XXI: This Beau And Their First Heartache

Murong Chi can't get rid of the empress' words in her mind. Does she mean to say that she loves Xu Zhengming? Well, she's somehow concerned about him since he's her friend but...

Now that she thinks about it, Xu Zhengming is always treating her well. Although he's forced to come with her at first, he willingly sneaks out with her later on. From their first hunting 'together', she figured out that Xu Zhengming isn't into hunting but he's still willing to follow her.

Then she just figured out how he follows him around wherever she wants to go. Whenever she climbs trees, he's always reminding her to be careful not to fall and watch for insects. Whenever she's trying to catch fish in the river, he's always following her with their shoes in his hands. Whenever she's running across the woods, he tries his best to catch up and match her pace.

And most of all, he's the one who can bring out her real self. With him, she can be careless, be free, be herself. He saw right