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“Xiao Huai, you still haven’t answered me about what I said yesterday.”

I hurriedly looked up: “What?”

He arched his beautiful brows and eyes: “I said I want to be with you. Will you?”

This time, my brain really froze.

So much so that the moment Xie Xu bent down to kiss me, I didn’t even have time to react.

He softly spoke, his voice husky: “Xiao Huai, I’ve liked you for a long time.”

Xie Xu took me to their company to sign the contract.

When the company boss saw Xie Xu, he frowned and gave me a not-so-friendly glance: “You brought him?”

Xie Xu looked down and said, “Mm.”

“Have you thought it through?”

“Mm.”

He handed me the contract: “Alright, since you’ve decided, just go ahead. I can’t control you anymore.”

After the boss left, I asked Xie Xu: “Do you need the boss to come in person just to sign a new artist?”

Xie Xu took a pen from the boss’s desk and handed it to me: “He’s my dad.”

What?

I was shocked, and the pen fell to the floor.

“So, the boss of Nanchuan isn’t here to sign a contract, but to see his future daughter-in-law?”

“Uh-huh.”

Realizing what I had just said, I buried my head in my arms.

Xie Xu ruffled my hair and teased, “What you said isn’t wrong.”

With my signing with Nanchuan, the company released a video on their official account.

In the video, Xie Xu was dressed simply and spoke softly to the camera:

“I have known Xiao Huai for a long time. Back then, I was just a quiet person who often got bullied.

I used to think that forgetting was the best way to heal from past shadows.

But the scars on my body from cigarette burns tell me that I cannot forget; I must face it.

The one who was bullied was not Xu Ze, but me.

It was Xiao Huai who saw the scars on my body and stood up for me, openly returning everything Xu Ze had done to me back on him.

Because of this, it allowed those with ulterior motives to take advantage.

I believe that besides me, there are many others who have been bullied.

I hope you all don’t define this incident as a dark part of life.

The wrongdoer was never you.

I’m sorry for the delayed truth.

I just feel that if someone acts out of goodwill and does the right thing, they should receive positive feedback, at least not defamatory responses, even if they themselves don’t care about the external voices.”

Three minutes later, the video was shared over ten thousand times.

Underneath the Weibo post were countless people who had experienced bullying or unfair treatment in their childhood, boldly sharing their stories and calling for a reduction in unconscious bullying.

Years later, I found a document on Xie Xu’s computer.

When I opened it, I was surprised to see that it was filled with fanfiction he had typed out word by word.

It turned out that some feelings had been mutual from the very beginning.

Xiao Huai:

“Love is such a beautiful thing, beautiful enough to give me enough courage.

I have never felt inferior because of my orientation; I boldly pursue what I love, regardless of the secular gaze.”

Xie Xu:

“People always demand the sun to be warm, hoping that their loved ones shine like the morning sun, forever vibrant.

Yet they forget that even the last ray of light from the setting sun is enough to illuminate the whole world.

I don’t want you to strive to maintain the brilliance of the morning sun.

Because you are the sun, whether it’s morning or sunset, you can dispel the darkness ahead of me.

As long as you are willing to stay in my world, that is all I could wish for.”

• The End –

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