Pan Baohua had already missed one chance to help others.

He had wanted to help both Jiang Yan and Zhou Cheng, hoping their comradeship wouldn’t completely collapse. So when the Jiang family wanted Zhou Cheng to “take responsibility,” he stepped forward voluntarily.

He said he would marry Jiang Yan.

Pan Baohua was serious at the time.

He stood by this promise until Jiang Yan brought it up directly. If Jiang Yan hadn’t found someone she liked, he would have taken responsibility for caring for her… He thought he was being heroic, but Jiang Yan said this promise put too much pressure on her.

It wasn’t just pressure on Jiang Yan; it also constrained Pan Baohua himself.

If Jiang Yan hadn’t formally spoken with him and released him from this constraint, Pan Baohua wouldn’t have come to Pengcheng.

Even though he had understood his own heart and wanted to try developing his feelings with Bai Zhenzhu, with that “marriage promise” hanging over him, Pan Baohua had no right to come to Pengcheng!

Jiang Yan had ended this constraint.

Only then was Pan Baohua free.

Having learned from this lesson, he would never again joke about such matters.

There were many ways to help others – one shouldn’t casually promise themselves away…

Pan Baohua explained his “engagement” with Jiang Yan.

“So I’m not joking.”

“…”

Bai Zhenzhu wanted to flee!

To her, Pan Baohua was an idol on a mountaintop, and now this idol suddenly wanted to develop feelings with her. As a fan, Bai Zhenzhu naturally panicked.

Her usually bright voice had devolved into a squeak:

“Third Brother, can I ask why? This is too sudden—”

Pan Baohua thought carefully:

“I didn’t feel it at first either. When Jiang Yan suddenly asked what I thought of you, I realized you seemed to have only good qualities. She mentioned you went to Qiong Island to avoid your family’s marriage pressure, and I felt you shouldn’t have to worry about such things. Later, when you suddenly stopped coming to the unit, Xiaolan told me you’d returned to Yangcheng, and I started thinking about what you might be facing… The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt, so I decided to come find you.”

So feelings didn’t develop overnight.

There had been many foundations laid.

Just as he’d said in front of the Bai family, they knew each other well and could talk about anything.

Being with Bai Zhenzhu made him feel relaxed and happy.

Without external pressure, he might never have pondered or explored these feelings deeper.

With external pressure, these feelings suddenly changed.

Others saw Bai Zhenzhu’s androgynous dress as awkward, but Pan Baohua found it valiant.

Others admired Bai Zhenzhu’s fighting skills, but Pan Baohua remembered when she was ambushed and in danger.

He admired this young woman and felt protective of her, especially after meeting her family today. The Bai family weren’t bad people, just lacking in ability. Zhenzhu shouldered the entire family’s burden alone – it was too hard!

If only he could share some of her burden.

Pan Baohua had come with uncertainty, but now he understood his feelings.

He had never felt this way about Jiang Yan!

So Zhenzhu was very special to him.

Third Brother wasn’t joking.

Third Brother was being very serious.

And how did Comrade Bai Zhenzhu respond?

She saw her house in the distance, opened the car door, and jumped out to escape!

Pan Baohua was stunned.

After a while, he came to his senses and burst out laughing while gripping the steering wheel.

…

“…So then, you just jumped out and ran?”

Faced with Xia Xiaolan’s questioning, Bai Zhenzhu nodded sheepishly.

Not only had she jumped and fled, but she also hadn’t slept all night. Early in the morning, she’d climbed over her wall to leave home, waited for Xia Xiaolan below the Qihang building, and was picked up by Xia Xiaolan arriving for work on time.

Why didn’t she use the main gate?

She didn’t know either!

Her actions had no logic now because Third Brother Pan’s confession had disrupted her reasoning.

Xia Xiaolan was exasperated, “You’re too timid. In that situation, shouldn’t you have told Third Brother you’d consider it seriously, then politely said goodbye?”

Bai Zhenzhu wore a dejected expression.

“You’re right, Xiaolan. If you were in this situation, you would have handled it perfectly!”

Unlike her, who just opened the door and ran.

So embarrassing.

Third Brother must be so disappointed in her.

Forget about developing feelings – being so cowardly and impolite, he might even reconsider just being friends!

Seeing Bai Zhenzhu hanging her head so low it almost touched the desk, Xia Xiaolan realized she’d never seen this side of Bai Zhenzhu in all their years of friendship.

Resisting the urge to tease, Xia Xiaolan consoled her:

“It’s fine, Third Brother isn’t an outsider. Even if you two can’t develop romantic feelings, we’re all good friends. Being embarrassed in front of friends doesn’t count – you’ve been thrown down by Third Brother in front of everyone so many times, and you’ve always grown stronger from setbacks. I’ve never seen you feel awkward about that! So Zhenzhu, what do you think about Third Brother’s proposal?”

Men generally don’t want to lose face in front of women they like.

The same applies to vice versa.

The fact that Bai Zhenzhu fled in panic precisely showed she had special feelings for Pan Baohua.

Why run if she wasn’t flustered?

She could have simply told Pan Baohua directly that developing romantic feelings wasn’t suitable, and that they should remain platonic siblings.

Bai Zhenzhu remained dejected, and after a while mumbled:

“I don’t know…”

Xia Xiaolan patted her shoulder: “Then tell Third Brother you’re willing to try, and if developing feelings doesn’t work out, you can go back to being friends.”

Bai Zhenzhu was surprised, “That’s possible?”

“Why not? Unless you lack confidence in yourself – do you think you’d cling to Third Brother if the attempt fails?”

Xia Xiaolan’s counter-question made Bai Zhenzhu’s face turn red and then pale.

“I’m not that kind of person!”

Hah, don’t just say you’re not that kind of person – prove it through actions.

“Zhenzhu, marriage is one thing, but being unmarried doesn’t mean you can’t date. Rather than dating unreliable men, why not try developing something with Third Brother? With a hero like Third Brother, even if you date for a while and part amicably, you wouldn’t lose anything!”

Fortunately, Third Brother had figured things out and chased after her from Qiong Island.

Otherwise, Xia Xiaolan would have suggested Bai Zhenzhu practice with Gao Huabin, that little weirdo, to avoid being completely inexperienced in romance and falling harder for some man’s tricks in the future!

Of course, now that Third Brother had come, Gao Huabin could just get lost – he had no value anymore.

Bai Zhenzhu was dumbfounded by Xia Xiaolan’s questions.

Of course, she wouldn’t lose anything.

She wasn’t afraid to fight with Third Brother Pan, so why was she afraid to date him?

Why was she so timid?

Why did she jump from the car and run last night?

If she went to find Third Brother now and said she was willing to try, would he punch her twice?

Xia Xiaolan was very happy for her two friends.

Love didn’t have to be earth-shattering; it could flow gently like a stream, even developing from friendship. Transitioning from friends to lovers required caution – if the dating period went badly, they might not even remain friends.

But one shouldn’t abandon eating for fear of choking.

Xia Xiaolan was very much looking forward to seeing Bai Zhenzhu and Pan Baohua develop their relationship!

“When are you planning to give Third Brother your answer? There’s no time like the present – why not go now? Zhenzhu, you just said you weren’t timid.”