Ji Hanyue recovered from her illness very quickly.
However, this bitter winter did not pass by as fast.
As far as the eye could see, the world was a vast expanse of white. Cold, merciless snowflakes drifted down from the leaden sky, accompanied by a bone-chilling frost carried on the biting wind. Anyone who saw it couldn't help but tremble, wishing for nothing more than to stay huddled inside, close to a sputtering wood fire for warmth.
Yet, in this frigid wasteland that seemed like a forbidden zone for life, a thin, solitary figure appeared today, walking further and further away, shrouded in loneliness and desolation.
Watching Ji Hanyue's lonely back as she insisted on leaving, and seeing the snow falling heavier and heavier, Xu Fan couldn't help but sigh softly. "Dad, Mom, I'm going out for a bit to gather some firewood!"
He brought along the dry rations he had managed to save up over the past few days and followed far behind her.
In truth, Xu Fan could vaguely guess what was on Ji Hanyue's mind.
His System had provided some simple information about Ji Hanyue.
The Eldest Princess of the Former Dynasty, reduced overnight to an ordinary person whose life was in constant peril and who could barely guarantee her own survival—such a massive fall from grace would be impossible for almost anyone to accept.
Even so, Ji Hanyue harbored no ill intentions. Fearing she might bring trouble to his family, she insisted on leaving alone even before this deadly winter had passed.
This made Xu Fan feel a bit uncomfortable.
Of course, it wasn't that he was pained for Ji Hanyue, but rather for himself, having to endure the ordeal of following her in the dead of winter.
The snow blocked the mountain paths, and the piercing wind howled past his ears, kicking up flurries of snow like willow catkins. It obscured the view ahead and blew down the markers that guided the way.
Unsurprisingly, Ji Hanyue got lost.
By the time she realized it and tried to turn back, her footprints along the path had long been buried deep under the snowdrifts.
Panic set in. She wandered aimlessly as if lost in a thick mist, walking a bit to the east and then a bit to the west. However, she was met only with finer, denser snow that lashed down like a torrential storm. It was cold and biting, hitting her Face and making her skin crawl with goosebumps.
Soon, realizing she could not find her way out of the endless, snow-covered plains, Ji Hanyue stopped.
It wasn't that she didn't want to keep going, but her strength was completely spent.
Even her slender ankles were now red and swollen from the cold, making it impossible to continue.
Stumbling, Ji Hanyue leaned weakly against a tree draped in silver. Her eyes were glazed as she watched the swirling snow, and she murmured helplessly, "Imperial Father, I miss you..."
She couldn't help but remember how, during this time of year in the palace, she would be eating steaming hot meals under the meticulous care of her maids.
Yet such a beautiful past had been lost entirely in a single night, leaving only her confused and exhausted self in the heavy snow. "But now, I have nothing left..."
Ji Hanyue pulled her knees to her chest, curling her body as tightly as possible, trying to use the last of her body heat to ward off the surrounding cold.
But she knew it was futile.
"Perhaps... everything... should just end."
Ji Hanyue's consciousness began to drift, and the outlines of all things in the world blurred in her mind, as if separated by an invisible, untouchable mist.
But deep in her mind, a clear, young voice was becoming more and more distinct.
"Want a bun?"
Was that the Little Brat's voice?
Dazed, Ji Hanyue thought of that somewhat youthful boy, but she assumed it was just a hallucination before death and couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
She was so foolish, to still have the mind to think of that Little Brat at a time like this... It wasn't until a moment later, when a warm coarse-grain bun actually touched her cold lips, that Ji Hanyue opened her eyes in shock.
A pair of eyes as clean and pure as obsidian, and the youthful, slightly weary Face of a boy, stumbled into her vision once again.
At that moment, Ji Hanyue suddenly felt the world before her regain its color, and even her heart skipped a beat.
On the way back, Xu Fan carried Ji Hanyue on his back.
Leaning against Xu Fan's small but sturdy back, Ji Hanyue could clearly feel the warmth radiating from his neck. It was warm and very reassuring.
But Ji Hanyue was someone who cared about her Face, so she deliberately turned her head the other way. Her muffled voice drifted into Xu Fan's ears through the biting wind, "Little Brat, I'm nobody to you, why did you follow me?"
In this life, Xu Fan's body had been used to mountain paths since childhood. Hearing Ji Hanyue's words, he simply replied calmly and unhurriedly, "Sister Hanyue, I've saved you twice now. Calling me 'Little Brat' isn't quite appropriate, is it?"
He couldn't help it; having been called "Master," "Benefactor," and "Husband" in his past lives, Xu Fan really couldn't get used to such a nickname so quickly.
Ji Hanyue, however, just wrapped her arms tighter around Xu Fan's neck and gave a cheerful, light hum. A mysterious light flickered in her beautiful, dark eyes. "Hmph! I feel like it!"
"I'll call you that! A Little Brat is a Little Brat!"
Xu Fan's lip twitched, and he didn't want to pay her any attention.
But Ji Hanyue's interest was piqued, and she involuntarily leaned closer to Xu Fan's neck. "Speak up. You still haven't told me, why did you keep following me?"
Xu Fan found Ji Hanyue quite annoying, so he gave a perfunctory reply, "Because I like you."
He thought this tactic would work. After all, in his previous lives, whenever those girls said that to him, he would be so flustered he wouldn't know what to say, as if he'd swallowed a mute pill.
However, hearing this, Ji Hanyue laughed as if she had heard a joke. Her laughter was like silver bells in the snow, very crisp and pleasant.
She leaned into Xu Fan's ear, her voice carrying a hint of fox-like cunning. The warm, faintly scented breath she exhaled made Xu Fan's Face feel itchy. "Little Brat, you're lying."
Xu Fan raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell?"
Ji Hanyue's long eyelashes fluttered as she spoke unhurriedly, "Your breathing, your heartbeat, your speaking speed... everything about you didn't change at all when you said that. It didn't sound like the truth at all."
Xu Fan was slightly stunned, surprised by Ji Hanyue's keen observation.
Controlling his physical reactions was an instinct he had cultivated in his past lives, which had helped him avoid many unnecessary troubles. He hadn't expected it to betray his true thoughts one day.
Seeing that Ji Hanyue didn't seem ready to stop, Xu Fan raised an eyebrow and came up with a plan. He deliberately adopted an exaggerated, admiring tone, "Wow! I didn't think Sister Hanyue was so clever. This humble one's admiration for you is like the surging waters of a great river, endless and overflowing!"
"Sister Hanyue is so amazing~"
Now, the world went quiet.
Half of it was because Ji Hanyue was embarrassed by Xu Fan's exaggerated tone.
The other half was because the tone of Xu Fan's last sentence made her involuntarily remember what he had said about her drooling in her sleep.
And of course, she also remembered the sight of Little Xu Fan leaning against her bed the next morning, with a trace of saliva at the corner of his mouth, looking like a very cute and clingy little animal.
Ji Hanyue suddenly felt that she didn't seem to have nothing after all...