The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

In the front yard, Aunt Zhao was still guarding the door.

Li Kaixin walked straight over, her face showing some apology: "Aunt Zhao, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so late again today."

"It's alright, it's alright. I'm getting old and don't need to sleep much, so I'm just killing time anyway."

Aunt Zhao responded with a smile, then glanced behind him: "Kaixin, is that girl named Xiaohua settled in?"

"All settled!" Li Kaixin nodded, took out a handful of milk candies from his pocket and handed them over: "Aunt Zhao, take these to sweeten your mouth."

Aunt Zhao accepted it without hesitation.

Actually, she declined at first, but Li Kaixin's attitude was too firm.

Later, she simply stopped being polite, so as not to appear pretentious.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Li Kaixin said goodbye to Aunt Zhao and headed towards No. 93 Courtyard.

The gate to courtyard number 93 was unlocked. As soon as Li Kaixin pushed the gate open and stepped into the courtyard, he saw Song Anting squatting under the eaves of her house.

Hearing footsteps, she hurriedly stood up, gripping the lunchbox with a slight force.

Li Kaixin walked closer and asked in confusion, "An Ting? Why aren't you resting so late?"

"Brother Kaixin, I... I'm here to return the lunchbox."

Song Anting lowered her head and handed the lunchbox forward: "My parents have tried the food and said it's delicious. They told me I must thank you."

"No need to thank me, Uncle Song, I'm just glad they like it."

Li Kaixin reached out and took it, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against the cold back of her hand, and he immediately frowned:

"An Ting, how long have you been standing outside? Why are your hands so cold?"

"No, not long, I just came for a little while." Song Anting quickly pulled her hands back behind her back and stammered in response.

Looking at Song Anting's flustered appearance, Li Kaixin knew perfectly well that she was lying and fell silent for a moment.

Song Anting waited for a long time but didn't hear Li Kaixin's voice, so she slowly raised her head and glanced at him.

Seeing that he was staring at him, he quickly lowered his head again.

"Um, Kaixin-ge, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

As Song Anting spoke, she turned to leave.

"Wait, An Ting!" Li Kaixin snapped out of her daze and quickly grabbed her.

Song Anting blushed immediately and turned around, saying, "K-Kaixin-ge, you..."

Li Kaixin then realized that she had been somewhat rash and quickly let go of her hand:

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's alright, Happy Bro. Is there anything else?"

Upon hearing this, Li Kaixin remained silent for a long time before her expression turned serious: "An Ting, how do you feel about me?"

"Huh?" Song Anting was taken aback at first, then her face turned even redder: "Brother Kaixin, you...you're a good person, I..."

"Okay! I understand." Li Kaixin interrupted subconsciously.

He never expected that before his first confession even began, he would receive a "friend zone" card. It would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed.

Fortunately, it's better than dragging things out in a daze.

Thinking of this, Li Kaixin suppressed her emotions and forced a smile: "An Ting, thank you. It's getting late, you should go back and get some rest!"

Still feeling shy, Song Anting noticed that Li Kaixin's tone was off, so she quickly looked up and saw that he was almost at the door.

Song Anting suddenly felt extremely flustered, as if she would lose something very important if she didn't chase after them.

She didn't care about anything else, took a few steps forward, and hugged Li Kaixin from behind.

"Brother Kaixin, what's wrong with you? Did I...did I say something wrong?"

"An Ting, you're right, I was just being presumptuous." Li Kaixin said bitterly, raising her hand to try to pry open the arms that were holding her.

"No, Happy Bro!"

Song Anting resisted the force on her hand, her voice choked with emotion: "It was clearly you who asked me first, and I also expressed my feelings to you, so why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Upon hearing this, Li Kaixin froze completely.

"An Ting, what...what did you say?"

"Happy Bro, I like you!"

Song Anting quickly chimed in, this time burying her face in his back: "From the first time I saw you last year, I... I..."

Li Kaixin suddenly realized that this was not the future, and the phrase "you are a good person" did not seem to be a rejection.

He slowly turned around and saw Song Anting's tearful face, and his heart ached terribly.

"I'm sorry, An Ting, I misunderstood what you said earlier."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and gently wiped away the tears on her face.

"It's okay, Kaixin-ge."

Song Anting didn't dodge; instead, she leaned her face closer.

She felt the warm touch on her face and felt an unusual calm in her heart.

The two of them hugged each other without saying a word.

After a long while, Li Kaixin finally put his hand down and looked at the girl who was so close to him: "An Ting, let's be together. I promise I will treat you well from now on."

"Okay." Song Anting looked at him, a smile blooming on her face, her eyelashes still wet.

Suddenly, the lingering tears in her beautiful eyes stunned Li Kaixin.

He couldn't help but lean forward, his head slowly approaching.

Song Anting noticed, closed her eyes, and their lips touched instantly.

The kiss lasted for more than a minute, until Song Anting was out of breath, and Li Kaixin reluctantly pulled away.

"An Ting, we're not very good at this, so we'll have to practice more in the future."

"You bad guy!" Song Anting gasped for breath and lightly punched his chest.

Li Kaixin caught her withdrawn hand and held it in his palm with a smile.

"Then I'll only be mean to you!"

"You still dare to say that? Let go!" Song Anting pulled her hand away, puffed out her cheeks, and glared at him.

"I won't let go."

Li Kaixin found her even more adorable, and tightened his grip on her hand slightly.

"By the way, An Ting, is this really the first time you've liked me after just meeting me?"

"Why are you asking this again! Believe me or not, I'm not going to talk to you anymore." Song Anting stomped her feet in embarrassment and anger, and raised her other hand again.

She couldn't very well say that she had secretly fallen in love with him before they even met because she heard from her mother that he had helped her family solve Yang Hua'an's problem.

That way, I can still face people in the future.

Li Kaixin let her hit him this time, and nodded with a smile: "Okay, okay, I won't ask anymore."

The two lingered together for a while longer before parting ways and returning to their respective rooms.

Li Kaixin lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), thinking about what had happened in the yard earlier, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He's not actually an impulsive person, but Song Anting's actions today really moved him.

Although Song Anting always gave reasons based on her parents when she asked, Li Kaixin could easily see that she was simply waiting for him to come back.

Fortunately, she will be his from now on.

Thinking of this, he turned over and drifted off to sleep.