This was Li Hua's heaviest and deepest promise. After Li Hua finished speaking, it was as if a huge weight had finally been lifted from his heart, and he felt much lighter.

Gan Qiongying closed her eyes, feeling the softness and warmth on her forehead, and her heart felt as if a warm current was flowing through it: "I believe you."

She truly believed in Li Hua. Gan Qiongying believed not in Li Hua's stance, but in Li Hua's character.

How could a kind and gentle person do something as heinous as instigating war?

"You can trust me too."

Gan Qiongying looked at Li Hua and said, "There are some things I can't tell you yet, but what I can tell you is that you are far more important to me than you think."

"You will be a part of my future, in the life I plan."

"Can you understand me?" Gan Qiongying gazed into Li Hua's eyes, looking into his clear, autumn-water-like eyes.

Li Hua lay there looking at Gan Qiongying. When she heard Gan Qiongying say that she had already planned her future, she couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat, and then warm tears streamed down her cheeks and into her hair.

"Hmm..." He hummed in response, his voice trembling slightly, afraid that if he was even a second too late, he would miss the promise Gan Qiongying had made to him for life.

That's enough.

Gan Qiongying's words were enough for Li Hua.

The two of them moved forward at the same time, their trembling lips touching, and it was another earth-shattering, breathtaking soul-entwining experience.

This kiss was exceptionally long, exceptionally warm, and exceptionally tender.

When their lips parted, their breathing became rapid. Gan Qiongying's eyes were filled with tears, just like Li Hua's, reflecting each other's image, as if there was nothing else in the world.

Li Hua gently pecked Gan Qiongying again, pressed his forehead against hers, and looked at her with eyes full of intense affection, asking her, "Do you prefer me as I am now, or do you prefer me with a mask on?"

What Li Hua really wanted to say was that if Gan Qiongying liked the way he looked with the mask on, he really wouldn't mind wearing the mask for the rest of his life.

Gan Qiongying gave him the best answer: "I like them all, as long as it's you, I like them all."

Sweet words have never sounded like celestial music as they do now, making one feel as if they could instantly ascend to godhood just by listening to them.

Li Hua took a deep breath, leaned forward, and stretched out his arms to hug Gan Qiongying tightly, so tightly that Gan Qiongying's bones ached.

She was also excited, infected by Li Hua's passionate emotions, and even her blood was flowing faster.

Just as she was about to reach a critical point and suddenly explode, Li Hua abruptly released her.

After touching her face, he lay back down, and a moment later, he restrained himself and placed a kiss on Gan Qiongying's forehead.

He said, "It's really too late, we should get some rest. Tomorrow... uh!"

Li Hua suddenly exclaimed in surprise, because Gan Qiongying's hand had reached into his blanket again and grabbed him with a hint of annoyance.

"Are you even capable? I was trying to follow your pace, but what kind of pace are you using?"

"We've come this far, you're in this state, and you're still telling me you want to sleep?"

Gan Qiongying, her face and lips flushed, glared at Li Hua and asked, "What's going on, little brother?"

Li Hua was so startled that he half-propped himself up from the bed, but the blanket was still wrapped tightly around him.

If someone were to push the door open at this moment, they wouldn't even be able to tell what kind of "life-or-death" situation the two of them are in now.

Gan Qiongying did not want to appear like a lecherous demon; she always felt that she was not lecherous.

Even Liu Xiahui had a wife and daughters; he just didn't have affairs, not that he didn't have any.

Even in this state, Li Hua still wants to sleep. Gan Qiongying was both amused and exasperated. She grabbed Li Hua and pulled her hard, saying, "Just tell me, are you even capable? Have you studied everything I told you to study properly?"

"Didn't you take it to heart at all? Didn't I tell you that once I leave the palace, we'll... become a real couple?"

"So this is what you've done..." He'd already taken his clothes off, kicked them off the blanket long ago, and now they were just piled up on the floor.

So Li Hua just left her hanging like that?

Gan Qiongying really wanted to throw off the blanket and pounce on him with a howl.

But in the end, she didn't, because she is indeed quite thin now, and her collarbone area is almost like a washboard. It's more attractive to be partially covered up.

The two stared at each other for a moment, until the veins on Li Hua's forehead bulged from being gripped so tightly. He looked at Gan Qiongying in disbelief, and finally, a man's possessiveness and a storm began to gather in his eyes.

"I just... feel sorry for you." Li Hua was indeed heartbroken that Gan Qiongying was too thin.

"I studied hard."

"But you...I..."

"What do you mean by 'you, me,' and 'me'?!"

Gan Qiongying pinched his back so hard that he almost jumped out of the blanket. His eyes, which had been fixed on Gan Qiongying, changed completely, becoming fierce and dark.

Even at this point, he still asked, "It's too late tonight, are you sure?"

In the blink of an eye, his voice had become so hoarse that it was almost unbearable to hear, carrying with it a surging tide of emotion as powerful as an avalanche, which swept over Gan Qiongying.

In early autumn, dawn breaks early; it's almost daylight.

Gan Qiongying snorted and said, "Even if we indulge in debauchery in broad daylight, do you dare not? We are acting legally!"

In fact, her heart trembled, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, giving her the chill of being stared at by a hungry wolf.

Moreover, Li Hua's gaze was a little... a little unsettling for Gan Qiongying. It wasn't quite frightening, but it made her want to run away.

Li Hua realized he had frightened Gan Qiongying, so he closed his eyes, grabbed Gan Qiongying's wrist and twisted it. Gan Qiongying immediately lost her strength, and with a hard tug, she cried out "Ah!" and was pulled directly onto his quilt by Li Hua.

The two fell face to face, their eyes locked, and invisible sparks crackled and scattered, like fireworks exploding in the sky, or like thunder that had been brewing outside for a long time and finally crashed down.

He ripped the blanket off between them, glanced down at Gan Qiongying's condition, and his eyes were practically bleeding.

The gauze curtains at the head of the bed rolled down with the sudden rain and wind outside. Through the window, one could not see the torrential rain outside, but only the wet traces left by raindrops crawling across the window, winding and converging into a snake.

Like lovers embracing tightly behind a veil.