As though she had seen through the hesitation and conflict in his heart, the woman smiled faintly. Her gaze was gentle and clear as she calmly revealed her true origin:
"My husband need not hesitate."
"I am Chang Xi, and I am also Chang'e.
"The obsession I once bore in the Mortal World, the loneliness I endured in the Moon Palace—it was all me. Now, having become whole and returned to one, stepping down from the moon and back into the mortal realm—it is still me. From beginning to end, I have always been your wife, your beloved."
With those words, the barriers between identities that had endured for ages, along with the knots and grievances of a thousand years, were completely dissolved.
In that instant, Houyi finally let go. A clean, gentle smile slowly curved his lips.
That smile was pure and warm, sincere and tender—softer than peach blossoms blooming brilliantly across the mountains, brighter than falling petals dancing through the sky. It held the fulfillment of long-held wishes, the gentleness of peaceful years, and the certainty of spending a lifetime together.
Chang Xi looked upon his long-missed gentle smile, her eyes curving as she smiled happily as well.
As she smiled, scalding tears quietly slipped from the corners of her eyes.
These were not bitter tears of parting, nor tears of pain born from repressed obsession. They were tears of happiness, shed after crossing ages of separation, enduring a thousand years of loneliness, and finally being reunited.
Her tears rolled down softly, flooding her heart with warmth. All the hardships of the past, all the distant gazes, all the years of suffering alone—at this moment, they had all been worth it.
She raised her hand to take the warm peach blossom mooncake from Houyi, her fingertips brushing the