Rong Qian had raised her hand to knock on the door countless times, only to pull it back each time just before her knuckles made contact.

From everything she knew of Shen Yi, he was not the kind of man to act recklessly on impulse. On the contrary, he had always known exactly where to draw his lines.

And so when he had said he needed to be alone, Rong Qian had given him that space without a moment’s hesitation.

Even when an entire day passed with him still shut inside his room without a word, Rong Qian had not found it strange.

But two days — still nothing from Shen Yi — and Rong Qian was beginning to find it hard to sit still.

She had originally assumed Shen Yi was struggling to accept reality, but now it seemed the situation was considerably more complicated than that.

Since she did not know what was going on in his mind, Rong Qian did not dare to knock on the door and call out to him. So instead, she went to find Fu Bozhong and told him everything she had told Shen Yi.

When he had finished listening, Fu Bozhong too wore an expression of utter shock.

He had known that Rong Qian was hiding something from them, but he had never imagined it would be something of this magnitude.

“Butler Fu, what do you think is going on with Shen Yi? He’s already been locked in there for two days.”

Rong Qian had been sleeping in Shen Yi’s room for these two days. The first night had been fine enough, but by the second day, she had been unable to sleep at all.

Seeing that she genuinely did not know, Fu Bozhong let out a soft sigh. “Miss Rong, the young master has never been particularly concerned with his own life or death.”

“Then what is he concerned with?” The words had barely left her lips before Rong Qian already knew the answer.

Fu Bozhong looked at her and said, “You.”

Rong Qian fell silent. Afterward she had also wondered whether she had, without meaning to, said something that had unknowingly wounded him.

“Miss Rong, the young master is blaming himself.” Fu Bozhong could not claim one hundred percent certainty about what Shen Yi was thinking, but after so many years together, he could see at least this much.

In Shen Yi’s eyes, Rong Qian was worth more than his own life.

He had watched over her with careful, tender devotion, trying in every way to treat her well — because she was the woman he loved, the one he feared would melt if he held her too close to his warmth, yet feared would shatter if he held her in his hands.

Shen Yi’s love for Rong Qian was the kind he kept hidden in small, quiet gestures.

He did not even dare to show it openly, afraid of startling her away. He kept himself in careful check on one hand, while being unable to stop himself from wanting to be near her on the other.

Everyone around them could see how well Shen Yi treated Rong Qian — yet no one knew just how deeply he loved her.

And so, upon learning that it was because of him that Rong Qian had repeatedly been plunged into danger, how could Shen Yi possibly come to terms with it?

“Miss Rong, you should have told him sooner.”

Fu Bozhong knew it was pointless to say this now. He understood why Rong Qian had kept it hidden until this moment before finally speaking — it was because she had underestimated from the very beginning just how deep Shen Yi’s feelings for her truly ran.

It was precisely because of this that she had had no idea what was behind Shen Yi locking himself away.

Thinking of it this way, Fu Bozhong suddenly felt a deep pang of compassion for Shen Yi — wanting to love but not daring to, tormented endlessly by his own restraint.

After Fu Bozhong’s gentle nudge, Rong Qian finally understood. He was blaming himself.

Having worked that out, she finally summoned the nerve to go and knock on the door.

But just as she was about to knock, the door swung open before she could.

Shen Yi walked out of the room looking utterly untroubled, as though nothing had happened. Seeing her, he offered a gentle smile: “A’Qian, thank you for giving me enough space to be undisturbed.”

Rong Qian could see the shadows beneath his eyes and the exhaustion plainly written across his face. She wanted to say something, but when the words reached her lips, what came out instead was, “Are you hungry?”

“Not really.” Perhaps he had already gone numb — he could no longer feel hunger at all.

Rong Qian immediately said, “Well, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat!”

“All right.” Shen Yi’s tone was indulgent, as it always was with her — he never failed to go along with whatever she said. However, he wanted to shower first, so he sent her downstairs ahead of him.

Watching Rong Qian skip downstairs with a light step, the curve of Shen Yi’s lips slowly straightened back into a flat, solemn line. The look between his brows was deep and contemplative.

He had done a great deal of thinking over these two days, and he now understood the full gravity of the situation.

But Shen Yi did not care what the future held for him. All he wanted was to keep Rong Qian safe. As long as she remained unharmed, he would do anything that was asked of him.

And so Shen Yi had made up his mind: he would work alongside Rong Qian in her investigation, until they had uncovered who the group attacking her truly was.

Once Rong Qian had run downstairs, she immediately relayed Shen Yi’s reaction just now to Fu Bozhong, wanting to ask what he made of it.

Fu Bozhong did not rush to answer. Instead, he turned the question back on her: “And what do you think, Miss Rong?”

“Me?” Rong Qian pointed at herself. She furrowed her brow and said, “Honestly, I can’t quite put it into words.”

“Butler Fu, Shen Yi has changed enormously over these years. In terms of how he thinks and how mature he’s become, he has already surpassed me — I can no longer read what’s going on inside his head the way I used to.” There was a helplessness to the way Rong Qian said this.

Fu Bozhong, however, smiled and said, “Actually, the young master’s heart is quite easy to read.” Especially when it comes to you — that has always been the easiest thing to read of all.

“Easy to read? How?” Rong Qian could not help pushing back. She let out a sigh and said, “I finally understand how Ke Wenjin must have felt upon meeting Shen Yi.”

Without quite knowing when it had started, Rong Qian had developed a strange sense of awe toward Shen Yi — and this, she realized, was exactly why she had not dared to knock on his door for those two days.

Being around Shen Yi gave Rong Qian the constant feeling of walking beside a great ruler who might, at any moment, turn unpredictable — though Shen Yi did treat her very well.

Yet precisely that kindness made Rong Qian feel as though, if the day ever came that he lost interest in her, he would cast her aside without a moment’s hesitation.

When Fu Bozhong heard this, his expression was one of utter disbelief. “Miss Rong — is that genuinely how you think of it?”

“It’s just a feeling I sometimes get,” Rong Qian said, looking a little embarrassed to have admitted it.

Fu Bozhong was deeply shaken. What a misunderstanding this was! Could it be that the young master had been keeping himself too constrained — so much so that he had given her this impression?

“What are you two talking about?”

Having showered, Shen Yi came downstairs refreshed and composed — his bearing no different from any other day, his smile when he turned toward them as warm and gentle as sunlight.

Seeing the man of the hour arrive, Fu Bozhong gracefully made his exit. With a smile, he said it was nothing, and used having already eaten as his excuse to take his leave ahead of them.

After Shen Yi sat down, he picked up the ladle and served Rong Qian a bowl of soup first. Rong Qian received it quite naturally, took a sip, and let out a groan of deep satisfaction: “This soup is so good!”

“Is it really that good?” Perhaps because her expression made it look so delicious, Shen Yi suddenly found that he, too, was a little hungry and wanted to eat something.

Rong Qian recommended it to him with great enthusiasm: “This soup is absolutely wonderful. How do I describe it — the moment it hits your tongue it’s sweet and mellow, and after it goes down your throat, there’s a lingering aftertaste that makes you want to reach for another sip immediately. Come on, try some — it won’t disappoint you, I promise!”

Shen Yi could no longer really taste anything, but hearing Rong Qian describe it like this, something strange happened — he found that he actually could taste the flavors she was talking about.

It was exactly as she had described. This soup was, indeed, very good.

Even though the chef made this particular dish regularly, and Shen Yi had drunk it many times over, perhaps it simply came down to the difference of who you were sharing the table with.

Ever since Rong Qian had arrived, not only had food regained its flavor for Shen Yi — the world in his eyes had regained its color.

This lunch was the most delicious meal Shen Yi had eaten in years.

The two of them tacitly avoided the topics weighing on their minds, either eating in focused quiet together or exchanging a few casual words.

Rong Qian was easily made to laugh, and once she started, she would burst into her own pealing, unstoppable laughter.

Whenever that happened, Shen Yi simply watched her with a look of quiet, fond indulgence.

Upstairs, Fu Bozhong was secretly observing the two of them. Watching them together like this, he felt at once deeply comforted — and deeply wistful.

If every day could be like this for them… how wonderful that would be…