Su Xi subconsciously looked toward the screen at Lu Huan—who was still depressed and even a bit puffed-up with anger because she had just said she wanted to sneak into the Ministry of War to peek at men bathing and she couldn’t help laughing.

Lu Huan did not know why she was laughing. But in the curtain, the light of the desk lamp fell across her side profile, tracing the gentle outline of her features. Lu Huan couldn’t control his gaze from falling onto her face, and gradually, as if infected by her, the gloom in his pitch-black eyes faded little by little, replaced by a hint of inexplicable joy tinting the corners of his eyes.

It was the first time the two properly looked at each other.

Both sides were quiet.

Su Xi closed her bedroom door. Only the soft music from her phone flowed quietly. On Lu Huan’s side, it was deep night; the moon rested on the treetops, and outside the camp tent there was only the sound of the wind.

The feeling was difficult to describe. The moon on each side seemed no different, yet somehow felt a thousand miles apart. For a moment, it felt as though the two of them existed in the same time and space, close enough to touch—yet they both knew clearly that this supposed “within reach” was merely an illusion. Nearly a thousand years of time could not be crossed so easily.

She didn’t know how many seconds passed, but Su Xi gradually felt the atmosphere becoming strange.

Her ears inexplicably felt a little hot. She scratched her head, looked away, ending the inexplicable staring contest, and coughed dryly. “I need to do my homework.”

Lu Huan’s complexion also carried a faint red. He nodded. “I as well. I still have military affairs that are unfinished.”

Ten minutes passed, and neither of them looked like they were getting anywhere.

No matter how Su Xi sat in her chair, everything felt awkward.

Before, when she kept her phone screen open with the little bun-faced Zai Zai studying with her—she doing homework under the desk lamp, he reading Sunzi Bingfa under candlelight—it felt infinitely warm.

But now, why did her whole body feel tense? One moment her face felt hot and she rubbed her cheeks, another moment she spaced out thinking the room was too messy and embarrassing—should she clean up?

And it was the same for Lu Huan on the screen. Even though she was behind the curtain, she looked as though she were right before him, and she would occasionally raise her head to glance at him.

He hadn’t turned a single page of the military reports in front of him for ages.

Su Xi felt dry-mouthed. Before, Zai Zai couldn’t see her, so it didn’t matter. But now—why was she writing homework while video-chatting with Lu Huan—?

She couldn’t hold it in. “How about I go offline?”

After Su Xi explained before, Lu Huan already knew that “go offline” meant to leave.

The boy’s fingers paused on the screen. He looked up, pressed his lips together, and said kindly, “As you wish.”

But after he said it, three parts grievance and seven parts sorrow immediately appeared in his eyes like a fan-shaped chart.

Su Xi: “…”

Now she didn’t even need any sorrowful leaves appearing above his head—she could understand him perfectly well, damn it!

───♡───

After Su Xi learned that Zai Zai could see her side, she became unconsciously very self-conscious about her appearance. The next day was the weekend, and as usual, Su Xi was going out to eat with her two childhood friends.

Gu Qin and Huo Jingchuan were the ones who had grown up with her since childhood, people she couldn’t be more familiar with. If it were before, she might have just thrown on a baseball cap and worn the simplest white T-shirt, but today she didn’t even know what had gotten into her — she suddenly wanted to wear a prettier dress…

That way, the “her” on Lu Huan’s side wouldn’t always be wearing that loose, baggy school uniform all day…

Su Xi hurriedly stopped her own thoughts, desperately telling herself that wearing a cute dress was only for her own good mood, and what did it have to do with that boy from another era who probably didn’t even understand modern aesthetics?!

But her body was still very honest as it ran to open the wardrobe, carefully choosing, taking out a few dresses to hold up in front of herself.

Last night, Su Xi had gone to sleep, while Lu Huan had stayed up late by lamplight. And this morning on Su Xi’s side was already late afternoon on Lu Huan’s.

When he saw her choosing clothes in front of that mirror, he subconsciously recalled something written in ancient books: “A woman adorns herself for the one who pleases her.”

His eyelid jumped heavily of its own accord, and he asked, “Xiao Xi, are you going out today to meet someone?”

Su Xi hadn’t opened the phone game, so she couldn’t see his question.

But Su Xi’s phone received a text message. She walked to her desk and slid the message open.

She looked up at the air, thinking that her little Zai Zai should be on the road right now and probably didn’t have time to come online, then she tapped quickly to reply to the text her mom sent.

Su Mother: “At noon our family and Huo Jingchuan’s family are eating out at a restaurant together, Mama won’t come home to cook. Remember to change your clothes. I’ll send you the address later, you come on your own.”

The Su family and the Huo family lived in the same community. Su Mother and Huo Mama were close sisters, and ever since they were little, they had always treated Su Xi and Huo Jingchuan, the childhood sweethearts, as a pair.

Every few months, the two families would routinely have a meal together. This was something Su Xi and Huo Jingchuan were used to by now.

Su Xi replied: “But I already made plans with Gu Qin.”

Su Mother: “Whatever you two want to buy, just go tomorrow. Today we’re eating with your Uncle Huo’s family. I heard that starting next semester some schools will begin independent admissions. We’re going to discuss which city and which university you and Xiao Chuan should apply to, so you can review accordingly over winter break. Your Auntie and I are planning to have you two participate in some schools’ independent admissions together. Your grades are similar, and if you get into the same university in the future you can look out for each other.”

Su Xi thought, there she goes again, again. Every time she and Huo Jingchuan were forcefully paired together by their parents, both of them wanted to roll their eyes.

And yet Huo Jingchuan was always sneaky and never refuted it, passing the ball right back to her.

Su Xi quickly replied: “Why do I have to go to the same university as Huo Jingchuan?”

Su Mother: “If you study out of province, your health has always been poor since you were little and you’re always falling sick— wouldn’t it be good to have someone to look after you? Our two families know each other inside out.”

Su Xi didn’t know how to respond. She and Huo Jingchuan had heard this kind of thing hundreds of times since they were small. Their two mothers were best friends, who in a moment of excitement set up a child betrothal for the pair. After they grew up and the moms saw how the two disliked each other, they even became anxious.

She tossed the clothes back on the bed and didn’t reply, but Su Mother sent another reminder: “Come on time.”

Su Xi frowned for quite a while, then had no choice but to call Gu Qin to explain that something came up at home. After hanging up, she sighed, then went to the entryway to change her shoes.

───♡───

Meanwhile, on the other side of the curtain, Lu Huan’s face turned completely pale in a flash.

He hadn’t confessed yet, nor had he finished all the tasks to quickly accumulate two hundred points. She still only held feelings of “raising a little Zai Zai” toward him, with no sign of awakening at all — and on her side, her mother was already arranging a blind date for her?!

Was it a blind date?

Lu Huan wasn’t sure what exactly Su Mother’s words meant.

And it wasn’t just Su Mother’s attitude, Xiao Xi had even specially dressed up for that brat…? Just moments ago she had been twirling in front of the mirror with a face full of anticipation.

Lu Huan clenched his fists, only feeling a buzzing in his ears, a vast sense of crisis crashing down over his heart.

Steadying himself, Lu Huan leapt onto his horse. While giving orders to the officers beside him to go advise General Zhenyuan to return to the capital as soon as possible — he must complete his tasks quickly — he also opened the interface showing the workplaces of Su Xi’s parents, beginning to study the two elders’ preferences.

He saw Su Mother at the marketplace with a friend, buying fruit, seeming to say, “Why are cherries so expensive these days?”

A sudden stroke of inspiration hit Lu Huan. He pulled out a banknote and exchanged for the freshest ten baskets of cherries from the mall, delivering them to Su Mother’s workplace.

His expression grew solemn. He decided he had to seize both sides, and seize them firmly. As for Xiao Xi’s parents, he should start preparing in advance as well.