Lu Jinchen froze.
Her soft words—I love you…—echoed in his ears, sinking straight into his heart. For a moment, he wondered if he had imagined them.
Since the day he had realized his feelings for Xia Yuqing, he had been waiting for this. He had been patient, willing to do anything, no matter how long it took, just to make her fall in love with him. Step by step, he had watched her open up to him.
Slowly, she had begun to accept him. A little more, he told himself, and she would truly be his.
But then life had gotten complicated. He learned about her past life, her burdens, and her scars. From that moment on, it became more than just wanting her affection. It mattered deeply to him that she loved him—not because of anything else, but because she truly wanted to.
And now… he had finally heard it. The three words he had dreamed of, longed for, ached to hear.
