The path down the mountain was rather steep. Shen Yangge held the reins in a death grip to keep himself from being thrown off the horse.
He wove through the woods and galloped across the grassland, the breeze tangling his black hair. When his horse leaped over a stream, the violent jolt dislodged the jade crown securing his hair, and his ink-black locks spilled loose.
Threads of worry lingered in his eyes, impossible to wipe away or dispel.
Even he himself had not noticed.
Listening to his pounding heart and the wind whistling past his ears, Shen Yangge recalled the moments before he had left Chu Xuanzhen's side.
He had kissed Chu Xuanzhen.
Though, at the time, he had only been a bird.
His surprise at taking the initiative had become... a love that had begun without his knowing and only grown deeper.
Shen Yangge reached the great river he had to swim across. He dismounted and gazed at its fathomless waters, remembering how Chu Xuanzhen had risked death to save him.
It was in this very river that he had sought kisses from Chu Xuanzhen, sought breath and air.
What had he been thinking then?
He had wondered, Would the two of us die together?
Shen Yangge drew a breath, closed his eyes, and said softly:
"System, I knew from the beginning that I was someone from outside this book. I also knew that sooner or later, I would leave this place. But I..."
He opened his eyes again and walked toward the river, the sand and mud beneath his feet making faint sounds. Suddenly, with a sense of release, he said, "But I've fallen hopelessly in love with someone in the book."
"I love Chu Xuanzhen."
He was certain. "I love him."
To him, Chu Xuanzhen was no