Damn…

Su Xi suddenly thought of something. Connecting it with Zai Zai’s strange behavior recently, the guess in her mind became even more specific—could it be that Zai Zai’s side was also able to see her, also able to touch her?!

So that was why he didn’t ask her what she would be doing during those eight days when she left. So that was why, that day when she logged in after taking a shower, she found him not daring to lift his head to look at her, the tips of his ears red to the point of dripping blood, and a bunch of “do not look at improper things” written all over the desk?!

The more Su Xi thought about it, the faster her breathing became, and her face grew increasingly red. Wouldn’t that mean that over these past days, the way she lay on the sofa with no image at all, collapsing like a salted fish eating potato chips, the way she wore a baseball cap to school for several days just to avoid washing her hair, and even the possibility that she talked in her sleep at night—were all seen by him?!

Su Xi was about to go crazy.

Her face turned completely red, and the more she thought, the more she felt this was shame-play. But this was only her guess; she still needed to confirm it with Zai Zai.

But once this thought surfaced in her mind, that bit of melancholy she had been carrying these days faded somewhat. She had thought Zai Zai didn’t need her anymore. But looking at it this way, Zai Zai had secretly sent her brown sugar ginger tea and even helped her run the eight hundred meters.

Su Xi’s heart quickly warmed. It seemed the motherly worries had been unnecessary. She sniffled, then took her phone out of her schoolbag.

It was already summer on her side, and it was a bit hot. She took off her school uniform jacket, wore only her short sleeves, found an empty seat, and opened the game ahead of time.

After Su Xi opened the game interface, the first thing that appeared, as always, was the initial scene of that firewood shed in Prince Ning’s residence.

She smiled brightly and looked around casually, and found that ever since Zai Zai left Prince Ning’s residence, Consort Ning and the others looked more haggard by the day. Perhaps the family of Consort Ning’s maiden home had completely fallen; she had not attended any banquets among the noble ladies of the capital for a long time. At this moment, she was sitting in the lakeside pavilion in a daze, with strands of white hair appearing at her temples. Her two sons also looked extremely dispirited, not at all like the arrogant figures they had been a year ago.

Perhaps only the old madam in Prince Ning’s residence still held on, still waiting for Zai Zai to return, still firmly believing that Zai Zai could bring a turning point to Prince Ning’s residence. When he became an official of the court, he would lead the declining Prince Ning’s residence to glory once again.

Su Xi did not linger long on this screen and went directly to the tent in the northern border where Zai Zai was.

But after looking around, she did not find him.

So Su Xi searched all over the military camp, yet still did not see any trace of Zai Zai.

She zoomed out the interface to check where Zai Zai was, and saw his red dot appearing by the river in the northern border—what was Zai Zai doing there? Su Xi was a little worried something might have happened, so she hurried to switch the interface over.

But she only saw—there was no incident happening at all.

By the river, some soldiers were walking around, taking down tents, preparing to return to the capital. Behind the snow-covered poplar trees, Zai Zai was standing together with that civilian woman named Liu Ruyan whom she had seen a few days ago, not knowing what they were talking about.

Su Xi didn’t know what they were saying, because dialogue not involving the plot would not casually pop up as dialogue boxes.

But the scene was indeed beautiful—the willow-lined riverbank, a handsome youth and a delicate village girl.

And—Su Xi opened the upper-right corner to take a look and discovered that this village girl was still in the “harem” section.

Perhaps… the reason Zai Zai had decisively rejected Han Yue a year ago and avoided the embroidered ball was because he hadn’t awakened yet, and now he had? Well, it was that age when feelings began to blossom.

At the beginning, wasn’t Su Xi’s greatest wish precisely that Zai Zai could have family and friends in that world, people to accompany him? Now, she finally saw that he had friends—perhaps even someone he liked—and that the goal of restoring the Ninth Prince’s identity and completing the final chapter of the game was not far away… These were her wishes from the very start. She should have been delighted and excited… So why did her heart instead feel a sense of desolate loss, like a story coming to its end and the crowd dispersing?

Su Xi glanced over in that direction again, thinking she shouldn’t disturb them, and decided to log in later.

She closed her phone screen, stuffed her school uniform jacket into her schoolbag, and began packing up her books.

───♡───

Meanwhile, Lu Huan had asked this former imperial physician’s daughter how a woman should adjust her mood when she came to her monthly bleeding, and he earnestly memorized each point one by one.

Liu Ruyan found the question somewhat embarrassing, but Lu Huan did not mind at all.

He felt that recently Xiao Xi’s emotions fluctuated quite a lot, but he did not know the reason. And last time when he saw her in so much pain, he assumed she must be that way every time, and felt that things could not go on like this.

He had learned how to use the tablet to “Baidu” from her. He already knew the password to her tablet—it was six zeroes. With no alternative, he unlocked it once and searched for corresponding remedies, but discovered that in her world, there were no good solutions for women’s menstrual pain, and they could only take so-called painkillers.

And in Lu Huan’s own dynasty, there were no effective methods either. He consulted books on medicinal herbs and found only a few decoction recipes.

He believed that the descendant of a former imperial physician, who was also a woman, might have some special ways to ease the discomfort, so before returning to the capital with the army, he came to ask.

Liu Ruyan wanted to return to the capital together with this young Cavalry Commandant, so after answering his questions, she shyly parted her lips and said, “Lord Cavalry Commandant, since you saved my life, I wonder if perhaps—”

But before she even finished speaking, the man—who seemed to know she was about to say something like offering herself in repayment—interrupted her without hesitation: “No. The journey to the capital is too far; I cannot bring you. If you wish to go to the capital, seek another way.”

Liu Ruyan: “…”

After speaking, Lu Huan hurriedly turned around and walked off.

Liu Ruyan: “…”

Lu Huan returned to the tent and first recorded the suggestions Liu Ruyan had given about how to improve a woman’s mood during her monthly bleeding, planning to try them next time Su Xi’s emotions suddenly shifted for no reason. Then he looked at the light outside and saw that it was already the evening of the eighth day. According to the timing, she should have finished her exams by now, yet for some reason she had still not come.

Lu Huan could not wait any longer, so he opened the screen and switched from her home’s starting interface to her school.

As he did not know which classroom she was in, Lu Huan searched room by room. But after searching the entire academic building, he still did not see her.

So Lu Huan switched again, searching the lawn track, the laboratory, and other areas. The place she visited most often was the snack shop at the school gate. Perhaps she would be there. And he could also take a look at what kind of foods she liked to eat—according to the former imperial physician’s daughter, eating something tasty could also improve a woman’s mood during her monthly bleeding.

Thinking this, Lu Huan quickly found her among a group of people at the school gate.

His dark eyes brightened slightly, and he shifted the screen toward her.

But just then, he saw Xiao Xi standing with her friend Gu Qin, and across from them stood another person. That person had a title floating above his head—“School Prince.”

School Prince—? What did that mean?

Lu Huan was somewhat puzzled.

In the next second, he saw that person named “School Prince” take out two small, rectangular ticket-like items from his pocket, hand one of them to Xiao Xi, and say nothing. His face was cool, one hand still tucked in his pocket, leaning sideways against the school gate.

And around the gate, many people were gathered, seemingly watching the commotion, with some even covering their faces and making teasing noises.

Lu Huan tried hard to understand the scene before him. He saw that there was no change on Xiao Xi’s face, but Gu Qin standing beside her was blushing fiercely, and he suddenly understood what that boy called “School Prince” was doing.

Lu Huan’s expression instantly stiffened.

───♡───

Su Xi had fair skin and a beautiful appearance. Although she wore oversized school uniforms every day, tied her hair in a ponytail, and kept very low-key, her popularity at school was not low at all.

Previously, when her family was short on money, Huo Jingchuan had joked that if she posted on the school forum saying she would go on a date for five hundred yuan each time, she could immediately earn a pot full of gold. He wasn’t wrong.

But she was rather homebound, spending her days either doing practice papers and studying, or playing games. Although her personality was easygoing and even a little careless, many classmates thought she was cold and aloof. Thus, she didn’t have that many people pursuing her—most didn’t dare to come forward and only secretly slipped her love letters.

The person standing in front of her and Gu Qin now, handing her movie tickets and wanting to watch a movie with her, was that School Prince Yin Yao whom Huo Jingchuan often complained about in her ear.

As for being the School Prince—he indeed had money, but as for looks, he wasn’t that handsome. Above average at best—not even as handsome as Huo Jingchuan.

But perhaps because he had money and often donated to school events like the New Year’s gala, his reputation became relatively high, thus becoming the “School Prince.”

After seeing Zai Zai’s original image—stunningly beautiful—Su Xi felt that even the most handsome boy in school instantly became trash in comparison.

Not to mention that Zai Zai had been on the battlefield for more than half a year—he had abs, could carry things on his shoulders and lift things at his waist. Meanwhile, the boys at school had been studying themselves into fools, all with sloping shoulders, unable to even stand straight—completely incomparable.

Gu Qin was frantically pounding her back, wishing she could accept the movie ticket on Su Xi’s behalf. But Su Xi, staring at the School Prince in front of her who had a tiny pimple on his forehead but could still be considered handsome—seemed mentally somewhere far away.

The School Prince soon grew dissatisfied and said, “There are people lined up from the school across the street wanting to watch a movie with me. Su Xi, if you’re not willing, you won’t get another chance.”

Many people around them were booing and cheering. They thought the School Prince leaning against the school gate and saying this was incredibly cool.

Su Xi was not in the mood to play games right now, but even less in the mood to watch a movie. She was planning to go shopping with Gu Qin. But with so many people around, if she was going to reject him, she had to come up with a better phrasing.

So Su Xi stared at the School Prince, thought for a moment, and said, “I…”

But before she could finish, a sudden gust of wind—the source unknown—became violent. Yin Yao’s hand, which was extended in the air, was suddenly smacked hard.

He couldn’t hold the movie tickets, and they fell straight to the ground.

And the gate he was leaning on suddenly gave a loud “creak”—a screw unexpectedly came loose, and Yin Yao was so startled that his leaning posture immediately gave way. He lost balance, fell forward, and stumbled to the ground.

Su Xi: …

This sudden ghost-like incident left the surrounding students stunned.

Yin Yao rubbed his arm, cursing inwardly, feeling that luck was against him. He was about to continue the previous conversation with Su Xi when he saw her suddenly seem to realize something, puff out her cheeks like she was trying not to laugh, then pull out her phone and drag Gu Qin away.

Gu Qin was still nagging beside her, while Su Xi had already opened the game.

If her guess was correct, then that scene just now must have been done by Lu Huan.

Su Xi forced down her laughter, put on her earphones, walked along the greenery belt, and opened the screen, switching into the tent with a refreshed spirit. She said to Zai Zai, “I’m here!”

Zai Zai was copying military reports behind his desk, his face expressionless, not even lifting his head: “Oh.”

Seeing him pretend to be calm made Su Xi even more certain that he was definitely the one who caused the trouble earlier. Su Xi wanted to laugh as she dragged the interface around, pulling it to the back of the desk, and sure enough—she saw the hand Zai Zai had placed below the desk clenched tightly into a fist, every knuckle distinct.

And he seemed to sense her rotating the screen. His eyelids twitched slightly, and he suddenly loosened his hand.

Su Xi wanted to laugh again, and the sense of loss in her heart also faded a little.

She didn’t know why—her emotions had been fluctuating strangely these days. She didn’t want to be like this, but sometimes… in short, there was a kind of feeling in her heart, something she cared about very much. She cared about whether, once the game gradually completed its final objective, he and she would no longer be able to continue as they always had.

She couldn’t explain these feelings. It was as if there were some kind of hidden knot inside her, but scratching through clothes, unable to find the exact spot that itched.

She didn’t know what to say, and the Zai Zai in the screen kept his face cold, continuing to copy military reports, looking not in a very good mood.

Su Xi suddenly remembered—there had only been very few times when Lu Huan showed her a dark expression, and the last time he had been this cold-faced was in the courtyard of the Ministry of War, when he questioned her about the matter of “marrying a wife and having children.”

A faint guess rose in Su Xi’s heart, like a moth about to break out of its cocoon, making her heart itch, but that thought flashed by too quickly, and she failed to catch it.

After thinking and thinking, she felt there was one thing she had been very concerned about recently and needed to ask out loud.

So she blurted out, “That girl, Liu Ruyan, is she going to return to the capital with you guys—”

But before she finished speaking, at the exact same moment, came the low voice of the young man behind the desk: “There is shadow puppetry in the city streets, do you want to go—”

The two spoke at the same time. Seeing each other’s lines appear on the screen, they both froze simultaneously.

Then, the air went still for a few seconds.

Their faces were both inexplicably a little red.