Turning the opal ring in his hand, Hongli pondered, "Yushan, are you hiding something from me?"

As he finished speaking, he looked up at her, his eyes full of inquiry. Feeling guilty, Yu Shan dared not meet his gaze, forcing a smile and shaking her head.

"No!"

"Then why won't you wear this ring?" Hongli felt something was amiss. "Even if you don't like it, I'm only letting you try it on. It's not like I'm making you wear it every day from now on. Why are you so resistant?"

Hongli pressed for details, and Su Yushan felt awkward. She couldn't very well tell him that she didn't belong to this world and had traveled from hundreds of years in the future, could she?

Will he believe her? Will he treat her like a monster? Or will he become suspicious of her and think she's not normal?

Even if he believed her, he would likely ask her what the world would be like three hundred years from now.

Was she going to tell him: "The Qing Dynasty is gone. Your descendants closed themselves off from the world and ruined your country?"

If he were to ask her again which prince would inherit the throne, how should she answer?

Tell him that Emperor Qianlong had countless sons in history, and the fifteenth prince was the one who inherited the throne.

She wasn't the Fifteenth Prince's biological mother. Her appearance had already changed too many things, and she had no idea how things would develop in the future, let alone how to tell him.

Too many concerns prevented her from speaking; she could only rack her brains for reasons.

"I don't know why, but as soon as I saw this ring, I had a bad feeling. I felt inexplicably uncomfortable. I felt that it... it had a demonic aura!"

"Demon aura?" It was truly strange for Yu Shan to utter such a word. Hongli chuckled and said, "Yu Shan, you're not a superstitious person, so why would you think it has demonic aura?"

"I can't really explain it, but I just don't really want to wear it. I appreciate your kind offer, but I don't want to wear it. I hope you can understand."

If she really didn't like it, Hongli wouldn't force her, but her behavior was strange. Ever since she saw the ring at noon, she had been absent-minded, as if she was deep in thought.

She was clearly very curious, yet also very resistant; this contradictory attitude made Hongli increasingly suspicious.

If he pressed her further, he feared she wouldn't tell the truth. With a thousand thoughts racing through his mind, Hongli put the ring away and returned it to the box.

"Since you don't like it and think it's unlucky, I'll take it away tomorrow so it won't get in your way."

Upon hearing this, Su Yushan immediately tensed up, "Hey—how can you take back something you've given away? Even if I don't wear it, I can keep it as a collectible!"

Hongli feigned concern and said, "Doesn't it have demonic energy? What if it hurts you?"

"Then I'll have someone put it in the warehouse!"

It seems she still wants it in her heart, and doesn't truly dislike it, but she just won't reveal the reason. Hongli has already guessed her thoughts, but he doesn't want her to have her way, so he takes the opportunity to negotiate with her.

"Then wear it, and I'll keep it for you."

"..." Was he deliberately testing her? What if she disappeared after wearing it and never came back?

After hesitating for a long time, Su Yushan finally dared not agree and reluctantly refused, "Then you can take it! I don't want it."

If it's kept by her side, she might keep thinking about it; but if he takes it away, perhaps after a while she'll forget about it.

Anyway, she didn't have any family in modern times. Her parents had passed away when she was young, and she grew up with her grandmother. Her grandmother also passed away from illness when she went to college. Since then, she has lived alone and has no worries.

Now that she has settled down here, and there are too many ties to her here, Yu Shan is reluctant to leave, so she simply gave up the ring.

If he left it to her, he feared he would never know the answer. Therefore, Hongli chose to take the ring back, so that one day, if she wanted it, he could use it to get her to tell the truth.

This was the first time the congratulatory gift had been taken back. Hongli didn't want it to be like this, but he had no other choice but to force her to comply in this way.

However, Yu Shan did not fall for the trick, and Hong Li was somewhat displeased that he had not gotten what he wanted. He silently turned around and lay down, turning his back to her and lying on his side without saying a word.

The two were inseparable at that moment, but the box interrupted them. He doesn't seem to want to continue, as if he has no intention of being intimate with her anymore.

Normally, she would have felt relieved, but tonight was her birthday, and some unpleasant things had happened. His reaction made her feel bad, so she tentatively asked...

Are you angry?

After a moment of silence, Hongli sighed and replied in a low voice, "No."

She hadn't seen him like this in a long time; he was clearly sulking.

Su Yushan didn't know how to explain, so she said vaguely, "I'm not trying to hide anything from you, it's just that I have some feelings that I can't quite explain."

"If you don't want to talk about it, then don't. I won't force you."

Forcing her was pointless. He hoped she would take the initiative and confess to him; he was waiting for her to tell the truth. But she only sighed softly.

"It's getting late, time to rest, go to sleep!"

Then she turned over, and the two turned away from each other, each lost in their own thoughts. Hongli pondered the matter but could not guess the reason.

Could this ring be related to Zheng Lin?

Ke Yushan had long forgotten Zheng Lin, so if it really was a gift from Zheng Lin, she wouldn't have kept it from him.

Furthermore, this gemstone comes from abroad and is extremely rare. Even Hongli, who has seen all the treasures in the world, had never seen one before, so it is unlikely that Zheng Lin would possess it.

If it wasn't because of Zheng Lin, then why was it?

Hongli was puzzled. She wouldn't say, and he didn't want to ask her anymore.

Su Yushan was torn about whether or not to tell him.

She has no intention of going back, so what's the point of revealing her origins?

Emperors have always been suspicious. If he knew she came from another time and space, could he really accept her as before?

Lost in thought, Su Yushan felt extremely sleepy and fell asleep without realizing it.

In a half-dreaming, half-awake state, she felt someone pulling her hand. She opened her eyes groggily and was shocked to find that Hongli was holding her finger with his left hand and was putting the opal ring on her finger with his right hand!

Startled, Su Yushan cried out and tried to break free, but he held on tightly and slipped the ring onto her middle finger.

The moment the ring touched her finger, it suddenly emitted a dazzling light! Su Yushan was startled and thought to herself, "Oh no!"