I like you, and it has never been a joke.

Zhen Yu stopped sobbing, slowly raised his head, turned around and saw Ji Chen standing at the door in a nightgown. He jumped up with a start and hugged Ji Chen tightly.

"What are you doing? Can you go and change your clothes? You're all wet and freezing cold!" Ji Chen said with a hint of disgust.

"Where did you go last night!" Zhen Yu didn't let go. Instead, he hugged her even tighter, and with a somewhat fierce tone, he whispered in Ji Chen's ear.

Ji Chen tried to push Zhen Yu away, but she couldn't. "Oh, I just, just went to a party!"

Zhen Yu closed his eyes and used a slightly gentler voice, yet still with a tone of reproach, "Then why didn't you answer the phone? Do you know how worried I was!"

Ji Chen was stunned for a moment and patted Zhen Yu with a hint of grievance, "Well, you see, the music at the party was so loud that I didn't hear the phone. But I called you as soon as I came out! However, you didn't answer my calls!"

Zhen Yu gave a soft laugh, "I guess the rain must have damaged my phone."

"Maybe. But, can we please take a shower first? You're soaked all over!" Ji Chen poked Zhen Yu's shoulder.

Zhen Yu let out a soft sigh but still didn't release Ji Chen, "Do you really know how worried I was about you? I searched for you all night. I thought, I thought something had happened to you!"

Ji Chen was at a loss. This person had searched for her all night? Just because she didn't answer the phone and he had been caught in the rain all night?

So she said guiltily, "Oh, I'm sorry. I swear I'll never not answer your calls again. Otherwise, I'll be struck by lightning five..."

Before Ji Chen could finish, Zhen Yu didn't listen any further. He just raised his head and pressed his lips against Ji Chen's...

"Bang——" The garbage bag in Ji Chen's hand fell to the ground as she was too shocked to hold it.

Zhen Yu placed his hand on Ji Chen's head to prevent her from escaping.

Ji Chen held her breath, not daring to make a sound, and tightly closed her eyes...

Seeing that the girl in front of him was almost out of breath, Zhen Yu finally let her go.

Ji Chen stood there, stunned, not daring to open her eyes and still holding her breath.

Zhen Yu then pinched Ji Chen's face, "Silly girl! From now on, never let me not be able to find you again, got it?"

Only then did Zhen Yu walk towards the shower room.

When Ji Chen saw that Zhen Yu had left, she suddenly opened her eyes and gasped for breath.

She touched her face and, to her surprise, it was as hot as anything.

She glanced into the house and saw that Zhen Yu wasn't there. So she jumped around in a frenzy and quickly picked up the garbage bag on the ground and ran downstairs...

She stayed downstairs for a while, trying to calm down, but it didn't work. So, with a feeling of going to her doom, she went upstairs. As soon as she reached the floor, she ran into Zhen Yu, who had just come out of the shower with only a towel wrapped around his lower body.

His eight-pack abs, the V-line, and his chest muscles... Ji Chen stood there stunned and saw them all at once.

When that person saw Ji Chen, he strolled towards her. Ji Chen became anxious and stepped back one step at a time until she was pressed against the corner of the wall with nowhere else to retreat.

Ji Chen stood on tiptoe, trying to get even a centimeter further away from Zhen Yu.

Zhen Yu stood in front of Ji Chen, placing both hands on the wall, "Have you seen enough? Are you satisfied?"

Ji Chen was almost fainting. What was this about being satisfied or not? Shouldn't they be talking about other things now!

But... this damned alluring person, his body was really... really great!

Ji Chen was still staring blankly at Zhen Yu's abs and even shamelessly swallowed her saliva. "No, not enough yet!" Ji Chen said softly.

"Then I'll let you see it every day?" Zhen Yu said teasingly.

Ji Chen came to her senses. D*mn it, what had she just said!

"No, no, no, I don't want that!"

Ji Chen said in a flurry.

Zhen Yu leaned his head closer to Ji Chen's mouth.

"No, don't!"

Ji Chen tightly closed her eyes.

Only then did Zhen Yu take a few steps back, "Okay, I'll give you time. Think it over. Do you want to be my sister, or... my girlfriend!"

Ji Chen didn't dare to open her eyes. She waited for five minutes before opening one eye. When she saw that Zhen Yu had left, she opened both eyes.

That night, Ji Chen couldn't fall asleep. She was considering Zhen Yu's question: sister or girlfriend?

She also wanted to know what she really thought. Just a sister? But she seemed to really like this brother a bit?

"Ugh, so annoying!"

Ji Chen rolled around on the bed in frustration.

She called Tian Yimeng, and Tian Yimeng actually advised her to agree!

How much money must have been used to bribe her...

Later, Zhen Yu was sent by a scientific research company to conduct a field investigation of a desolate mountain. It was said that there might be abnormal organisms there, so Zhen Yu readily accepted the task.

On the day Zhen Yu was about to leave, he said to Ji Chen, "You little rascal, wait for me to come back and tell me your answer!"

From that day on, Ji Chen suddenly began to think of Zhen Yu inadvertently. She thought of how domineering he was when he protected her, how silly he looked when he smiled at her, and how nice his abs were...

In short, she missed him. This must be love, right? She finally made a decision—to be his girlfriend!

But since then, Zhen Yu never came back...

In the police station, Ji Chen in Zhen Yu's arms was still crying loudly. Suddenly, she seemed to touch something. She was stunned for a moment and then immediately let go of Zhen Yu.

She had touched Zhen Yu's wound. It was a new wound that had reopened when Ji Chen touched it before it had healed, and blood was still seeping out continuously.

Ji Chen looked at the blood on her hand, terrified, and kept repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Zhen Yu looked at the tearful girl in front of him who had pulled him out of hell. He couldn't hold back either, and with a "splat", a tear fell onto the tiled floor of the police station.

"Does it hurt a lot? I'm really sorry. I always mess things up. I'm really sorry, sorry..." Ji Chen felt extremely guilty.

Zhen Yu stood up, picked up Ji Chen in his arms, and walked out of the police station...

At the end of the top floor of Lidi Entertainment, in a secret room of an office, Li Xuan woke up from the sleep pod...

"If you really don't want to live, just say so. That way, I don't have to run around like a fool to save you," Bai Li sneered coldly as he saw Li Xuan wake up.

Although Li Xuan's internal injuries had improved under Bai Li's care, due to the severity of the injuries, he even staggered when he stood up.

After finally straightening himself up, he put on a smile and said to Bai Li, "Come on, be careful you'll eat your words in the future!"

Bai Li didn't respond to this. He really didn't want to save someone who risked their life. But no matter how many times it was, even if he didn't want to, he would still save this person no matter what.

"You saved her, but she doesn't know anything. Did you do it on purpose?" Bai Li crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Li Xuan with a scrutinizing look.

"Does it really matter if it was on purpose or not? She probably can't be with me. My lifespan is so long, and she's just a dot in my vast starry sky," Li Xuan said, deliberately turning his face away as he spoke. He knew that if Bai Li saw his ridiculous and lonely expression now, he would definitely expose him on the spot.

But both of them knew that unless he had never been in love, a wolf demon would belong to only that one person for a lifetime.

Bai Li walked over, put down his crossed arms, patted Li Xuan's shoulder, and let out a long sigh. Then he didn't say anything more.

"Let me down quickly. You're bleeding!"

Zhen Yu ignored Ji Chen and just kept walking towards a certain place.

"Is this... our primary school? Why did you bring me here?"

Zhen Yu didn't put Ji Chen down until he reached the front of a school building.

Seeing that Zhen Yu was just staring blankly at an open area, Ji Chen couldn't help but ask again, "Why were you at the police station? And you're injured..."

Ji Chen lowered her eyebrows and said with a hint of loss, "Did you disappear for so long because you were trying to avoid me? Then why..."

One question after another popped into Ji Chen's mind, but before she could ask them, she saw Zhen Yu, who had been in a daze, come to his senses and turn towards her.

Zhen Yu let out a soft sigh but didn't answer any of Ji Chen's questions. Instead, he just asked, "Did anyone bully you while I was away?"

His tone was very calm, but one could faintly sense a trace of guilt.

Ji Chen was stunned. She had thought countless times about what the first words he would say to her would be when they met again: maybe it would be something like a bored "Why is it you again?" or perhaps a helpless "Long time no see"...

Ji Chen now felt extremely cowardly. She was like a crybaby. She had only met him not long ago, and she had already cried in front of him twice.

"Whether I was bullied or not, it's none of your business! I know you were just playing with me. Even if that's the case, you didn't have to avoid me for so many years!" Ji Chen's emotions were a bit agitated, and these words had been hidden in her heart for far too long.

Even Tian Yimeng, because she didn't want Ji Chen to have any more connection with Zhen Yu, had said to her, "He's no longer in your world, and he won't be in our conversations either!"

As a result, she could only ask herself these questions.

Zhen Yu stepped forward and placed his hand on Ji Chen's forehead, just like he used to do when they were children.

"Silly girl, if I could, I would never lie to you..." Zhen Yu turned and looked at that open area again.

"Do you remember that place? You said I was just playing with you, but perhaps I've wanted to keep playing with you since then!"

Ji Chen followed Zhen Yu's gaze, and it was as if all the scenes from the past were playing out right in front of her eyes.

That little girl, either because she was as fearless as a newborn calf or had mustered up a great deal of courage, had overestimated her abilities and tried to save that little boy...

"It all started here..." Ji Chen seemed to be deep in thought, furrowing her brows.

If it had really just been about playing around from here on, it was indeed... very persistent.

"Remember the last time we met, I was going to the desolate mountain, and you came to see me off."

As Zhen Yu spoke, he walked towards a corner, "I like you, and it's never just been about playing around!"