“You look great, thanks.” Ye Zhiqiu took it and patted He Bin on the shoulder.
He Bin pulled out another one and said sheepishly, “Sis, could you give this one to Shuangshuang for me?”
“Sure.”
Ye Zhiqiu held it up in her hand and waved it. “But Xiaoxiang, I can’t guarantee Shuangshuang will accept it.”
“Sis, don’t tell her it’s from me. Just say it’s from you, and she’ll take it.”
Ye Zhiqiu looked at He Bin. “Don’t you want to know whether Shuangshuang would accept something from you?”
A flicker of hope flashed through He Bin’s eyes, but he still shook his head. “I know her. She won’t take it. Don’t let her carefree, devil-may-care attitude fool you—she can be really heartless when she wants to be.”
Knowing what was bothering him, Ye Zhiqiu spoke up for Lu Shuangshuang. “Shuangshuang is doing this for your own good too.”
“I know.”
He Bin let out a helpless sigh. “I don’t want to be younger than her either, but that’s not something I can control. I just like her—why does she have to care so much about me being younger?”
“Xiaoxiang, just because you don’t mind doesn’t mean Shuangshuang won’t.”
“Most girls still don’t want to be with a man younger than themselves. Men are immature as it is—if they’re younger too, they’re even more immature. A girl gets married to find someone who’ll shelter her from the storms, not to have a man bring storms into her life.”
Ye Zhiqiu glared at He Bin. “Stop always thinking about how unfair things are to you. You need to think more about Shuangshuang.”
“And let me tell you—forget about how things are between you two now. Even if you two end up together in the future, I still won’t take your side.”
“Sis, I’m just talking to you.” He Bin quickly backed down. “I don’t feel wronged. I just hate that I was born a few years later than Shuangshuang.”
“I mean, if I’d been born a few years earlier than her, wouldn’t she be willing to be with me?”
“If you keep that attitude of yours, even if you’d been born a few years earlier, Shuangshuang still wouldn’t want to be with you.”
Ye Zhiqiu was very direct. “Xiaoxiang, when two people are together, there are so many things to consider. It’s not just getting caught up in the moment—I like you, you like me, let’s be together.”
“Deep down, Shuangshuang is very traditional. If she’s going to be with someone, it’s with marriage in mind.”
“And marriage isn’t just about romance and love—you have to shoulder the responsibility of a family. The two of you will need to protect a home together, protect each other, protect your children.”
“Think carefully—can you do that?”
Ye Zhiqiu poked He Bin in the chest. “What were you like before? Have you forgotten? With that temper and personality of yours, what girl would dare be with you?”
He Bin really hadn’t thought that far. He just single-mindedly liked Lu Shuangshuang and wanted to be with her.
He thought that the things he’d done and the money he was working hard to earn now were all ways of treating her well.
As long as he treated her well, that was enough.
But his sister’s words made him suddenly realize that he wasn’t as good as he thought he was.
He only thought he was being good, but to Lu Shuangshuang, that wasn’t how it felt at all.
“Xiaoxiang, liking someone isn’t about what you think is good being good—it’s about what the other person thinks is good that’s actually good.”
Ye Zhiqiu put the hair clip He Bin had asked her to give Lu Shuangshuang into her bag. “I’ll give this to Shuangshuang for you. I’ll tell her it’s from you.”
“Sis, thank you.”
He Bin’s thanks was both for Ye Zhiqiu helping him deliver something to Lu Shuangshuang and for teaching him how to truly like someone.
The next day, Ye Zhiqiu went to find Lu Shuangshuang and gave her the hair clip.
Lu Shuangshuang loved it. She put it on and admired herself in the mirror for a long time. But when she heard Ye Zhiqiu say it was from He Bin, she paused, took it off, and handed it back. “Then I can’t accept it. Give it back to him for me.”
“I’ve thought it through carefully. I can’t accept him, so I shouldn’t give him any hope.”
Lu Shuangshuang lowered her eyes. “I’m going to go on blind dates soon. I asked my aunt to help me find a suitable match.”
“Shuangshuang, are you doing this to make Xiaoxiang give up?” Ye Zhiqiu frowned and shook her head, strongly disapproving. “If that’s the case, there’s really no need.”
“No, it’s just that I’m not young anymore. It’s time to think about finding someone and getting married.”
Lu Shuangshuang waved her hand. “It has nothing to do with Xiaoxiang.”
“I wouldn’t go find a man just to make him give up.”
“If I don’t agree, what can he do to me? I just simply want to find a man for myself.”
Lu Shuangshuang rarely showed a shy expression. “To be honest, seeing you and Yue Mingyuan so sweet together makes me want that kind of relationship too.”
“A sweet relationship only comes when you meet the right person. Don’t rush—take your time and look carefully. Character matters most.” Ye Zhiqiu advised Lu Shuangshuang.
Lu Shuangshuang smiled charmingly. “Of course. My aunt is helping me find someone, so his character is bound to be good. I don’t need to worry about that.”
“I trust Aunt Feng’s judgment too.”
“By the way, I went to see your performance with Sister Zhimiao the other day. You danced beautifully.”
Lu Shuangshuang got excited talking about the performance. “I need to work even harder to catch up to you.”
“You’re already the lead dancer in the troupe. The director told me the other day that you’ve improved a lot.”
Ye Zhiqiu wasn’t lying—Wu Qingyun really had said that to her.
And she’d watched Lu Shuangshuang’s rehearsals too. Lu Shuangshuang really was much better than before.
She’d always had solid fundamentals, but she’d lacked spirit before. After going through those experiences, she’d settled down and was willing to dig deeper and study more, so naturally she’d changed a lot.
“Still nowhere near you, though.” Lu Shuangshuang wasn’t jealous of Ye Zhiqiu, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit discouraged.
“Professor Tang often tells us to focus on ourselves and not compare ourselves to others, because if you’re always watching others, you’ll forget yourself. And there’s always someone better out there—you can never keep up with everyone.”
Ye Zhiqiu didn’t know if Lu Shuangshuang would take her words to heart, but she genuinely considered Lu Shuangshuang a friend and hoped she would become even better.
“I need to write that down and read it every day to remind myself.”
Lu Shuangshuang grabbed a notebook and looked at Ye Zhiqiu. “Zhiqiu, say it again.”
Ye Zhiqiu slowed down and repeated it, and Lu Shuangshuang wrote it down in her notebook.
“By the way, Kang Zhixin is getting married. Do you know who the groom is?” Lu Shuangshuang suddenly remembered.
“Who?” Ye Zhiqiu blinked.
If Lu Shuangshuang hadn’t brought up Kang Zhixin, she would have almost forgotten about her.
“Liu Wei!”
“Liu Wei?” Ye Zhiqiu felt like she’d heard that name somewhere, but she couldn’t remember for the moment.
Lu Shuangshuang reminded her. “This Liu Wei almost married Wen Shengnan.”
“What?” Ye Zhiqiu was stunned.
“Didn’t Wen Shengnan get disfigured and disabled, and Liu Wei immediately called off the wedding? Who knew Kang Zhixin would end up involved with Liu Wei.”
