We moved to Golden Courtyard

Isn't that me?

When I finally realized what was happening and tried to find Xu Qi, she was avoiding me...

It's not like this hasn't happened before. Because she was busy, she would stay at the company for a long time and not go home. At that time, Xu Qi would even take the initiative to come and see her to check on her sister's situation.

But now... how did things change?

Of course, Eden understood, because she had been genuinely busy before, but this time... she was the one actively avoiding Xu Qi.

I may have really hurt Xu Qi's feelings.

But can't I even have this little bit of whimsy?

Eden was unaware of this; she was only thinking that she might have hurt Xu Qi's feelings and that this might have created a rift in their relationship...

The excruciating pain in her heart turned her face deathly pale.

Why has Eden, which once shone with eternal light, been reduced to the appearance of Daiyu?

“Eden…”

The voice behind him made Eden slightly dazed. When he came to his senses, he realized that it was Aponia who had walked up to him.

She forced a smile and said, "Why are you here?"

"You didn't know? Xu Qi's parents are flying back to Shanghai tonight, and those girls have been arguing about it since yesterday. They still haven't decided who will go to the airport with Xu Qi this morning."

What's there to argue about...?

Even though that's what she thought, Eden glanced at Aponia beside her and couldn't help but ask, "What about you? Why don't you fight for it?"

"I'll accompany you."

A simple sentence, yet it contains boundless affection.

Aponia, my best friend for life.

Eden looked somewhat relieved, but his disappointment still lingered.

"What? Missing your man?"

Eden was stunned; she never expected such teasing words to come from the dignified nun Aponia. Of course, her tone didn't betray that it was a joke.

So Aponia really thinks so?

Eden glanced at her best friend with a hint of helplessness.

"What do you mean he's my man? He's my brother."

"So you did know that Xu Qi is your younger brother."

Eden didn't understand what Aponia meant by that.

“Eden…” Aponia moved a little closer and took Eden’s arm, saying, “Are you thinking that you can’t even be willful just this once?”

Eden's mouth was half open, but he couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal.

"Look at yourself. Is this how you put yourself in the position of the older sister? You're only thinking like this because you see yourself as his woman."

"!"

With just these words, Eden immediately realized what was happening!

This...this...

"If you really consider him your younger brother, shouldn't you run over there, grab his ear, and question him about why he's avoiding you and not talking to you?"

Yes...yes...

"You're being so sentimental and self-pitying here, looking like you're worried about losing her. Doesn't that mean you still consider yourself Xu Qi's girlfriend?"

She's still that kind of little woman who falls in love, always thinking she's done nothing wrong, waiting for the man to come and fawn over her, to coax her—good heavens…where's Eden here?

"..."

Stop cursing, stop cursing.

After Aponia said that, Eden felt like something was wrong with him—indeed, this was no Eden.

"Then tell me what I..."

Aponia smiled.

"You should run over and grab his ear, and ask him why he's avoiding you?"

Isn't this just treating herself as the older sister and Xu Qi as a younger brother?

Eden hesitated, while Aponia feigned surprise, as if she knew something extraordinary, and deliberately said, "You didn't actually fall in love with Xu Qi as her older sister, did you?"

Eden narrowed his eyes.

"Aponia... when did you learn to joke like Alicia?"

“Just now,” Aponia said softly.

It's still normal as it is; the deliberate performance just now was really incongruous.

Eden sighed.

"So I..."

“Eden…” Aponia took Eden’s hands in hers. “You shouldn’t hesitate like this, you shouldn’t be so anxious, and you shouldn’t come to me with every problem you encounter.”

Are you, Eden, the kind of person who hesitates and is afraid to act when faced with the unknown?

At this moment, Eden really wanted to say—yes.

"The only thing you need to do now is to face your feelings for Xu Qi. Do you want him to be your younger brother or your lover?"

Eden, there is no perfect solution! Even if you are the Golden Eden, even if everything in this world seems to be at your disposal.

But you can only choose one of these two options.

Eden remained silent, and Aponia's passionate words seemed to have exhausted all her strength.

This way of persuading people is clearly not suitable for a nun... but she can also see that Eden needs a heavy blow right now!

Seeing Eden remain silent, Aponia sighed and said, "Think about it yourself... I'm going back now."

Eden watched Aponia leave, his hands clasped to his chest, speechless for a long time.

Can I only choose one?

······

That evening, to everyone's surprise, Xu Qi went to pick up the passengers at the airport alone, without bringing anyone with him.

That's good, it gives my uncle and aunt some peace and quiet.

When Xu Qi's mother, Lin Lai, saw that her son was alone at the airport, she was shocked. She even forgot her joy at finally seeing her son again and hurriedly asked him what was wrong.

"What about the others? What about your...girlfriends?"

Even Xu Youde stood to the side, looking nervous.

Xu Qi laughed.

"Dad, Mom, why are you so nervous? We didn't let them come over because there were too many people, so I decided to come and pick you up by myself."

"Oh... so it wasn't them who dumped you..."

Xu Qi: ?

"You brat! Is this so hard to understand? They're so lucky to follow you like this; you must have accumulated a lot of good karma in your past lives!"

Xu Qi scratched his head shyly—this was indeed a bit hard for his parents' generation to accept.

Well, this is just as hard to accept for his generation!

However, once they got in the car, Lin Lai said something that surprised Xu Qi.

"But seeing how preoccupied you look, we really thought you... had some kind of relationship problem."

Xu Qi sat silently in the driver's seat, not in a hurry to start the car.

"Mom, how did you know..."

"You're my son! Can't I tell at a glance?"

A wise child is better than his mother.

Xu Qi silently started the car, and before setting off, he asked.

"Mom, if I do something that will cause pain to someone I care about in the short term, but... things will get better in the future, do you think I should continue?"

In the back seat of the car, Lin Lai and Xu Youde looked at each other in bewilderment. Their son was asking them about their love life.

Lin Lai glanced at Xu Youde—You answer.

Xu Youde blinked – I don't know how…

Lin Lai immediately glared at him—Go to hell! I was blind back then…

"Okay, okay, I'll answer."

Xu Qi: ?

Are you two exchanging glances in the back? Bye, I should have brought a girlfriend along.

“Son…” Xu Youde asked, “Can you accept the pain of losing someone you care about?”

Xu Qi shook his head firmly.

Xu Youde grinned.

"You brat, don't you already have the answer?"

788. Because I truly love you, sister.

After driving the two elderly people home, Xu Qi was about to get out of the car to help carry their luggage when Lin Lai pushed him back into the car.

"Mom, what's this...?"

"Your father and I aren't so old that we need our son's help to carry a suitcase. You should go back now. I was getting anxious just looking at how fast you were driving!"

Ah... there's really no way to hide it from anyone.

Just like Dad said—in my heart, didn't I already have the answer? Dad only loved Mom his whole life, and I'm afraid I could never learn all about his romance.

That's why he seemed a little rushed, wanting to get home as soon as possible.

"Although I don't know which girl you've gotten into this time, the fact that you're so anxious means she must be someone you care about very, very much."

"Ah."

Lin Lai waved her hand.

"Then go ahead, it's just a trip home. If you really miss us, you can come back tomorrow."

……

A slight pang of sadness welled up in my heart, especially when my mother smiled, revealing the increasingly deep crow's feet at the corners of her eyes—something I hadn't really noticed before she passed away…

Xu Qi finally opened the car door and got out, then hugged his mother tightly.

Lin Lai stood there dumbfounded. Her son had grown up, and especially after the conflict with his family the year before last, it had been so long since she had hugged him so affectionately.

Xu Youde stood to the side, looking up at the sky.

"Go ahead, don't keep the girl waiting."

Xu Qi sat back in the car, leaving the window open, seemingly hoping his mother would say a few more words to persuade him to stay.

"I'm leaving?"

Lin Lai waved her hand, this time too lazy to even say a word.

Watching his son's car drive away, Xu Youde picked up his suitcase and walked to Lin Lai's side.

"Stop looking, they're all gone. You're just wasting my time. You have free labor but you don't use it. Now your husband has to work hard to climb the stairs..."

"Get out of here! How dare you talk about your son like that?"

Xu Youde grinned widely. He and his wife had been traveling around the world for half a year. Although they were happy abroad, it seemed like they had never been this happy before.