"If no one else will marry her, then I will."

When Song Xizhi got to this point, he stopped talking.

She recalled everything from that time; she was covered by a cloak, and as she heard those words, she also heard the boy's heart pounding like a drum.

At that moment, her heartbeat resonated with his.

Because of this incident, the Marquis of Anding's family and the Song family arranged a marriage between their children.

Later, through the machinations of Zhao Qianlan and Song Juncai, Song Ruoan exchanged birth certificates with He Jingyan, and she exchanged birth certificates with He Yunce.

She never suspected him, and because He Jingyan was often away from the capital, she believed that He Yunce was the boy who saved her life.

After all that happened in her past life, she discovered that He Yunce couldn't swim at all.

Song Xizhi discovered that everything she had painstakingly upheld in her previous life had become a joke. In her later years, she watched her husband and her sister living happily together as a family.

She was clearly He Yunce's real wife, yet she lived like an outsider, just like she had when she was a child.

The man listened quietly to the whole thing.

Looking at Song Xizhi's tear-streaked face, he felt an endless soreness welling up in his chest, as if his heart was being tightly squeezed by a large hand, and the heartache was almost suffocating.

The tension that had been taut in his mind snapped in an instant.

The man could no longer care about anything else; the filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame he had learned in his life were instantly thrown to the back of his mind.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward, his large, veiny hand gripping Song Xizhi's lower back, pulling her into his arms once again.

The man was incredibly strong; one hand was firmly on Song Xizhi's waist, while the other hand was pressed tightly against her slender back, pulling her into his embrace.

His palms radiated a burning heat, as if he wanted to melt her into his very being.

"Song Xizhi, can you hear my heartbeat?"

The man's cheek pressed against her hair bun, and he slowly closed his eyes, asking in a low voice.

A low, husky voice echoed in the quiet bedroom, stirring someone's heartstrings.