Xiao Hanjin’s thoughts paused for a moment, and he almost instinctively considered the question.
[What will you do?]
But in the next second, his eyes refocused on her soft, smiling face. A faint smile touched his lips. “Your Highness, you’re overthinking it.”
“Oh, that’s good then.”
Xiao Hanjin watched as she visibly relaxed, and the expression in his eyes grew even more rigid.
He remembered how stiff and disappointed she had been when he said he didn’t like her outside the imperial study, even a little flustered. After that, they never brought up the topic again, but every time she assumed he didn’t like her, she had always seemed disappointed.
But now…
She blinked, looking at him with confusion. “Then we’re back to the previous question—what exactly do you want?”
It was as if she no longer cared at all.
Xiao Hanjin stared at her for a moment, then suddenly reached out and pinched her chin with his long fingers. “You.”
Their eyes met, and he watched as her pupils contracted slightly at his words. His voice was low as he said, “Didn’t you tell me that it’s not so easy for someone to change their feelings once they like someone?” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Ronghua, how could you change so suddenly? I’ll treat you well. Don’t leave me, alright?”
Di Ronghua’s expression visibly froze.
These were the words she had said to Xiao Hanjin back when Su Miao left the Emperor.
Because she had always believed that Su Miao wouldn’t do such a thing, even when all the evidence pointed to the contrary.
Di Ronghua narrowed her eyes slightly. “Xiao Hanjin, how much do you actually remember?”
Why did it feel like, at critical moments, he remembered everything?
Xiao Hanjin’s gaze faltered, and something flickered quickly in his eyes. “If I remembered everything, would you be willing to start over with me?”
Di Ronghua almost instinctively shook her head. “No.”
Xiao Hanjin’s expression darkened.
Before he could speak, there was a rapid knocking at the door. “Crown Prince!”
It was a guard from the Second Prince’s residence.
Di Ronghua immediately recognized the voice outside—so, it was either about Xiao Yixun or Mu Qingshuang. But Xiao Yixun had just gone to the palace and wouldn’t be back so soon, so it had to be about Mu Qingshuang.
She glanced at the man beside her, and Xiao Hanjin happened to turn his head to look at her at the same time.
After a moment of silence, he spoke in a low voice, “If you’re hungry, eat something. Wait for me to come back.”
Start over?
Di Ronghua watched his retreating figure as he opened the door and left, her expression blank. She thought to herself that he had already drained all the feelings she had for him back in Xiliang.
She didn’t want to one day look back and find that the name “Xiao Hanjin” had become something detestable in her mind.
So, she refused.
Even if he remembered all of their past, even if he did have some feelings for her, he was no longer the blank slate that only held Di Ronghua. He had everything in Beixi, and he had Mu Qingshuang.
The bond he shared with Mu Qingshuang, spanning over a decade, was something her four years in Xiliang could never compare to. She could no longer erase Mu Qingshuang from his life.
If she couldn’t have all of him, then she didn’t want any of it.
…
Second Prince’s Residence.
Xiao Hanjin pushed open the door to the room filled with the scent of medicine, his handsome face slightly grim. “What’s going on?”
Feicui was about to speak when the weak woman on the bed looked over at him and spoke softly, “Xiao Hanjin, I don’t want to stay here anymore.”
