Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

Bai Li suddenly ran out of words.

Unable to speak, and unsure of what to say, all my thoughts ultimately condensed into a single, soft sentence:

"Silly child..."

He carefully pressed the paper back along the crease and put it back into the jar.

The remaining 990-plus stars stood quietly together, waiting to be unpacked.

Bai Li dared not look anymore.

Seeing that Bai Li had stopped moving, Lin Xiaoshuang thought she had upset him and gave a dry laugh.

"My handwriting is ugly, isn't it? Hahaha." This laughter was full of guilt and inferiority.

She tried to use this nonchalant tone to mask her panic.

Bai Li leaned down and held the star jar in both hands, as if it were a rare treasure.

"No," Bai Li said, emphasizing each word.

"These are the most beautiful words I've ever seen."

He placed the jar on the table, grabbed Lin Xiaoshuang's wrist, and gently pulled it.

"You..."

Bai Li looked at the girl's uneasy, evasive gaze:

"She really is the gentlest of the three of you."

My thumb brushed across the tiny glimmer of light at the corner of her eye.

"You've really had a tough time in the past."

These words shattered Lin Xiaoshuang's carefully constructed facade.

Tears welled up in Lin Xiaoshuang's eyes, and she could no longer pretend, throwing herself into Bai Li's arms.

At first, it was just suppressed sobbing, but then it turned into uncontrollable wailing.

She wanted to cry out all the grievances she had swallowed over the past ten years—being abandoned by her parents, being looked down upon by her neighbors, and struggling at the bottom of society—in this man's arms.

"Big brother..."

Lin Xiaoshuang's voice trembled as it was muffled by the fabric.

"The first time I saw you was on the bus..."

She sniffled, her words coming out in broken sentences:

"I'm carsick, so I'm asking you for a bottle of water."

"Actually, I know that you hated us and looked down on us back then."

Bai Li paused for a moment on her back.

Back then, he was arrogant and acted like a typical urban elite.

I felt utterly disgusted by this group of young women with dyed blonde and purple hair, shouting and yelling in the car.

"We had messy, dyed hair and dressed in a dowdy way."

Lin Xiaoshuang rested her chin against his chest, her tears soaking a large patch of his shirt.

"I've seen far too many of those disdainful looks since I was a child."

She looked up at Bai Li, her red and swollen eyes revealing a clear, innocent naiveté:

"Although I don't know why you're suddenly being so nice to us again."

"But I've always wanted to say sorry to you..."

"We didn't even make a good impression on you when we first met. After we met you, we've been taking advantage of you the whole time."

"We're not normal girls either. We don't speak softly, we don't know anything about music, chess, calligraphy, or painting. All we do is yell and cause you trouble every day..."

Bai Li grabbed her shoulders, gently straightened her up, and said with a look of shame:

"I'm the one who should be apologizing."

Lin Xiaoshuang was stunned, even forgetting to cry, and stared at him blankly.

Bai Li helped her tuck her disheveled blonde hair behind her ear:

"I initially had a prejudice against the 'spiritual young women' group."

"I judged you by worldly, high-minded standards, and thought you were ignorant and good-for-nothing delinquents."

He sighed.

"But later, I slowly realized that you were all forced into this state."

"If they had parents who loved them, who would want to be a hoodlum exposed to the elements every day?"

Bai Li's tone was soft, yet every word struck a chord with Lin Xiaoshuang.

"Therefore, you are not only not bad, but the strongest."

Lin Xiaoshuang listened blankly.

Bai Li pinched her soft cheek and smiled.

"And you don't need to belittle yourself."

"You are so much better than any of the girls I've ever met. You have many qualities that they simply don't possess."

Lin Xiaoshuang blinked her big, watery eyes:

"Really?"

"Really." Bai Li's smile faded, and he said seriously:

"Some women, if you give them a bag, they'll just take it for granted, and might even call you a simp behind your back."

"In comparison, your genuine loveliness and the magnitude of the reward are beyond my comprehension."

"This sincerity is more precious than gold."

"If I lied to you, I'd..." Bai Li raised three fingers, about to swear an oath.

Lin Xiaoshuang covered his lips with her small hand, shook her head, and wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Brother, there's no need to swear an oath."

She put away her earlier timidity.

The light emanating from those eyes was a fervent passion worth 100 points:

"Because no matter what you say, I believe you."

Bai Li reached out and slowly pulled her hand down.

He looked at the cheeks flushed with a captivating blush, then lowered his head to touch them:

"Xiaoshuang, we will be together forever. I love you."