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Ye Shuang and Chen Qin were tangled together, and he even realized that his strength was no match for Chen Qin's, as she pinned him down and had her way with him.

"I was wrong, wait!" Ye Shuang said.

"Hehe." Chen Qin pressed Ye Shuang down, wearing a triumphant, adorable expression, with a few strands of hair even sticking to her lips.

Yet Ye Shuang felt a strange sensation, his nose filled with the fragrance of a young girl, and even his injured area felt a bit swollen.

"Hmm?" Chen Qin sensed something at that moment, reached out and touched it, "Oh dear, how did you get hurt?"

Ye Shuang: "..."

"I want to use the restroom."

"Alright."

After Ye Shuang went to the restroom, he chose to wash his face. Once he dried it, he noticed Chen Qin standing beside him. "Are you okay?"

The two of them stood before the mirror just like that. Ye Shuang looked at his own reflection and Chen Qin, who stood with her hands behind her back, showing a concerned expression. He felt a sudden daze, as if seeing a phantom.

So, that's what they would grow up to look like.

The still young and tender Chen Qin, just beginning to blossom, would also ripen into a peach.

"I want to go out for a walk," Ye Shuang suddenly spoke.

"Oh?" Chen Qin, however, showed a cute smile, "Sure, I'll go anywhere with you."

Ye Shuang gave an affirmative hum.

This girl, she's been my little shadow since we were kids.

Ye Shuang took Chen Qin and left the house. The sun outside was blazing, its heat carrying the dusty scent of the concrete ground.

It was still winter over there, yet here I am, unexpectedly basking under this scorching sun.

Just as Ye Shuang was lost in thought, Chen Qin beside him asked, "A Ye, where are we going?"

"Just walking around."

"Oh, really?"

Ye Shuang led Chen Qin as they strolled. In the community's activity area, he noticed a few boys their age sitting together chatting. As soon as they saw Ye Shuang and Chen Qin, they immediately started teasing—

"Hey Ye Shuang, where are you taking your little wife this time?"

"Hahahaha." Followed by a burst of laughter.

Upon hearing this, Chen Qin immediately cutely wrinkled her little nose. She knew Ye Shuang disliked it the most when people said that. But just as she was about to speak, Ye Shuang simply smiled faintly,

"Just taking my little wife for a casual stroll."

The boys were stunned.

"Let's go." Ye Shuang took Chen Qin's hand and walked right past them, paying them no further mind.

In fact, many people have once fantasized about one thing—

That is, returning to childhood with their current mindset, then leveraging information asymmetry to move mountains and achieve the pinnacle of life.

This is also why many people enjoy rebirth-themed novels so much.

Ye Shuang was currently experiencing this very situation. During his middle school years, because he and Chen Qin were often together, he had indeed been teased quite a bit by his peers, being told he was always dragging his little wife around everywhere.

Back then, Ye Shuang naturally felt very awkward, even trying to avoid Chen Qin sometimes to escape hearing such comments.

But now, Ye Shuang felt nothing of the sort.

"A Ye~"

"Hmm?" Ye Shuang turned his head, only to find Chen Qin's face now as red as an apple. She pulled her hand back, then lowered her head to look at her own toes,

"What did you just... say?"

"What?"

"That thing!"

"Oh, 'little wife'?" Ye Shuang chuckled.

Chen Qin fiddled with a strand of her hair, "What you said to them just now... you weren't joking, were you?"

"What do you think?"

"I... I don't know." Chen Qin suddenly covered her face and ran off shyly.

Ye Shuang watched her retreating figure but did not give chase.

Because the clock in the upper right corner was almost up. It was just a pity he didn't get to see his parents.

Even just hearing their voices would have been nice, though he had tried calling the landline earlier with no answer.

"If I could stay in this timeline forever, it might actually be nice, right?" Ye Shuang murmured to himself.

If life could be lived over, perhaps there wouldn't be so many regrets?

Only...

It seems there are no 'ifs'.

...

When Ye Shuang slowly came back to his senses, he found himself back at the dining table at home.

"Brother, why have you been staring at Sister Chen Qin in a daze?" Tang Keke asked curiously, having noticed Ye Shuang seemed lost in thought just moments ago.

"It's nothing."

Ye Shuang withdrew his gaze, only to find Chen Qin had walked over to his side and was now touching his forehead.

"I thought you might have a fever." Chen Qin smiled at this moment.

The girl before him seemed to overlap with that young, concerned girl from earlier. Ye Shuang couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion. Chen Qin truly hadn't changed at all.

This love was too dazzling, so much so that Ye Shuang even felt a bit of inferiority.

"I'm fine."

After Ye Shuang finished eating, he also washed the dishes.

Chen Qin stood beside him—although she didn't know how to wash dishes, she chose to accompany him obediently like this, even reaching out to massage his shoulders.

"There's actually... something I haven't told you." Ye Shuang wiped the dishes, thought for a moment, and finally decided to confess honestly.

Regarding tomorrow's matter, Ye Shuang still couldn't bring himself to hide it from Chen Qin.

"Hmm?" Chen Qin blinked her beautiful eyes.

"I... actually also promised Yu You and An Shiyu to spend Christmas with them tomorrow," Ye Shuang said, his tone carrying apology, "Although I feel very selfish for this, I still thought it would be better not to keep it from you. I'm sorry..."

Chen Qin's hands, which were massaging Ye Shuang's shoulders, stopped. The kitchen fell silent.

"Are you angry?" Ye Shuang asked.

"A Ye, do you think I need to be angry?" Chen Qin's voice sounded slowly.

Ye Shuang was a bit puzzled. He turned his head to find Chen Qin smiling at him.

"I... I don't know if I should be angry either, or perhaps it would be better if I were angry?" Chen Qin's eyes lowered slightly, "But with what identity? If I get angry, would A Ye also be unhappy?"

"But rather than anger, I'd say I'm actually happier." Chen Qin gently clasped her hands together.

"Well, how should I put it..."

"A Ye, you probably don't remember the past events." Chen Qin spoke slowly, "For Zhao Mengyao's sake, you stood me up many, many times before. Afterwards, you'd apologize each time, and I would stop being angry. Besides, back then, you didn't seem to care much about whether I was angry or not."

"But now, you're telling me this, even worrying about whether I'll be angry... even unwilling to deceive me and choosing to be honest."

Chen Qin began to smile brightly, "Can I interpret this as my weight in your heart has increased?"

"I'm like a fool, always able to find excuses to comfort myself like this." Chen Qin looked at Ye Shuang, "A Ye, do you also think I'm very foolish?"

Ye Shuang's throat moved, "No."

"That's good, that's enough." Chen Qin smiled gently, "I never expected to receive all of your love."

"Neither in the past, nor now."

Every word Chen Qin spoke pierced Ye Shuang's heart.