In the dim alley, those eyes were like stars—bright and pure.

Lin Hao stood in a daze as tears fell.

It was him!

Those eyes were both blurred and deeply etched in her memory.

Her thoughts had nearly frozen in her moment of near-death, and her five senses as well. Separated further by a previous life and this current one, she couldn’t even clearly describe the shape of those eyes.

Yet it was precisely because she had experienced life and death that those eyes were firmly engraved upon her heart.

Lin Hao’s hand covering Qi Shuo’s face trembled lightly, and her lips trembled as well.

He was Prince Jing’s Heir.

This discovery, this realization, made her feel as if she had been struck by a tremendous wave. There was shock, there was bewilderment, and there was the joy of truth coming to light.

It seemed—he should have been Prince Jing’s Heir—Qi Shuo—all along.

Qi Shuo gazed at the young lady so close before him, his eyes calm yet tender.

After who knows how long, Lin Hao lowered her hand, and that handsome face was no longer obscured.

He was someone familiar to her, yet also someone she didn’t understand that well.

The person who had died together with her was Prince Jing’s Heir, and now, they were both alive and well.

Her palm seemed to still retain a slight tickle—the faint breath she had felt when she had just placed her hand below his eyes.

Lin Hao tried hard to widen her eyes, wanting to see the person before her more clearly.

Qi Shuo watched her weep silently, feeling somewhat at a loss: “Lin—”

Suddenly his chest was violently struck, and a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

Lin Hao embraced Qi Shuo, crying so hard she completely forgot about her image.

Qi Shuo’s entire body went rigid. After quite a while, he carefully lowered his hand to her back.

“Ah Hao?” He tentatively called out.

Lin Hao raised her eyes, her fan-like lashes hung with crystalline teardrops: “Mm?”

Qi Shuo suddenly forgot what he had wanted to say, and even felt a trace of regret.

Ah Hao was embracing him—why did he have to speak!

Lin Hao finally came to her senses. She carelessly wiped her tears on his clothes, then stepped back to create some distance, though her eyes remained fixed on his face.

“I have something I want to ask you.”

“Ask away.”

“That person… was it you?” When Lin Hao asked this question, it wasn’t to confirm that person’s identity again, but rather to know whether Prince Jing’s Heir, like her, had also been reborn carrying those memories.

Under the young lady’s nervous yet careful gaze, Qi Shuo was silent for a moment, then gently nodded: “It was me.”

Lin Hao took a deep breath, suppressing her agitated emotions: “When did you… when did you come back?”

“I should have come back together with you.”

Lin Hao threw a punch at his arm, her face showing annoyance: “Then why didn’t you say anything!”

This bastard—he had discovered her rebirth early on, yet remained calm and composed the entire time, coldly observing from the sidelines, unmoved, pretending ignorance while understanding everything!

Lin Hao thought about how she had used dreams as an excuse to remind Qi Shuo to be careful of the fortune-teller Fang Chengji, and wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

When he heard those words back then, he must have been laughing to death inside, right?

Yet he had been able to listen with a completely serious expression.

This hypocritical bastard!

Lin Hao’s face grew hot enough to fry an egg, and she pounded him fiercely several more times.

Qi Shuo neither dodged nor evaded, a smile constantly playing at the corners of his lips.

Lin Hao stopped.

“Why did you stop hitting me?” Qi Shuo asked with a smile.

“I’m tired.” Lin Hao replied irritably, still full of questions.

Qi Shuo looked at the young lady whose face carried indignation, yet he had never felt so at peace.

That embrace just now had finally allowed him to confirm her feelings, giving him both foundation and courage.

He gazed at the girl his heart desired, the corners of his upturned lips never falling.

Lin Hao’s heart was stuffed full with various emotions. It took quite a while before she calmed down. She glanced at the person before her, her gaze falling to the ground.

The ground in the long alley held a dampness unchanged through the years, and the spring cold seemed particularly fond of this place.

Yet Lin Hao didn’t feel cold. She asked softly: “That night, why did you… appear there?”

“I was fleeing for my life.”

Lin Hao’s guess was confirmed. She asked again: “Why were you fleeing for your life?”

After a brief silence, Qi Shuo stepped closer, his voice so low only the two of them could hear: “I killed the Crown Prince.”

Lin Hao’s eyes flew up sharply, crashing into those unfathomably deep eyes.

Those eyes soon held a smile—one of undisguised satisfaction and joy: “That day was a fortunate day for me. My great revenge was repaid, and I was reunited with you.”

Lin Hao momentarily couldn’t withstand the intensity in those eyes. Her gaze drifted elsewhere as a blush quietly crept up her cheeks: “That really was quite a coincidence.”

On that snowy winter night street, they had happened to encounter each other.

Wait a moment.

Lin Hao raised her eyes to meet Qi Shuo’s gaze, realization dawning.

Did he mean that he had liked her since long ago?

The atmosphere was just right, allowing her to ask it aloud.

Qi Shuo looked steadily at her and answered without hesitation: “Yes.”

Having received this answer, Lin Hao walked forward two steps with a slightly flushed face, then suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

“That’s not right.” Lin Hao knitted her brows. “That first time I fell off the wall, I remember you walked away without even glancing at me, letting me fall flat on my face.”

The corner of Qi Shuo’s mouth twitched: “It wasn’t that bad. You looked quite cute when you fell.”

“Don’t try to change the subject.” Lin Hao looked at him sideways.

The difference between the two falls had once made her suspect that Prince Jing’s Heir’s warm friendliness toward her in this life was because she could speak now.

She had nearly questioned his character.

“I was worried about affecting your reputation, causing people to gossip.”

Lin Hao raised an eyebrow, her expression half-smiling: “This time you’re not afraid of affecting my reputation?”

Qi Shuo looked at her deeply and also smiled: “In my previous life, I worried about so much, yet we both died.”

So what was the point of caring too much about other things?

That was something he only understood after missing her.

In this life, he only cared about her feelings.

Hearing these words, Lin Hao’s nose stung.

Yes, because they had died before, they could cast off the shackles of worldly conventions and live more powerfully.

She was like this, and Prince Jing’s Heir was too.

With the same extraordinary experience, they were destined to be the people in this world who understood each other best.

“What about you? How did you end up being hunted? I thought… you were long gone.”

“I didn’t die, but escaped from the capital…” Lin Hao recounted that particular experience. “Later, Emperor Pingle struck viciously at Master Mingxin. To survive, I fled from there and returned to the capital. But to Emperor Pingle, I knew too much, so he sent people to hunt me down all along the way. The leader among them was Chen Mu, who tried to bomb Jinxiu Street this time…”

The two stood in the long alley, quietly speaking of matters from their previous lives, until the sky darkened. Lin Hao clutched her forehead in dismay: “Oh no, Baozhu must be frantically searching for me, and I don’t know what happened with the startled horse either.”

“Don’t worry about the startled horse. When I discovered something had happened, I dispatched people to help. If there had been trouble, they would have reported it long ago.”

“That’s good then.” Lin Hao belatedly thought of something. “How did you arrive so quickly?”

“I was worried that any fish that slipped through the net might harm you, so I had my subordinates keep extra watch. That’s why I arrived rather promptly.”

“I see. Then let’s go out first.” Lin Hao pointed toward the alley entrance.

“All right.”

The two walked forward. Ahead lay the bustling long street with lanterns just being lit.

Qi Shuo’s peripheral vision swept over Lin Hao. His hand hanging at his side quietly drew closer, tentatively grasping her hand.