"I always said Li Zheng was good, always saying I'd entrust Chen'er to him. It wasn't just because I felt Li Zheng was kind to her; I could see that Chen'er actually held feelings for Li Zheng too. Given her nature, if she truly disliked Li Zheng, would she let us tease her like that, and still agree to spend time with him? She probably would have cut all ties with him long ago?"

"I'm not insisting now that Chen'er must marry Li Zheng for her to be well off. It's just that I fear if this girl, Chen'er, misses out on Li Zheng, she'll be the one regretting it later, but by then, no matter how much she regrets it, it will be too late."

"This girl Chen'er, first, she’s too slow—she still hasn't figured out what her own feelings truly are. Second, she's too selfish, always thinking only of herself and never considering others. She always thinks it’s fine just having Li Zheng around her, but she doesn't consider what other people might want. He'er, go take a look at her. She always listens to you. Go ask her what she really wants?"

Lin He nodded silently at this, then walked towards the small courtyard she shared with Chen'er. When she reached Chen'er's room, she saw Chen'er sitting by the table, her eyes red, as if she had just been crying.

Lin He sat down opposite Chen'er, reached out, and held the hand Chen'er had resting on the table. After quietly looking at her for a moment, she spoke softly, "Chen'er, I’ve been away for so long. Don't you have anything to tell Big Sister?"

Hearing Lin He’s words, Chen'er’s mouth pouted, and she suddenly burst into Lin He’s embrace, tears welling up, crying, "Big Sister, how could Er Gouzi be engaged? How could he possibly be engaged to someone else?"

Lin He stroked Chen'er’s head silently, not speaking, just letting her cry. After a good while, Chen'er had cried enough. She lifted her head, eyes swollen, looking genuinely heartbroken.

It seemed what Mother had just said held truth; Chen'er did have feelings for Li Zheng. Otherwise, why would she be so upset now that Li Zheng was getting engaged? But then she recalled what Mother said—that Li Zheng had come to see Chen'er before making the decision about the engagement.

Thinking this, and seeing that Chen'er’s emotions had calmed somewhat, Lin He asked, "Chen'er, Mother mentioned that Li Zheng came looking for you in town a while back. What did he say to you? Did you say something yourself that hurt his feelings?"

When Lin He brought up that day, Chen'er started to sob again, on the verge of tears, but she recounted the events of that day honestly.

According to Chen'er's memory, it was about ten days prior. Er Niu was still there, and it was a day when the smaller academies had a break, so the whole family was gathered in the courtyard chatting. Suddenly, a young maidservant reported that someone was outside looking for Young Master Xiao Bao.

Xiao Bao assumed it was a classmate from his academy and headed alone towards the gate. Only when he reached the courtyard entrance did he realize it was Li Zheng. Xiao Bao was overjoyed. Since Xiao Bao started studying in town, his vacation time was short each month, so he hadn't been back to the main house often, and thus hadn't seen Li Zheng. Seeing him now, he was surprised and extremely happy. He immediately greeted Li Zheng enthusiastically and invited him over.

However, Li Zheng seemed less casual than before. After greeting Xiao Bao, he resolutely refused to enter the house, saying only that Xiao Bao should find an excuse to call Chen'er out, as he needed a few words with her, and that Xiao Bao’s parents shouldn't know.

Though Xiao Bao didn't understand why, seeing Li Zheng's solemn expression, he nodded. Returning to the courtyard, he told his parents that a classmate had come to ask him out to play, and added that Chen'er hadn't been out in a while, so he was asking for Chen'er to come out and play with them.

Since coming here, Mother had strictly forbidden Chen'er from going out alone, and Big Brother was often busy at the shop, so she hadn't been out much. Hearing that she could go out, she was naturally delighted and immediately got up to leave with Xiao Bao.

After they stepped outside, just as Chen'er was about to ask where Xiao Bao’s classmate was, she saw Xiao Bao pointing across the way. Chen'er immediately spotted Li Zheng standing opposite their house. She was instantly thrilled and ran over, shouting, "Er Gouzi, why are you here? Why aren't you coming over to play at our house? You haven't been here before, have you? Come on, let's go to my place. My parents will be so happy to see you’ve come." Saying this, Chen'er tugged on Li Zheng’s sleeve, leading him toward her house.

But Li Zheng held Chen'er's hand and said, "I came today to talk to you about something. I won't come over to play now; maybe another time."

"Something to talk about? What is it?" Chen'er asked, full of curiosity.

"Let’s talk somewhere else," Li Zheng said, gesturing for Chen'er to follow him.

Chen'er sensed that Li Zheng was a little different today, which struck her as strange. She glanced at Xiao Bao standing nearby. Xiao Bao walked over and said, "Second Sister, you go with Er Gouzi. I’ll wait for you both at the study up ahead. You can find me there later."

Chen'er nodded and followed Li Zheng to a slightly more secluded spot. Li Zheng stopped walking, turned around, and quietly looked at Chen'er. Chen'er stood still for a moment too. Seeing that Li Zheng wasn't speaking, she urged him, "Er Gouzi, didn't you say you had something to tell me? Hurry up and say it. After you’re done, you can play in the street with me. I haven't been out in ages, and Mother rarely lets me out even once."

Li Zheng looked at Chen'er, his expression somewhat tense. After a long pause, he moved his lips as if wanting to speak, but after some effort, no sound came out. Chen'er opposite him noticed Li Zheng's nervousness and stopped urging him, just staring at him steadily.

After a period of strained silence, Li Zheng felt this couldn't go on. He took a deep breath and finally spoke, "Chen'er, haven't you passed your thirteenth birthday yet?"

"Yes, I celebrated it at home a few months ago. Didn't you even send a gift? Don't you remember? Is that what you came here to ask about?" Chen'er asked, slightly perplexed.

"Yes, I remember," Li Zheng uttered these few words and fell silent again.

After another long silence, Chen'er, being impatient, couldn't stand Li Zheng's demeanor any longer. She spoke with annoyance, "Is there anything else? If not, let’s go find Xiao Bao. We can go play in the street together." With that, Chen'er started to leave.

Li Zheng immediately reached out and grabbed Chen'er’s arm. He glanced at her, grit his teeth, and blurted out, "My parents say I’m not young anymore, and they want to find a girl for me to get engaged to."

At this, Chen'er, who had been about to walk away, froze. She asked in disbelief, "What did you just say? Are you saying you're getting engaged?"

"Yes, my parents say I’ve reached the age for an engagement and plan to find a suitable person." Having said it once, repeating it this time didn't seem as difficult. He repeated himself calmly, his eyes fixed intently on Chen'er.