The corridors of the palace were quiet as Xiao Zhi made her way back to her room.
Her feet followed the familiar stone paths without thinking, but her mind remained trapped back at the hot spring. She could still feel the heavy warmth of the water and see the steam blurring the air. Most of all, she felt Ruhan, so close that she could feel him without touching him.
And then the kiss.
By the time she reached her door, her mind was a frantic mess. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it for a moment, taking a slow breath. Her heart was beating too fast, like it hadn't quite caught up with the fact that she was alone again.
She crossed the room and sat on the bed, pulling the pillow into her arms. She lay back and stared at the ceiling. Sleep was definitely going to be impossible.
Every time she closed her eyes, the scene replayed in vivid detail. How close he had been. How his lips had brushed hers before she had time to think.
Her cheeks burned.
"This is crazy." She pressed her face into the pillow, kicking her feet once against the bed before she could stop herself.
"He kissed me. Ruhan actually kissed me."
Her fingertips brushed her lips, testing the lingering heat. It felt so real. With a heavy thud in her chest, she rolled onto her back, staring up into the shadows of the ceiling again with wide eyes.
"That was my first kiss," she breathed. "My first."
The thought made her chest flutter again. It hadn't been awkward or rushed. It had been careful and yet gentle, almost hesitant. Like he had been more worried about her reaction than his own. Just remembering it made her stomach do something ridiculous.
Then she sprang up when a realization hit her.
"I gave my first kiss to a fictional character?"
The thought hit her more than it should.
"And he's not even the lead. He's just… Ruhan. A side character. A eunuch."
Even as she said it, it sounded like a lie to her own ears. A eunuch should not be that clever, capable, impossibly handsome, and terrifyingly charming.
More charming than most lead characters, honestly.
She pressed her palms to her cheeks, heat spreading across her face. "Why… why does he have to be this perfect?" she whispered. "Lin Rui, you crazy author, why did you make a side character this irresistible?"
Her voice trailed off into a helpless sigh.
She rolled onto her side, groaning softly, trying to push the thoughts away. But the moment came back anyway. She could still feel his hands catching her as she slipped and see that brief, heart-stopping hesitation in his eyes. He had leaned in so slowly, as if he were giving her every chance to say no.
And how she hadn't.
"Why can't I stop thinking about it?"
Part of her knew better. Even if this world was real, even if he wasn't just a fictional character… he was a eunuch. She was a princess, even if no one treated her like one. Her status alone made any thought of them together impossible. Not to mention Kabil, the Khan, the palace, and all the danger surrounding her.
And yet,
She remembered his eyes when he saw her bruises. The way his expression changed. Not shocked, or a pity. But as if he felt the same pain as hers. He didn't ask questions she couldn't answer. He didn't push. But instead, he simply stayed near, making sure she was all right.
That quiet care had shaken her more than any grand gesture could have.
She sat up and began pacing the room, her thoughts running in circles. Weeks of exhaustion, humiliation, and fear... all of it seemed to fold into that single moment in the hot spring.
And suddenly everything felt just right.
She dropped back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling again.
She thought of her modern world life. Long nights hunched over a laptop, office deadlines, cheap instant coffee, and a life where affection was basically non-existent. The hidden crushes that never blossomed, the occasional awkward attempt at connection that never went anywhere. She had never been held, never been caught when she fell, never had someone notice her in the way Ruhan did.
"Congratulations, Xiao Zhi. You fell for the most impossible man in the palace."
She buried her face in her hands, whispering his name, afraid the night would take it away. "Ruhan…"
She lay there quietly, letting the feeling settle instead of fighting it. The excitement faded a little, but the warmth stayed.
She let out a small, almost guilty smile.
If I'm trapped in this twisted world, she thought, I'm going to steal every second of happiness I can find.
Her mind began to flip through the "Ruhan" files like a highlight reel. She remembered how he held her in the desert to keep her warm. She touched the hairpin he gave her, thinking of how he'd stood so close under the lantern light. And even the moment he cared for her after the humiliating bride parade. She remembered the gentle way he'd touched her bruises, his fingers erasing the sting of the world's cruelty.
And then, the kiss. The way he'd waited for her to stay.
Her thoughts strayed to the novels she had read in her old life. Every heroine swooned, waited for a prince. And now… she had it. She had it not from a prince or a scripted hero, but from Ruhan. A side character who was not supposed to be this close. A nobody wasn't supposed to be part of her heart, but now owned the whole thing.
She finally stopped fighting it. For the first time, she let herself lean into the madness. To be utterly, completely, ridiculously giddy... and in love.
If staying here, in this brutal world Lin Rui had built, meant more nights like this, more moments with him... she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay here forever.