I really like your sand sculpture group friends

Now that he'd been found out, he wasn't going to hide it anymore.

Rather, he never intended to hide it in the first place.

Now that things have come to this, it's better to explain things clearly.

Chapter 214 It's Hard Not to Like

"However, this liking is not the kind of liking between a man and a woman from the beginning, as you might think."

Su Mengyao was stunned and looked at him in confusion.

She pursed her lips and asked with difficulty, "Then...why is that? Shishi should have met you later than Nuoya and me, right? And, if we're talking about who was the first to know each other's true identities, it should have been my sister and me. And if we're talking about who met first...shouldn't it have been Nuoya?"

“Yes,” Mo Xiangwen admitted softly, his voice filled with doubt and confusion that even he himself did not understand: “Just like you said.”

"Then why?!" Su Mengyao's voice rose slightly as she asked sadly, "Why Shishi of all people? What's so different about her?"

She was stunned for a moment when she asked the question.

Why did she ask that so directly?

Upon arriving here, even if Mo Xiangwen was slow to notice, he could clearly sense the hidden emotions in her reddened eyes and excited words.

He felt as if something was blocking his heart, making him feel suffocated and uncomfortable.

He took a deep breath, finally turning his gaze away from the river and looking earnestly at Su Mengyao's face, which was pale from the river wind. His tone was heavy and sincere: "Because of Shishi's trust."

He paused, organizing his thoughts, trying hard to explain the complex feelings in his heart.

"Her trust is very different. It's a kind of... almost obsessive, unconditional and irrational trust and reliance. Sometimes, even I find it unbelievable, even a little frightening. Why is she like this?"

“At first, I was actually a little skeptical,” he continued, seemingly lost in thought. “I didn’t understand where her strong liking and trust came from. I was still carefully observing her, trying to slowly understand her, and also to let her understand the real me, so that she would know that the real me might not be so good.”

"At least, not as good as that 'Xiao Yi' on the internet."

"In reality, Mo Xiangwen, who has all sorts of flaws and dark sides, is there anything about me that makes her love me so unconditionally?"

“But,” he said, his tone increasingly puzzled, yet also carrying a hint of barely perceptible tenderness and emotion, “before I could even figure it out, before I could even begin to ‘test’ or ‘verify’ her trust, she never showed any hesitation or doubt. She seemed… to have no need to think about what kind of person I really am. Her affection and trust were like… like a blank sheet of paper, direct, passionate, and unquestionable.”

"Why? How could she do that?"

Mo Xiangwen turned his gaze back to the river, his voice lowering slightly: "I don't understand, I really don't understand."

"Especially after seeing so many people being deceived, I naturally chose to protect myself."

"At this moment, Shishi suddenly appeared and chose to believe me unconditionally. Even I find it hard to believe."

"I don't understand why Shishi can trust me so completely."

“Of course.” He turned to look at Su Mengyao and said very seriously, “Having known you for so long, of course I’m willing to believe you, believe Mengli, believe Nuoya, and believe you. I cherish your trust and have always wanted to try my best to repay it and not let you down.”

“But,” he changed the subject, returning to Bai Shishi, “but, faced with someone so innocent and so devoted to me… I found it difficult, or rather, I simply couldn’t bear to reject her affection and trust. It was like an instinct. I wanted to protect this purity, not want it to be tainted, and not want to disappoint her.”

“So I accept her closeness and indulge her dependence.” He said softly, “She trusts me, depends on me, and likes me, and I can’t help but reciprocate her feelings.”

Su Mengyao knew he was telling the truth.

Because he would never lie to them about serious matters or such important moments as this.

But it was precisely this truth that made it even harder for her to accept.

"Liar..." she blurted out unconsciously, taking a small step back.

"But... I don't understand, I really don't understand!" Her voice was filled with barely suppressed agitation and confusion. "How can anyone understand what you're saying! If you don't say anything, how am I supposed to know what you've been through, what you've seen? How am I supposed to know what you're afraid of?"

Looking at her agitated state, Mo Xiangwen felt a sense of helplessness, but he really didn't know how to explain it.

He could only explain in a low voice, "I'm sorry... there are some things I don't know how to say."

"But Mengyao, please believe me, right now, my trust in you is no less than Shishi's. Really."

"And what about me?" Su Mengyao looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, staring straight at him, her voice trembling with grievance: "I tried so hard to trust you! I didn't come any later than her, I tried so hard to get closer to you, to understand you... Why? Why did it turn out like this? Why her of all people..."

Mo Xiangwen opened his mouth, but found that any words seemed pale at this moment, and in the end he could only say a heavy "I'm sorry".

Was it a loss from the very beginning?

Before I even knew my own feelings, while I was still hesitating and testing the waters, while I thought we had plenty of time to take things slowly... I had already lost to that pure trust and affection that he couldn't refuse.

Have I already lost my right before I even had a chance to say "I like you"?

She forced back the tears that were about to spill, turned around abruptly, her back to him, and said in a muffled voice, her voice choked with suppressed sobs, "That's enough... Let's go back."

Watching her slender figure tremble slightly in the river wind, Mo Xiangwen felt a mix of emotions.

He hadn't even figured out what Yan Nuoya was thinking; he only had a vague feeling about it, but couldn't be sure.

Unexpectedly, it was Su Mengyao's feelings that were clearly presented to him first.

It would be a lie to say that he doesn't like Su Mengyao.

She was beautiful, lively, and adorable, and could always joke with him without any inhibitions.

She was willing to be close to him and play around with him without any inhibitions.

They are friends who play games, play tabletop role-playing games, and live together.

She also placed a deep trust in him.

He couldn't find any reason not to like such a wonderful girl.

Chapter 215 I like XX, and everyone else too. (4K combined)

But......

You can't be like the harem protagonists in some anime who can have all the women in your life, right?

Anime is anime; anyone who seeks reality in the world of anime must have something wrong with their head.

Conversely, how can one expect an anime-like ending in reality?

Is that not allowed?

Why not?

Why can't we?

Are you going to give up before even trying? What are you hesitating about?

He suddenly thought of the other girls and the smiles on their faces when they were together.

That's right, it's about relationships. It's about the mutual trust, reliance, and playfulness among these five people.

If he were to follow his heart and say those words, breaking a certain unspoken understanding, would the close, supportive, family-like relationship between the five of them ever be able to return to what it was before?

He couldn't imagine that his own selfishness would cause this small group to fall apart.

He was already used to being alone, but the thought that Shishi and Nuoya might lose these two friends and become alone again made him so sad that he could hardly breathe, and he would regret it for the rest of his life.

“Mengyao,” he suddenly said, “you’re right, I really am a bad thing.”

For the first time, he finally confronted his indecisiveness and made up his mind.

"I know you're a bad thing." Su Mengyao didn't turn around. Her voice was still muffled, but it lacked the sharpness of before. Instead, it was filled with a deep weariness: "Let's go, you bad thing, let's go back. It's so cold."

But... another voice grew clearer and clearer in his mind.

If you never try anything or face your true feelings because you're afraid of change and loss, won't you regret it?

Watching Mengyao leave heartbroken, burying these feelings deep in his heart, wouldn't he regret his retreat at that moment on countless nights in the future?

Does this mean I won't regret it for the rest of my life?

"Wait! Mengyao!" Mo Xiangwen called out to her again, his voice filled with a do-or-die determination: "I have something else to say."

Su Mengyao stopped in her tracks as she was about to leave, turning her head slightly to the side. The bright moonlight outlined her beautiful profile, her eyes filled with doubt and a hint of expectation.

However, Mengyao can express her feelings so bravely, even if it's through anger and questioning.

Should he ignore her feelings because of his own considerations and leave her to bear this sadness alone?

No, of course not.

His tangled thoughts seemed to be cut open with a single stroke, and his chaotic mind instantly became clear.

He suddenly remembered the message Yan Nuoya had sent him, that inexplicable sentence.

If you're too afraid of others' negative opinions, your life will forever become a collection of other people's desires.

The doubts I had back then have now been cleared up.

He now has no doubt that what Noah is trying to express is exactly what he is thinking.

Noah must have known all along that he liked her.

No, perhaps even earlier, long before he himself had fully figured it out, she had already understood his thoughts.

This woman must have mind-reading abilities, right?

I can't run away anymore. If I keep running away, I'll definitely regret it.

To avoid regrets and to live up to Mengyao's courage.

He took a deep breath, as if to dispel all his hesitation and fear.

He looked directly into Su Mengyao's eyes, no longer looking away, as if he wanted to imprint his determination into them.

“I like Mengyao.” He said clearly and forcefully, emphasizing each word.

Every word he uttered was like a pebble thrown into Mengyao's heart lake, creating ripples within her.

Su Mengyao was completely stunned, her face first filled with astonishment, as if she had heard some incomprehensible words.

Immediately, the anger of being mocked and the lingering sadness surged up, rushing straight to the top of her head, making her voice tremble slightly: "You...you just said you liked Shishi! Even now, what nonsense are you still spouting!"

She glared angrily at Mo Xiangwen and said sadly, "Do you think saying things like that will make me any happier? Or are you hoping to fool me with these words?"

However, when he finally spoke these words, which he had just come to fully understand, Mo Xiangwen felt an indescribable sense of relief and ease, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

Those hesitations and fears of breaking the relationship were replaced by a strange courage at this moment.

The hymn to humanity is the hymn to courage.

There's nothing to be afraid of anymore.

Ta-ta-kai, one move, Ta-ta-kai!

Tataka wo, na keriwa, and ni koi nai!

Meeting Su Mengyao's questioning gaze, he spoke even louder, repeating each word clearly: "I like Mengyao! And everyone else!"

At this moment, the river breeze seemed to become sensible, no longer howling so fiercely, but turning into a low background sound, brushing across the river surface and gently washing the shore, as pleasant as the white noise he listened to before going to sleep.

That's outrageous, absolutely outrageous.

Upon hearing such an outrageous confession, the anger and sadness on Su Mengyao's face receded like the tide.

She suddenly became unusually calm, looked him up and down, and hesitantly began, "You..."

She paused, her tone filled with disbelief and doubt: "Are you out of your mind? Did the river wind blow you silly?"

"No, no," Mo Xiangwen answered decisively, his eyes clear.

"Then you..." Su Mengyao tilted her head cutely, as if to confirm some absurd fact: "Say it again?"

Mo Xiangwen took a deep breath and repeated once more with perfect clarity: "I like Mengyao, and everyone else."

To his surprise, Su Mengyao didn't scold him again, nor did she show that look of disbelief. Instead, she slowly and methodically operated her phone in front of him.

The light from the screen illuminated her slightly pale face as her fingers flew across the screen.

Wait, why aren't you scolding him anymore?

No, no, no, he's not a masochist. The problem is, Mengyao didn't say she agreed.

Mo Xiangwen was a little confused and couldn't help but ask, "Miss Mengyao, could you tell me what you're doing?"

"Preparing to record." Su Mengyao didn't even look up, her tone as calm as if she were stating that she was going to have barbecue that night.

"Recording...recording?!" Mo Xiangwen's face stiffened, and he asked incredulously, "Are you kidding me?"

At this moment, Su Mengyao had already adjusted her phone, turned the recording interface towards him, and asked in a slightly teasing tone, "So, Mo Xiangwen, could you please say it again into the microphone? Yes, yes, that's the sentence from just now."

Really? Right now?