You are not so innocent yourself, either

Right, that is precisely the biggest issue currently present in Lin Xi.

Reason.

"Human beings being rational is naturally a good thing. But you cannot be overly rational either, right?"

"We cannot let our pursuit of reason overshadow our own emotions."

"We are human beings after all, meant to survive by relying on a diverse range of emotions. You should understand this truth better than anyone else."

Cheng Si felt a pang of sympathy for her. In truth, when he thought about it, he could fully understand Lin Xi.

For all these years abroad, she had hardly any family or friends by her side, and her uncle had his own work to attend to. The only things that accompanied her for the long haul, never abandoning her, were those dry data sets and cold, lifeless machines.

She had no one to vent her emotions to, which made her increasingly averse to expressing herself.

"You did see a doctor while you were abroad, right?" Cheng Si was referring to a psychologist.

Lin Xi parted her lips slightly, taking a moment before her voice came out. "I did. My uncle found me a psychologist."

"Then did you often go to chat with him over there?"

Lin Xi nodded, and then immediately shook her head.

"What does that mean? Did you or did you not?"

"Most of the time, I would just go over to his place, sit for a while, and have a cup of tea. Often, I would just sit there for an entire afternoon."

As for chatting... it was practically nonexistent.

The psychologist would occasionally try to strike up a conversation with her, using very eloquent phrasing in an attempt to open her heart and draw words out of her.

But she was too clever; every time, she maintained her guard and refused to say a thing.

As time went on, the psychologist eventually stopped trying to converse with her, simply brewing her a cup of tea in silence and providing a comfortable spot and environment for her to sit there and zone out by herself.

"I..." For a moment, Lin Xi did not know what to say.

She had stubbornly believed that she was already well. Both physically and psychologically, she had thought there were no issues whatsoever.

Yet in reality, she had been escaping all along, deceiving herself the entire time.

Looking at Cheng Si, her eyes filled with blank confusion, she asked, "Am I still ill?"

"How could that be?" At that look, Cheng Si instantly felt his scalp tingle, his heart tightening into a knot. "This doesn't count as being ill."

"I was merely asking whether you had anyone over there in foreign lands with whom you could share things. Fourth Brother does not think you are still sick."

"However, little Xi, Fourth Brother thinks—should we perhaps try to take a step forward?"

"Take a step?" Lin Xi did not understand.

"Third Brother has always been afraid of disrupting your pace, so he has quietly followed behind you, never daring to advance rashly. Haven't you noticed? Third Brother is actually quite timid."

"What I mean is, you can maintain your own pace, but could you perhaps communicate a bit more with Third Brother?"

Lin Xi instinctively replied, "But I'm very busy with work. I can't split my focus like that."

"These two matters won't interfere with each other."

"But both of them are very important things to me."

Cheng Si: "..."

"No, I don't mean for you to start dating Third Brother right away. I'm saying that after you get off work or during the holidays, you could spend more time with Third Brother. To put it in simpler terms..."

Just as Cheng Si was hesitating over how to voice those two words, Lin Xi's brows twitched slightly, and she answered for him, "A date?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Cheng Si chuckled. "Of course, you don't have to think of it as a date; it's simply having a meal and watching a movie together."

"And nobody is demanding that you and Third Brother become a couple the moment you finish eating."

The wording was rough, but the reasoning was sound.

"Think over what Fourth Brother has said. It should be pretty easy to understand. With your IQ, you'll definitely figure it out."

"Mm..."

Lin Xi acknowledged the remark.

However, understanding it was one thing, but whether she wanted to actually do it was an entirely different matter.

Cheng Si's suggestion was something that had never even crossed her mind.

Previously, she had considered having meals with Qin Yu to be fairly normal, but once those meals were combined with Cheng Si's speech, she somehow felt as though every meal had transformed into a date.

An invisible pressure began to weigh upon her.

"It's fine, take your time and think it over carefully."

Just as Cheng Si finished speaking, he heard Lin Xi ask in a quiet voice, "But wouldn't it be very strange if I were to do that?"

"What would be strange about it?" He didn't understand.

"It's just..." Lin Xi wasn't someone who usually beat around the bush; she had always been straightforward.

For her to be this hesitant meant she was truly taking his words seriously.

Cheng Si had a rough idea in his mind now.

He stayed quiet and silently waited for her to speak.

"If I go looking for Third Brother every day, what excuse should I use?"

"What excuse could possibly be needed for that?" Cheng Si covered his face and laughed. "Just tell him you're going out for a meal."

Pausing for a moment, Cheng Si decided that wouldn't work. "No wait, that sort of thing should come from Third Brother."

"I'll go talk to Third Brother."

"Don't!" With quick reflexes, Lin Xi reached out and pressed down on his hand. "You can't mention today's conversation to him! If you go telling him, you'll definitely end up saying a lot more than just this."

"..."

He had to admit, Lin Xi understood him well.

This wouldn't do, and that wouldn't work either. After thinking it over carefully, Cheng Si suggested, "How about this: I'll play matchmaker. I'll arrange for Third Brother and you to hang out, and when the time comes, I'll pretend to bail on you."

"How does that sound? Feasible, right?"

He was breaking his heart over the affairs of these two; damn it, he absolutely had to sit at the head table during their wedding!

"Are you planning to keep using that excuse forever?" Lin Xi felt that was not a long-term solution.

"He'll see right through it."

Qin Yu was such a clever person.

"Even if he sees through it, he'll just think I'm messing with you two. He'd never suspect that you're the one taking the initiative."

Cheng Si could completely understand Lin Xi's awkward feelings; she wanted to take this step forward, but she was afraid of being too obvious with her initiative.

She was a young woman, after all—he understood.

"Don't worry about what happens later for now; let's just try it once first."

Acting on the thought, Cheng Si declared, "Tonight, let's do it tonight!"

"!" Lin Xi: "So soon?"

"No, wait, maybe we should talk about it in a couple of days instead."

This was simply too sudden.

"What is there to wait for? It just so happens that I've returned to the country today, so the excuse is completely justified. Third Brother will definitely come."

"Besides, you're going on a business trip next week, so when else would you even have the time?"

At the thought of playing matchmaker for the two of them, Cheng Si was no calmer than Lin Xi.

Rubbing his hands together, he insisted tonight was the night! He immediately booked a restaurant table and bought movie tickets on the side.

The entire sequence of actions took less than three minutes. There was no hesitation whatsoever, leaving Lin Xi utterly dumbfounded.

She had been given zero opportunity to refuse.

"When the time comes, you two will have dinner first, and right next door is the cinema."

"What movie?"

Cheng Si spun a lie: "Seems to be a comedy, just recently released."

Lin Xi remained half-doubting.

With hidden meaning in his tone, he urged, "Remember what Fourth Brother said: don't be too rational. As a human being, when an impulse hits, you just have to go with it. Don't hold back!"

Lin Xi frowned. "You're overthinking it. No matter how impulsive I get, I won't reach that stage."

"What stage? I was talking about holding hands and hugging—what were you thinking about?"

"..." Lin Xi froze.

"Oh ho." Cheng Si let out an amused sound. "Lin Xi, oh Lin Xi, your little thoughts aren't so innocent after all~"