After the meal, Bai Yu sat on the sofa with a glass of red wine and drank with Qin Xiao. Xiao Li saw that he was still drinking without a care, realizing he hadn’t grasped the real meaning behind her arrangement of the meal, sighed inwardly, and spoke as soon as he finished his glass, "Bai Yu, did anything seem odd to you during our meal earlier?" Upon hearing Xiao Li’s question, Bai Yu was momentarily confused. Odd? What was odd? "No, didn’t we just enjoy a nice meal?" Xiao Li rolled her eyes wildly, "No wonder you’re single." Bai Yu placed his wine glass on the table, "Xiao Li, what are you trying to say?" Xiao Li decided to get straight to the point, "Today’s Western meal was indeed arranged especially for you, but the meaning of the arrangement wasn’t because of your fondness for Western cuisine. It was to show you the feeling when a table features foods from two different countries, and everyone at the table is eating different things. Bai Yu, it’s been two years, and you still don’t understand why you can’t win over Li Mei? Clearly, she used to like you, so why give up just like that? ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novelFɪre.net If you say she doesn’t like you now, that’s not true. I believe you can feel it, she still has feelings for you. But even though she clearly has feelings for you, she would rather reject you and accept the matchmaking her family arranged, why is that?" Upon hearing Xiao Li’s question, Bai Yu let out a deep sigh, "Ah... I also want to know why? I asked her, and she only said we’re not suitable, but I really don’t know where we’re not suitable. Initially, I thought she meant unsuitable because of the disparity between our families. I even told her, the Bai Family doesn’t care about status, especially since I’m not the eldest, so there’s no pressure. To dispel her doubts, I even had my dad meet her to clarify that we truly didn’t mind her family’s ordinary background. Even then, she still refused. Now I’m at a loss, just hanging in there. As long as I’m here, there’s no way she can successfully engage in matchmaking with someone else!" Listening to him, Xiao Li really wanted to knock some sense into him. He hasn’t grasped what Li Mei meant by unsuitable at all. Xiao Li sighed, "Bai Yu, your intelligence is fine but your emotional intelligence is really lacking. You haven’t understood what Li Mei meant by unsuitable? She meant your thoughts don’t align. You were educated abroad from a young age, while Li Mei is a home-grown girl. Your attitude toward relationships is completely different from Li Mei’s. When Li Mei dates someone, she’s aiming for marriage, but when you first proposed to her, how did you phrase it? Who uses the word ’try’ when asking a girl to date? What? So if it’s not suitable after trying, you break up, right? Then why start at all? You gave the impression you were just playing around... Bai Yu, during the meal, you were drinking red wine, eating steak, while we were having stir-fried dishes, and the two sides didn’t intersect at all. You didn’t reach over to try our dishes, and we couldn’t eat your steak. The two sides never touched! Li Mei wants a stable relationship, what do you want? Have you figured it out?" Bai Yu fell silent for a moment before speaking, "I truly didn’t mean to play around, I don’t know why I randomly used the word ’try.’ I’ve grown up abroad, so my views are more liberal, but my attitude toward relationships isn’t casual. Now what can I do? It’s true I was raised abroad. I can’t change that!" Xiao Li shook her head, "Who’s asking you to change that? You really are hopeless! Is this really that difficult? Actually, my uncle already gave the answer just now!" At Xiao Li’s words, Bai Yu turned to look at Qin Xiao, who was leisurely sipping red wine—he gave me the answer? Where exactly? Bai Yu looked at Xiao Li in confusion, "Sis, my emotional intelligence is low, just give your brother the answer!" Xiao Li replied calmly, "What is my uncle drinking now?" Xiao Li: "When did he start drinking it?" Bai Yu, "Just when we were eating, he drank it with me!" Xiao Li nodded, "Exactly! Red wine was originally for you to pair with your steak, while the dishes we ate actually pair better with white wine or beer. But my uncle drank red wine to accompany you. So what about you? If you like Li Mei, shouldn’t you take a step forward in your thinking? Or, more accurately, let Li Mei know your real intentions, that you’re serious about her. You need to show her that despite growing up abroad and having different views, you’re willing to take a step toward her, understood?" Bai Yu’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, immediately standing up to leave, "Xiao Li, sis, thank you! When I marry my wife, I’ll give you a big red envelope!" Then he ran off, while Xiao Li hastily asked Aunt Wu to have the house driver drive Bai Yu, as he had been drinking, and driving in that state would count as drunk driving. After Bai Yu left, Qin Xiao quickly finished the wine in his hand and went to brush his teeth first, fearing the alcohol smell might bother Xiao Li. If Xiao Li hadn’t asked him to drink a little with Bai Yu earlier, he probably wouldn’t have. After brushing his teeth, Qin Xiao returned to the first floor to bathe Mianmian, while Aunt Wu took Nini to bathe. The living room was left with only Xiao Li. Originally, Qin Xiao wanted to carry Xiao Li upstairs before taking Mianmian to bathe, but Xiao Li said she wanted to stay a bit longer in the living room, so he didn’t carry her up. After settling Mianmian, Qin Xiao went down to accompany Xiao Li, "Nini, are you ready to go up now?" Xiao Li looked up at Qin Xiao, "Uncle, I want to walk around in the garden." Qin Xiao nodded, "Okay, I’ll go with you." Hand in hand, the two strolled in the garden, walking until they reached the bellflower blossoms, which looked especially beautiful in the moonlight. Over the past two years, the bellflowers grew well, blooming beautifully each year. Looking at those flowers, Xiao Li suddenly thought of the dress Qin Xiao gave her and was eager to take it out and wear it again. Because the dress held such significance, after wearing it that one day, Xiao Li tucked it away, frequently looking at it, but reluctant to wear it. Now, Xiao Li thought about trying it on again, wondering if she could still fit into it? Xiao Li contemplated returning to the room to try on the dress, "Uncle, I’m not walking anymore; let’s go back." Once they reached the second floor, instead of returning to her room, Xiao Li led Qin Xiao to the cloakroom and told Qin Xiao where the dress was stored, asking him to take it down for her.