"Have you been to the old residence?" Hearing Qin Zhan’s words, Bi Xia asked in puzzlement.

Qin Zhan shook his head, "No, I’ve returned to the house we stayed in last time."

The house we stayed in before? Thinking of that red-tiled house, "I don’t remember you mentioning having relatives there before."

With a soft laugh, Qin Zhan slowly got up and walked upstairs, "Uncle An is the butler who has always been by my mother’s side. After my mother divorced Qin Zhongyang, she wanted to go back to Country Y to recuperate. Uncle An worried I might be bullied if left behind, so he refused to return to Country Y and stayed with me." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"So, in the Qin Family, the one person I truly trust is Uncle An," Qin Zhan suddenly said, "Jiu, I can’t wait to introduce you to my family. I think they will like you very much."

"Oh?" Bi Xia smiled, her eyes curved, "How much will they like me?"

"Hmm..." Qin Zhan thought seriously for a while, then chuckled softly, but with certainty in his voice, "They’ll like you as much as I like you—very much, very much. So much that they wouldn’t hesitate... to give everything for you."

Hearing Qin Zhan’s sudden confession, Bi Xia couldn’t help but lift the corner of her lips, slightly tilting her head and brushing back the hair on her forehead, "That kind of affection is too heavy. I can’t bear it..."

There was a slight pause from the other side. Bi Xia didn’t heed the person trying to speak, and continued, "So I hope Fourth Brother’s family likes me just like they like you. And the kind of like that you describe as very much, so much that you’d give everything—that’s something I can give, and I only want to give it to you."

In an instant, the words got stuck in his throat, never swallowed nor spoken out, just caught there. His usually cold eyes softened only when looking at the young lad, now widened, reflecting a gradual bewilderment.

Standing at the stairway, he stared ahead in a daze, even missing Uncle An’s call from below. Suddenly, he quickened his pace towards his room.

Bi Xia only heard the rapid footsteps and the sound of a door being heavily shut, followed by a slightly trembling voice. The man seemed unsure how to express himself, sometimes letting out a low laugh, other times breathing rapidly. Bi Xia waited quietly, waited for the moment the man regained his composure.

Her red lips slightly curved, starry eyes surged with emotion, their depths rippling.

Her small hand quietly covered her flushed face. Truth be told, it wasn’t just Qin Zhan who needed to settle his nerves; even Bi Xia needed to calm herself down, even if... the words they both needed to process were hers.

Bi Xia wasn’t sure if she ever said "I like you" to Qin Zhan, but she knew, between the two of them, it was always Qin Zhan who expressed intense affection, Qin Zhan who tried hard to enter the other’s heart, and it was Qin Zhan who always believed they would spend a lifetime together.

It’s not that she doesn’t believe in herself or Qin Zhan, but she always felt the future was an unknown, and who could be certain they’d be together forever? Wasn’t Bi Xia dreaming now?

If it was really a dream, when it ends, Qin Zhan would be gone. She wasn’t sure if the way Bi Xia from her past life looked at Qin Zhan would change when they met again, if they’d still recognize and understand each other, still hold each other and say, "You are the one I’m destined for."

So, step by step, day by day, this has been Bi Xia’s attitude towards their relationship—not a lack of love, but fear.

But today, facing a bleeding heart, seeing the boy after surgery, listening to Ji Qiutang’s story about their past, learning about Qin Zhan before she appeared, her eyes slightly closed, Bi Xia felt that perhaps the future wasn’t so daunting.

This man, willing to give everything for her, staying by her side, loving her, while she unnecessarily worried about this and that—wasn’t it just ludicrous?

Bi Xia had never been the kind to dawdle or overthink. Just like when she first realized she liked Qin Zhan, without considering the future, she decided to be together, and now, making a promise for the future.

"Fourth Brother, you are my everything."

"Jiu, you are my everything."

Both voices rang out simultaneously, and after the words settled, the clear and crisp laughter and low tender emotions intertwined through the phone, expressing their love for each other and anticipation for the future.