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Gu Bei lay with his eyes closed, his head tilted slightly, revealing a scar that stood out prominently.
The skin around the scar was somewhat twisted, indicating the severity of the injury he had sustained.
Ye Xiaohan couldn't help but reach out, gently brushing her fingers over the scar, feeling a pang of sympathy.
As her fingers moved lightly, Gu Bei's eyelashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes.
"Awake?" Gu Bei took her fingers in his hand, gently enclosing them in his palm.
Ye Xiaohan suddenly felt a bit shy, realizing that a smile had unconsciously formed at the corners of her lips.
"Your hands are so cold." Ye Xiaohan placed her other hand on top, testing Gu Bei's body temperature. He had been foolishly leaning by the bed all night; while he wasn't freezing, the nighttime temperature was still a bit low.
Fortunately, despite his brain being filled with muscle, his physical condition was quite good, and he hadn't caught a cold.
Gu Bei seemed to enjoy the moment, allowing Ye Xiaohan to fuss over him.
However, once she confirmed that he was fine, Ye Xiaohan quickly withdrew her hand, bringing an end to Gu Bei's private indulgence.
"Are you hungry?" Gu Bei stood up. "I'll make you some breakfast."
"Wait, I'll go." Ye Xiaohan reached out to pull Gu Bei back and used that momentum to lift herself off the bed. Gu Bei watched her insist on getting up despite clearly wanting to stay in bed and found it amusing. He exerted a little effort to help her up.
As Ye Xiaohan prepared to change clothes, she suddenly remembered that Gu Bei was still in the room. He had blended into the environment so well that she almost forgot and began to unbutton her shirt.
"What are you staring at? Hurry up and get out!" Ye Xiaohan shot him a glare and pushed the utterly unashamed Gu Bei out of the door. "Shameless!"
Gu Bei leaned more towards being practical; he didn't say much to coax her but sometimes surprised her with unexpected actions that made her blush and her heart race.
After changing clothes and stepping outside, she found that Gu Bei had also changed and was waiting for her by the door.
Ye Xiaohan decided to give herself a break and skip work for the morning. She had been diligent almost every day; taking a day off now and then was only fair.
Feeling inspired, she decided to prepare a Western-style breakfast instead of the usual congee and vegetables she often made.
She had never served these dishes in the restaurant and rarely cooked them at home. The main reason was that Western cuisine was quite different from Chinese food, and she felt there was a risk of being exposed. Ye Xiaohan didn't want to take that chance.
Gu Bei found these novel dishes quite interesting, but his thoughts were entirely focused on Ye Xiaohan. In truth, he didn't care much about what was served; his attention was solely on her.
Just a glance exchanged between them conveyed the warmth flowing between them.
As she savored the rare moment of tranquility, it was soon shattered.
"General, there's an urgent matter at the military camp. Please return as soon as possible!" Gu Da rushed into the house early in the morning to report on the situation at the camp.
Gu Bei had not even finished chewing his fried egg when he instinctively stood up.
"I'll be back soon." He cast a reluctant glance at Ye Xiaohan, lowered his voice to say goodbye, and hurried off with Gu Da.
Ye Xiaohan watched them leave and returned to her seat alone, staring at the remaining breakfast on her plate. After a moment, she picked up a fork and rolled some noodles from Gu Bei's plate onto her own, putting them in her mouth to chew.
The noodles had already begun to cool, leaving Ye Xiaohan feeling somewhat lost.
Clearly, there had been countless brief separations like this before, yet back then, she hadn't thought much of it. Was it simply a change in mindset that created such a significant difference?
Ye Xiaohan found herself puzzled.
Once Gu Bei became busy, he was consumed by his work. There were several times when she couldn't catch even a glimpse of him for days. Only in the mornings would she notice signs that he had hurried back during the night.
Concerned for his health, Ye Xiaohan reluctantly advised Gu Bei not to rush back and forth so much; instead of spending that time traveling, he should rest.
However, Gu Bei would never agree. He continued to carve out time to check on Ye Xiaohan. Even if it was just a glance at her sleeping face, it brought him a sense of peace.
While Gu Bei was preoccupied with official duties, Murong Jing seemed to have nothing pressing to attend to.
Or perhaps Murong Jing had always been idle, stirring up trouble everywhere. Now, he focused all his scattered energy on Ye Xiaohan.
On the second day after the Lantern Festival, Murong Jing sent a box of rare treasures. There were coral from the South Sea as tall as a person, ancient pearls from Cold River, and a dazzling array of items, many of which looked expensive but were unrecognizable.
However, these dazzling treasures only felt like needles to Ye Xiaohan, pricking her all over and causing her discomfort.
No matter how valuable these items were, just thinking about the person who sent them and their purpose made Ye Xiaohan uninterested; she only felt it was a hassle.
The box of treasures was immediately returned without her even keeping it for a moment.
She thought that after this rejection, Murong Jing would stop pursuing her. However, seeing Murong Jing's persistence, he continued to send gifts every day.
Exotic treasures, precious herbs, rare antiques—each item was worth a fortune.
One, two, three.
Murong Jing and Ye Xiaohan were like competitors in a tug-of-war; one kept sending gifts while the other kept returning them, neither willing to compromise.
After several days of this back-and-forth, Ye Xiaohan could no longer endure it.
She went to find Murong Jing and confronted him directly, hoping he would relent and not make things difficult for both of them.
“Third Prince, this is what was sent today; I brought it back for you. Please have a look.” Ye Xiaohan opened a box filled with countless treasures.
Murong Jing didn’t even glance at the box; he simply focused intently on Ye Xiaohan. “Why do you insist on this? Although these things may not be worth much, they are my sincere intentions. Since I’ve given them to you, you should accept them.”
“I don’t need them.” Ye Xiaohan had interacted with Murong Jing enough to understand his character. She knew that if she didn’t refuse him clearly and decisively, it would only lead to more trouble.
Ye Xiaohan sincerely said, “Third Prince, I truly consider you a friend, but only as such—nothing more. If you still wish to be friends with me, let’s meet again at the tavern in the future; I will definitely treat you to good wine.”
If she couldn’t suppress any inappropriate feelings in her heart, then there would be no friendship left to maintain.
Murong Jing was a clever person, and he certainly guessed the unspoken part of the conversation.
"Boss Ye, there's no need to rush," Murong Jing smiled. "A matter as significant as this should be considered carefully. If you need more time to think, I will patiently wait."
Ye Xiaohan frowned in displeasure. This Third Prince acted solely based on his own interests, completely disregarding the feelings of others.
"No need to wait any longer. No matter how much time passes, my answer will remain the same," Ye Xiaohan stated firmly. "I am worlds apart from the Third Prince; we are not a suitable match. Let's not bring this up again."
Yet Murong Jing only smiled and said, "You don't understand now, but I won't hold it against you. Once you become a princess, you'll naturally realize that following me is your correct choice."
His attitude of certainty made Ye Xiaohan realize that even if she continued to argue with him, no conclusion would come of it. She decisively turned and walked away.
Behind her, Murong Jing kept his gaze fixed on her retreating figure. Even long after she had left, he continued to watch the direction she had gone.
Ye Xiaohan did not hide this from Gu Bei; even if she wanted to, she couldn't keep it a secret. When Murong Jing sent gifts, he did so openly, almost as if he were announcing it to the world.
Gu Bei understood that this was not Ye Xiaohan's fault. In fact, she was the one being harassed, and Gu Bei felt a pang of sympathy for her.
However, on another level, even though he understood rationally, emotionally he still felt a twinge of jealousy, like he had consumed an entire jar of vinegar.
To avoid adding to his own unhappiness regarding this matter, Gu Bei did not show his feelings in front of Ye Xiaohan but instead kept a close eye on Murong Jing in secret.
As for Ye Xiaohan, she looked at the large box that had been delivered early in the morning and found herself lacking even the desire to open it.
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