Noon, university cafeteria.

Chen Xi ate the food on her tray, finding it tasteless.

A figure appeared in the corner of her vision, prompting her to quickly look up, only to see a tall passerby.

With a sigh, the young girl couldn't quite understand her own feelings. She hesitated for a long time before finally asking Xue Lan, who was still eating heartily in front of her:

"Um... Xue Lan?"

Xue Lan looked up, swallowed the rice in her mouth, and asked, "What's up?"

Chen Xi wanted to say something but felt too embarrassed to speak, so she just pursed her lips and let it go.

However, her innocent demeanor didn't escape Xue Lan's notice. As the goddess of gossip, Xue Lan could guess most of what was going on, so she got straight to the point:

"Let me guess, Xi Xi, you want to ask me something, right?"

Chen Xi was taken aback, her eyes flickering before she finally nodded.

"Hmm," Xue Lan put down her chopsticks, looking confident as she deliberately drew out her words, "Is it about a certain boy?"

The blush on the young girl's face said it all.

Xue Lan instantly turned into Sherlock Holmes, continuing her inquiry, "Something happened last night, didn't it? That's why you've been distracted all morning, thinking about him, right?"

Chen Xi remained silent, her gaze evasive.

Xue Lan smiled knowingly and continued, "Do you often think about him? Does your heart race and face flush when you see him? Do you get inexplicably angry when you see him with other girls? Do you want to throw yourself into his arms..."

"I don't!"

The young girl was still in denial, but her clenched fists betrayed her true feelings.

Seeing this, Xue Lan dropped the act and leaned in playfully, teasing, "Oh, my dear Xi Xi, you're done for. You've fallen into the trap of love! Come on, tell me, which class is the lucky guy from?"

Chen Xi didn't speak, seemingly sulking, but Xue Lan, as her friend, was used to this behavior. No answer was as good as a denial!

Seeing that it wasn't someone from another class, Xue Lan became even more interested and continued to probe, "Oh? Not from another class? Could it be... Wang Wen?"

Chen Xi still didn't speak.

"Zhao Jiangchuan?"

"Cannon Zhang?"

"…"

Xue Lan went through a process of elimination but couldn't figure out who it was. Having ruled out other classes, a terrifying thought emerged.

She was slightly surprised and leaned in closer, whispering, "Xi Xi... you don't like someone who's not a classmate, do you?"

Chen Xi's eyes darted around, and after a long pause, she finally nodded, then quickly argued, "I... I don't know..."

It would have been fine if she hadn't spoken, but once she did, it was a bombshell. Xue Lan immediately leaned in, almost sticking to her, and asked excitedly:

"Quick, quick, tell me who it is! Someone from outside school? Another school? A graduate?"

Chen Xi pursed her lips.

"Wow! It's really a graduate!?" Xue Lan exclaimed, her voice drawing the attention of those around them, but only for a moment, as everyone was busy eating.

After learning this, Xue Lan leaned back slightly, reassessing Chen Xi's figure, clicking her tongue in jest:

"Tsk tsk tsk, I always wondered why you, the ice queen, never seemed interested in anyone. Turns out you like the uncle type~"

A certain word in her sentence made Chen Xi's eyebrows twitch, and she quickly retorted, "I don't... I don't..."

Even Xue Lan was taken aback. She had only intended to tease Chen Xi to gauge the guy's age, but who would have thought she'd hit the nail on the head?

Seeing the usually cold girl showing such a shy expression, Xue Lan felt something was amiss.

Liking an uncle was one thing, but truly falling for one was another...

Xue Lan furrowed her brow, her playful demeanor gone, as she leaned in seriously and asked:

"Xi Xi, tell me the truth, is he much older than you?"

Chen Xi turned her head, speaking softly, "No..."

"How much older, three years?"

The young girl remained silent.

"Five years?"

"Eight years??"

"Ten years!?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xi quickly countered, "I said he's not much older than me..."

This made Xue Lan anxious. Without thinking, she grabbed the young girl's wrist, ignoring her instinctive look of disgust, and pressed:

"Xi Xi! Tell me the truth, did he force you? Don't be afraid, tell me, I won't tell anyone."

"No..."

Chen Xi looked at the hand gripping her wrist and struggled free, her brow furrowed tightly. Even though she knew her friend was concerned, she still disliked physical contact with others.

"How did you meet him!? Does your brother know?"

The young girl's eyes flickered, silent for a long time before she bit her lip and said in a very small voice:

"He's... he's not my real brother..."

"He's just someone my mom used to know... an unrelated godbrother..."

Xue Lan's eyes widened to the size of tennis balls, looking at Chen Xi as if she'd seen a ghost. After a long moment, she asked, half-believing:

"Xi Xi, are you serious!?"

Chen Xi didn't speak, just remained silent for a long time before shaking her head and saying, "I... I didn't..."

"You really like him!? He's nearly ten years older than you, right!?"

"No... I don't like him..."

Now it was Xue Lan's turn to be silent.

The usually lively and cheerful girl suddenly became serious, showing a rare calmness.

She thought for a long time, then sighed, looking back into Chen Xi's eyes, and said with certainty:

"Xi Xi, I understand you, and I support you unconditionally."

"Because that guy is just too handsome! Even I couldn't resist."

…………

Thanks to Xue Lan's jokes at noon, Chen Xi ignored the gossip-loving girl all afternoon.

But as they say, fight poison with poison. After the commotion, Chen Xi was able to return to her studies, spending the afternoon without getting distracted.

Until school ended.

Once a person has free time, they tend to overthink, and she was no exception.

After finishing her assignments and taking notes, she suddenly realized that apart from waiting for Yan Feng to pick her up after school, she had nothing else to do. Standing at the school gate, she couldn't help but daydream.

She thought about many things and asked herself many questions.

The first being...

What is liking someone?

She had never had this concept in her mind.

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What does liking feel like? What is the definition of liking? What is the purpose of liking? What is the reason for liking?

She knew nothing.

If she couldn't figure it out, she wouldn't think about it, which was a way to save brainpower. But when one problem couldn't be solved, another often arose.

She began to recall last night.