Confessing to the Ice Empress, Confirming the Relationship

For several days after the incident with Ma Xiaotao, the atmosphere at Homecoming Cottage was subtly strained.

Ice Empress still went about her daily routine as usual, but when she spoke to Huo Chen, she was noticeably less casual than before, with an indescribable sense of distance added to her tone.

She no longer snapped at him at the slightest provocation like she used to, nor did she crack jokes whenever he chatted with Snow Empress. Most of the time, she simply sat quietly to the side, as though she were thinking about something.

Huo Chen saw it all and understood what was bothering her.

He knew Ice Empress's personality far too well. Having lived for four hundred thousand years and standing as one of the Extreme North's Three Heavenly Kings, she had always been proud and self-assured, never deigning to compete with anyone for anything.

But when it came to him, she had made an exception. She had set aside her pride, followed him from the Extreme North into the human world, moved into Homecoming Cottage, and become part of his life.

She never said anything aloud, but Huo Chen knew full well that her feelings for him were no less than anyone else's.

She simply could not bring herself to say them.

She was too proud—so proud that she would rather bury every emotion deep in her heart than take the initiative to say, "I care about you."

So she could only use those awkward methods to draw his attention: wandering around in front of him, asking in an indifferent tone who he had met that day, and pretending to pass by whenever he spoke with Ma Xiaotao.

Huo Chen had initially wanted to give her some time, to let her sort through those emotions on her own. But after observing her for several days, he realized that this could not go on.

Given Ice Empress's personality, if he did not take that first step, she might remain awkward forever, bottling up all her emotions until she gave herself an internal injury.

So that evening, he decided to make the first move.

The setting sun dyed Homecoming Cottage's small courtyard a warm orange. Ice Empress sat on a stone bench in the yard, holding a cup of tea as she stared blankly at the evening glow on the horizon, lost in thought.

She wore a simple ice-blue outfit that day. Her short hair swayed gently in the evening breeze, and the lines of her profile appeared especially soft beneath the sunset.

Huo Chen walked out of the house and sat on the stone bench across from her.

Ice Empress glanced at him but said nothing, continuing to drink her tea.

"Icey," Huo Chen said.

"Mm." Her gaze remained fixed on the distant sunset, her tone flat.

"Let's talk."

"About what?"

Huo Chen did not answer immediately. After several seconds of silence, he said, "You've been avoiding me these past few days."

The hand holding Ice Empress's teacup paused slightly before returning to normal. "I haven't."

"You have." Huo Chen's voice was calm yet certain. "When you used to talk to me, you looked me in the eye. Now, whenever you talk to me, your eyes are always somewhere else."

Ice Empress did not answer. She merely stared at the evening clouds on the horizon, her fingers lightly rubbing the side of her cup.

"Is it because of Ma Xiaotao?" Huo Chen asked.

Ice Empress's fingers stopped. Then she set down her teacup and rose to her feet. "I'm tired. I'm going back to my room first."

She had only taken two steps when someone caught her wrist.

Ice Empress's body stiffened slightly. Looking down at the hand around her wrist, she spoke with a trace of tension in her voice. "Let go."

"I won't." Huo Chen's tone remained calm, but his grip on her wrist was firm and gentle. "I have something to say. I'll let go once I'm done."

Ice Empress neither pulled free nor turned around. She simply stood there with her back to him, her shoulders faintly taut, as though waiting for something.

Huo Chen rose and walked around in front of her, looking straight into her eyes.

They were beautiful, cold ice-blue eyes, like an ancient frozen lake in the Extreme North. But at that moment, something beneath that sheet of ice trembled faintly, like thin ice stirred by a spring breeze.

"Icey, I know what you're thinking." Huo Chen's voice was low and gentle. "Seeing Ma Xiaotao come looking for me made you uncomfortable. You think she's more proactive than you, more willing to express her feelings, while you can't be like her. So you've started doubting your place in my heart."

Ice Empress's lips moved as though she wanted to refute him, but no words came out. Because he was right.

"There's something I want to tell you today." Huo Chen looked at her with earnest focus. "You don't need to compare yourself with anyone. Ma Xiaotao is Ma Xiaotao, and you are you. She takes the initiative because that is her personality. You don't because that is yours. But that does not affect your place in my heart."

Ice Empress's eyelashes trembled faintly, but she still said nothing.

"You followed me here from the Extreme North. You gave up your territory, gave up the way of life you had known for four hundred thousand years, and moved into this little courtyard in the human world. You never told me why, but I know."

Huo Chen's voice was soft, yet it carried a power that pierced straight into the heart. "Everything you've done, I've seen it all, and I've remembered it all."

Ice Empress's eyes reddened slightly.

She turned her face away, unwilling to let him see her expression at that moment.

But Huo Chen gave her no chance to escape. He gently cupped her cheek and turned her face back so that she had to look at him.

"Icey, I like you."

He spoke those four words softly, yet they were like a boulder crashing into a frozen lake, stirring monstrous waves within Ice Empress's heart.

Her lips parted as though she wanted to say something, but she found her voice caught in her throat. She could not utter a single word.

For four hundred thousand years, she had endured countless life-and-death battles and faced innumerable trials of heavenly tribulation. She had never feared anything.

But now, faced with this man's confession, her heart raced so fiercely it felt as though it might leap out of her chest.

Huo Chen said nothing more.

He leaned in slightly and kissed her lips.

The kiss was light, as though he feared shattering something, gentle and restrained.

Ice Empress's body suddenly stiffened. Her eyes flew wide open, and she stood completely motionless, as if she had been struck by a freezing spell.

But Huo Chen did not let her go. His palm gently cradled the back of her head as he deepened the kiss little by little.

After a few breaths—or perhaps a dozen—Ice Empress's tense body finally began to slowly relax.

She closed her eyes.

At some point, the teacup in her hand fell to the ground and shattered across the bluestone paving, tea splashing onto the hem of her skirt.

But she paid it no mind. Her hands slowly rose and gripped Huo Chen's lapels—not to push him away, but to clutch them tightly, as though afraid he might suddenly disappear.

The kiss lasted a long time.

When they finally parted, Ice Empress's eyes were completely red. Tears welled in them, yet stubbornly refused to fall.

She lowered her head and buried her face in Huo Chen's chest. Her voice was muffled, carrying a faint nasal tone. "...You bastard."

"Mm, I'm a bastard." Huo Chen gently wrapped an arm around her waist, resting his chin atop her hair. "I made you wait so long."

"It's good that you know." Ice Empress's voice remained muffled, but the hand clutching his lapels tightened even more.

The evening breeze swept through the small courtyard, stirring the branches and leaves of the plum tree in the corner with a soft rustle. The setting sun stretched their shadows long, long across the ground, overlapping like a warm silhouette.

After quite a while, Ice Empress finally lifted her head from his embrace. Her eyes were still red, but her expression had returned to its usual coolness. Beneath that cool exterior, however, there was now a hint of softness.

"That red-haired girl," she said. Her voice still carried a slight nasal tone, but her usual manner had returned. "What are you planning to do about her?"

"I'll explain things clearly to her," Huo Chen said. "But I'll need some time."

"Hmph." Ice Empress snorted, but said nothing more. Lowering her gaze to the tea stain on her skirt, she frowned. "My skirt is dirty."

"I'll wash it for you."

"Can you even wash it clean?"

"If I can't, I'll buy you a new one."

"That's more like it."

She stepped out of his embrace and bent down to pick up the shattered pieces of the teacup, moving as naturally as though nothing had happened just now.

But Huo Chen noticed that the tips of her ears were still red, like the most vibrant streaks of sunset in the evening sky.

Carrying the fragments, she walked toward the house. When she reached the doorway, she stopped without turning back.

"Huo Chen."

"Mm?"

"...Me too."

After saying that, she hurried into the house, and the door gently closed behind her.

Huo Chen stood in the courtyard, looking at the closed door as a smile slowly appeared on his lips.

The evening breeze brushed past him, stirring the loose strands of hair before his forehead. He lowered his head and looked at his right hand. Her hair's touch and warmth seemed to still linger on his fingertips.

He raised his head and gazed toward the brilliant sunset on the horizon, letting out a soft breath.