"What is this drawing?" Gu Qinghuai stood up slightly, walked behind Lin Xihe, and looked at the crisscrossing lines on the paper with curiosity in his eyes.

"Just a random drawing, nothing special."

Lin Xihe didn't even look up, her pen still moving freely in her hand, and casually replied.

In reality, she was drawing a maze, but she really didn't have any talent for drawing; she was just looking for something to pass the long days.

Although she possessed the original owner's memories, she failed to inherit those exquisite skills, and the things she painted were worlds apart from those of the original owner.

Gu Qinghuai stood quietly to the side and watched, without asking any further questions, but his gaze never left her.

After Lin Xihe finished drawing, she even marked the entrance and exit on the paper with great seriousness. The handwriting was crooked and messy. If the Lin Xihe of the past had seen it, she probably would have written it with her feet rather than with such messy handwriting.

At this moment, Gu Qinghuai turned and walked to the bookshelf. He gently took down the wooden box and carefully opened it.

The box was opened, and a scroll painting came into view.

He held the scroll in both hands, slowly walked back to Lin Xihe's side, and said softly, "Open it."

Xihe glanced up and saw that the paper used to mount the scroll looked very familiar; it was the same paper that the original owner had personally chosen.

The scroll contained a poem titled "Spring Banquet" that the original owner had written for Gu Qinghuai.

"At the spring banquet, we drink a cup of green wine and sing a song. I bow again and make three wishes: first, that my beloved may live a thousand years; second, that I may always be healthy; and third, that we may be like swallows on the beam, meeting year after year."

Lin Xihe parted her lips slightly and recited the poem directly without reaching out to take the scroll.

Her gaze unconsciously swept over the ugly drawing paper in her hand, then looked at the carefully framed scroll that Gu Qinghuai had specially presented, and she understood that Gu Qinghuai was intentionally testing her.

Seeing that Lin Xihe knew the contents of the scroll even before opening it, Gu Qinghuai felt a pang of self-reproach, secretly blaming himself for having any doubts.

It was confirmed yesterday that the person in front of me is Lin Xihe, only her personality and heart have changed.

"You still remember?" Gu Qinghuai murmured softly, his tone tinged with a hint of wistfulness.

“How could I not remember?” Lin Xihe said calmly, as if she were talking about a trivial matter. “I searched for a long time before I found this paper for mounting the calligraphy.”

After saying that, she put down her brush, picked up the painting she had just finished, and gently blew on it.

"Gu Qinghuai, you like the me of the past, when I was proficient in poetry and prose. But I don't like those things anymore, and I never will. The me of the future will be just like the one you see right now. So, you should also consider whether the person you like is still the one in front of you."

Lin Xihe looked up at Gu Qinghuai, her eyes revealing a hint of composure.

After Lin Xihe finished speaking, she put the paper down again. She felt that she had made her meaning clear enough and only hoped that Gu Qinghuai could calm down and examine his own feelings.

She picked up the paperweight and placed it firmly on the drawing paper to prevent it from being blown away by the wind, then walked gracefully to the window.

I gently pushed the window open, and in an instant, a chilling blast of air, carrying snowflakes, rushed in.

Lin Xihe's gaze naturally turned to the window, where she saw a world of silver and white, with snowflakes fluttering and dancing wildly, like a dream.

Her gaze shifted slightly downwards, landing on the guards standing quietly at the door. Their figures appeared even more upright and resolute in the cold wind, yet also conveyed a sense of loneliness.

"Would you like to come in and sit for a while? It's so cold outside." Lin Xihe's heart softened, and she leaned out slightly, calling out to the guards. Her voice cut through the cold air, carrying a hint of concern and warmth.

Inside, the stove crackled and popped, its warm heat filling every corner, creating a stark contrast to the icy, snowy world outside—it was like heaven and earth.

“Miss Xie Lin, we are not cold.” Upon hearing this, the guards immediately replied in unison, their voices loud and clear.

Lin Xihe felt a chill creeping down her neck, so she quickly pulled her head back and closed the window again.

She quickly went to the stove to warm her hands.

Gu Qinghuai saw all of this. He walked to the door and instructed the guards outside: "Leave one person to guard the courtyard, and rotate shifts every hour."

"Yes, General."

The guards outside quickly responded, their voices carrying a hint of surprise, but mostly an undisguised joy.

These people had followed Gu Qinghuai to guard the northern border for several years. The winters there were much colder than here, with ice and snow and fierce winds. Standing guard was their duty, and they never complained no matter how hard or tiring it was.

Lin Xihe's heartwarming concern just now made Gu Qinghuai feel that the current situation did not need to be as harsh as it was in the army.

Looking at Lin Xihe, who was completely different from before, Gu Qinghuai felt a slight ripple in his heart. He thought to himself that it was quite good for her to be so lively and carefree now.