"Xiangsi, I really envy you. You’ve been so brave and cheerful since you were little. Whenever you like something, you fight for it. But me... I’m just too much of a coward."

Maybe this was one of the reasons why Chu Xiaoge liked Ran Xiangsi so much.

To her, Ran Xiangsi was like a life goal.

She always wanted to get close to Xiangsi, wanted to be with her, and hoped that one day she could become someone as genuine and outgoing as Xiangsi.

"Actually, I think you’re pretty good the way you are." Ran Xiangsi had a different opinion. "I really envy you too, you know. You have parents, you have an ordinary life... But Xiao Ge, love is different from everything else. If you really let go of it, then you’ll miss it for a lifetime. When the regret hits you, it’ll really be too late."

"Regret... for a lifetime?" It was the first time Chu Xiaoge had heard someone put it like that, and she couldn’t help feeling a little panicky.

Would she... regret it for a lifetime?

If she missed out on Shang Dongyuan, then she... would probably be heartbroken, right?

"Yeah." Ran Xiangsi nodded, then went on, "From what you’ve told me, Shang Dongyuan has never really wronged you, has he? On the contrary, even without knowing who you and Chuchu really are, he was still willing to accept you, to protect you. I think a man like that is a real man. He doesn’t care what kind of past the woman he loves has. He just loves her, wholeheartedly and single-mindedly."

Chu Xiaoge had been completely lost and confused, but after hearing Ran Xiangsi’s words, it was like a sudden flash of insight!

Yeah...

Even without knowing her and Chuchu’s true identities, Shang Dongyuan was still willing to be good to her, and willing to be good to Chuchu.

She might never meet a second man like that in her whole life.

Besides, he was Chuchu’s father, her only one.

Chu Xiaoge blinked and looked at Xiangsi. "Thank you, Xiangsi Bean. I think I know what I should do now... I’ll find a time to sit down and talk things through with him."

"Mm! That’s more like it! The old Chu Xiaoge was all about loving boldly and hating decisively! Didn’t you used to be crazy about handsome guys? Every time we had Fu Jingxuan’s class, you’d rush to sit in the front row!"

"Yeah, back in college... that was probably the happiest time of my life..." Chu Xiaoge’s eyes also grew dreamy with longing.

The more they talked, the more they drifted back to their school days, and their expressions carried a faint sadness.

After chatting for almost two hours, they finally walked out of the campus.

They lingered at the gate, reluctant to part, chatting for quite a while longer. Only after watching Chu Xiaoge get into a taxi did Ran Xiangsi feel at ease enough to get into her own car.

Ran Xiangsi was still living in the same villa in A City where she and Xing Chen had lived five years ago, in the exact opposite direction from Chu Xiaoge’s neighborhood.

With bodyguard cars following in front and behind, Ran Xiangsi wasn’t worried at all. She simply said to the driver up front, "Let’s go home."

The driver said nothing, and the car turned into a street.

Not long after, Xing Chen’s call came in.

Ran Xiangsi picked up her phone. Seeing Xing Chen’s name on the screen, her gaze instinctively softened.

She had just connected the line when Xing Chen’s familiar low voice came through. "Done talking?"

"Mm, we just finished." Ran Xiangsi smiled. "What about you?"

"Me too."

"I’m heading home now. See you at home!" Ran Xiangsi’s tone lifted, bright and buoyant. It felt so good—things seemed to have gone smoothly on Xing Chen’s end too.

"Okay."

After a brief exchange, they each hung up.

Ran Xiangsi set her phone down. She hadn’t even had time to replay her earlier conversation with Chu Xiaoge when the driver up front suddenly spoke.

"Five years apart, and you two are still glued together like this."