"Really?" Evan Xiao smiled.
"General Evan Xiao!" Rona Zhu called out. "Sister makes it sound easy, but it was actually really dangerous. If it weren't for Rina Chu's cultivation, who knows what trouble Sister would have run into!"
After a pause, she earnestly said to Evan Xiao, "Prince Zane Tuoba is targeting the Spirit Alliance and my sister because of you. Now that you're back, you really need to take good care of her."
Evan Xiao looked at Grace and frowned slightly.
Grace winked at him and said, "Rona's got a point. Prince Zane Tuoba is probably trying to humiliate you by humiliating me. General, you owe me some serious compensation!"
Evan Xiao chuckled, "What kind of compensation do you want?"
"Hmm..." Grace thought for a moment, but realized she didn't really want anything—she just wanted him to be with her.
"Perfect timing! There's a flower festival in the city these days—it's supposed to be lively and beautiful. How about General Evan Xiao takes Sister out for some fun?" Rona Zhu laughed.
"Hey, that's a great idea!" Grace's eyes lit up. "Tomorrow, you're taking me to the flower festival!"
"Alright." Evan Xiao smiled.
...
The flower festival was as lively as promised. Besides all sorts of gorgeous blooms, there were vendors selling just about everything.
Grace wasn’t some teenage girl—she wasn’t really into playing around.
But strolling through the festival with someone she liked brought a special kind of joy she couldn’t quite describe.
But as they walked, she started to feel something was off.
None of the girls were looking at the flowers or jewelry—they were all staring at her man.
Luckily, there was a stall up ahead selling funny masks, so she bought one and made Evan Xiao put it on.
With only his eyes showing, Evan Xiao glanced at her, grabbed another mask, and put it on her too.
And so, two masked "ghosts" wandered the festival—no one stared at them anymore.
They admired flowers, shopped, chatted—it was all quite relaxing.
As they walked, suddenly there was a commotion up ahead.
The voices were loud, and a crowd quickly gathered to watch.
Grace’s curiosity got the better of her, so she squeezed in for a look—and saw it was a painting stall.
A customer had damaged one of the paintings; the shopkeeper demanded compensation, but the customer insisted it wasn’t his fault.
Disputes like this were pretty common, not much worth watching, so Grace tugged at Evan Xiao to leave.
But when she tugged, he didn’t budge.
"Hmm?" Grace glanced at him. "Let’s go, what’s there to see?"
But Evan Xiao stepped up to the stall, staring at one of the paintings hanging there.
What was he looking at?
Grace squeezed closer and looked at the painting too.
The moment she saw it, Grace’s heart skipped a beat.
How is this possible?
The painting showed the profiles of two people.
Even though their faces weren’t visible, Grace recognized them instantly—it was her and Emperor Tuoba Hong.
Under a flurry of snowflakes, they stood together on Cangjing Terrace, gazing at each other.
The look in their eyes was captured perfectly in the painting.
She had her eyes lowered, looking a little shy.
Emperor Tuoba Hong, on the other hand, was completely focused—gazing at her with deep affection.
...
It was the exact scene from the day Emperor Tuoba Hong visited the Spirit Alliance—the moment they spoke on Cangjing Terrace.
The painting captured the scenery of Cangjing Terrace with stunning realism.
Even her clothes and jewelry were rendered with lifelike detail.
Emperor Tuoba Hong’s clothes, however, were blurred—so you couldn’t tell it was a dragon robe.
...
Grace had no idea what Emperor Tuoba Hong’s expression was like back then, but she was certain—she would never look that shy!
Someone clearly painted that scene on purpose and hung it here for Evan Xiao to see!