An Ning and Fu Xingyi strolled, bathed in the spring sunlight.

The warm spring breeze brushed against them, filling their bodies with ease and comfort.

"Fu Xingyi." An Ning called him softly.

"Mm." Fu Xingyi’s eyes moved slightly as he looked at An Ning.

There was always tender affection in his gaze.

"Let’s live well together," An Ning suddenly said.

Fu Xingyi’s heart stirred slightly.

He hadn’t expected An Ning to suddenly say something like that.

"I’ve thought it through. We don’t need to wait half a year anymore, let’s just be together properly," An Ning said bluntly. "I know very clearly that everything we once had, I could never truly put it down."

Fu Xingyi’s eyes seemed to grow a little red.

An Ning lowered her gaze.

It was she who had betrayed this relationship; now she ought to make amends.

"But I really did go through a lot in between, and I did meet another man..."

"I don’t care." Fu Xingyi cut her off directly, urgency in his eyes. "It was my absence that gave you the chance to have another man. This isn’t your fault."

"Listen to me first." An Ning looked at Fu Xingyi.

"Go on," Fu Xingyi was still agitated.

His eyes were still very red.

An Ning thought, if not for her wavering heart, Fu Xingyi wouldn’t have reached this point.

Feelings are selfish by nature.

As long as she had stayed at ease by Fu Xingyi’s side, he would still be the same Fu Xingyi as before.

What’s more, Fu Xingyi’s identity now was no longer simply himself; he was also the emperor of the Daxuan Kingdom. His stability meant the stability of the entire Daxuan Kingdom.

In truth, she’d had no choice from the very beginning. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

It was only her naïve belief that she could still struggle for something else.

The way things were now was actually the best ending.

It was good for everyone.

The only person she was truly letting down was... Xiao Jinxing.

Compared to all the people under heaven, sacrificing just him alone—was that not worth it...

"What I mean is, I did, in the end, once entrust my feelings to someone else, and he and I went through a lot, a lot..." An Ning’s voice carried a slight choke, but very quickly grew serene again as she continued, "So it’s not that easy for me to just pull my feelings back right away. I hope that between us, we can start over—start again as lovers, slowly find our way back to what we once had. I hope you can give me more time, to let me forget what used to be!"

She was treating everything that had happened between her and Xiao Jinxing as nothing more than a fleeting dream.

When the dream ended, it would vanish into smoke.

"Alright." Fu Xingyi didn’t hesitate at all and agreed in one breath.

He grabbed An Ning’s hand in one motion.

He clutched her hand tightly in his palm and promised, "I won’t push you, I won’t force you to accept me right away. As long as you’re willing to work at this with me, I believe we’ll definitely be able to get back to what we once were."

An Ning nodded and said, "So, Fu Xingyi, when it comes to things between us, let’s stop involving anyone else. From now on, between you and me, let’s not let anyone interfere anymore, alright?"

Fu Xingyi’s eyes paused for a moment.

In that instant, he understood what An Ning was hinting at.

So she knew about what happened last night, did she?!

She knew he’d sent someone to kill Lin Zichan?!

A trace of emotion finally slipped through Fu Xingyi’s usually restrained face.

Fu Xingyi, in the end, was not Xiao Jinxing.

Xiao Jinxing had grown up in an environment of schemes and calculations, and had long since trained himself to remain utterly impassive no matter what. Even with a Sword to his throat, he wouldn’t so much as furrow his brows. But Fu Xingyi was different—anything he couldn’t control would be written all over his face.

Fu Xingyi forced himself to stay calm.

He couldn’t accept even the slightest crack in the perfection he presented before An Ning.

He would feel... humiliated.

Yet from yesterday until just now, he had always thought that An Ning knew nothing, that she could never have hidden it this well. So in these years, besides falling out of love with him, had An Ning also learned so many other things?!

There was obvious embarrassment on Fu Xingyi’s face.

An Ning took the initiative to hold Fu Xingyi’s hand.

She knew Fu Xingyi’s temperament—he didn’t want her to see his dark side. From the start of their relationship, his kindness to her had always been clean and pure, without any taint. Doing this behind her back would make him feel utterly ashamed.

"What’s past is past," An Ning said, letting go of everything. "I betrayed our relationship too."

An Ning was saying:

She had been the first to be at fault, so she could understand everything he had done.

And she would also let go of everything he had done.

Fu Xingyi pulled An Ning straight into his arms and held her tightly, saying from the bottom of his heart, "An Ning, thank you!"