Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao walked along the streets of the Imperial Capital.
Because they were both exceptionally beautiful, especially Qin Siyao, whose beauty could topple empires, every passerby stopped to stare and sneak a few extra glances.
Neither Xiao Mo nor Qin Siyao paid it much mind.
Still, Xiao Mo truly hadn't expected that, after nearly seven years apart, the little girl who had once been barely fourteen would have grown into such a graceful young woman.
Girls changed so much as they grew up.
The saying was certainly true.
Qin Siyao was even more surprised. Back then, the little boy had been about as tall as she was—in fact, she had been half a head taller than him.
But now, she only came up to his shoulder!
Whenever she looked at him, she had to tilt her head back.
"What is it?"
Xiao Mo noticed Qin Siyao had been looking up at him for some time and asked.
"Nothing." Qin Siyao gave a little shake of her head. "I just think you've gotten so tall, Xiao Mo. I used to be taller than you."
"We were children then. We're grown now. Of course things are different." Xiao Mo smiled.
"Oh." Qin Siyao nodded, not giving it much thought.
She thought Xiao Mo was just fine as he was now.
And in Qin Siyao's eyes, though Xiao Mo had grown much taller, he was still the same person he had been before. He hadn't changed.
The two of them strolled and chatted as they went, though most of the time it was Qin Siyao telling him about what she'd experienced over the years: how Father Emperor and Mother Queen had given her a hard time, how she'd studied music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and how she'd eventually left the