Normally, Zhan Xinjia might have come up to him, rested her chin on her hand, and asked with a smile what interesting story it was.

But now, she doesn't know which taut nerve in her mind suddenly snapped, and the long-suppressed emotions surged like a raging flood in her consciousness, urgently seeking a breakthrough.

She sobbed, yet still managed a serious rebuttal.

"...I'm not a child anymore!"

Why does he always treat her like a child? They are not related at all, so why does he act like an elder from the very beginning, as if he is afraid of being entangled by her?

If you don't want to be with her, then don't keep being nice to her.

She didn't say it aloud, but she was secretly saddened for a very long time after hearing it.

Whose child is she to him?

Does he expect her to stay in that house after he gets married, smilingly calling his wife "Mother" or "Sister-in-law"?!

Sensing the pent-up grievances in her voice, Shen Suqing was momentarily at a loss. He was anxious, but this time he didn't know how to comfort her; he had absolutely no experience in this area.

After a long pause, he spoke tentatively in a soft voice, looking lost and disoriented.

"Don't you want to be with me?"

"...?"

Does his saying "befriend him" mean he's acknowledging a thief as his father? Although Lord Shen isn't exactly a thief...

Sometimes Zhan Xinjia was speechless, wondering if he was pretending not to notice because he didn't like her, or if there really were people in this world who were so stupid as not to see that someone liked them.

Now that we're trapped in the cave, it's hard to say whether we can get out alive. If we don't say something now, we might never have the chance to speak again.

She decided to give up entirely.

Mother is right, opportunities are always reserved for the shameless, and she wholeheartedly agrees.

Fighting back her tears, she buried her face in the young man's shoulder and wiped it clean. Gathering her fragmented thoughts, Zhan Xinjia was about to speak when something fell from her with a "thud."

The soft sound interrupted her thoughts.

Reaching into the darkness, I picked it up and it felt like a cloth bag.

She unfolded it little by little in a daze, and only when she smelled a sweet aroma did she remember that it was the piece of white sugar cake that she had forgotten in the inner pocket of her clothes after exchanging it with Old Man Meng, and that it had fallen on the ground.

It was daytime when they fell off the cliff, and it was now late at night. Zhan Xinjia wasn't quite sure how long the two of them had gone without food.

Right now, the piece of white sugar cake that she had casually tucked away has become precious.

Just by smelling the concentration of blood in the air, she could guess that Lord Shen must be seriously injured. Not only was he wounded by a penetrating arrow, but after falling off the cliff, he also had to endure the excruciating pain to break the arrow.

Only in this way could he easily pick her up and stumble through the torrential rain to find the cave.

When she woke up, their wet clothes had even been dried by his excessively hot body temperature.

The thought of it made her tremble, a deep, instinctive fear rising from the depths of her being.

This fear stemmed from the anxiety of not wanting to lose someone important, but now she had to calm herself down.

She broke off a piece of white sugar cake and held it to his lips, and Zhan Xinjia forced a smile.

"Alright... I won't hold a grudge against you anymore. You need to eat well to have the strength to find a way to survive. Master Shen, eat quickly."

He had promised to take her out for a nice meal once she recovered, but he hadn't kept his promise.

But Zhan Xinjia thought that she wasn't actually that angry.

Shen Suqing didn't ask where the pastries came from. But when he suddenly thought of how fierce the little girl was when she fought, she actually always had food hidden on her person, he couldn't help but chuckle. He was so cute that he couldn't speak.

At home, she can eat sixteen bowls of rice in one meal.

He eats so much food but doesn't seem to gain much weight. I don't know where all the food goes, which really worried him for a while.

He even went to the old lady selling wine at the street corner to ask what to do if his child could eat a lot but not gain weight.

He was a complete novice when it came to caring for people, and had to ask around and figure things out on his own.

After working so hard for so many days, his daughter must be starving.

An indescribable sorrow welled up in Shen Suqing's heart, and he shook his head in silent refusal.

Zhan Xinjia had already guessed that he would refuse.

She put the pastries into her mouth, and the sound of her chewing could be heard in the cave. Just by listening to these rustling sounds, Shen Suqing could imagine her eating earnestly with her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel.

Before long, she broke off a piece and handed it over again.

"Half for each of us! Otherwise, if Lord Shen faints from hunger, I won't be able to carry him or put him on my back, and that would be terrible. So Lord Shen also needs to conserve his strength so that he won't hold me back."

Upon hearing this, Shen Suqing chuckled softly.

"If I faint, just leave me here. Come and pay your respects next year, and I will be content."

"?! What? Doesn't Master Shen have anything he wants to do? For example, I want to see my parents again, I want to travel the world with my friends, and I want to bury my face in Jide's fluffy belly."

Young Master Shen studied so hard to get out of the countryside, you must have some ambition to make a name for yourself, to serve your country and its people. Are you really willing to die here like this?"

Her question actually stumped Shen Suqing.

He paused, lowered his eyes, and spoke with a hint of confusion and disappointment.

"...Perhaps."

He seemed to have no ambition; he only became an official because it was the expectation and vision his deceased parents had for him. In fact, it didn't matter what he did; it made no difference.

He has walked through these twenty-two years all by himself.

If he hadn't met Azhi, perhaps his life would have been just aimless, until he reached the age to retire and return to his hometown, where he would have peacefully waited for death in his small courtyard.

Thinking this, Shen Suqing still took a bite of the white sugar cake handed to her by hand.

But now that he has Ah Zhi, he can no longer accept returning to his lonely past and has begun to fear death.

As long as she's alive, I can keep cooking her favorite meals, take care of her, and watch her flutter and jump around me, calling out sweetly, "Little Master Shen, Little Master Shen!"

But when you die, you have nothing left.

If he were to recall the most memorable scene, he would find nothing from the previous twenty-two years. Instead, what comes to mind is an ordinary afternoon in late spring this April.

At that time, he was sitting in front of the bamboo lattice window in his study, reading in the sunlight. When he looked up, he saw Azhi holding Jide and chasing a butterfly around the lush crabapple tree in the yard.

Petals and green leaves fell onto her shoulders and hair, while her laughter was clear and crisp, and dimples appeared on her cheeks.

When she turned around, her fluffy, soft hair was shimmering with a hazy, golden sheen in the light, even her eyelashes were illuminated as a pale gold, making her crescent-shaped peach blossom eyes dazzlingly beautiful.

The once quiet courtyard became more lively and vibrant because of her arrival.

A young girl in a white dress and blue skirt stood under his window, holding an orange cat, smiling and chatting happily.

"Young Master Shen, what are we having for dinner?"

He couldn't bear to part with such a good age.

The palm-sized pieces of white sugar cake were quietly shared. Actually, the crushed cake didn't taste very good, and you could even taste the fine dust mixed with the sweet flavor, but no one complained.

When the little girl in his arms offered him more pastries, he froze, and his eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

The rationality that I usually take pride in vanished completely at this moment, my consciousness snapped, and the overwhelming tenderness and bitterness in my heart reached its limit, which I could no longer suppress or control.

In despair, he forcefully cupped her face and kissed her directly.

From the corners of my mouth to my lips and teeth, I savored every little bit, seeking confirmation.

She didn't eat a single bite; all she tasted was the metallic, bloody flavor of rust. Even the chewing sounds she made earlier were just a lie.

Shen Suqing released her in despair, then tightened his grip and held her tightly in his arms.

He was on the verge of collapse, thinking, why can't she just listen to me even once?