He had wanted to say “I never liked you,” but his words got stopped halfway, and he would rather get beaten than finish the sentence. 0

Did that mean… he actually liked her?0

He himself had no idea.0

And Yue Hongling had a feeling that might actually be the case.0

“Since when did you start wanting to hug your big sister Yue?”0

“It started back when I first sat behind you on your horse.”0

“Then why didn’t you take the opportunity to be frivolous with me when I was in your room injured?”0

“That’s because I respect you.”0

Could what he blurted out actually be a lie he made up to trick the celestial maiden? That’s very likely... You stinking bandit, you actually weren’t an honest person even back then.2

It doesn’t matter, as long as he says it’s fake, I’ll just pretend as if nothing happened, and we can continue as usual, as friends. But it feels so difficult....0

In the air of silence between them, there seemed to be something lingering, something they could not quite discern.0

Zhao Changhe let out a long sigh, then chuckled self-deprecatingly. He took a seat, poured himself a drink, and said, “You know, I was thinking just now… Maybe when I was acting so eager earlier, it wasn’t entirely an act. Perhaps I’m naturally a bit...0