The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

Qiao Xinxin nodded and said sincerely, "Brother Zhou, thank you so much for today. Thank you for being willing to come out and listen to me ramble on. Anyway, I still stand by what I said: I hope we can still be good friends in the future."

Zhou Liguang looked at her intently for a long while before nodding slightly, his voice a little hoarse: "Yes, we're still friends."

He paused, wanting to reach out and tighten Qiao Xinxin's collar, but then lowered his hand halfway up, finally managing to stammer out, "Then you should go inside quickly, it's windy outside, don't catch a cold."

Qiao Xinxin responded, turned around, and walked towards the gate of the family compound.

She had only taken a few steps, and just as she reached out to push open the somewhat chipped iron gate, she suddenly caught a glimpse of someone standing not far from the gate out of the corner of her eye.

The man was tall and large, wearing a thin dark gray coat. He stood ramrod straight and stared intently in her direction.

Qiao Xinxin took a closer look, and her heart skipped a beat.

It's Lu Baizhou!

He stood under the thickest old locust tree at the entrance of the residential compound, and no one knew how long he had been standing there in the wind.

The warm afternoon sun filtered through the gaps in the old locust tree's branches and leaves, casting dappled patches of light like scattered gold on his broad shoulders.

They were a bit far apart, so Qiao Xinxin couldn't see the expression on his face, but he just stood there like an old tree rooted in the wind, exuding a stubbornness.

Qiao Xinxin stopped in her tracks abruptly.

Just as she was about to call out to him, Zhou Liguang behind her also noticed something was wrong and looked in the direction she was looking.

Zhou Liguang also saw Lu Baizhou.

The two grown men's eyes met in mid-air.

The look Zhou Liguang gave Lu Baizhou didn't have any hint of fighting, but it clearly carried a layer of complexity he'd never seen before.

We're no longer as open and carefree as we used to be when we were best buddies.

Lu Baizhou stared at Zhou Liguang without backing down.

The two men stood about ten meters apart, staring at each other for a good two or three seconds without either of them speaking to break the awkward silence.

In the end, Zhou Liguang was the first to give in and turned his gaze away.

He turned his head and whispered to Qiao Xinxin, "Xinxin, I'll be going now."

Qiao Xinxin nodded.

Zhou Liguang didn't look at Lu Baizhou again, turned around, and strode away down the street he had come from.

That figure walked much faster than when it came, as if it were fleeing something.

Qiao Xinxin stood there, watching Zhou Liguang's back until it disappeared around the corner, before turning her head to look at Lu Baizhou under the tree again.

She strode over and stopped in front of Lu Baizhou.

Before she could speak, Lu Baizhou spoke first, asking in a muffled voice, "Why did you come back with him?"

His question was sarcastic, and his tone carried a hint of cautious probing.

He seemed to be confirming something crucial, but dared not ask too directly, for fear of hearing an answer he didn't want to hear.

Qiao Xinxin stood in front of him, looking at his nervous appearance, and somewhat embarrassedly reached out to tug at the hem of her thin cotton-padded jacket, whispering, "I asked him out today mainly to make things clear. I can't keep dragging him along and delaying him just because I've already made up my mind, can I? So, I formally rejected him today."

Lu Baizhou was visibly stunned when he heard this.

He stood there frozen like a wooden stake, his mind seemingly unable to process what was happening.

He stared intently at Qiao Xinxin for several seconds before stammering, "You...you asked him out today to talk things out? You rejected him?"

Qiao Xinxin nodded vigorously: "Yes! I think this matter can't be delayed any longer. The longer it drags on, the more unfair it is to Brother Zhou. So today I told him frankly that we're not suitable for each other and can only be ordinary friends from now on."

Lu Baizhou stood still, head down, staring intently at the pretty girl in front of him.

She stood there gracefully in the soft afternoon sunlight, her cheeks slightly flushed by the early spring breeze, gazing at him with a frank and open look, yet also with a touch of girlish shyness.

Lu Baizhou's mind, which had been a jumbled mess, suddenly went blank and he understood everything!

After all that fuss, it turns out that the girl Lao Zhou kept mentioning he liked was Qiao Xinxin!

He stepped forward, closing the distance between them.

He lowered his head, staring intently into Qiao Xinxin's eyes. His voice was much softer than before, yet it carried an undeniable domineering quality: "So what are you planning to do next? You rejected me, Lao Zhou, but what about me? Are you going to reject me, or are you going to accept me? Xinxin, give me a straight answer today, give me a clear one."

Unable to resist his persistent questioning, Qiao Xinxin could only raise her head and meet his deep eyes.

At that moment, her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of her throat.

Instead of answering him verbally, she suddenly stood on tiptoe, stretched out her two delicate white hands, cupped Lu Baizhou's handsome face in her hands, closed her eyes, leaned in, and quickly kissed the corner of his mouth.

Oh no, she answered him verbally.

It was a kiss so light it couldn't be lighter, like a leaf gently falling onto the water's surface, creating tiny ripples.

After the kiss, Qiao Xinxin retreated as quickly as if she had been electrocuted.

At this moment, even the roots of her ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.

She bit her lip, her voice tight with nervousness, yet sweet: "Silly boy! Of course I'll accept you! Otherwise, why do you think I went through all this trouble today, talking to him so much? Do you think I'm just out here all day doing nothing?"

Lu Baizhou was completely petrified by her sudden kiss.

He stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do with his hands. His usually cold ears were turning bright red at a visible speed, as red as a monkey's bottom.

It took him a long while to come to his senses, find his slightly hoarse voice, and stammer with excitement, "Then...now that it's all settled, let's go on a date today! A movie, a restaurant, whatever you want to do!"

Qiao Xinxin looked at his silly expression and smiled helplessly: "Not today, I have important business to attend to. This afternoon I have to go to the pharmaceutical factory in the west of the city to ask Director Sun to deliver a batch of medicinal herbs. I've already prepared the raw materials for the new batch of hemostatic powder, and the hospital is pressing for it, so this matter can't be delayed."