The Regent Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 49

Misfortunes never come singly. Shen Lingyan was still recovering on the ground when she saw dark clouds suddenly gather in the sky. The originally bright moon now dimmed, gradually disappearing until not a trace of moonlight could be seen.

The light of hope in Shen Lingyan’s heart also shrank. She had already given up struggling, allowing herself to lie on the ground. After coughing for a long time, large raindrops fell from the sky, gradually soaking Shen Lingyan’s clothes. Even her coughing sound became very faint, clearly showing she was weak and exhausted. Her body temperature also cooled down inch by inch.

Just then, the distant sound of several horses’ hooves splashing through water seemed to approach. The already semi-conscious Shen Lingyan could not muster the strength to hide. She instinctively felt that the newcomers meant trouble but was powerless to stop them.

The sound of hooves gradually grew closer. It was more than just a few horses; it sounded like many riders, their pace urgent and mighty. It was easy to imagine that the people on horseback were rushing for something important.

The heavy rain ironically sobered Shen Lingyan up a bit. She heard the sound of hooves near her suddenly become chaotic, losing all rhythm. She slowly opened her eyes and found many riders and horses mixed together. Swords flashed with cold light in the rain. Shen Lingyan was very familiar with the patterns on the horse hooves’ armor; Zhou Jin had specially made her memorize them when she pulled Shen Lingyan aside to analyze battle situations before her campaign. These were the symbolic identity patterns of the enemy country.

This discovery left Shen Lingyan’s mind completely blank. If she had a glimmer of hope just moments ago, now, if the people from the enemy country discovered her, at best, she would be taken hostage to threaten Zhou Jin; at worst, she would lose her life on the spot.

But Shen Lingyan’s fears materialized. The riders quickly spotted Shen Lingyan lying in the rain. After a few shouts, Shen Lingyan felt herself being lifted by a spear, hanging in mid-air. Powerless, she could no longer struggle. Tears mixed with the rain rolled down Shen Lingyan’s cheeks, falling into the puddle on the ground.

The person on horseback did not seem to recognize Shen Lingyan’s identity. After all, she was now wearing a light, convenient dress, and her body was soaked in rain and mud, looking utterly wretched. How could anyone associate her with the current Empress? Furthermore, Dai Sulan had kept the news very quiet, so naturally, no fourth person knew that Shen Lingyan had slipped out late at night.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought of asking someone to search for her, but Shen Lingyan was anxious. She absolutely didn’t want to wait again. Regardless of the outcome, Shen Lingyan wanted to find out for herself. That’s why Dai Sulan couldn’t stop her, nor could her illness.

At this moment, Shen Lingyan missed Zhou Jin so much. The man slowly lowered the spear. Shen Lingyan would fall straight down. Although the height wasn’t great, falling like that would at least half-cripple her, especially given Shen Lingyan’s current poor physical condition.

The moment she fell, Shen Lingyan felt utterly devastated. She closed her eyes, despairingly awaiting the imminent pain, but unexpectedly, she fell into a warm and solid embrace.

The scent of the person who caught her was too familiar. Shen Lingyan knew who this person was in her heart. Her nose tingled, and she began to cry without restraint. After venting her emotions by crying for a long time, she smelled a faint trace of blood lingering at the tip of her nose.

“Zhou Jin…”

“Hm?”

The person’s voice came from above Shen Lingyan’s head, impossibly gentle, mixed with the chaotic sound of rain. Shen Lingyan felt a deep sense of security. Her hands tightly grasped Zhou Jin’s clothes corner.

Her tears-soaked Zhou Jin’s clothes. Although he was covered in a layer of cold armor, it didn’t block Shen Lingyan’s actions at all. She seemed to retaliate by roughly rubbing her tears on Zhou Jin’s clothes and then tightly wrapping her arms around his waist: “Are you hurt?”

Zhou Jin’s breath almost imperceptibly caught for a moment. He carried Shen Lingyan away from the chaotic battlefield to the very depths of the forest. They could still faintly hear the sound of clashing blades. Zhou Jin gently set Shen Lingyan down. They both leaned against a tree and sat down. Shen Lingyan had a thousand words on her mind, but they were stuck in her throat. Facing such a familiar face, she didn’t know what to say.

The smell of blood intensified as the rain grew heavier, seemingly spreading the bloodstains on Zhou Jin’s clothes. Shen Lingyan threw herself into Zhou Jin’s arms, but her movement was light, just a gentle embrace, afraid that Zhou Jin would leave again: “Don’t go, don’t leave me this time…”

“Empress Sister… aren’t you afraid that I might seize your political power?” At this moment, Zhou Jin’s voice seemed to possess a powerful force, soothing Shen Lingyan’s panicked and despairing heart.

Shen Lingyan didn’t have the strength to lift her head, but the hands embracing Zhou Jin tightened again. She pressed her ear to Zhou Jin’s chest, listening to the steady and strong heartbeat: “No more. I don’t care about any political power… If you want this world, I will surrender it to you. I just need you to stay with me.”

Shen Lingyan completely forgot the wish she had made when she first arrived in this world. She no longer coveted wealth and glory, nor did she have the ambition to unify the world. She only hoped that the unsettling feeling of fearing loss she had experienced in the past few days would never appear in her life again.

Zhou Jin seemed touched as well. He looked at the pale-faced person in his arms. For a long time, he couldn’t utter a single word. After Shen Lingyan’s emotions had slightly recovered, he slowly pushed Shen Lingyan away slightly.

Using the faint light, he observed Shen Lingyan’s shy yet determined expression. Zhou Jin spoke: “What do you think your feelings for me are like?”

Zhou Jin, who normally feared nothing, wanted to change the subject several times after asking this question, because he didn’t want to hear Shen Lingyan’s answer, afraid that the answer would be disappointing.

Shen Lingyan nodded slightly, a blush increasing on her face, whether from the cold or from shyness. She opened her beautiful almond eyes and looked at Zhou Jin, afraid that Zhou Jin would escape from under her gaze. Word by word, she spoke seriously: “My feelings for you are extraordinary. I don’t want you to be hurt, I don’t want you to leave me. Even if I have to pay any price for it, I will not hesitate…”

Shen Lingyan still wanted to continue, but she felt a bit embarrassed.

When her words stopped, in this awkward moment, Zhou Jin pressed her entire body onto Shen Lingyan’s. His thin lips kissed Shen Lingyan, gently prying open Shen Lingyan’s lips and teeth. His tongue slowly teased, and his hands, not entirely honest, moved over Shen Lingyan along with the rainwater.

“Perhaps those three words are difficult for me to hear from your mouth, so I will say them to you.” Zhou Jin kissed her for a long time. When Shen Lingyan was stunned, her eyes wide open, Zhou Jin’s captivating smile disappeared, and he said earnestly: “I love you.”

Shen Lingyan had fantasized about these three words countless times. She used to think that as a straight woman, maybe she would be the one to say them first, or maybe some future boy would say them to her. But Shen Lingyan never expected to hear them from a girl she loved very, very much, in this foreign world where she was all alone.

I love you.

At this moment, they seemed to have cast aside the constraints and shackles of gender, and temporarily forgotten the worries and grievances of the past few days. All that remained were those three words echoing in their minds, deafeningly loud.