To make up for the debt owed to Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Zhiyuan didn't know what to say, and sighed again and again. "Let me tell you, we are brothers, but I won't side with you on this matter. Without enough sincerity, let alone Xiaomai, I don't agree to hand Xiaomai over to you like this."

"How can I show sincerity?" the little round-faced girl muttered. "Nobody wants to talk to me, so I can't show any sincerity."

Zhiyuan didn't want to answer this question for him; he wanted him to think about it himself.

"I bet she won't come to see me even once during my stay in the hospital!" Little Round Face snorted. "She worries and gets anxious about anyone else in the hospital, but not me. In her heart, I'm not even as good as Maodou!"

"Not even as good as Yun Xiaoshan!"

He was very angry and resentful.

Zhiyuan thought this person was utterly hopeless and couldn't help but say, "Why don't you ever think about why you're the only one who's different?"

The little girl with the round face was stumped by the question, "Why...why?"

"I don't want to talk to idiots!"

The little round face's expression changed in an instant, displaying a myriad of colors...

As Xiaoyuanlian said, Xiaomai did not visit her at the hospital during the week Xiaoyuanlian was hospitalized.

This time when he was discharged from the hospital, Little Round Face didn't make a fuss about having everyone come to pick him up. He just posted a message in the group chat one day after his discharge: "I'm having a party at home tomorrow night to celebrate my discharge! Everyone come! Bring gifts!"

Wheat saw the message.

She was hesitating whether to go or not, and Jinyu teased her: Are you feeling guilty if you don't go?

Xiaomai felt that it would be a bit abrupt if she didn't go; after all, it was an activity that everyone was participating in, so there was nothing she couldn't do.

As for the gift...

The safest option is still a fruit gift box.

The little round-faced girl's home is still in the same old place, in the same old courtyard.

In the past few years, with the rapid development of the real estate market and the trend of demolishing old houses and building new ones, this kind of old courtyard seems to be full of nostalgia. Those innocent and beautiful childhood memories come flooding back, and Jinyu is particularly excited, talking to Xiaomai non-stop.

"Hey, do you remember that locust tree? We always set up a table under the tree to do our homework, and Grandma with the round face would make us delicious food: locust flower cakes in spring, watermelon juice in summer, osmanthus cakes in autumn, and in winter... we couldn't do our homework outside anymore, so Grandma with the round face would bring roasted chestnuts to school and share them with us."

After saying that, Jin Yu glared at her and said, "Hmph, Little Round Face always favors you and saves you a few more."

Xiaomai smiled.

Why doesn't she remember?

However, she was young at the time and didn't have any ulterior motives. It was just that Xiao Yuanlian felt that she was the most pitiful one among everyone, and Zhiyuan had repeatedly told her to take good care of his sister, so she gave her a little more attention.

But when the extra care becomes natural, it's inevitable to feel that the other person is different as you grow up...

But that's all in the past. She rejected him back then, and now he has his own girl. What's there to mention?

As she walked into the house, familiar with the layout, Jin Yu exclaimed in surprise.

Almost everyone had arrived, and the room was bustling with activity, with balloons popping and flowers adorning the walls.

"Does being discharged from the hospital have to be this dramatic? It's like a marriage proposal," Jin Yu complained, looking around. "Where's the round-faced guy?"

Maodou exclaimed, "Isn't it just a marriage proposal? It's practically the same as a marriage proposal. Roundface will be back soon."

Xiaomai listened and smiled. It was good that he was doing well. She wished him well. However, she looked around but couldn't see Xiaoyuan's girlfriend anywhere.

Is her name Xiao Fan?

Zhiyuan mentioned it.

Jin Yu exclaimed in surprise, "Really?! A round-faced guy proposing? You guys are really got everything ready!"

"Yes, everything is ready, we're just waiting for the leading lady!" Maodou said with a smile. "Once the proposal is successful, we'll have hot pot to celebrate Little Round Face's double happiness!"

Which double happiness?

"Discharged from the hospital and won the heart of my beloved!"

Jin Yu and Mao Dou were chatting enthusiastically, and Xiao Mai, of course, couldn't spoil the fun, so she laughed along with them. Perhaps she laughed too heartily, because her lips started to ache a little...

"Coming, coming!" Little Round Face shouted from outside.

As the door opened, a round-faced boy dressed in festive attire entered, carrying a bouquet of roses. Behind him was Xiao Fan.

Today's leading lady.

A cold wind blew in, making people shiver.

The moment the two entered, the room erupted in excitement.

The boys were all cheering, and the little round-faced girl stood in the middle of a bunch of balloons, saying, "Quick, quick, bring all those boxes from my room."

The boys went in noisily and came out noisily, placing ten gift boxes of various sizes, all wrapped in beautiful wrapping paper, on the table.

Someone turned on the music.

As the music played, a little girl with a round face stood in the center of the balloons, holding flowers. She looked excited, her eyes sparkling, as if she had tears in them, and her hands holding the flowers were trembling slightly.

"Today, I have something very important to say," the little girl said in a trembling voice. "There's a girl I've known for a long time. I used to think that our youthful encounters were just friendship, and that as I grew older, I would understand what lovers and friends were. But I was wrong. Who says a lover has to be a fleeting glimpse? It's the accumulation of time and the gentle flow of life that makes someone unforgettable..."

These words made Xiaomai blush unconsciously.

Every word seemed to be talking about her...

But what she said next dispelled her doubts.

The round-faced girl continued, “Having lived abroad for so many years, I understand this even more. What I’m doing today is something I’ve wanted to do since I was twenty. When I was twenty, I wanted to give her a gift, but I didn’t dare. Every year after that, I bought the same gift, still wanting to give it to her, but I still didn’t dare. Until this year, ten years later, I bought the tenth one, and I want to give all ten gifts to her today. She can refuse, but giving it to her is something I’ve always insisted on.”

After listening to this, Xiaomai became certain that he wasn't talking about her.

The boy with the round face confessed his feelings to her when he was eighteen, but she rejected him.

He then went abroad to pursue his undergraduate studies.

His twentieth birthday had nothing to do with her.

The ten years after he turned twenty had nothing to do with her.

The little girl with the round face, holding flowers, walked out of the pile of balloons and headed towards the wheat.

Xiaomai suppressed her wildly beating heart and said to herself, word by word: Please calm down, he's going to Xiaofan, who's right beside you! And please don't be sad, you yourself said that as long as he's happy, that's all that matters!

The boys cheered and applauded.

"Round face! Round face! Keep it up, round face!"

Xiaomai smiled too, she had to smile, she had to make sure no one could see what was in her eyes or what was going on in her heart.

She laughed until her lips stretched to their widest point and her eyes narrowed to slits, continuing to laugh even when her cheeks and the corners of her eyes felt sore and numb, until her round face stopped in her tracks.