The time by your side is the best confession I can give you.

…

Su Yiting, pet name: Little Sesame.

Lu Qiaochen, pet name: Little Rice Cake.

…

Su Yiting and Lu Qiaochen first met at the birthday ball of the Tang family siblings. At the time, Lu Qiaochen was six and Su Yiting five.

Lu Qiaochen, Tang Niangu, Tang Nianqin, and Tang Niancheng were classmates at the same kindergarten. They already knew each other and were playing happily among themselves when Su Yiting arrived.

Among the group, Tang Nianqin was the only girl, so she was exceptionally happy when she saw Su Yiting. She approached her with a bubbly smile.

Su Yiting came to the party with Su Zhinian and Song Qingchun. Even though she was still a bit shy, with the passionate invitation from Tang Nianqin, she soon became comfortable enough to have fun and became fast friends with Tang Nianqin.

Among the Tang family triplets, the eldest Tang Niangu was the most stable. Sitting on the wide cushion, he was busy playing his handheld game. When his mother, Gu Qincheng, asked him to help her greet their guests, he raised his head and smiled politely at Su Yiting, adding gentlemanly, “Welcome to the party.”

“Thank you,” Su Yiting replied politely.

Tang Niangu smiled and turned back to focus on his game. With Gu Nianqin’s introduction, Su Yiting soon joined the group of four.

Tang Niancheng was a born prankster; the teachers at his kindergarten had complained about him many times already. At around noon, his playful streak started to surface, and his targets this time were Su Yiting and Tang Nianqin.

There was no gender difference between children of their age, so one thing led to another, and Su Yiting and Tang Nianqin started to fight with Tang Niancheng.

Even though it was a two against one fight, the two girls couldn’t win against Tang Niancheng physically. As Tang Niancheng grabbed the wooden blocks off the floor to hurl at them, the eldest, Tang Niangu, immediately tossed the game aside and quickly pulled his sister behind him. Lu Qiaochen, who hadn’t said a word or moved an inch since Su Yiting joined them, threw the book he was reading at Su Yiting, blocking the blocks that were heading toward Su Yiting just in time.

Su Yiting staggered backward and collapsed to the floor. After she recovered, she glared at Tang Niancheng with her cheeks puffed out. Then she turned to look at the book that fell beside her. Before she could get a good look of the book title, a hand reached out to pick it up from the floor. She followed the arm and saw a boy’s face that looked like it was painted. When the boy met her eyes, there wasn’t any noticeable change in his expression. However, his body, which was turning away, did halt for a moment. After what looked like hesitation, he asked, “Are you hurt?”

Su Yiting shook her head and said, “Thank you.”

Lu Qiaochen nodded in acknowledgement. He stood where he was for a while before moving back to his seat by the window, opening the book, and continuing to read.

Su Yiting’s eyes trailed along the boy’s footsteps.

Even many years later, she would still remember this scene. The gentle sunlight poured in from the window, bathing the young boy in it. His features were as handsome as the prince from the fairy tale that she read. He was sitting quietly, reading his book.

The book title was rather long, and it was difficult for her to understand it at the time. She could only recognize it as “X to the West.”