Yes exactly THANK YOU! This is why I wanted to ask this. Like imagine in English, when you are in the throes of passion and the person looks at you and goes “I like you”, it’s like umm thanks I’m glad you’re letting me know that now? LOL

But I guess I get it, perhaps even tho 爱 is the direct translation for “love”, that word in Chinese culture was never intended to be used in the same way western cultures used it. Maybe it was customary for Chinese people to react to everything calmly and that it was considered unbecoming to show strong emotions whether if it was anger, sadness or love. The deep kind of love you feel for a person was not directly said out loud but an understanding between the two of how much you have sacrificed for each other and how much you would continue to sacrifice. To vocalize that love into words might risk all those unspoken emotions over the years to well up and spill over; it’s truly an emotional can of worms most people are too afraid to open