When she had mentioned Jiang Chengshi, Yu Zhengyang, and the others earlier...
He could still ignore it.
But He Mingyuan... He Mingyuan was his childhood friend.
They had been like brothers since they were toddlers in split-crotch pants.
His own brother... belonged to this girl's grandfather's generation. He was the Old Man He she spoke of.
And his brother's wife was her Grandma Qin.
More than forty years and two generations stood between them.
This girl knew even more about He Mingyuan's family than he did.
She even knew about the Tang Sancai set he had given him.
That was a fact he could not avoid.
How was he supposed to face it?
It was beyond anything he could comprehend.
It left him shocked, panicked, and utterly lost...
Seeing Gu Zheng like this, Song Ning felt her eyes redden again...
She picked up the paddle once more and held it out to him.
"It's getting late! The park will be closing! Let's go back!"
But Gu Zheng did not take the paddle. Instead, he caught Song Ning by the wrist.
He pulled her straight into his arms.
The paddle in Song Ning's hand fell into the water again with a splash.
The little boat rocked violently once more.
"Gu Zheng-"
"Song Ning! I don't care! There may be more than forty years between us, but you're young now! The person in front of me is the Song Ning of this world! I don't care! The Song Ning in this world isn't their granddaughter!"
Gu Zheng held her tightly.
As though she were some precious treasure.
He never wanted to let go again!
Held against his chest, Song Ning shed silent tears.
Of course she knew that the Song Ning of this world was still young!
But...
After a moment, Song