Sui Yan leaned back lazily: "I don't want to think about it now."
Qi Linhan was undeterred: "So that means you might consider it in the future?"
Sui Yan glanced at him, then suddenly smiled: "Qi Linhan, I want to ask you something."
Qi Linhan felt inexplicably nervous, and straightened his posture: "What is it, Sui Yan?"
Sui Yan met his gaze squarely: "When did you start liking me? I remember that before I moved in with you, you seemed to really dislike me."
Qi Linhan didn't provide an explanation at first when he heard this.
Sui Yan was patient: "It's okay, as long as you can give me an explanation I find reasonable, I can let this matter go."
Qi Linhan took a deep breath, then said slowly: "This matter is a bit long... We first met during that fire incident, right? Later, Uncle Sui took you back, and I went home too."
"But I secretly went to see you several times after that, and had someone deliver gifts to you..."
Sui Yan suddenly interrupted him: "Wait, you didn't have Lu Yunling deliver those gifts to me, did you?"
Qi Linhan looked at Sui Yan innocently, blinking twice: "Lu Yunling and Shen Nian were classmates, and at that time, your relationship with Shen Nian wasn't very good, right? So I thought Lu Yunling's relationship with you should still be okay."
After all, everyone was just a child back then, who could have imagined that Lu Yunling, as a child, could have such deep and malicious thoughts?
Sui Yan: "..." She hadn't received any gifts that year.
She nodded: "And then what?"
Qi Linhan recalled the past: "Later, I saw that you were living quite well with Uncle Sui, so I didn't go to see you as often anymore. I only occasionally asked Lu Yunling about you."
Sui Yan frowned: "So at that time, did you hear a lot of bad things about me?"
Qi Linhan nodded guiltily: "Yes... so I gradually asked Lu Yunling less and less about you."
Sui Yan rolled her eyes: "And then?"
Qi Linhan took a big gulp of alcohol: "The next time I saw you was when you entered the research institute. At that time, I was a bit curious about how you got into the institute. But before I could investigate, Lu Yunling came to me again."
Sui Yan could almost imagine how Lu Yunling must have slandered her in front of Qi Linhan, but she didn't care about that now.
Qi Linhan glanced at Sui Yan cautiously before continuing: "She said all sorts of nonsense, like you got into the research institute through Uncle Sui's connections."
Sui Yan could probably guess the rest - Lu Yunling spreading all kinds of rumors and slander about her.
That kind of half-truth is the hardest to discern, so thinking about it, she couldn't entirely blame Qi Linhan.
Sui Yan sighed: "So after you met me a few times, you became more and more convinced that I was deliberately getting close to you, and that's why you said those things, right?"
Qi Linhan silently nodded.
Yet Sui Yan couldn't help but laugh: "Actually, you're not wrong. When I was 18, Teacher Zhu said she had found a few places willing to take me in and let me choose. At that time, I did deliberately choose you."
The corners of Qi Linhan's mouth curved upwards slightly: "This really was my good luck, because originally it was my mother who wanted to take you in, but she happened to have a business trip abroad at that time, so she had me handle it."
Sui Yan put those matters aside, smiling as she asked: "You still haven't said when you started liking me."
Qi Linhan gently touched Sui Yan's face: "Sui Yan, are you drunk?"
Sui Yan swatted his hand away: "Nonsense, I can drink a thousand cups and not get drunk."
Qi Linhan was a bit exasperated - it seemed this girl really was drunk.
He quietly moved the alcohol away from Sui Yan: "Liking you, huh... It was probably some time after you moved into my manor. After I took you in, Lu Yunling came by again and said all sorts of nonsense. But at that time, I was already getting sick of hearing those rumors, so I just kicked her out directly."
"After that, you don't need me to explain further, right? The more time we spent together, the more I could see through Lu Yunling's lies."
Sui Yan smiled with half-lidded eyes: "So was it a case of gradual feelings developing over time? Or did you feel sorry for my circumstances?"
Qi Linhan shrugged: "Sui Yan, do you think I'm the kind of person who would feel sorry for others?"
This time, Sui Yan really did laugh out loud as she leaned against the tree behind her: "That explanation will do."
Qi Linhan didn't find it funny, and his voice suddenly became lower: "When I first started liking you, I didn't do anything about it. I vaguely knew there was a misunderstanding between you and Sui Yu, but I still didn't help resolve it in time."
Sui Yan waved her hand dismissively: "That had nothing to do with you. At that time, I also knew there was a misunderstanding between us, but I felt it didn't matter anymore."
Qi Linhan frowned: "Why not? And at that time, I had people prepare many nourishing herbal soups for you, and they saw you eat them too, but your health just kept deteriorating day by day."
This time, it was Sui Yan's turn to feel awkward, and she lay down petulantly: "I'm a little dizzy, I want to sleep."
Qi Linhan didn't press her, only gently rubbing her head: "Sleep then, I'll carry you back to your room."
Sui Yan was truly tired, not even wanting to open her eyes: "No need... I'll just sleep here... want to sunbathe."
Qi Linhan had no choice but to pick her up: "Alright, sunbathing it is. Then I'll have the butler bring you a blanket."
Sui Yan's breathing became steady as she drowsily fell asleep.
And Qi Linhan sat by her side, gazing at her with particular tenderness.
He made a call to Qiao Ze: "Are you at the hospital now?"
Qiao Ze was just about to enter Shen Nian's hospital room when he received the call, so he stood outside the door: "What's up?"
Qi Linhan asked directly: "In the previous life, you were the one who eventually examined Sui Yan's body. Do you know why her health was so poor?"
Qiao Ze was a bit dazed: "This... I'll need to think hard about it, that was a long time ago."
After all, it had been nearly twenty years since they were reborn into this life.
