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

Zhou Liguang, who was still sulking, burst into laughter upon hearing Lu Baizhou's words.

He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as he stared at Lu Baizhou, a half-smile playing on his lips. He bluntly saw through Lu Baizhou's thoughts: "What's wrong, Lu Baizhou? Are you feeling uneasy, afraid I'll still be after Xin Xin, so you're rushing to find me a girlfriend to tie me down and completely extinguish my hopes?"

Lu Baizhou wasn't embarrassed at all that Zhou Liguang had seen through his little secret of protecting his food. He stood there, his body ramrod straight, neither admitting nor denying it, just silently watching Zhou Liguang.

Seeing his resigned expression, Zhou Liguang couldn't help but point at him, interrupting his silence, and said loudly, "That's exactly what you think! You think I, Zhou Liguang, am someone who can't let go, that I definitely won't be able to let go of Xinxin anytime soon, and that I'm afraid I'll have a brain fart one day, do something rash, and go confess to her again, causing you trouble, isn't that right?"

Lu Baizhou still didn't answer. But at this moment, not speaking was itself the clearest form of acquiescence.

Looking at Lu Baizhou's perpetually cold face, Zhou Liguang suddenly dropped his previous joking and mocking expression. He sat up straight, his expression becoming more serious and earnest than ever before. He stared directly into Lu Baizhou's eyes and said, enunciating each word with extreme emphasis:

"Old Lu, we're brothers who've been through thick and thin together, I'm not lying to you. I admit, I haven't gotten over her yet. This afternoon in the park, when she said those rejection words to me, it felt like a knife was stabbing me, it was excruciating. Sitting there, I even wondered, if I had been one step ahead of you and confessed to her sooner, would things have turned out completely differently?"

He paused, took a deep breath of the slightly chilly air in the room, and forced down the bitterness in his chest. He continued, "But! Lao Lu, listen to me carefully. Now that she has clearly made her choice today—she chose you—I, Zhou Liguang, will absolutely not go around pestering her anymore, doing anything shameless or inappropriate! I can't do such a despicable thing!"

Zhou Liguang became increasingly agitated, his voice rising several decibels: "Look at the terrible idea you've come up with! You're already rushing to introduce me to other women, do you think that's appropriate? Is that fair to those innocent girls? I haven't even sorted out my own feelings yet, and I'm already going to go on blind dates and date other girls? What kind of person would I be then? Heartless! That would be insulting good girls! I can't do such a despicable thing!"

Lu Baizhou stood still, listening quietly to Zhou Liguang's resounding words. Looking at Zhou Liguang's face, slightly flushed with excitement, he suddenly felt a surge of intense shame. He realized he had indeed been too hasty, his mind preoccupied with protecting the woman he had finally won over, neglecting his brother's feelings and the basic principles of being a decent human being.

"Old Zhou, you're right." Lu Baizhou nodded, his tone becoming very sincere, filled with undisguised apology. "I was wrong about this. I was too anxious, only thinking of myself and not considering things thoroughly enough. I'm sorry you had to go through this."

Zhou Liguang rolled her eyes at him, snorted, and couldn't help but complain, "What can I say about you! When you're leading troops on the training field, you're calmer and more composed than anyone else, no matter how tough the task. How come when it comes to something like finding a wife, you become so unsteady and impulsive? Like a greenhorn who's never seen the world!"

Lu Baizhou was rendered speechless by the scolding. He knew he was in the wrong and did not utter a rebuttal.

He silently turned around, pulled out the wooden chair he had just used, and sat down again opposite Zhou Liguang.

The two people were separated by a low table whose surface was already somewhat mottled and peeling.

The room fell silent; no one spoke.

All that could be heard was the night wind blowing in through the cracks in the window, making a faint "whooshing" sound.

After a long while, Zhou Liguang finally broke the somewhat dull silence by sniffing.

He looked at Lu Baizhou, his tone becoming extremely solemn, as if issuing a military order: "Old Lu, we've said everything we need to say today. Now that you're with her, you'd better treat her well from now on! I'm telling you this upfront: if you ever dare to treat her badly, or let her suffer even the slightest grievance or shed a single tear, I will absolutely not be lenient with you! Don't blame me for disregarding our brotherhood; I'll snatch her back from you! I mean what I say!"

Sitting in his chair, Lu Baizhou listened to Zhou's harsh words. Instead of being angry, he felt a slight relaxation in the tension that had been building up inside him. He knew that Zhou's words meant he had truly let go of the matter and made things clear.

Lu Baizhou raised his head, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Zhou Liguang.

He straightened his back, a slight smirk playing on his lips, and replied with unwavering certainty and overwhelming confidence, "Then you might as well give up on that idea. You'll never have that chance in your life."

After hearing this, Zhou Liguang suddenly found it both funny and pointless.

The harsh words I uttered were like punching a thick layer of cotton; I didn't even hear a sound.

He shook his head helplessly, leaned back heavily against the headboard, and waved his hand, signaling him to leave: "Alright, alright, enough with the sour talk. It's getting late, you should go back to wherever you want. I have intense training early tomorrow morning, I should turn off the lights and go to sleep, I don't have time to waste with you here."

Seeing this, Lu Baizhou did not linger any longer.

He stood up decisively and strode to the dormitory door.

As he reached for the door, he stopped, turned back, and looked deeply at Zhou Liguang lying on the bed. He said gently, "Old Zhou, I won't dwell on anything that happened today. Don't keep it bottled up inside either. Go to sleep early."

"Okay, I got it. Now you can go, stop nagging." Zhou Liguang waved his hand impatiently with his eyes closed.