Chapter 14: Call Me Night

Lin Xihe opened her eyes and found herself in a peach orchard. The peach blossoms were in full bloom; a breeze stirred, sending petals fluttering down like a shower of floral rain, ethereal and dreamlike as if in a fairyland.

She reached out her hand and caught five or six petals, gently rubbing them between her fingers...

It was real.

She pinched her arm hard, wincing at the sharp pain.

She wasn’t dreaming.

But where exactly was this?

Lin Xihe followed a narrow path winding through the orchard. After walking for an unknown length of time, she finally neared its end, spotting a sheer cliff in the distance.

At the cliff’s edge stood a figure. Lin Xihe quickened her pace, her eyes fixating on the silhouette—it resembled Yu Tingye. Was she simply imagining him because she missed him so much?

She dared not advance further and halted in place.

The man stood tall and straight-backed, his jet-black hair loosely tied at the nape of his neck. Dressed in a flowing white robe, he stood against the wind, which playfully fluttered the hem of his garment, stirring something deep within Lin Xihe.

Perhaps from standing so long, the man suddenly turned, his gaze falling upon her face as if he had long known she was there. He smiled softly, his voice dripping with tender warmth: "You’ve come."

It was truly Yu Tingye.

Yet Lin Xihe shook her head. No, this was not Yu Tingye.

Yu Tingye could never be so gentle with her.

“Who are you?” Lin Xihe took a few cautious steps back, her tone wary.

Yu Tingye stepped closer, his voice laced with an indefinable affection. “Xi Xi, don’t be like this. Let’s go home.”

The situation felt too strange.

“You’re not Yu Tingye,” Lin Xihe said firmly, then turned and ran back down the path.

She ran aimlessly through the peach orchard.

What was this place? Why was she here? And what of this inexplicable Yu Tingye—what was going on?

Lost in thought, a flash of white appeared before her eyes. Yu Tingye suddenly appeared again, a hint of displeasure flickering across his face. “Xi Xi, stop running. You can’t outrun me.”

A chill ran down Lin Xihe’s spine, yet she forced herself to remain composed. “Who exactly are you? Why won’t you show your true face?”

Yu Tingye smiled, his long eyelashes curving exquisitely.

Lin Xihe was momentarily stunned, finally understanding why the Demon Lord so desperately desired him—he was truly a feast for the eyes.

“If I’m not Yu Tingye, then who am I?” Yu Tingye stepped forward and pulled her slender waist into his embrace.

His arms were warm. Could he really be Yu Tingye?

Lin Xihe couldn’t help but reach out and touch his face—it was warm.

“Are you really Yu Tingye?” she asked uncertainly.

Yu Tingye gently held her fingers and said intimately, “I am Yu Tingye, your man.”

A flush rose to Lin Xihe’s cheeks, and she shyly buried her face against his chest.

After a while, she asked, “Where is this place? How did we come to be here?”

Yu Tingye took her hand, strolling with her through the peach orchard.

“Well, Yu... Tingye...” she began.

“You call me Ye, and I’ll call you Xi Xi,” he interrupted with a smile.

Lin Xihe was speechless.

Yu Tingye then simply lifted her into his arms. “Xi Xi, don’t you want to stay like this?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, the surreal sensation overwhelming her.

Was this truly the Yu Tingye she knew?

How could someone who had been so harsh with her before now behave so unusually? This was beyond normal.

Yu Tingye’s way of thinking was truly something no ordinary person could comprehend.