Xue'er, Would You Be My Fiancée?

Qian Renxue's fingers tightened slightly around her teacup, and her gaze suddenly grew distant.

Every word Qin Yao said had struck a chord deep in her heart.

Was she tired?

How could she not be?

Since the age of nine, she had abandoned the identity of "Qian Renxue" and lived behind the mask of "Xue Qinghe." She had learned men's manners, imitated the way men thought, and tread carefully through the enormous quagmire that was the Heaven Dou Empire.

Everything she did was to prove something to that woman.

To prove that she, Qian Renxue, was a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times more outstanding than Hu Liena, the disciple Bibi Dong valued so highly!

Qian Renxue had always wondered: why?

Why did her own mother never love her? Why did all the love that should have been hers belong to that woman, Hu Liena?

Bibi Dong had poured all her patience and affection into Hu Liena. That motherly love should have been hers. But all Qian Renxue had ever received was coldness and rejection.

That was why she had set this infiltration plan in motion. She would personally place the entire Heaven Dou Empire at Spirit Hall's feet. She would make that woman see who the most outstanding heir to Spirit Hall really was!

It was the deepest fixation in her heart, and a wound she had never spoken of to anyone.

As she sat there, lost in thought, Qin Yao's voice sounded again.

"Xue'er, actually, I know why you insisted on infiltrating this place."

Qian Renxue snapped back to her senses. She raised her head, disbelief filling her golden eyes.

H-How could he know?

Even Grandpa only thought she was doing it for Spirit Hall's cause!

Qin Yao gave her no time to think further.

He rose and slowly walked over to her.

In the moonlight, his tall figure cast a shadow that completely enveloped Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue instinctively tried to step back, only to realize she had nowhere left to go.

Qin Yao reached out and seized her wrist without the slightest hesitation.

The warmth of his touch traveled from her wrist, making Qian Renxue shiver all over.

The next moment, an irresistible force pulled her straight into his arms.

Thump.

Her forehead struck his firm chest with a soft sound.

A familiar yet unfamiliar heat, mingled with the faint scent of Purple Fire, enveloped her in an instant.

Qian Renxue's mind went completely blank.

S-She had been forcibly pulled into the arms of a boy ten years younger than her?

"Y-You, let go!"

Qian Renxue's cheeks instantly flushed crimson. She planted both hands against Qin Yao's chest and struggled with all her might.

Her indignation made her forget, for a moment, the vast difference in strength between them.

But Qin Yao simply held Qian Renxue in his arms.

Qin Yao lowered his head slightly and gazed at her quietly with his purple eyes.

Under his gaze, Qian Renxue's struggles gradually ceased.

In those eyes, she saw no frivolity or desire. All she saw was a "heartache" she couldn't understand.

Why did he look so heartbroken?

All the disguises, all the strength, all the grievances she had carried over the years were shattered in that moment by a single, simple look.

Suddenly, Qian Renxue's body went limp. The pride and fixation that had carried her forward for more than a decade were drained away.

She stopped struggling and simply leaned weakly against Qin Yao.

Only when he felt Qian Renxue fall completely still in his arms did Qin Yao speak again.

"Xue'er, I know you started this infiltration plan because you wanted to accomplish something that would impress His Holiness the Pope."

"You wanted to prove you were better than Hu Liena. You wanted to take back what should have been yours."

"You wanted her to regret it. You wanted her to see you."

Every word was like a key, unlocking the chains that had long been sealed away in Qian Renxue's heart.

Her body stiffened. She even forgot to breathe.

He knew everything.

He really knew everything.

Could it be... that he's always liked me?

Qin Yao tightened his arms, drawing Qian Renxue even closer against him.

He lowered his head, his lips almost brushing her ear, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Xue'er, you've worked so hard all these years."

At that moment, Qian Renxue's mind went blank. The taut string that had held fast for over a decade finally snapped.

A scorching tear slipped uncontrollably from the corner of her eye and quickly vanished into the black fabric of his clothes.

Qian Renxue could no longer hold back. She clutched the front of Qin Yao's shirt with both hands and buried her face against his chest. The grievances she had suppressed for more than a decade burst forth like floodwaters breaking through a dam.

She didn't wail. She only wept in silence.

Qin Yao said nothing more. He simply held her quietly, letting her tears soak through his clothes.

He raised one hand and gently, soothingly, patted her back.

After a long while, Qian Renxue's sobs finally began to subside.

She lifted her head from his arms. Her golden phoenix eyes were red from crying, and there was a hint of pitiful vulnerability in them.

Qin Yao raised a hand and gently wiped away the tears lingering on her cheek with his fingertip.

"You feel much better after letting it out."

Qian Renxue looked at him and asked in a hoarse voice thick with tears:

"H-How did you know all that?"

Qin Yao gazed at her beautiful, reddened eyes and answered softly:

"Because I've always been watching you, Xue'er. Because I've always liked you."

Qian Renxue froze completely.

Liked me?

Her mind even conjured the image of a little boy from years ago, following Fourth Worship around with purple hair and an expressionless face, yet always sneaking glances at her.

How old was he back then?

Looking at the young man before her, now a head taller than she was, tall and broad-shouldered, with sharp features, Qian Renxue suddenly found it hard to believe.

The tension that had held her taut finally relaxed completely. The grievances she had borne for over a decade had found an outlet, and now Qin Yao was declaring his feelings in the most direct way possible.

Qian Renxue couldn't help but burst out laughing. Tears still clung to her eyelashes, but a smile had already bloomed on her face.

"You were so little back then. You really were a cheeky little thing."

She raised a hand to wipe her cheek, her tone carrying a teasing intimacy she hadn't even noticed herself.

But Qin Yao wasn't pleased.

He raised an eyebrow and stepped closer, leaving barely any space between them.

"I'm not little!"

Qian Renxue's smile froze. How could she not hear the double meaning?

A rush of heat shot from her neck to her cheeks, staining her snow-white skin a lovely pink.

Seeing Qian Renxue's flustered yet helpless expression, Qin Yao's smile grew even more pronounced.

He didn't give her a chance to react. Seizing the moment, he asked with utmost seriousness, enunciating every word:

"Xue'er, would you be my fiancée?"