Halfway through the banquet, the late emperor ordered the eunuch beside him to bring up the puppy and asked Chu Huaixu:

"Does my little one like this little thing?"

"I love it, this little thing is so cute," Chu Huaixu said.

Song Ting's heart sank heavily, and her head drooped even lower.

—Although the young master rewarded him with pastries, he did not abandon him, but the young master did not want him to be his little dog.

—Young master wants another puppy.

The emperor seemed to have been waiting for Chu Huaixu to say this, and immediately said with delight:

"If you like it, then tell Eunuch Fulin to put the little thing in a cage, and you can take it back with you when you return to the Prince's Mansion."

The emperor's decree has been issued; the matter is now settled. Song Ting felt a lump in her throat and secretly wiped away another tear.

But in the next instant, Chu Huaixu suddenly stood up. He bowed to the emperor and said:

"Thank you for the gift, Your Majesty, but Mingyu already has a puppy and cannot have a second one."

“The dog we keep at home is petty; he gets upset if Mingyu has another dog.”

What does a beast know about being happy or not? Chu Huaixu's naive words made the late emperor laugh heartily.

"I had no idea that the fourth prince had started keeping dogs in his residence."

Song Ting was also unaware.

He had clearly been following the young master around the whole time, yet he had never heard of the young master keeping any dogs. A sense of unease crept into his heart.

Chu Huaixu laughed along with the emperor and said, "Last year, my grandson picked it up by the roadside. He thought it looked pitiful, so he took it home and raised it."

"That little puppy looks docile and obedient, but he's actually very jealous. If my grandson brings another dog back, he'll definitely bite someone."

"..."

Song Ting suddenly raised her head.

From his angle, he could see half of the person's face, with a deep smile in his eyes, carrying a hint of teasing.

Song Ting's heart pounded wildly, and he was instantly enveloped in immense joy.

He never expected Chu Huaixu to refuse. He had long been prepared to be disliked, but this person gave him such a big surprise.

—The young master admits that I am his dog.

—From now on, I will be your dog, young master.

Song Ting pressed his hand against his chest; the heart beneath his palm was still pounding violently, as if it were about to leap out of his chest.

Even in life-threatening situations, I have never jumped this fast.

After the banquet, on the way back to the Prince's Mansion, the two sat together in the carriage. Song Ting knelt at Chu Huaixu's feet and rested her head on the latter's lap.

He asked him, "Young master, is that puppy you found me? Am I your puppy? Are you sure you won't have any other puppies in the future? Don't you hate me?"

He bombarded Chu Huaixu with a barrage of questions, and Chu Huaixu couldn't stop laughing: "How can there be someone like you, so eager to be a little dog?"

“But I am your little dog, young master.” Song Ting looked at him, her eyes full of expectation.

After that, when they were alone, Chu Huaixu would call him "little dog".

Every time Song Ting heard this address, her heart would pound uncontrollably.

His possessiveness toward this person grew stronger and stronger, to the point that he would go crazy with jealousy if Chu Huaixu praised the cleverness of the new maid in the Prince's mansion.

In order to gain Chu Huaixu's attention, he learned to "seduce" the man without any instruction.

He tested Chu Huaixu's limits, getting close to him and seducing him, and Chu Huaixu gradually fell into the trap he set and fell in love with him.

"Little dog." "Little dog." "Little dog..." Song Ting really liked hearing Chu Huaixu call him that, especially during intimate moments.

At the end of the same year, the prince and his two sons returned to the capital from the border and stayed at the prince's mansion to celebrate the New Year.

One day, a heavy snow fell, and Chu Huaixu got into the mood and dragged Song Ting and his brother to have a snowball fight.

The second young master's personality is like his father's; he is serious and rarely fools around with them. On the contrary, the eldest young master shares the same interests as Chu Huaixu and spends all his time fooling around with him.

That day, he took his deputy general Zhou Tong and competed against Chu Huaixu and Song Ting.

Normally, Chu Huaixu alone would cause such a ruckus at the Duanwang Mansion that the roof would almost be blown off. Now, with the addition of Chu Huaiqing, who seems to thrive on chaos, things are even worse.

As the four men fought, the fight spread from the courtyard into the hall, leaving the house in a complete mess.

They were unlucky; just as they were about to call someone to clean up, Prince Duan returned from the palace.

As soon as the prince entered the palace gate, he saw the mess on the ground. Enraged, he drew his sword and chased after his two sons, slashing at them.

Song Ting and Zhou Tong tacitly protected their respective masters. The old prince was furious because he couldn't hit them or his two sons.

The number of people causing trouble increased from four to five. Chu Huaixu ran and laughed, "On such a good day, Father, why are you angry? Stop running, stop running, I can't run anymore..."

He showed no remorse whatsoever, and even seemed quite pleased with himself. In the end, the old prince became furious and punished the four men by making each of them kneel under the eaves with a bucket of snow on their heads for a full three hours.

Meanwhile, the second young master, Chu Huaiyun, sat in the warm room, reading a book while supervising them.

Chu Huaixu's legs went numb from kneeling, and he pleaded with his second brother with a grin, "Good second brother, please be kind and turn a blind eye, let us get up and stretch our muscles, okay?"

Chu Huaiqing also said, "Second brother, this is wrong of you. How can an elder brother kneel before his younger brother? This is unreasonable. Let the third brother kneel before you and let your elder brother come inside."

Upon seeing that he had betrayed him, Chu Huaixu immediately jumped up: "Well done, brother! I never thought you were this kind of person!"

Chu Huaiqing: "This is not my fault. As the saying goes, it's better to die for a friend than for yourself. Third brother, it's time for you to show your respect to your elder brother..."

...

Song Ting was trapped in a dream, and then the dream dragged her into another dream, a dream within a dream, a dream where the scenes depicted a past that the two of them could never return to.

He knew it was a dream, that it was all fake, but he couldn't bear to wake up.

Because only in his dreams could he see Chu Huaixu gently calling his name and smiling at him again.

Until even the dream began to shatter.

A missing imperial edict, a raging fire—Song Ting watched amidst the blood-soaked landscape as that person walked step by step toward the edge of the cliff.

His heart clenched, and he tried to reach out to pull the other person away, but he couldn't touch them at all.

No matter how carefully he approached, there was always a distance between them that was neither too close nor too far.

After a long time, Chu Huaixu finally stopped. Just one step behind him was an abyss.

The wind howled, and Chu Huaixu's body swayed precariously, as if a gust of wind could blow him off the cliff at any moment.

Song Ting already knew the ending, but he still wanted to salvage it, to change things. Even if it was just a dream.

"Come back..." His heart was in his throat, his voice trembling violently as he pleaded with the person in front of him, "Don't come near there... Give me your hand..."