"A gift? Really?" Zhu Lu asked delightedly.
She did not care what the gift was. As long as it came from Tian Chen, she would love it, even if it was just a flower!
"Here! This is it!" Tian Chen took out a heart-shaped soul bone.
"This is an external soul bone! The Netherworld Heart. It suits your martial soul quite well! Giving it to you now is like giving you my heart!" Tian Chen said as he placed the soul bone in Zhu Lu's hands.
"An external soul bone? For me? This has to be a joke, right?" Zhu Lu's eyes widened as she stared incredulously at the heart-shaped soul bone in her hands.
"It's real, sweetheart!" Tian Chen said, drawing Zhu Lu's soft, delicate body into a tight embrace.
"Thank you, Brother Tian Chen!" Zhu Lu rested quietly in her lover's arms, tears involuntarily spilling from the corners of her eyes.
She could not believe any of this. It all felt too unreal!
Ever since she was little, she had followed Dai Huabin around like an obedient dog, laying her heart bare to him and never doing anything to wrong him.
Yet all she had received in return was Dai Huabin's disdain and exploitation. He had begrudged her even a single word of genuine concern.
Back then, she had believed that clinging to someone strong was where she belonged. Only after meeting Tian Chen had she learned what it felt like to be cherished.
In such a short time, she had found happiness that ordinary people might never attain in several lifetimes.
"Thank you, Brother Tian Chen." Zhu Lu raised her head, gazing at Tian Chen with love that seemed ready to overflow.
*Being held by him makes me so happy. Is this what being loved feels like?