In her past life, Lin Jing always felt that Xia Xiaoxiao was too young for such heavy topics, so she hid her arguments with Xia Guofu from Xia Xiaoxiao every time.
But the precocious Xia Xiaoxiao knew everything; she knew why her parents were arguing and that they were intentionally avoiding her.
Xia Xiaoxiao couldn’t understand why her mother would forgive Xia Guofu so easily, especially knowing that there were still lingering feelings between them.
Why maintain such a marriage? The Xia Xiaoxiao from her past life couldn’t figure it out.
If she had known that her mother chose to settle for the sake of her, Xia Xiaoxiao would have been even more baffled.
It was precisely due to the lack of necessary communication that Xia Xiaoxiao developed an inexplicable aversion and resistance to marriage and love.
So when Xu Qingfan confessed his feelings over and over, she would feel panic, hesitation, and even a compulsion to flee.
Did she like Xu Qingfan? The answer was an emphatic yes.
Xu Qingfan was tall, handsome, considerate, and caring--these were his strengths.
But the problem was, he wasn’t only caring for her; he also took care of others.
With the example set by Xia Guofu, and considering that Xu Qingfan was like central air conditioning to everyone, how could Xia Xiaoxiao feel secure in accepting him?
Xia Xiaoxiao thought, retake the year, and if you still haven’t changed your heart after another year, then I’ll accept you.
One year later, indeed, the high school female classmates were gone, but there was now an upperclassman teaching assistant.
Xia Xiaoxiao hesitated again, thinking, maybe just wait a bit longer, since they spent every day together anyway, whether being in a relationship really didn’t matter much, so she said to him, "I don’t plan to date in college. If you still like me after four years, I’ll agree to be your girlfriend upon graduation."
But the issue was, a tall, handsome, and caring single guy like Xu Qingfan was bound to attract female attention in college. Even if they couldn’t be lovers, being best friends still sounded great.
By contrast, Xia Xiaoxiao didn’t have any male friends aside from Xu Qingfan during her college years.
Senior students, classmates of the same year, junior girls--the number of female friends around him was even greater than in high school.
Upon graduation, she saw a novel online titled "My 26-Year-Old Female Tenant." In the story, the female lead hid her pregnancy from the male lead to test him and secretly gave birth abroad.
Xia Xiaoxiao was still a virgin, so having a child was naturally out of the question, but this sparked an idea in her. She self-studied IELTS for two weeks, breezed through it with an 8.0, and then smoothly got accepted to Harvard.
On the night of her departure, she said, "I’ve received an offer from Harvard. If you still like me when I come back from studying abroad, I’ll marry you."
Xu Qingfan’s look of disappointment pierced her heart, but she chose to continue.
She kept telling herself in her heart, "Love weaves delicate patterns, stars ferry yearning... If love lasts for a long time, why should it hinge upon the everyday?"
But as she sat in the taxi, watching Xu Qingfan chase after the car, crying out her name in heart-wrenching sobs, Xia Xiaoxiao was still unable to hold back her tears.
Xu Qingfan seemed to be angry, having not called her once during her studies abroad; but Xia Xiaoxiao thought it wasn’t a big deal, at least from the information she gathered, he hadn’t been unfaithful.
Everything would have a happy ending once she graduated and returned.
Then, during a shopping trip, she encountered a zero-dollar purchase...
When a bullet pierces the human heart, death isn’t instantaneous. In the little over a minute that remained, Xia Xiaoxiao still thought of Xu Qingfan: "If only I knew... I would have accepted you from the very start... I really want... so much... to marry you..."
So it goes to show, online novels are purely fictional; "lovestruck brains" please do not imitate!!!