To clarify for everyone:
the current tier descriptions are outdated. We're actually over 500 chapters ahead (currently at chapter 946).
If you subscribe, you'll have access to 500+ advanced chapters—not just 70 as stated in the description. I'll be updating the tiers shortly to reflect this. Thanks to Kozam for bringing this to my attention.
www.patreon.com/c/jodex7
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Beneath the green wall covered in moss, a young girl stood gracefully . Her clear eyes, filled with a refreshing aura, carried a faint smile. Her temperament was clean, loose white clothes concealing her fine figure, her whole body brimming with youthful energy.
With just one glance, Ye Fan recognized the girl's identity.
Shen Li!
So many years had passed. Although her appearance had undergone some changes, a shadow of her former self was still vaguely there.
Recalling the little snot-nosed girl who used to follow behind his butt back then, transformed in a flash into this clean and beautiful girl before him, Ye Fan couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
A girl changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood, becoming more beautiful with each change .
These words indeed have some truth to them.
The current Shen Li, whether in terms of looks or temperament, was not inferior to Ning Xi. However, she lacked the spiritual charm that Ning Xi possessed, but could still be considered stunningly beautiful.
"Little snot-nosed girl, long time no see."
Shen Li, hearing Ye Fan's address for her, wasn't angry either. She tilted her head slightly, smiled with lowered brows, "Brother Ye, I'm already an adult, can't call me that anymore."
Ye Fan leaned against the window, raised his eyebrows slightly: "If not little snot-nosed girl, what should I call you?"
"Xiao Li!"
Shen Li looked up at Ye Fan upstairs with exceptional seriousness, said softly: "Brother Ye, how have you been these past few years?"
Ye Fan patted the window frame, smiled faintly: "Are you sure you want to chat with me like this?"
"Puchi——"
Shen Li smiled captivatingly, her shoulder-length short hair swayed gently, "Open the door."
Ye Fan also started laughing. Towards Shen Li, he regarded her as family from the bottom of his heart.
At this moment, he suddenly knew how to handle the arranged child marriage with Shen Li.
Face it calmly!
Coming downstairs to the door, Shen Li stood outside the iron gate, staring at Ye Fan with a beaming smile. The moment the door opened, she threw herself into Ye Fan's embrace, "Brother Ye, I've missed you so much these years. Unfortunately, I left in too much of a hurry back then, never had your contact information."
Ye Fan raised his hands, looked helplessly at Shen Li in his arms, "You girl are not a child anymore, why still hug upon meeting?"
"Also, I have to tell you something."
"Hmm?"
Shen Li stood up straight, "What is it?"
Ye Fan smiled slightly, half-jokingly said: "Brother Ye has already got a girlfriend now. Can't be so rash anymore in the future. Otherwise, if your sister-in-law sees, she will definitely get jealous."
That's right, he just said it out so directly.
Why so many twists and turns? Sometimes people get themselves into a dead end precisely because they consider too much.
However, just after the short exchange between Ye Fan and Shen Li, he had already figured this layer out.
Shen Li is just a younger sister. The fact that he has a girlfriend, just say it directly. Hiding and tucking would only complicate the matter.
"Girlfriend? Sister-in-law?"
The smile on Shen Li's face froze, the light in her eyes dimmed slightly, murmured: "Aren't you just eighteen? Why do you already have a girlfriend?"
"Correct, her name is Ning Xi, settled in the Imperial Capital."
Speaking of Ning Xi, a gentle smile appeared on Ye Fan's face.
Shen Li stared blankly, her eyes full of complexity, "Is she very good?"
"Of course!"
Ye Fan replied without even thinking: "She is the best girl in this world, bar none, at least in my eyes."
"Better than me?"
This sentence, after hesitating for a long time, Shen Li finally said it out.
Ye Fan's smile froze, then he shook his head and chuckled: "Xiao Li, you are my younger sister, I am your older brother; you wouldn't have taken that engagement seriously, right?"
"Mm, I took it seriously!"
Shen Li's eyes were full of sincerity, "I already knew about this engagement when it was made. Brother Ye, I like you, liked you since long ago. Even if Dad hadn't… had an accident, I would still have returned to the country to find you."
Meeting the girl's gaze, Ye Fan's brows slightly furrowed, smiling wryly in his heart.
Sure enough, this matter isn't as smooth as imagined!
However, Shen Li's words also made Ye Fan even more certain of one thing: his rebirth had caused some changes in this space-time. In his previous life, after Shen Li moved abroad, she could almost be said to have disappeared from his world.
But Shen Li's words just now told Ye Fan, even if her dad hadn't had an accident, he still couldn't escape this hurdle.
"Xiao Li, like isn't just about saying it."
Ye Fan sighed lightly, "From beginning to end, I have always regarded you as a younger sister. Towards you, there's only sibling affection, never the kind of like between a man and a woman. Besides, I already have someone I like now. I believe before long, you will also meet your own Mr. Right (true son of heaven)."
Shen Li bit her lip tightly, blood seeping out yet she was unaware. Her voice carried a slight sob. She took out an old-fashioned mobile phone, tapped it twice, and a recording filled with static began to play.
"Brother Ye, what do you plan to do in the future?"
"Build rockets!"
"Wow, so amazing!"
"Then… Brother Ye, after we both grow up, can I be your girlfriend?"
"Little snot-nosed girl, how old are you? Why are you asking this?"
"Brother Ye, just say if it's okay or not!"
"Stop shaking, my head is about to get dizzy from your shaking. Okay, alright?"
"Pinky promise!"
"Pinky promise, hook and hang, can't change for a hundred years!" (children's pinky promise rhyme)
"Zizi..." (sound of static)
The recording ended here.
Shen Li tilted her pretty face up, her gentle voice full of determination, "You promised me, are you going back on your word by saying this now?"
Ye Fan was completely dumbfounded. Some images from back then replayed in his mind, immediately caught between laughter and tears.
Never ever expected, the careless words from back then were actually recorded by this girl.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
"This… Xiao Li, these words were just a joke, don't take them seriously."
"Why not take them seriously?"
Shen Li's eyes welled with tears, sobbed: "Whether it's a joke or not, anyway I took it seriously. Moreover, we still have an arranged child marriage between us, I absolutely don't want to withdraw!"
Her posture was set very, very low...
Honestly, such a beautiful girl throwing herself at him, if it were anyone else, they would definitely be overjoyed.
But Ye Fan was different. In his heart, there was only Ning Xi, only Ning Xi. Ning Xi was the meaning of his life.
Shen Li's posture like this only brought trouble to Ye Fan. But seeing Shen Li with tears welling up, the words of refusal that reached his lips were swallowed back down.
Lowering his head in thought for a moment, he prepared to first change this heavy topic. Otherwise, with Shen Li's appearance like this, she might directly cry out.
Just thinking of that scene gave him a headache.
"Xiao Li, which university are you planning to attend after returning to the country this time?"
Ye Fan pushed Shen Li towards the house, saying as they walked: "Domestic universities are not like foreign ones, admission procedures are very difficult. Without corresponding academic certificates, many universities…"
Facing Ye Fan's obvious change of subject, Shen Li huffed, raised her hand to wipe the tears at the corner of her eyes, said in a small voice: "Heard from Auntie that Gege got into Qing Da. I also plan to go to Qing Da."
Ye Fan: "…"