We moved to Golden Courtyard

Xu Qi's mouth was half open.

"I always feel like you're not talking to me as a woman."

"You're overthinking it. Our relationship isn't that good enough for us to care about each other."

"You can't say that..." Xu Qi laughed, "We all went through the 956 incident together, and you've helped me so much, so I'm grateful to you."

The two fell silent for a moment.

……

"Sister! Come and chase me!"

The noisy voices of children came from afar. A little boy ran over without looking where he was going, bumped into Xu Qi's leg, and fell to the ground.

Xu Qi sighed helplessly – was he just particularly prone to accidents today?

Just as he was about to reach out and help the other person up, he frowned.

Beside him, Xin'an noticed that Xu Qi hadn't made a move and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Xu Qi straightened up, paying no attention to the little boy who had fallen to the ground and was crying, and said expressionlessly, "It's nothing, I'm just about to see an acquaintance."

"acquaintance?"

Just as Xin'an was wondering what was going on, the little boy's father came over.

"Ouch, what happened? Why are you sitting on the ground? Did you fall?"

When Xu Qi's figure appeared in the middle-aged man's line of sight, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks, ignoring his still crying son.

"Aren't you going to help him up? Your son is still crying, uncle."

Xin'an stared wide-eyed at Xu Qi—Uncle!?

To you, is your uncle just an acquaintance?

The older girl ran over. She had recognized Xu Qi earlier, which was why she had stopped. Now that she saw her father, she mustered up her courage...

He helped his younger brother up.

"Oh... Xiaoqi, it's been a year. I heard you changed jobs?"

"Yes, thanks to you, Uncle."

You little brat...

Looking at Xin'an, the uncle asked, "Is this your girlfriend?"

Xin'an showed no embarrassment or annoyance; instead, she clicked her tongue in annoyance at the other party's mistaken relationship—"Me and Xu Qi? You must be joking..."

"No, he was a former colleague."

"Yes, we're just colleagues."

The uncle understood.

Xu Qi glanced at the little boy who had already been helped up by his older sister, and suddenly laughed, "Kid!"

The little boy turned around and looked at Xu Qi with a bewildered expression.

Do you remember me?

Xu Qi grinned, a smile spreading across his face.

The little boy finally remembered something and screamed in terror, while Xu Qi laughed heartily amidst the scream.

What awful adults...

The uncle was very angry. He clenched his fists but dared not resist in the slightest.

A year ago, someone beat up the younger one first, and then the older one.

That experience feels like it happened just yesterday.

"You've really become less and less well-mannered since you left home."

"Good manners are for people," Xu Qi said with a smile, looking at her uncle, "not for you."

He's still as sharp-tongued as ever.

The uncle looked at Xu Qi.

"I heard you're working at ET Studio now? Or Alahato Seed Studio? Taking on a 48-episode year-long series right off the bat, the schedule must be really tight..."

Xu Qi squinted.

He remembered that the other party was the HR manager of TXStudio Group.

"Don't worry about it."

"You should be paying more attention to yourself than arguing with me here, nephew."

600. We should first purify each other's sins.

"Are you and him really uncle and nephew?"

They randomly picked a coffee shop near Longhua, where Xu Qi and Aponia sat on one side, while Xin An consciously moved to the opposite side.

She didn't want to get involved in Xu Qi's inexplicable romantic entanglements.

"That's true, but we rarely see each other. We only met once last year during the Chinese New Year. I even slapped their son and daughter once each back then."

Xin'an raised an eyebrow, while Aponia, who had also heard about the matter, turned her head and covered her mouth with a soft laugh.

“That really does sound like something you would do.” Clearly, Xin’an was thinking about Xu Qi’s time at the subway company. “His name is… Li Fucong? Yes, that’s the name.”

Xu Qi scratched his head, clearly remembering it as well.

I also remember Aponia; Mei told me about it.

"Is it that person who said your name sounds like a girl's?"

Before Xu Qi could reply, Xin An blurted out, "Yes, and then Xu Qi yelled—'What's wrong with Xu Qi being a man's name!? I'm a man!'"

Then they beat him up. Hilarious…”

Xu Qi picked up his coffee and took a sip to cover up his embarrassment.

"Those were mistakes I made when I was young."

"I'll give you one more chance, are you in or not?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Pfft! Hahahaha!" This was perhaps the most cheerful smile Xin'an had shown today, maybe because he realized that Xu Qi was still the same Xu Qi he always was.

He didn't become greasy or compromised just because he had several girlfriends.

It's good, because she's someone who constantly compromises, so... when Xin'an discovers that there are people like Xu Qi in this world.

You both dislike the other person and hope they will never change.

"It's getting late, you guys keep chatting while I head back. Let's get together again sometime."

Xin'an stood up and left with a carefree air, without looking back.

Perhaps, whether it was her or him, they were just colleagues.

What makes them special is that they both contributed to the 956 incident back then.

After Xin An left, Aponia couldn't help but glance at Xu Qi sideways.

"Ex-girlfriend?"

"Of course not!"

Xu Qi leaned back in her seat, as if letting out a sigh of relief, and said, "Before being with Mei, I had never been in a relationship, not because I didn't want to..."

But back then, he was clearly focused on something else—the typical nerdy guy who thinks games are more appealing than women.

"now what?"

"Women smell so good!"

Aponia was silent for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Your behavior just now is what people often call 'getting cocky' online, right?"

Xu Qi was taken aback, then burst out laughing.

"Yes! It's quite low. But..."

Xu Qi took the nun's small hand in his.

"It's not because I like risqué things. It's just that being with you all always gives me different feelings, extremely subtle and unique."

I enjoy playing games because they bring me joy and add color to my once barren spiritual world, just like reading books.

But what I've gained from spending time with you all is more than just enjoyment.

And love...

“And the same principle applies to you.” Aponia said with a kind smile, ruffling Xu Qi’s hair.

"What you can bring us may be beyond your own imagination."

"Nia is flattering me again."

Aponia didn't argue, but simply said, "Going to church? The church services will resume tomorrow."

If we're going to church tomorrow, why are we going today?

"Before we go to church, we should purify each other's sins."

Xu Qi was taken aback and blinked.

"Sister Nia, I'm not like that..."

“It’s alright.” Aponia interrupted Xu Qi, pausing appropriately.

Xu Qi's eyes were full of curiosity. What would follow "It's okay"? — "That's the kind of person I am"?

It seemed a bit too astringent, to the point that Xu Qi almost stood up.

"You said before that games can add a lot of color to your spiritual world, so you used to like games more. Later you realized that being with outstanding people can also enrich your spiritual world."

But in that case, it seems like it works for both men and women, so Xu Qi, you have to understand…”

"Understand... understand what?"

Xu Qi's voice trembled slightly at this moment, for no other reason than this.

At that very moment, Aponia turned to the side and gently placed her fair little hand on Xu Qi's chest.

Xu Qi glanced around nervously; they were still outside! Sister Nia!

But Aponia seemed completely unconcerned. She leaned close to Xu Qi's ear and whispered something.

"The sensations that come from both the body and the mind are what make you almost intoxicated by them."

My heart felt like it had stopped at that moment.

Xu Qi felt like he had probably exploded.

If the nun wanted to, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was the most promiscuous of all Xu Qi's girlfriends...

······

At noon, Mei was humming an unknown tune as she prepared lunch in the kitchen.

Then I received a text message on my phone from Xu Qi: "Yayi, I won't be back for lunch. I'll be back tonight."

Mei's forehead was full of question marks.

Why would it take a whole day to go to Longhua Temple in the morning? We only went there once this morning.

Mei couldn't figure it out until the cat said during a casual chat in the afternoon, "Although I don't like catching fish, I'll still go with Canned Food if it wants to catch fish."

"Because you really like canned food?"

"No, that's not it. Whether or not I catch fish is secondary. The main thing is that if the canned food stays at home all the time, too many people will want to pet her, and then I won't be able to pet her."

When we went out to catch fish, it was just me and the cat (who had been fed by a canned cat), so I could pet the cat however I wanted!

"!"

Mei's expression changed instantly!