Chapter 5

    The young girl closed her eyes and quickly moved to hide further behind Li Taixuan, ensuring her father’s tall and sturdy frame completely shielded her.

    Yongyuan. Yongyuan. Have you come too soon?

    Her heart, which had grown numb, began to tremble—a sensation she knew all too well. It was always like this in every life. She would encounter him one way or another, fall in love, and her heart would always move for him. She would do everything to be with him.

    But in this life, she had chosen to distance herself. The farther, the better.

    "General Li," a noble-sounding boy from the group spoke up. "I apologize for imposing upon you," he said, raising his hand in a polite gesture of respect. The expressions of the attendants behind him, however, looked as if they had seen a ghost. Their young master, offering respect to someone? It was rare for him not to look down on others with disdain, much less show them any courtesy.

    "Second Prince’s heir," Li Taixuan returned the bow.

    Second Prince’s heir. Li Yue Haili repeated in her mind. The Seventh Prince. So, in this life, Yongyuan had become a young prince. Of course. The current royal family was the Feng dynasty, the same surname as in her previous life, just as she had retained the surname Li. It wasn’t often that one was reborn with the same surname, but this time, it had happened for both of them. How coincidental.

    She glanced at him discreetly. Feng Yongyuan was likely around ten or eleven years old, the same age as her brother. His face was already showing signs of the handsome man he would grow into, though not yet as sharp as it would be in adulthood. He wore a blue robe woven with silver threads, his hair tied back with a silver cord. Even in a hunting outfit, he exuded luxury, and when the sunlight touched him, he seemed to glow like a young immortal.

    Though the Second Prince’s heir didn’t seem to be looking her way, why did she feel as though his eyes were fixed on her?

    She felt uneasy, clutching the hem of Li Taixuan’s robe tightly. However, her father misunderstood her actions and called her out instead.

    "Ying Ying, come and greet the prince."

    She didn’t want to step forward. In every life, Yongyuan would despise her the moment he saw her. Now, as the heir of a prince, if he came to hate her, it might affect her entire family.

    "The general’s little daughter is quite shy," Feng Yongyuan said with a soft smile. "I won’t harm you. Come on out."

    His voice was so gentle that it startled Li Yue Haili. She wasn’t used to such kindness from him, but reluctantly, she stepped out from behind her father.

    “…Greetings, Your Highness,” she said, bowing her head low and steadying her breathing. Once she straightened up, she quickly retreated behind her father again. "Father, since we have guests, may I go and inform Mother?" Li Yue Haili looked for a way to slip away.

    Li Taixuan, seeing his daughter speak so, nodded in agreement before inviting Feng Yongyuan and his group to sit in their cabin.

    “There’s no need to trouble yourself, Uncle. I’ve heard that Aunt enjoys fishing, and I’ve never had the chance to try it much in the capital. I’m rather interested. The paths here are unfamiliar, and Ying Ying is still young. If something dangerous were to happen, it wouldn’t be safe for her. Allow me to accompany her,” the young prince suggested naturally and with reason, quickly changing how he addressed them.

    Li Taixuan hesitated, but refusing might cause offense. After all, they were still young, so he found it hard to decline.

    "Ying Ying knows the way well. You won’t get lost, Your Highness."