A gentle breeze drifted across their faces, carrying the faint scent of grass—Serena couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
Serena Feng pulled Prince Nolan along for a stroll, finally choosing a pleasant slope to sit on. The two nestled close together, as if they were the only people in the world.
The shadow guards followed at a distance. Seeing the pair leaning together, they slowed their steps and quietly shushed each other: Don’t disturb them.
Yes, don’t disturb the masters; don’t ruin this beautiful moment.
"Go tell Young Master Zhou he doesn’t need to wait for the masters." Among the shadow guards, Number One was always best at reading the masters’ mood.
Flash stepped forward first, accepted the task and left, startling the others. "Since when was Flash so proactive? That’s not like him at all."
"Flash got stimulated," one shadow guard said with a meaningful smile, leaving the others even more puzzled. "Stimulated by what?"
"He’s lovesick, what else?" Number One answered honestly, never one to beat around the bush.
With that, everyone understood—when the masters are so affectionate, how could their single subordinates not be affected!
It was honestly unbearable. Their masters were so lovey-dovey all the way, not even pretending to restrain themselves, making all these single subordinates restless...
Of course, these complaints could only be whispered in private—no one dared breathe a word in front of Prince Nolan and Serena Feng.
Unaware of their shadow guards’ little thoughts, Prince Nolan and Serena sat together on the grass. At first Serena rested her head on Nolan’s shoulder, but when she got tired, she simply sprawled across his lap, mumbling about Little Dumpling and Sweet Dumpling...
"In the blink of an eye, our children have grown up," Serena sighed deeply.
When she first woke up in this world, she never imagined this day would come, never dreamed she’d have both a son and a daughter.
Back then, all she wanted was to survive; she didn’t dare dream of marriage, just hoped that someday she’d have a child to keep her company and stave off lifelong loneliness.
Now, all those impossible dreams from before had become reality.
"Ever since I was little, people thought I was used to being alone, but actually I hate it. I can’t stand the cold emptiness of a solitary room. So, no matter what happens, please don’t ever leave me," Serena murmured, her face buried in Nolan’s lap. Her voice was muffled, but Nolan heard every word.
Nolan’s hand, resting on her back, stiffened for a moment, then he replied as if nothing had happened: "Mm."
They were both the same—raised alone since childhood. They’d grown used to solitude, but once they found someone to share life with, neither wanted to go back to those days.
Being alone is just too hard.
"Back then, you said if you were ever going to die, you’d kill me first. I was never afraid—living alone after losing you would be so much worse. If dying means having you with me, it doesn’t seem so scary."
Being alone really is unbearable—especially after tasting happiness, she couldn’t accept living by herself ever again.
"I’ll die after you." He would never leave her behind.
"It’s settled then!"
...
They talked all night, sitting on the grass, speaking of anything and everything—past, present, future, whatever came to mind...
At some point, Serena fell asleep mid-sentence. And Nolan?
He glanced down at the woman in his arms, showed no intention of moving, just held her close, covered her with his outer robe, and sat there until dawn—until Serena woke up...
"Huh? Why am I sleeping here?" Serena blinked in confusion as she woke, taking a while to remember the events of last night.
Uh...
"I actually fell asleep—why didn’t you wake me?" Serena asked, a little embarrassed.
"The weather’s warm, it’s fine," Nolan replied, getting up and stretching his stiff limbs.
Spending a whole night in one position was exhausting—his arms and legs were sore, especially his back...
No. He couldn’t admit his back was bad—he was still young!
"Warm? It’s freezing out here—the temperature swings are huge..." As soon as Serena finished, she sneezed.
"Don’t tell me you really caught a chill?" Serena touched her forehead and found it cool. She grabbed Nolan and rushed back: "Hurry, let’s go get some hot soup."
"No need to panic," Nolan said helplessly, but followed Serena back anyway.
"Of course we need to worry—if we catch a chill, it’ll be a mess." Serena dragged Nolan into the tent and ordered the shadow guards to make ginger soup.
They weren’t teenagers anymore; their bodies didn’t bounce back as quickly, and a chill could easily turn into a real illness.
Sure enough...
Good things don’t come true, but bad omens always do. Even with Serena’s precautions, they both ended up catching colds.
To be exact, Serena fell ill first, then Nolan caught it while taking care of her. So they both got sick and had to rest in the tent, even ignoring the local officials—Nolan left everything to the shadow guards.
"Just one windy night and we’re both sick? Are we really getting old?" Serena found it hard to deny she was aging.
When they were younger, they could spend whole nights outdoors with no problem. Now, after just one night outside, they’d caught colds—honestly...
It was just too much.
"It’s the temperature swings, not our age," Nolan insisted, still refusing to admit he was getting old—even though...
After that night, he really did feel sore all over from sitting outside.
"It’s possible," Serena accepted his explanation, but added, "Clearly, romantic gestures like this just aren’t for us anymore."
How did this turn into a debate about romance?
Nolan didn’t get it, but women’s minds were always like that—full of things men could never understand.
Nolan’s head was heavy and fuzzy; he didn’t feel like talking, so he closed his eyes and focused on getting better. But...
Recovery was slow and stubborn. Normally, both of them were so healthy they barely got sick—not even a cold all year. This time, even if the illness wasn’t dangerous, it just kept coming back...
This time, they were sick for seven or eight days. During that whole period, Nolan strictly forbade Serena from going out, especially from riding horses...
They’d been on the grasslands for nearly ten days, and Serena hadn’t even touched a horse’s mane. To say she wasn’t frustrated would be a lie. On the very day they recovered, news came that Evan Zhou and Yana Zhan had returned...
So now, Serena still couldn’t go out—she could only wait in the tent for Evan and Yana to come to her!