The woman in front of him opened her mouth, looking at him with a hint of surprise.
He watched the subtle changes in her expression, his heart clenching sharply. He hoped she’d say something, yet feared what she might say, after all, their relationship had never been one suited for catching up.
So he almost instinctively pulled her into his arms, a frantic edge of fear gripping him, terrified she’d vanish from his sight.
The body in his embrace stiffened slightly.
Xiao Hanjin’s pupils contracted, and he abruptly tightened his arms, holding her even harder. “Ronghua, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I was wrong.”
He should resent her, he shouldn’t be holding her.
But he couldn’t help it.
Four years and more, one thousand six hundred fifty-one days and nights, not a single day had passed without him thinking of her.
He’d never deliberately counted the days she’d been gone, so even he was shocked to realize he remembered the time so precisely.
For most of that time, he’d believed she was no longer alive, the search continued only because it felt like a way to prove she might still be out there.
Even when he received the note about Jiangjiang, it hadn’t felt as real as this moment, that she was alive.
But now, he was holding the real her.
Her familiar body, her familiar scent, everything unchanged despite four years, as vivid as yesterday.
When longing seeped into his bones, all grievances could vanish like smoke.
As long as she stood before him, everything was fine.
But…
After a long pause, Xiao Hanjin finally noticed the unnatural stillness of the person in his arms. Though he didn’t want her to push him away, he knew her normal reaction should’ve been to shove him off with force.
His thin lips pressed together, about to speak, when her familiar voice sounded by his ear. “It’s you.”
A calm tone.
No love, no hate.
As if, beyond a touch of surprise at this chance encounter, she was merely greeting an old friend after a long separation with a simple “It’s you.”
His breath hitched, and he slowly, stiffly released her.
Empress Ronghua met his dark, heavy gaze, blinked, and gave a faint smile. “Long time no see.”
Xiao Hanjin jolted sharply.
She didn’t hit him, didn’t curse him, didn’t dodge or avoid him. She just… let him run into her on the street.
She looked at him openly, calm and composed.
If cold indifference signaled lingering resentment, then what was this moment?
Not just a lack of love for him, but no hate either?
Xiao Hanjin’s throat bobbed, his voice hoarse and slow. “These past years, you…”
“Your Highness,” her smiling voice cut him off, “no, that’s not right. It should be ‘Your Majesty’ now. You’ve been holding me for quite a while. Earlier, it could pass as a greeting for a reunion, but if you keep holding on like this, my man might get upset.”
[My man.]
From the moment he saw her, Xiao Hanjin’s eyes had been fixed solely on her.
Only now did his gaze shift from her face, landing on the man beside her, his features refined and strikingly handsome.
His breath tightened, his heart constricting uncontrollably, and he blurted out almost instinctively, “Who?”
“Feng Hua.”
Her hand brushed the man’s face, her smile squinting her eyes slightly. “What do you think? Doesn’t it suit his face? Peerless elegance.”
If her smile toward Xiao Hanjin had been light and breezy, her gaze at this man was unabashedly tender and full of affection.
