"I do like you, as I said before, I’ve liked you for a very, very long time." Shi Keke faced him candidly, because she had indeed said those words earlier, and a few years ago, after her grandfather’s birthday banquet, when she woke up in his bed the next day, he had also told her that she had expressed her fondness for him. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

This is not a secret, so why hide it.

The reason she asked him to confirm whether she had said anything else earlier was because she was worried she might have revealed more secrets, exposing her inner self to him.

Shi Mei lowered his head, bringing his face close to hers, and stopped just before touching her nose, speaking softly, "You also said you miss your childhood."

"I do miss my childhood a lot." Not knowing what he meant to convey, Shi Keke could only follow his words in her response.

"If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten; when you were three, you dropped your scarf into the fountain pool, and I helped you retrieve it."

"Oh, so I mentioned that too, but it’s no big deal. Even after twenty years, I might remember clearly what happened to me." Although she said this, Shi Keke did not feel the same inside, as she really couldn’t understand why she would tell him such trivial things.

Shi Mei raised his hand to pinch her nose and laughed, "Also, when you were five, you were bullied, and I stood up for you, ending up kneeling on broken tiles the entire night."

"When you were eight, you lost the drawing board for the competition, and searched all night. In the end, I helped you find it..."

"When you were thirteen, your aunt came, and being young and ignorant, you thought you would bleed to death. You cried the whole night."

Shi Keke interrupted him: "You educated me on physiology and even went to buy sanitary napkins for me, daily use, overnight use, and the extended version..."

In fact, hearing him say all this, she realized that during that drunken escapade, she must have unreservedly revealed the secrets buried in her heart.

In other words, ever since that drunken night, he had known about her feelings for him.

Shi Keke suddenly felt so foolish, she had been desperately restraining herself all along, suppressing her feelings for him from showing, afraid of rejection. So, she didn’t explain the words, "I like you."

"Shi Keke, I also know you’ve liked me for a very, very long time." Shi Mei’s smile became deeper, as he gently slid his fingertip across her face, tucking her stray hair behind her ear.

Shi Keke had never seen him so gentle, like the mild breeze of March, so warm.

"What I want to hear isn’t this." She finally spoke, getting serious.

"Then what do you want to hear me say?" Shi Mei curved his lips into an enchanting smile, his voice magnetic, seemingly able to captivate a person.

"You know." Finally, she could stop repressing her heart, Shi Keke suddenly felt so relieved, even if they couldn’t be together, she felt it was enough, at least he knew she loved him.

"Silly woman." Shi Mei suddenly reached out to wrap around her waist, lifting her from the table and pulling her into his embrace, whispering in her ear, "When you first said you’ve liked me for a very, very long time, I cleared a space in my heart for you. Shi Keke, I like you too, and will like you for a very, very, very long time."