"I like you."

After a brief hesitation, Chu Ge took a deep breath and gave an answer that even a fool wouldn't choose.

He could feel Qin Ruoying's affection for him. Perhaps at first, she was simply trying to set him up with Qin Ruojing, but as time went by, when she said she liked him, it gradually became more than just words.

And whenever he was with Qin Ruoying, he felt completely at ease, saying whatever he wanted, doing whatever he wanted. Subtly, he had indeed developed feelings for her as well.

So, he made a choice that followed his heart.

Some things are really hard to have a so-called "correct answer." No matter what you choose, there's always a certain outcome, and no matter what you choose, it's always difficult.

Although such a choice seemed very foolish, if he were to lie and say he didn't like Qin Ruoying at all, that would be a cruelty to her.

But... Chu Ge knew that by saying this, wasn't he also being cruel to Qin Ruojing?

Foolish or cruel, in any case, when Chu Ge saw Qin Ruoying's tightly clasped hands and sensed her tension, he ultimately couldn't harden his heart.

Chu Ge was ready to face Qin Ruojing's wrath, but the voice he heard next was calm and tranquil, as though nothing had happened.

"What about me?"

Qin Ruojing paused, and just as Chu Ge was about to speak, she stood up from the swivel chair, looked into his eyes, and posed another question.

Chu Ge was suddenly stunned, "I..."

Before Chu Ge could say another word, Qin Ruojing continued to ask, "What about Tong Yaqi, Chen Jiatong, Xu Jingyuan, or some other women I don't even know about? Were you just having fun with them, or did you genuinely care too?"

Chu Ge opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. However, anyone could see that his attitude clearly indicated a tacit agreement.

Qin Ruojing gave a faint smile, raised her hand to gently touch her forehead. Although she smiled, there was a trace of sorrow, helplessness, and something Chu Ge couldn't understand in her expression.

Seeing that complex smile on Qin Ruojing's charming face, Chu Ge felt as if an invisible hand squeezed his heart, a wave of guilt spreading from within, transforming into pain that continually grew.

Facing Qin Ruojing's gaze, Chu Ge slowly stood up from the edge of the bed, walking towards her step by step, gently grasping her hand. Yet, Qin Ruojing just stood there without any reaction, her smile unchanged, allowing Chu Ge to hold her hand.

"I... I know thinking this way is shameless, and I'm not trying to justify myself, but I want to tell you that no matter how many women hold a place in my heart, no matter how many connections I have with them, I, Chu Ge, will only ever have one wife, and her name is Qin Ruojing."

As Chu Ge's gaze fell on the diamond ring on his left ring finger, a mist formed in Qin Ruojing's eyes. When Chu Ge finished speaking, two tears spilled from her eyes, sliding down her smiling cheeks and shattering as they hit the ground.

Those two tears appeared so suddenly, yet it felt so natural.

By now, she finally understood Tong Yaqi's words from back then: Love is truly selfish. When you fall in love with someone, you genuinely have a strong desire to monopolize them.

The so-called magnanimity is just because the feelings haven't reached a certain level, so it doesn't matter that much. However, what has already happened, no one can change.

Qin Ruojing slightly tilted her head up, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, then let out a small laugh, patting Chu Ge's hand. "Alright, don't speak so mushily, that's not like you."

Chu Ge wanted to say something else, but Qin Ruojing raised her hand, stopping his lips. With a gaze of unprecedented gentleness, she looked at him and softly said, "And from today onward, your wife's name is not Qin Ruojing."

When these words entered Chu Ge's ears, his pupils shrank violently, and the pain in his heart multiplied countless times, as if a multitude of knives were stabbing into him, twisting before being pulled out and then re-stabbing into the already scarred wounds, leaving him in such agony that he could hardly breathe.

Staring blankly at Qin Ruojing, Chu Ge's mind was a blank, and tears unknowingly began to flow.

"How can a heartless bastard like you still cry? You look so ugly when you cry."

Qin Ruojing gently wiped the tears from the corners of Chu Ge's eyes, looked at his trembling lips, and sighed softly, revealing an incomparably complex smile as the corners of her mouth formed a complicated curve.

"Your wife's name is Jing Ying, using 'Jing' from Qin Ruojing and 'Ying' from Qin Ruoying."

A gentle whisper pierced directly into his heart, causing Chu Ge's battered heart to convulse violently, as a small flame named hope quietly ignited among the ashes.

"What did you say...?"

It was just four short words, yet it seemed to exhaust all of Chu Ge's strength, and even his voice was hoarse, no longer resembling a human voice.

"I said, your wife's name is Jingying, with the 'Jing' from Qin Ruojing and the 'Ying' from Qin Ruoying." Qin Ruojing repeated the words she had just spoken, each word pronounced slowly.

When she finished speaking, she gently withdrew her hand that was being held by Chu Ge.

"Alright, go wash your face and we can talk later. You really are like Yaqi said, no matter how old a man gets, there's always a part of him that's like a child who never grows up."

Chu Ge nodded heavily. If there were truly something in this world akin to heavenly music, it would certainly be Qin Ruojing's voice at this moment.

Turning around, he strode out of the bedroom. In the bathroom, Chu Ge kept splashing cold water from the faucet onto his face, letting the coolness continuously hit his cheeks. He needed to wake up, to be even clearer. He had to confirm that he wasn't dreaming at this moment.

Although there were still many things he couldn't figure out, he at least knew one thing: Qin Ruojing would not leave him, and this realization alone was invaluable.

It was only until this day that he understood the place Qin Ruojing held in his heart. It turned out his love for her was so deep, yet compared to the love Qin Ruojing had for him, it was insignificant.

The rest of the matter, when he returns to that bedroom, Qin Ruojing and Qin Ruoying will give him the answers.

Two minutes later, Chu Ge wiped off the water droplets from his face and took several long deep breaths. With a complex emotion he couldn't quite name, he reappeared before the Qin sisters.

"Feeling better now? Have a sip of water first." As Chu Ge stepped into the bedroom, Qin Ruojing gave him a gentle smile and handed over a glass of water.

Chu Ge gave an awkward smile, took a sip of water, placed the cup on the computer desk, and returned to sit by the bed.

"Actually, I've been contemplating the matters concerning the three of us for quite some time. I had planned to dwell on it even longer, but I didn't expect this situation today, which is why I feel it's necessary for the three of us to have an open and honest conversation now."

Qin Ruojing sat gracefully on the swivel chair, facing Chu Ge and Qin Ruoying. She appeared poised and elegant, though in her heart, she wasn't as calm as she seemed.

"Xiaoying, why don't you say something to your brother-in-law." Qin Ruojing turned her gaze to Qin Ruoying. Seeing her sister lift her head, she offered an encouraging smile, "Given your personality, it's really hard on you to have kept it all in for so long."

Qin Ruoying looked at her sister, then at Chu Ge, hesitated for a few seconds while biting her lip, and finally nodded.

"Brother-in-law, do you remember what happened the first time we met?"

Chu Ge responded with an "uh-huh," "Of course I remember, I was making breakfast in your kitchen, and you wandered out in your pajamas, half asleep. Later, you changed into another set of pajamas, teasing me to call you by a different name in exchange for some pocket money, which was settled with the two fried eggs I made..."

Speaking of that day, a spontaneous smile appeared on Chu Ge's face, every detail of that morning vivid in his memory.

"No, that wasn't our first meeting, brother-in-law. You're... not being honest." Qin Ruoying shook her head, her face also breaking into a faint smile, which finally showed some of her usual mischievousness.

The smile on Chu Ge's face froze, as he listened to Qin Ruoying continue, "Our actual first meeting was that night when you came with my sister to our home. It was late at night, in my sister's bedroom. I had too much to drink and came home just intending to take off my clothes and go to bed, but you knocked me out cold..."

Chu Ge's face instantly reddened, even though he had suspected this beforehand, hearing Qin Ruoying admit it made him feel inexplicably embarrassed. So, Qin Ruoying had indeed known all along.

Qin Ruojing gave Chu Ge a sidelong glance. She had only known that Chu Ge knocked her sister out and got her to her bedroom's doorstep; it was just now that she learned Chu Ge had interacted with her sister back then.

"Uh... uh." Chu Ge finally nodded, admitting to the incident.

"Honestly, at first, I was really mad, so while I was smiling at you on the surface, I was actually thinking about how to get back at you and my sister, how to make you look bad, how to take revenge on you properly."

Chu Ge wiped another drop of sweat. Qin Ruoying hid it so well and acted so convincingly that even he hadn't noticed anything amiss.

"Until... the meal you cooked for us. When you were teaching me to fry fish and got hot oil splattered all over your back to protect me, that's when I suddenly realized you're actually a pretty nice person, and I truly became a little curious about you."

"Then you accompanied me to a gathering with my friends. I knew they would definitely look for trouble with you, and I also assumed you would embarrass yourself under their provocation. But once again, you exceeded my expectations, and further down the line..."