The anchor I was supposed to meet turned out to be my student.

Hua Xinning immediately deflated and said, "Okay... then I'll study hard..."

I smiled with satisfaction.

"Study hard and get into the top ten of your grade, then you can start dating!"

I was so angry I was practically fuming. It's true what they say, close relationships can be contagious. Xu Lehan's talkative habit had somehow gotten to Xin Ning...

"No, that's still not allowed!" I said sternly.

“But isn’t Xiaojun also in the top ten of the grade…” Hua Xinning said aggrievedly.

"No, it just won't work. There are many reasons, and I can't explain them to you..." I was starting to lose my footing.

Hua Xinning moved a little closer to me, squeezing me to the edge of the sofa. She leaned her body so that I couldn't help but lean to the side slightly, otherwise her little face would almost be touching mine. At this moment, that familiar fragrance that I had known for more than ten years became even clearer. I saw Hua Xinning staring straight into my eyes and asking, "Then can you tell me what other reasons there are that prevent me from dating?"

Staring at me intently, I glanced away nervously, because my reason was simple: selfishness, but I couldn't bring myself to say it.

"Brother, tell me, why? I see so many college students dating, and I've heard people say that if you haven't dated in college, your college life isn't complete..."

I retorted angrily, "Who the hell said that? There are tons of college students who haven't been in a relationship, and their lives aren't perfect either, so what? Besides, even if you've been in a relationship, does that make your college life perfect? ​​That kind of perfection is meaningless. Very few people feel that their college life is perfect; there will definitely be all sorts of regrets."

"Wouldn't it be better to be closer to perfection? So why doesn't my brother agree to me dating?" Hua Xinning continued to pester.

I could no longer control my emotions and angrily said, "Then go talk to them! Talk until the world falls apart!"

For some reason, hearing Hua Xinning repeatedly express her desire to be in a relationship made me feel inexplicably pained and angry. It felt like the cat you raised from kittenhood suddenly abandoned you and ran into someone else's arms. You felt that all your efforts and companionship had been in vain. Although I can't force her to stay by my side forever and deprive her of the right to find happiness...

I stood up and walked towards the office door.

Hua Xinning's somewhat urgent voice came from behind: "Brother, I don't want to talk about it anymore, I don't want to talk about it anymore, please don't be angry with me..."

But I was still angry and didn't want to talk to her. I think this was the first time we'd ever argued since we were kids. I never imagined that our argument would be about our relationship...

The office was on the second floor, so I went straight down the stairs. As I was going down, Hua Xinning quickly followed me and came to my side. As usual, she tried to hug my arm, but I instinctively pulled it back.

Hua Xinning almost burst into tears, saying, "Brother, don't be angry. I was just joking. Please forgive me... Don't ignore me. I really know... Ah!"

Hua Xinning let out a scream. She was so focused on begging for my forgiveness that she missed a step on the stairs and fell forward. I reacted quickly and grabbed her, but the momentum of her fall was so great that I was dragged down with her. Luckily, there were only four steps left to the ground. I quickly stepped over those four steps and landed on the ground, simultaneously pulling my other foot back to regain my balance. I managed to catch Hua Xinning unharmed, though the position was rather awkward. I was holding her upper body, while her legs were still on the stairs. Her clothes had also been pulled up because I was holding her so tightly, revealing her slender waist and half of her yellow bra…

Some people say, why not imitate the classic accidental kiss scene from anime where the male and female protagonists fall down the stairs and kiss? Because in reality, doing that would only result in brain damage…

I lifted Hua Xinning down and helped her stand firmly on flat ground. Then I quickly pulled her clothes down to prevent anyone from seeing her.

At the same time, Hua Xinning's face was already covered in tears, her eyes were red like a little rabbit's, and she said in a sobbing voice, "Waaah, brother, please don't ignore Xinning, okay? Xinning is so scared, so scared that brother won't want Xinning anymore, waaah..."

Hearing Xin Ning cry like that, all the anger in my heart vanished completely, leaving only a deep sense of apology towards Xin Ning.

I hugged her tighter, stroking her head with one hand and gently patting her back with the other, and said softly, "It's bad that I'm the older brother. I couldn't control my emotions. Don't cry, Xin Ning, don't cry..."

I tried to soothe my younger sister like a child, just wanting her to calm down quickly. The harder she cried, the more my heart ached. I couldn't bear to see her suffer any injustice. Looking back now, I realize I was a really bad older brother; I actually got angry with Xin Ning...

Xin Ning lifted her head from my shoulder, looked up at me with a sob, and said, "I was just joking with you, brother. I was just testing whether you would let me go find a boyfriend. I won't really go, because I will always follow you around and won't run off..."

I finally understood why Hua Xinning kept insisting on finding a boyfriend. So that's why. In the end, she was worried about whether I cared about her. Conversely, this was her way of showing that she cared about me. I was touched, but at the same time, I felt guilty. I really wanted to go to Da Xiong's house, sit in the time machine, go back to just now, and slap myself!

I gently wiped away her tears and comforted her, saying, "Brother misunderstood. I shouldn't have been angry with you. I'm sorry, Xin Ning..."

Seeing that I had forgiven her, Hua Xinning finally stopped crying and wiped her tears with the back of her hand, but her eyes were still red after she wiped them.

I couldn't help but laugh and said, "Your eyes are as red as a little rabbit's."

“Then the older brother is the big rabbit!” Hua Xinning laughed as well.

"If that's the case, then what about Mom and Dad?"

"That's the old rabbit~"

Seeing that Hua Xinning had finally cheered up, I let go of her arms and continued walking towards the security area.

"Brother, where are you going?"

"Getting takeout."

I wasn't driven away by Hua Xinning; it's just that I hadn't picked up my takeout yet, and Xu Lehan's situation delayed me. But I had already asked the delivery guy to leave it at the security station, so I only came down to pick it up...

Suddenly, Hua Xinning realized that I hadn't been driven away by her at all. Her little face turned sour and she stomped her feet, saying, "Brother, give me back my tears!"

I chuckled and pretended not to hear as I walked toward the security area. Hua Xinning followed me with a pout, but even on such a short distance, she still habitually took my arm. This time, I didn't pull my arm away and let her hug me.

Two rabbits run side by side; how can one tell which is male and which is female?

I suddenly thought of this completely unrelated phrase...

(I went to the hospital this morning, so the update is a little late. There will be a second update later.)

Chapter 43, 163. Xin Ning, what were you doing just now?

When I brought the takeout to the office and opened it, the noodles were already soggy. Hua Xinning, who was sitting next to me, burst out laughing when she saw it, and I turned around and glared at her.

"You still have the nerve to laugh? You're half responsible for this mess!"

Xu Lehan's matter took at least twenty minutes, and then she spent another ten minutes talking about dating with Hua Xinning. In that half hour, any noodles would be soaked and mushy, and even noodles would be soft after that long...

There was no other way but to eat it anyway.

"How about I go to the cafeteria and get a portion for my brother?" Xin Ning said considerately, unable to bear seeing me mess up the noodles.

But it's noon now, and the sun is scorching hot outside. How could I bear to let Hua Xinning walk all that way under the blazing sun to bring me food?

During the meal, Hua Xinning kept staring at me, so I asked, "Aren't you going back for a nap?"

"I have nothing to do this afternoon... Besides, we can sleep together~"

I couldn't help but glance at Hua Xinning again. She was smiling but didn't explain. It seems I've been influenced by some bad trends online, always associating things with all sorts of nonsense. There are clearly two sofas here; if each person sleeps on one, wouldn't we still be sleeping together...?

After finishing lunch and working for a while...

"Come lie down, brother~"

I looked over and saw Xin Ning straightening the hem of her skirt on her thigh, but I didn't understand what it meant.

"You can sleep in that bed, I'll sleep here."

Just as I was about to lie down after saying that, Xin Ning came over and sat down next to me, still adjusting the hem of her skirt on her thighs, and said, "Brother, don't you know what a lap pillow is? Didn't your ex-girlfriends let you sleep like this before?"

I've tried everything, from lap pillows to chest pillows...

"Then how will you sleep?"

Hua Xinning smiled and said, "I can sleep on the sofa."

"Then you must tell me if you're tired."

I lay down on her lap, and immediately felt a softness on the back of my head, along with a faint fragrance, much like the incense that people burned to sleep in ancient times. It was very comforting and made it easy to fall asleep.

Then Hua Xinning was still gently massaging my forehead, and I felt incredibly comfortable. Suddenly, I wanted to find a considerate girlfriend so I could enjoy this kind of treatment every day. Thinking like this, I gradually drifted into a dream, and in my dream, everything really did happen...

In a hazy state, I seemed to feel something soft touch my cheek, but this dreamlike feeling made it impossible for me to discern or control my consciousness as I regained consciousness...

Suddenly, it felt like I was falling into an abyss, landing headfirst...

I suddenly woke up and heard Xin Ning's voice.

"An, Senior An Tong, what brings you here!?" Hua Xin Ning stood up immediately upon seeing Bi An Tong enter, and my head instantly fell onto the sofa, which was why I woke up with a start.

I quickly woke up and sat up. I saw Bi Antong looking back and forth between me and Hua Xinning with a very complicated look. I think it was because she didn't have the habit of knocking and suddenly came in and saw me sleeping on Hua Xinning's lap pillow that Hua Xinning hurriedly stood up.

I quickly changed the subject, asking, "Tongtong, what brings you here?"

I remember telling her that her parents would be coming over at noon and that she should take a nap somewhere else today. Look, it's almost 1:10 now, almost 1:30, which is when class starts.

Bi Antong gave Hua Xinning a deep look, then walked over to us and sat down, placing a box of fruit salad on the table.

"I ordered an extra fruit salad when I ate out for lunch today, so I brought it over for you..."

Actually, I knew she brought it specifically for me, and thinking about it warmed my heart. Sure enough, since our conversation in bed last night, she has become much more open with me and has started to care about me, instead of being as cold as before. This morning she even made me breakfast, though I know it was a bowl she bought downstairs and put in the house, but that doesn't change her attitude.

"What were you and Xin Ning doing just now?"

Although Bi Antong was asking me a question, her gaze was fixed on Hua Xinning, who was looking down and avoiding Bi Antong's gaze.

I offered, "I was sleeping just now, I fell asleep leaning against Xin Ning's legs..."

"And what about you, Xin Ning?" Bi Antong asked another question out of the blue.

But Hua Xinning stammered and couldn't answer. I think it must be because she was embarrassed that Bi Antong saw me sleeping on her lap earlier. To be honest, it was quite awkward for me to be seen by others, especially acquaintances, after all, Hua Xinning and I are not young anymore...

Seeing that Hua Xinning was too shy to answer, I spoke for her: "She's probably sleeping on the sofa, but I'm asleep, so I don't know if she's asleep or not."

Bi Antong stared at Hua Xinning with suspicion and said, "Really? I feel like when you bent over just now, it was as if you were..."

Before Bi Antong could finish speaking, Hua Xinning hurriedly interrupted, "I bent down just now to check if my brother had any gray hairs, because I heard that teachers often worry themselves sick over their students, so my brother must be working very hard and might already have gray hairs..."

"Gray hair? Xin Ning, don't scare me..."

I was so startled that I got up and took a mirror from my desk cabinet to look at my hair. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that it wasn't still a patchy black color. I'm only 25 years old, and having gray hair like this is not a good sign.

Bi Antong looked at Hua Xinning for a while before saying, "So that's how it is. Xinning is really thoughtful, giving her brother a lap pillow and helping him find gray hairs."

"It's alright, it's just fulfilling my duty as a family member. Doing these things for my brother is what I should do..."

"So that's how it is. We just fulfilled our duties as family members and didn't do anything unnecessary..."

I found Bi Antong's last sentence puzzling, or rather, I felt that their conversation had become very strange. Wasn't Bi Antong trying to get along with Hua Xinning? Why didn't she show any such intention today?

Hua Xinning suddenly stood up and said, "Then I'll go first. I'm going out with my roommates later. Goodbye, brother. Goodbye, senior..."

Hua Xinning seemed to be fleeing from here, quickly taking small steps to the office door. I quickly called her back and asked her to come back and take the exemption certificate from military training. I had called her here at noon for this matter, but I didn't expect her to have forgotten. She seemed absent-minded. Was it really that shameful that Bi Antong found out that she had given her brother a lap pillow? It couldn't be that bad, could it? I had already recovered from the embarrassment just now.

I took a bite of the fruit salad that Bi Antong brought; it was quite fresh. At the same time, Bi Antong said, "I'm going to class."

I quickly called out to her and thanked her, "Thank you for bringing me fruit, Tongtong, you're so kind."

Bi Antong's face flushed red at first, then for some reason she straightened up and said, "No matter how good she is, she's not as good as your Xin Ning. I really saw something incredible when I came in, hmph..."

While I was still wondering what incredible thing she had seen, Bi Antong had already gone to class.

Chapter 44, Page 164: Can I hug you for a bit?

Jiang Yan came into my office by herself in the afternoon, but there were still ten minutes left before the end of the workday. Why did she come early today?