He found it hard to describe his feelings upon hearing those words. His first reaction was: Is Lu Nian joking with him?

Then, he keenly picked up on the word “once” in her sentence.

Even if he admitted that the first part of what she said was true, since she “once” liked him, that meant? Now, she no longer…

“Yes,” Lu Nian immediately saw through his thoughts.

She spoke slowly, unhurriedly, “I did like you once, but you were so bad to me back then. Then, you suddenly left for so long, for several years, without any news. I couldn’t even find you.”

“Who hasn’t mistakenly loved someone when they were young?” Lu Nian said deliberately.

His face gradually turned pale, but he still remained silent, saying nothing.

“So now, everything is back to square one,” Lu Nian said lightly.

He still didn’t quite believe the first part of what Lu Nian said.

After all, she was always good at teasing people, and her words were always a mix of truth and falsehood.

Only when he was with her did all his cunning and schemes disappear completely, leaving only pure sincerity.

His naturally pessimistic nature made him absolutely believe the latter part of her words.

Seeing him lower his eyes, his face pale, yet still unwilling to say what he had been doing all those years or express anything, Lu Nian felt a bit angry.

“Alright, Qiao Li is calling me, I need to go out,” Lu Nian said.

As she tried to get up from the bed, her slender wrist was suddenly grasped.

His fingers were cold, with no warmth at all.

His voice was somewhat hoarse, “I won’t leave again.”

Lu Nian slowly straightened up.

The man’s eyes were dark, his delicate lips a bit thin, and their color was still fresh from her touch.

She softly said, “Okay.”

She added, “Also, I lied to you before. I don’t like Zhao Yayuan. We’re just friends, and we’ve only held hands once at most.”

Such intimate things, she had only done with him.

…

Someone was still knocking on the door outside.

Lu Nian slowly got up, “Let’s go.”

Qiao Li and Zhao Yayuan were still outside.

It would be strange for them to stay in the room for so long.

When they came out, Lu Nian looked normal, but the man following her had a slightly pale face.

Only his lips were unusually red, making him look strikingly handsome.

Lu Nian’s hair and clothes were still tidy.

Zhao Yayuan asked, “Are you staying here tonight?”

“Yes,” Lu Nian said, “to keep Qiao Li company.”

Zhao Yayuan said, “Then I won’t go back either.”

Qiao Li didn’t say anything, and neither did Lu Nian.

Since coming out of the room, Qin Si had been silent.

Now, he finally spoke, “There’s no room here.”

Zhao Yayuan raised an eyebrow at him, “I can squeeze in with Qiao Li.”

“Your brother is about to have a wedding, and you’re still staying at a friend’s house?” he said calmly, “Your family doesn’t mind?”

Zhao Yayuan responded, “What’s it got to do with my family?”

He seemed to smile slightly, his thin lips curving a little, “You dare defy your family?”

His words had a double meaning.

The matter of Zhao’s family stopping the engagement with Lu Nian was a sore spot for Zhao Yayuan.

Especially since it was exposed so bluntly, his face turned a little red, angered by the comment.

Qin Si’s mouth could be really vicious, intentionally or not, it was truly infuriating.

Lu Nian just felt a headache, not knowing what to say.

She had clearly told Qin Si that she didn’t like Zhao Yayuan, so why was he still so hostile towards him?

Was it just because they once had an engagement?

Qiao Li hurriedly pulled her aside and whispered, “Nian Nian, don’t stay here. Go take a shower and get some rest.”

Lu Nian took her towel and clothes back to her room.

When she came out after drying her hair, she looked around and saw that only Qiao Li was left in the living room, still reading a book.

Lu Nian wrung out her damp hair with a towel and asked, “They left?”

Qiu Li replied, “They all left.”

“Did they argue?”

Qiu Li said, “No.”

Qin Si, in fact, rarely argued with people.

He spoke little, but every word could precisely hit someone’s sore spot.

However, he didn’t seem to have any intention of arguing with Zhao Yayuan.

It was enough for him to ensure that Zhao Yayuan wouldn’t stay here.

Lu Nian sat down beside him, “It’s really troublesome. I feel like I can’t hold on much longer. Maybe I should just confess to him directly and get it over with.”

She never expected that just getting him to confess his feelings and admit he liked her would be so difficult.

Qiao Li smiled, “You haven’t given him enough sense of security.”

Lu Nian half sat up, “Huh?”

“What do you mean?”

Qiu Li didn’t elaborate further.

Instead, he seemed to think of something and asked, “Nian Nian, are you going to stay here, or will you move in with him?”

Lu Nian thought for a moment, “I might have to. He wants me to live with him.”

She shrugged.

Even though she didn’t say it, she knew that if she really stayed here, Qin Si would find a hundred ways to eventually make her move in with him.

Qiao Li pursed his lips.

His face suddenly turned a bit red, “Nian Nian, since you’re going to live together…”

“Unless you’re sure he really likes you and wants to have a proper relationship with you,” he gently held Lu Nian’s hand, “before marriage, you shouldn’t…”

He was a gentle and shy guy, and even though he was talking to his twin sister, he was still embarrassed, his fair face tinged with a bit of red.

Lu Nian was momentarily stunned but quickly understood.

She smiled and squeezed Qiao Li’s hand, “Don’t worry, he won’t force me into anything like that.”

But she herself often felt restless.

She liked to draw and found him as captivating as a painting, so tempting that she might not be able to resist pouncing on him someday.

Lu Nian didn’t have much experience with these things, but she had liked being close to him since her teenage years.

As for him, he indeed could restrain himself well.

However, Lu Nian thought, he used to be quite ascetic.

Only after they started living together did she see another side of Qin Si, one that he showed only to her.

In the original story, even until his death, there was never a woman by his side.

Qiao Li said, “If you really want to date or get married, Nian Nian, do you know about his past?”

“We grew up together.”

“Even earlier?” Qiao Li asked, “I remember, he came to the Lu family when he was eight, right?”

Are you talking about his life in the orphanage?

Lu Nian shook her head.

She only knew that before coming to the Lu family, Qin Si had been adopted by another family.

But not long after, he returned to the orphanage for unknown reasons.

Qin Si never talked about this to anyone.

However, when he first came to the Lu family, he had a strong sense of self-protection.

After experiencing certain things in the Lu family, he became even more withdrawn, like he was building a thick cocoon around himself, year after year, making it harder and harder to reach him.

His guard was always up, and his pride was very high.

He never wanted to show his true self to anyone.

No one knew what he had gone through.

“Has Mr. Qin ever thought about finding his biological parents?” Qiao Li asked.

Lu Nian shook her head, “No.”

He clearly wasn’t interested in that kind of thing.

It seemed like he didn’t care at all.

“Is that so?” Qiao li’s tone lowered, “I’m the same.”

“But, I miss Mom a little,” he suddenly said.

In recent years, Qiao Li rarely talked to her about the Lu family, and this was the first time.

“Mom’s necklace, I found it in her room,” Lu Nian said, “Qiao Li, if you want to go back, I’ll take you to Mom’s room to light incense for her.”

Qiao Li nodded.

“I also went to the house we lived in when we were kids,” Lu Nian said, sniffing, “But I still can’t remember anything.”

Qiao Li patted her head, “If you can’t remember, let it be. They weren’t happy memories.”

She drew, while Qiao Li read.

Lu Nian asked, “Is it true that Zhao Tingyuan is getting married soon?”

“Yes, Yayuan doesn’t want to go, but…” Qiao Li frowned.

Although Qiao Li didn’t finish his sentence, Lu Nian understood what he meant.

The Zhao family only had two sons in this generation.

They were brothers, and it was impossible for the younger brother not to attend the elder brother’s wedding.

“Tell Yayuan to be careful,” Lu Nian said worriedly.

Thinking of Zhao Yayuan’s previous fate, she always felt like he was a ticking time bomb, especially since Su Qingyou was really marrying into the Zhao family.

However, there was nothing she could do but try to remind Zhao Yayuan to be careful.

“I’ve talked to Yayuan about it,” Qiao Li said helplessly.

But it didn’t seem to have much effect.

Zhao Yayuan seemed to be affected by something involving Lu Nian, and he spoke even less than before.

Previously, he rarely got involved in company affairs, but recently, under Zhao Quan’s guidance, he started to handle things well.

He was much more capable than Zhao Tingyuan… but still.

Lu Nian sighed.

She really wanted to have a good talk with Zhao Yayuan someday.

The Zhao family wedding was indeed approaching, and they had invited many people.

Everything was ready, the invitations had been sent out, and Su Qingyou was sitting under the light, carefully checking the guest list name by name.

She was now about five months pregnant, a bit plumper than before, and her waist had grown wider.

The wedding dress she had initially chosen needed alterations.

The designer had visited the Zhao family many times to adjust the dress for her.

Su Qingyou was confirming the guest list.

Because she had been experiencing severe morning sickness, Zhao Tingyuan had volunteered to draft the guest list.

“Haven’t invited anyone from the Lu family?” she asked.

Zhao Tingyuan replied, “Things have gotten so bad between us, there’s no need.”

In the past, the Zhao family had a good relationship with the Lu family, but after the incident with Zhao Yayuan, everyone felt differently.

Now, having a wedding and inviting the Lu family would just be awkward.

“That’s Yayuan’s issue with them,” Su Qingyou said.

“Invite Uncle Lu. After all, he still has some connection with Mom and Dad,” Su Qingyou said gently. “Decades of friendship are still there.”

Zhao Tingyuan was incredulous. “Lu Zhihong? After what happened last time, we’ve pretty much torn all the goodwill apart. If we invite him now, would he even come?”

“Besides, the actual person in charge of the Lu family now is that Qin guy,” Zhao Tingyuan said. “If we wanted to get close, inviting Lu Zhihong wouldn’t help.”

Su Qingyou seemed to smile but didn’t respond directly.

Instead, she brought up another topic. “Do you know Yayuan’s friend… seems to be named Qiao Li?”

Zhao Tingyuan replied, “Yes, he’s Yayuan’s friend. When Yayuan was in poor health and sent away to recuperate, Qiao Li was the grandson of the family that took him in.

They grew up playing together… What does he have to do with our wedding?”

“The town where the sanatorium is, is it called Nanqiao?” Su Qingyou asked slowly.

Zhao Tingyuan frowned. “Maybe? I don’t really remember.”

Su Qingyou said, “Did you know the Lu family once had a lost younger son?”

Zhao Tingyuan was increasingly confused.

Su Qingyou had to spell it out. “I had someone investigate it specifically.”

“Look.” She pulled out a photo.

It was taken by a private detective, clearly a candid shot.

It showed a young man and woman walking together, looking very close.

Zhao Tingyuan didn’t notice anything at first.

“Doesn’t he look familiar?”

Su Qingyou adjusted the angle, pointing it out to Zhao Tingyuan.

The young man was talking to the girl, and Zhao Tingyuan, who was familiar with Lu Nian, finally noticed some resemblance—both had gentle and refined features.

“Look at the eyes, the expressions,” Su Qingyou said. “Lu Zhuo and Lu Nian are fraternal twins; they should be about the same age.”

Zhao Tingyuan still didn’t quite understand.

Su Qingyou had to clarify, “Don’t you think this Qiao Li might have some connection to Lu Zhuo?”

Zhao Tingyuan’s eyes widened. “You mean Qiao Li is Lu Zhuo?”

“How is that possible? That’s ridiculous. Lu Zhuo died long ago. His identity was even officially nullified.”