving effort. Sometimes the wind and snow were too strong, so she would hide behind him directly, and he would lead the way in front of her in the wind and snow, and she would grab the corner of his clothes to cover her head without opening her eyes... Thinking back to the past, the two of them sighed, time went too fast, and so many years had passed inadvertently.

(End of this chapter)