Meng Yan stood there steadily, without the slightest fear.

He Chen gestured for the guards to arrest him, but when they stepped forward and saw the man's face, they were all taken aback and stopped in their tracks, refusing to go any further.

"What are you doing?" He Chen roared. "This man has been scheming to get close to Miss Huo; he's up to no good! Why haven't you arrested him yet!"

“Your Highness…” the guards looked at He Chen, “This…this is…”

He Chen also felt something was amiss.

Judging from his back, he was just a bit stronger than the average person. Royal guards are all highly skilled, handpicked from among thousands; how could they possibly be easily intimidated by someone like this?

Since they won't do it, he'll do it himself!

He Chen rushed forward and snatched a gun from a guard. Just as he raised the gun handle to smash it, the guards around him rushed forward and stopped him!

"Are you all crazy?!"

He Chen was hysterical.

"Your Highness, you mustn't... please don't do it."

"Your Highness, calm down..."

"Your Highness!"

Just then, the person slowly turned around.

He Chen's anger from a moment ago has turned into astonishment at this moment.

Meng Yan's lips curled slightly, but her eyes were icy cold.

Just like years ago when he made a solemn pledge before the old king, he vowed to quell the rebellion and fight to the bitter end...

The spear in He Chen's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

"How could it be you...?"

"Young Prince," Meng Yan said in a low voice, "how have you been?"

He bowed deeply to He Chen, who quickly stepped forward to help him up.

Even now, He Chen was still somewhat flustered. "General, there's no need to be so polite!"

“You are a prince, so you should still show me the proper etiquette,” Meng Yan said in a low voice. “And I am no longer a general, so you don’t need to be so polite to me.”

"Really...is it really you?" He Chen stared at him blankly, his expression somewhat complicated.

No wonder those guards acted like wolves seeing a lion when they saw this person. As long as they could smell the lion's scent from afar, the wolves dared not approach.

Meng Yan's power was even greater than that of a lion.

That rebellion almost overthrew the entire country. If it weren't for Meng Yan's intervention, the Nanyang region would probably have already undergone a change of dynasty.

He was revered as a war god throughout the country, but at the height of his glory, he quietly left Southeast Asia.

He Chen never expected that the boyfriend Huo Jiayuan was talking about would actually be him...

"Why does the young prince look like that?" Meng Yan smiled. "Does he really not want to see me?"

"No, no!"

He Chen scratched his head sheepishly and then smiled. He instructed the guards to open the gate and inform everyone to welcome General Meng with the highest honors.

But Meng Yan stopped him.

"It's too late now, this is against the rules."

"But……"

“I told you, I am no longer a general.” Meng Yan looked at him. “If the young prince remembers my merit in quelling the rebellion many years ago, please pretend that tonight’s events never happened. I just want to live an ordinary life, I just want to… be with the people I love.”

He Chen pondered for a moment, then nodded solemnly. He suddenly felt relieved. No wonder he could never catch up with Huo Jiayuan no matter how hard he tried, and no wonder he could never defeat the person in her heart.

It turns out that person was no ordinary person at all!

He was completely convinced of his defeat at the hands of Meng Yan.

"Well... is it alright if I invite Mr. Meng to come over for a while as a friend?"

...

A few days later, Huo Jiayuan finally ran into He Chen, who had been out of contact for many days, in the classroom.

"Hey, you've finally shown up!" Huo Jiayuan ran over to him as soon as she saw him, plopped down in the seat next to him, and handed him breakfast casually. "Haven't eaten yet? Come on, let's eat together!"

Under normal circumstances, He Chen would have gladly accepted.

But now he waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, no!"

"What's wrong?" Huo Jiayuan's eyes widened. "My food isn't poisoned!"

He Chen gave an awkward smile, "You have a boyfriend, so it's probably better if we... keep some distance."

Huo Jiayuan burst out laughing.

Then she exclaimed, "Strange... Meng Yan was absolutely right!"

"Uh, what?"

"My boyfriend!" she laughed. "He made this breakfast. I asked him if he could get you one too, and he said of course, but he was worried you wouldn't accept it!"

He Chen grinned. General Meng's breakfast was only for the Huo family's little princess. Who would dare to eat it?

“You’ve been acting strange these past few days,” Huo Jiayuan glanced at him. “You haven’t come to me to draw design drafts, and you haven’t taken me to the factory… What are you trying to do? Are you trying to stop me from graduating? Don’t forget, this is a group project, and we can’t do it without one of us!”

"No, of course not!" He Chen bit his pen, his eyes darting around several times, before cautiously asking her, "If you go to the factory... does your boyfriend know?"

“He knows.”

"He allows me to take you?"

"He Chen!"

Huo Jiayuan was both amused and exasperated. She took out all the design drawings she had made over the past few days, rolled them up, and gently patted his head.

"You're thinking too little of my boyfriend. Do you think he forbids me from having any male friends? Besides, this is our graduation project, it's a serious matter, why would he disagree?"

"Ahem...you probably still don't understand your boyfriend very well."

"ah?"

He Chen smiled and said, "It's nothing. Since he trusts me so much, let's go this afternoon!"

Huo Jiayuan frowned. "That sounds a bit strange..."

"Alright, alright, let's get down to business first!" He Chen could finally eat breakfast without worry. Meng Yan's breakfast was simple—a sandwich—but it contained meat, eggs, and vegetables, showing that she had put thought into it.

If it weren't for Huo Jiayuan's help, he probably would never have lived to see General Meng's culinary skills.

Huo Jiayuan focused intently on drawing the design sketches. This firework was specially designed for Meng Yan, and after revising it more than a dozen times, she finally finished drawing the one she wanted. She would go to the factory in the afternoon to test it out and see if it would produce satisfactory results.

"Now that this firework is a success, are you only showing it to him?" He Chen asked with a smile.

Huo Jiayuan's pen suddenly stopped, and a faint sadness crossed her face.

He Chen suddenly remembered that the last time she went to the mountaintop to set off fireworks with Meng Yan, she went with high spirits but returned feeling dejected... At the time, he thought it was because her boyfriend had let her down.

But now that I think about it, Meng Yan may have had his reasons.

It is said that people who return from the battlefield will have some psychological issues, and being unable to tolerate loud noises is one of the manifestations of PTSD.

“Actually…” He Chen hesitated for a moment, “you should try to understand him more.”

Huo Jiayuan was taken aback. "What do you mean? Do you know my boyfriend?"