âBreaking off our engagement?â Zixiu frowned when his indignant speech was suddenly interrupted by Lingxiao. He had to admit that he was not a good speaker, because Lingxiao did not understand what he was trying to explain at all! It was totally unacceptable that all his previous efforts were in vain!
âOk!â Zixiu took a deep breath and managed to suppress his rising restlessness. At the same time, he raised his right hand and pressed it down in the air. Of course, he was not implying that he would not call off the engagement but was trying to calm Lingxiao down. Zixiu needed some time to reorganize his thoughts. And he was confident that he was able to convince the three diehards with his silver tongue!
âOk?â Lingxiao looked up at Zixiu blankly. But when he saw the gesture Zixiu made, he was aware that he was trying to comfort him. Needless to say, he also saw Zixiu frown. He did not want to piss Zixiu off. Whatâs more, as Zixiu was âpregnantâ, the consequences of making him upset could be serious. Therefore, after a moment of hesitation, in spite of his grievance and disappointment, Lingxiao looked down silently and forced back the rest of his words.
Zixiu failed to notice the change in Lingxiaoâs expression, and everything on his mind for the moment was how to convince him. Soon, he got a new idea.
Given the current situation, he decided to interact with Lingxiao. With a nod of self-approval, he shifted his attention to him and asked solemnly, âLingxiao, tell me honestly, if I were a fat, pock-faced dwarf wax gourd weighing 300 pounds, would you still like me?â
This question was also suitable for his senior brother and Nangong Du, so Zixiu quickly glanced at them with an inquiring look. The other two lowered their heads. As their faces were in shadows, there was no way he could see their expression clearly.
âA dwarf⦠wax gourd?â Lingxiao murmured, feeling a little lost. He did not understand what it meant, but as a quick-witted young man, he immediately associated the words âdwarfâ and âwax gourdâ with the context and drew the conclusion that it was a derogatory term similar to pock-faced and fat. Zixiu was tall, slim, and had no pock on his face, why had he made such a strange assumption?
From his silence and puzzled expression, Zixiu took it for granted that if he really looked like that, Lingxiao would not fall for him. So before Lingxiao could answer, he asserted, âYou wouldnât, right? Obviously, you only like my appearance!â
âThatâs not the case!â Lingxiao had come back to his senses and he immediately denied loudly. Although he could not tell what he liked about Zixiu, he was certain that he liked more than his appearance! He was not a superficial and vulgar person who only valued beauty! âDonât get me wrong! Xiuxiu, listen to meâ¦â
âCome on!â Zixiu interrupted him with a gesture. This was just an unrealistic hypothesis and he did not need a seemingly decent answer or explanation. Lingxiaoâs reaction was not hypocrite at least. This was enough!
âActually, thereâs nothing wrong with focusing only on appearance, other than being a little superficial!â Zixiu said, trying to comfort Lingxiao. He did not ignore the aggrieved look on Lingxiaoâs face, but that was what on his mind at the moment. After all, everyone loved beauty and few people would be bored enough to challenge the laws of nature! Actually, Zixiu did not think that Lingxiao liked him only because he was attracted by his appearance. So after a while, he changed the topic. âI believe you are not a superficial person. But if you donât care about my appearance, does that mean you will fall for anyone whose name is Zixiu?â
âHuh?â Lingxiao had not recovered from the mental blow yet, and he did not know how to answer Zixiuâs question. Besides, he had never thought too much about why he had a crush on Zixiu.
Actually, this question also confused Zixiu himself.
Zixiu froze on the spot when he blurted out his own name because it reminded him of Mark Lira. Who was that guy? How come this name popped into his mind from time to time? Did he have anything to do with Liu Zixiu? Er⦠It was not the right time to think about this!
Zixiu shook his head hard, managing to stabilize his wild state of mind, and returned to the point. As Lingxiao was looking at him in a daze, Zixiu guessed that he could not give the answer, so he came straight to his conclusion. âThe person you like is actually the one you are engaged to! So you like someone not because of love, but because of the engagement!â
âThe one Iâm engaged to?â Lingxiao grew even more puzzled.
Zixiu continued, âIn other words, whether the person, who is standing in front of you, is a man or a woman, beautiful or ugly, tall or short, fat or thin, as long as itâs someone you are engaged to, you will like it! Engagement is the motivation of your love!â
âReally?â Lingxiao stared at Zixiu blankly. âDid I really fall for Xiuxiu because of the engagement between us?â he asked himself.
âNo! I had a crush on Xiuxiu before I learned that I was engaged to him!â Lingxiao finally thought of a piece of convincing evidence. He remembered clearly that he had agonized for a long time because of his gayness until his parents told him that they had engaged him to his sweetheart, Xiuxiu!
âI had a crush on Xiuxiu years ago!â he announced loudly in a triumphant tone, and completely forgot those conservative rules of etiquette he had cared about before. As soon as he finished his words, his senior brother turned to him with a complex look, while Nangong Du shot him a disdainful glare. To make matters even worse, it also aroused Zixiuâs dissatisfaction.
Yes! Zixiu was very depressed now because of Lingxiaoâs sudden âcounter-attackâ. It meant he still had a long way to go if he wanted to convince the three guys. God knew how sleepy he was now!
âYan Lingxiao, donât tell me you already fell for me when I was only three years old!â âBro, how come you were so precocious!â
âErâ¦â Lingxiao was keenly aware of the dissatisfaction in Zixiuâs words, thinking that he had annoyed Zixiu because of his high profile. He then lowered his voice and shook his head cautiously, âNo! It was later whenâ¦â
âSo your love is only based on your memories of the year I was three years old. You didnât take my character, knowledge, experience, and financial situation into consideration, am I right?â With that, Zixiu glanced at his senior brother again. He guessed his senior brother had never thought about this either.
ââ¦â Sure enough, neither Lingxiao nor Huali responded.
âDonât you think this kind of love is too illusory and unrealistic?â It was even more incredible than love at first sight! âIf I were a foppish dandy, would you still like me?â