Chu Huaixu had a really good appetite today. He hadn't eaten for several days, and with just a few of his favorite dishes, he ate half a bowl of rice in one go. After finishing that, he continued eating steamed egg custard.

He looked very healthy and had plenty of energy, so it was hard to tell that he was actually on his deathbed.

Song Ting watched him scoop up the steamed egg spoonful by spoonful, his eyes sparkling with the satisfaction of eating his favorite food, making it hard to look away.

But he was in unbearable pain in his heart.

Despite being unwilling to admit it, Song Ting suddenly thought of the phrase: a final burst of energy before death.

"Do you want some?" Chu Huaixu asked, but then he hugged the steamed egg custard in his hand even tighter, as if afraid that Song Tingzhen would nod and snatch it from him.

Song Ting teased him intentionally, pretending to take a spoon to scoop it up: "Hmm, I want to eat it."

Chu Huaixu looked at him, then at the nearly empty steamed egg custard in the bowl, hesitated for a moment, then scooped out a large spoonful and handed it to him: "Here, have some."

"Hmm." He looked somewhat childish for his age, and for a moment he seemed to have transformed back into the carefree and flamboyant young nobleman from many years ago, which made Song Ting's heart soften.

He leaned over and licked Chu Huaixu's lips, licking a little bit of leftover egg custard. "Mmm, it's delicious, sweet."

The steamed egg custard was clearly salty, so how could it taste sweet? This person was obviously teasing him on purpose.

Chu Huaixu had spent so many years in the world of pleasure, and the two of them had done intimate things countless times, yet he blushed from head to toe because of those two words.

The arm holding the spoon froze, then suddenly snapped out of its daze. The full bowl of steamed egg custard splattered down with a thud, landing right on Song Ting's lap.

Chu Huaixu: "..."

Song Ting: "..."

"It's nothing." Song Ting chuckled softly, calmly wiping the scrambled eggs off her leg, and held the jade bowl for Chu Huaixu. "Keep eating, it won't taste good if it gets cold."

After finishing his meal, Chu Huaixu was still unwilling to return to his room and wanted to sit in the pavilion. Song Ting then wrapped him up tightly in a cloak and ordered someone to bring a heater before carrying him over.

Fearing that Chu Huaixu might feel cold, he also instructed the kitchen to prepare a pot of jujube tea and send it over.

Chu Huaixu didn't like eating red dates, so he silently spat out the red date slices he had accidentally swallowed onto the table, then covered them with a brocade handkerchief, as if to say he was trying to cover something up.

Song Ting saw all of Chu Huaixu's little actions and found him more and more adorable.

If the circumstances allowed, he would love to hide the person in the room right now and do many intimate things with him, so he could see more of the person's vivid little expressions.

Just thinking about it made my throat tighten and feel dry and uncomfortable.

Not far away, Xiao Wu and Qi Zhou were drinking on the roof again, while A Bao and Xiao Wu chased Pang Pang around the yard.

"It's snowing."

"Um."

Two people drinking on the roof suddenly started fighting for some unknown reason, and the fight spread from the east roof to the west roof.

Xiao Wu was no match for Qi Zhou in skill, but he was far more cunning. Seeing that he couldn't win, he suddenly leaned forward and kissed Qi Zhou on the lips.

This unexpected move left Qi Zhou stunned and dumbfounded, and Xiao Wu took the opportunity to kick him down.

"Hahahaha... I won!" Xiao Wu squatted on the roof, looking down at the man who had fallen in the snow. "From now on, you have to listen to me."

Qi Zhou threw a snowball at his face: "You cheated!"

Xiao Wu shamelessly said, "What do you know? This is called 'all's fair in war'."

As he spoke, he suddenly jumped off the roof, landing squarely on Qi Zhou: "Hahahaha...I'll crush you to death..."

Even the usually composed Qi Zhou was enraged by this person's shameless behavior. He grabbed the other person's waist with his hand, forcefully flipped him over, and pinned him down on his back.

Xiao Wu yelled in protest, and the two started fighting again. As they fought, they started throwing snowballs at each other, then rolled back into the snow and hugged each other.

Song Ting and Chu Huaixu, who were drinking tea in the pavilion, were dumbfounded.

Song Ting: "..."

Chu Huaixu: "..."

Although Chu Huaixu has been easily embarrassed lately, it's always about himself; when it comes to others, he reverts to his sharp-tongued self.

"What are they doing? Are they going to take off their clothes and give us a performance right here and now?"

Song Ting: "…………"

Song Ting: "...It's not that bad."

In comparison, Song Ting was more curious about when his two subordinates had gotten together, as he had no idea at all.

Judging from his expression, Chu Huaixu knew what he was thinking and said with a smile, "Haven't you noticed before?"

"..." Song Ting shook his head honestly, "You only realize it now? Mingyu saw through it a long time ago?"

“That’s for sure,” Chu Huaixu said. “Song Xiaowu’s expression when he looked at Qi Zhou clearly said—when will you marry me?”

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is eavesdropping on all officials, and you, as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, didn't even notice this? Truly—"

He was speaking when Song Ting took his hand and moved closer to him.

The cool tip of her nose affectionately brushed against Chu Huaixu's face, her gaze burning. Chu Huaixu asked curiously, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

“Anytime,” Song replied.

"What?" Chu Huaixu looked blank for a moment before realizing what was happening and burst into laughter. "Stop joking, we're talking about Song Xiaowu and Qi Zhou."

“I’m not kidding.” Song Ting gently pressed her face against his knee. “I want to marry you, Mingyu.”

The hand in her palm stiffened, and even the fingertips trembled slightly. Song Ting wasn't sure if it was because of pain, nervousness, or something else.

In the end, Huai Xu did not agree to his request.

He felt an indescribable regret and pain.

As the imperial capital, Chang'an was always bustling during the New Year. From New Year's Eve to the fifteenth of October, fireworks or lanterns were set off almost every day.

Tonight was no different. After the fireworks ended, the people of Zhuque Street released lanterns one after another. Lanterns of various shapes rose into the sky, illuminating the night sky that was still filled with the smoke of gunpowder even brighter.

The sounds of laughter and chatter from afar, mixed with a few barks of dogs, could be clearly heard.

Xiao Wu and Qi Zhou were already passionately kissing in the thick snow.

"Song Ting, I am not the right man for you." After a long while, Chu Huaixu finally spoke slowly.

Song Ting understood what Chu Huaixu meant. He tried to stop him from speaking, but Chu Huaixu broke the rules and kissed him on the corner of the mouth.

He stood there dumbfounded, unable to say anything, letting the person continue talking.

"But I feel... I really can't bear to part with you."

Chu Huaixu thought that he was still selfish after all. He had clearly thought about staying far away from this person. He was too ashamed to face this person, and even if he died, he wanted to die somewhere that the other person could not see him.

However, in the end, he still couldn't bear to part with her. He didn't regret taking Song Ting back to the palace, nor did he regret scheming to get back to her side.