Zi Linling was immensely touched.
A man, and a man as noble as an immortal at that, willing to immerse himself in the mundane world for her, how could she not be moved?
She gazed at Ye Lingyuan's exquisitely beautiful face with shining eyes, unmoving.
Ye Lingyuan chuckled, "Lin'er, is there something on my face?"
Zi Linling nodded and said, "There's dust on your face, let me wipe it off for you!"
Ye Lingyuan was a head and a half taller than her, and she had to stand on her tiptoes with effort to reach him.
Seeing her struggle, Ye Lingyuan naturally bent down.
Zi Linling suddenly threw her arms around Ye Lingyuan's neck and quickly brushed her lips against his thin lips, then pulled away.
Then, she let out a string of bell-like laughter, her face flushed, and retreated into the room where she slept.
This unexpected 'benefit' caught Ye Lingyuan by surprise.
He froze for a moment, then, as if savoring the taste, licked his lips, a curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
An hour later, through Ye Lingyuan's persistent efforts, two dishes and a bowl of congee were finally presented before Zi Linling.
However, both the dishes and the congee looked rather strange.
The dishes were dark and murky, the congee had black specks in it, and it carried a burnt aroma.
Zi Linling took a bite and almost spat it out. But seeing Ye Lingyuan's expectant gaze, she finally managed to swallow it down, forcing herself to do so.
As she swallowed, it almost brought tears to her eyes.
Ye Lingyuan, seeing her pained expression, frowned and tasted it himself.
"Ptooey!"
He disdainfully threw down his chopsticks, then snatched Zi Linling's away, saying with heartache, "Lin'er, I've wronged you!"
Zi Linling smiled and said, "How could you have wronged me? I'm already overjoyed that a man is willing to cook for me!"
Ye Lingyuan said dejectedly, "Lin'er, please don't try to comfort me!"
Zi Linling held his hand and smiled, "Ye Lingyuan, I'm not comforting you, I truly feel a sense of happiness blossoming in my heart.
You must have guessed it long ago, I am not Zi Linling, or rather, I am not the Zi Linling everyone knows. I am a lonely soul from another world."
Ye Lingyuan looked surprised. "A lonely soul from another world?"
Zi Linling nodded and said, "In our world, there are no cultivators, only ordinary people. And these ordinary people adhere to monogamy, and their greatest wish in love is to find one person to grow old with, never to be separated."
"To find one person to grow old with, never to be separated! To find one person to grow old with, never to be separated! To find..."
This phrase echoed endlessly in Ye Lingyuan's mind.
He finally understood why Zi Linling had insisted on a three-month trial period when he asked her to be his princess.
He finally understood why Zi Linling had demanded a lifelong monogamous relationship back then.
So, she had grown up with such values.
"I was once one of those ordinary people. I used to think that the man I married in the future wouldn't need to be exceptionally wealthy, but he must make me feel happy."
Zi Linling seemed lost in memory, her gaze appearing to pierce through time.
"How can I make you feel happy?" Ye Lingyuan asked with trepidation.
He was afraid he wasn't doing enough, afraid he wouldn't meet Zi Linling's standards.
Zi Linling paused and said, "When I first arrived here, I thought happiness was: 'Someone to see me off at dusk, someone to ask about my congee's warmth'."
As she uttered these fourteen words, a hint of melancholy fell upon her.
This melancholy was not just her emotion, but also the sorrow of the original owner.
The original owner's sorrow stemmed from having relatives yet feeling like she didn't, while her emotion was the helplessness of having relatives separated by vast distances.
As a lonely soul in this strange place, she was like an orphan, unable to blend into anyone's circle, and deliberately preventing others from entering hers.
That kind of loneliness, one would never understand unless they experienced it themselves.
Ye Lingyuan affectionately pulled her into his embrace, "Lin'er, you still have me!"
Zi Linling withdrew the sadness from her eyes and smiled sweetly, "Yes! I still have you! You who are willing to immerse yourself in the mundane world for me!"
She nestled quietly in Ye Lingyuan's arms, letting the surroundings fall into silence.
The food on the table was still unpalatable, but it couldn't hide the taste of happiness.
"Ye Lingyuan, thank you!"
Zi Linling's voice, seemingly a whisper, broke the surrounding tranquility.
"Silly girl, we never need that word between us, do we?" Ye Lingyuan said dotingly.
"Ye Lingyuan, when I find my way home one day, I'll take you home with me!"
"Okay!"
"Ye Lingyuan, do you know? I can feel that Azure Star and our world have subtle connections. So, I will definitely find my way home!"
"Mm!"
"Ye Lingyuan, when we get home, you'll definitely like it there, right?"
"Yes!"
"Ye Lingyuan..."
As night fell, the stars shone brilliantly.
The two lay side-by-side on the rooftop, gazing at the night sky.
"Ye Lingyuan, where did this courtyard come from?"
"I bought it!"
"It must have cost a lot of money?"
"Not much!"
"Do you plan to live here permanently?"
"No!"
"Then why did you buy the courtyard?"
"For you to live in!"
"But I won't be living here permanently either!"
"This King hopes that every city you visit will have a decent home. From now on, in every city we visit, we'll buy a courtyard, alright?"
"..."
Zi Linling was touched once more.
This was Ye Lingyuan's love, sometimes domineering, sometimes tender.
In her previous life, as an unmarried woman in her late twenties, she thought love was destined to elude her. Little did she expect that heaven had already prepared someone who loved her.
Despite crossing space and time, this love deeply moved her.
She closed her eyes and murmured, "Love, either it doesn't start, or it lasts a lifetime. And I hope we can be happy for a lifetime!"
In the quiet of the night, self-talk became even more like a vow.
Ye Lingyuan blinked, then smiled, "Not 'can be', but 'will be'!"
"Alright! Then it's a lifetime! Once you've entered my heart, you're not getting away. If you dare to run, I'll hunt you down even if I have to scour heaven and earth!"
Zi Linling suddenly sat up, waving her fist, and threatened ferociously.
Upon hearing this, Ye Lingyuan also sat up and said, "Even if this King wanted to run, I would take you with me!"
As he said this, he suddenly placed his hand over his chest and circulated his spiritual energy, then gouged out half of his heart.
"What are you doing?" Zi Linling asked in alarm.
Ye Lingyuan placed the half-heart into Zi Linling's chest cavity, merging it with her own heart, then said, "Half of this King's heart is with you, are you at ease now?"