There was still a hint of contemplation and bewilderment in Shen Mingzhu's eyes. So when she saw the person beside her, she subconsciously dodged and shifted a bit to the side. As a result, Xie Lang reached out and tightly pulled her into his arms. Raising his eyebrows, he complained discontentedly, "What do you mean? You don't want to take responsibility after sleeping with me?"
As he spoke, Xie Lang subconsciously tightened his arm. Seeing Shen Mingzhu gradually come to her senses, he reached out to wipe the sweat from her forehead and frowned, "Did you really have a nightmare?"
[No way. What did Shen Mingzhu dream about? She doesn't seem truly scared.]
[Comfort her.]
Shen Mingzhu came to her senses for a moment and quietly looked at Xie Lang.
The fragments in the dream were really from a long time ago. Now when she thought about them, there was a sense of the passage of time. The Crown Prince was already dead, and Xie Lang, who had hardly had any intersection with her before, had now become her bed - partner.
Shen Mingzhu couldn't help but be in a daze. Seeing the hint of confusion in Xie Lang's eyes, she slightly broke free from his hand, then got up and said, "It's okay. I'll go get a glass of water."
Just as Shen Mingzhu was about to get up and propped herself up, she saw Xie Lang getting up one step ahead of her. He poured a glass of water and then handed it to her. Meeting her stunned gaze, he said, "If there's something bothering you, just tell me."
He wondered what on earth she had dreamed about and why she had such an expression.
Xie Lang's expression remained unchanged on the surface, but his heart gradually tightened. For a moment, he couldn't say anything else, so he just casually said something.
Shen Mingzhu took a sip of the cold water and became a bit more sober. When she turned to look at Xie Lang, there was a hint of indescribable gloom in her eyes.
Xie Lang felt goose - bumps all over his body under her gaze. Frowning, he took the cup from her hand, then quickly got back into bed and said, "Don't look at me like that. I'm scared."
Shen Mingzhu: "… Scared of what? I won't scold you."
Hearing this, Xie Lang's expression paused for a moment. Looking at her, he said, "That's not necessarily true."
Shen Mingzhu came to her senses and realized that the person in front of her was trying to make her happy. So the solemn look in her eyes faded a bit, turning into a look of being both amused and exasperated. Looking at Xie Lang, she said, "Go to sleep."
It wasn't early anymore. It would be better to just fall asleep.
But just as she lay down, Shen Mingzhu hesitated for a moment. Seeing Xie Lang staring at her intently, she still asked, "Are you really... Have you really never seen me before?"
Hearing this, Xie Lang raised his eyebrows. Leaning against the pillow on the bed, he propped himself up with one hand and flicked Shen Mingzhu on the head with the other, smiling half - mockingly, "You heartless girl. I knew you didn't remember me."
Shen Mingzhu was silent for a moment and found that she really couldn't refute, because she really had no impression of Xie Lang before this.
She propped herself up just like Xie Lang, looked at him, and waited for his answer.
Seeing the matter - of - fact look in her eyes, Xie Lang was almost angered into laughter. He reached out again and flicked her on the nose under her dissatisfied gaze before continuing, "I've seen you a few times."
"I remember during the autumn hunt last year or the year before, I saw you once. And even earlier, when I returned to the capital, I went to the palace first. At that time, you seemed to be talking to that Zhou someone. You didn't even look at me once."
"Even earlier..."
There was a hint of solemnity in Xie Lang's eyes, as if he was recalling something unpleasant. Finally, looking at Shen Mingzhu, he said, "Even earlier was when I left the capital. At that time, I went to the palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager."
"Wait."
Before Shen Mingzhu could say any words of comfort, Xie Lang smiled half - mockingly, "There's even earlier. I remember I was there when you were doing the zhuazhou ceremony."
As he said this, Xie Lang reached out and pinched Shen Mingzhu's arm, then sighed, "You were so chubby back then, like a doll made of lotus roots. You're not like this now. How did you get so thin?"
"I've always said that you, Shen Mingzhu, should eat more."
Shen Mingzhu was stunned by his words and subconsciously nodded. But finally, she still asked, "Then... Do you still remember what I was doing when you saw me for the last time before you left the capital?"
Xie Lang paused, thought for a moment, and couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, "I remember. There was someone squatting in the corner crying."
Shen Mingzhu: "…"
So it was only herself who didn't remember?
Under Xie Lang's smiling gaze, she suddenly couldn't describe her feelings at the moment.
She never expected that there had been an intersection between them so early. After that, Xie Lang left the capital with his grandfather. She didn't know what he had been doing, but now his influence was unfathomable. And she had been growing up in the palace, rarely being involved in the disputes. It was only now that she had faintly caught a glimpse of the blood and gore behind it.
She reached out to brush away the stray hair on Xie Lang's forehead. For the first time, it wasn't because she wanted to hear his thoughts, but with a hint of comfort. Gently, she said, "Oh, you must have remembered wrong."
"But I remember you gave me a gift. Guess what it is?"
Suddenly, Xie Lang seemed to remember something else. There was a hint of indescribable laughter in his eyes, and his gaze towards Shen Mingzhu was even more teasing. He hooked his lips and smiled faintly.
Shen Mingzhu frowned.
Actually, she didn't have many memories of the things when she was ten years old. Moreover, Xie Lang had never been a frequent presence in her life. If it weren't for today's dream, she might not have thought that the person in front of her had ever met her like this.
As they were talking, the smile in Xie Lang's eyes became deeper and deeper. Shen Mingzhu subconsciously frowned uneasily. She propped herself up a bit more and calmly said, "I don't remember. I've always been generous. How could I remember a random gift?"
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Xie Lang couldn't hold back his smile any longer. Looking at Shen Mingzhu, he said, "You really were generous."
"When you heard that I was leaving the palace, you wanted to go with me. After being rejected, you hugged me and cried. Your tears and snot were all over me. It was a really 'thick' gift."
Shen Mingzhu: "???!!!"
"Absolutely impossible!" Shen Mingzhu gritted her teeth and looked at Xie Lang, saying, "How could I do such a thing!"
Seeing that Shen Mingzhu didn't believe it but was tightly clutching the quilt, Xie Lang could naturally see the uneasiness in her eyes that she couldn't hide. So he frowned and said, "Tsk, you're really stubborn."
Shen Mingzhu gritted her teeth secretly. The hint of melancholy that had been triggered by the dream just now had completely disappeared. She glared angrily at Xie Lang.
Did she really do such a thing?
Shen Mingzhu didn't deny that her temper had been a bit bad when she was a child. She had a bit of an overbearing attitude, and everyone had indulged her. Her father and mother had doted on her too.
It was really...
The tips of Shen Mingzhu's ears turned slightly red. She subconsciously avoided Xie Lang's gaze. Without looking at him, she suddenly got under the covers and said, "Go to sleep! Stop talking about these nonsense things!"