With legs weak, the sickly stable boy became a mad regent.

He lowered his head, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and took a deep breath.

"Miss." His voice was muffled.

"Um."

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, gently stroking it.

"I know."

He looked up and into her eyes.

"Then this servant... will hold you..."

She nodded, biting her lip, not daring to look at him.

"Tell the servant if it hurts."

"Um."

A cold sweat beaded on A Chao's forehead.

He kissed away her tears.

"Did I hurt you? That servant..."

"Don't!"

Shen Nannan quickly hugged his neck, shook her head, tears still falling, but gritted her teeth and said...

"Just a moment...it'll be right..."

He obediently sat beside her, not daring to move, and lowered his head to plant countless kisses on her forehead, eyes, and the tip of her nose, gently coaxing her:

"It'll be alright in a moment. Your servant will stay with you."

Only after her breathing gradually calmed down and her body relaxed did he ask in a low voice:

"Is it okay now?"

Shen Nannan nodded, buried her face in the crook of his neck, and whispered:

"Um……"

He took her hand, intertwined their fingers, pressed it against the pillow, and called her name over and over again.

"My little girl... my little girl..."

"Miss," his voice was terribly hoarse, "would you like to talk to your servant? Don't hold it in."

She shook her head, her face burning red.

He lowered his head and gently bit her neck.

Shen Nannan trembled and couldn't help but let out a soft moan, her voice so sweet and gentle that even she was startled.

He smiled with satisfaction.

"It sounds nice."

He called her name over and over again.

"My dear." His voice was low, tinged with a satisfied smile.

"My little girl. She's finally mine."

Her heart fluttered at his call, and she reached out to hook her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer.

"Stop shouting." Her voice was muffled.

"What's the rush, Miss?"

"You talk too much."

He lowered his head, captured her lips in his mouth, and kissed her tenderly and lingeringly, making her breath catch in her throat.

"This servant will not speak. This servant will only hold you tight."

"Ah Chao...you..."

"No." His voice was terribly hoarse, with a suppressed raspiness.

"Miss is so alluring."

"Please bear with it, okay? This servant is also finding it unbearable."

"What's bothering you?" she glared at him.

"I've endured it for too long." His voice was muffled, tinged with grievance.

"Miss has kept me waiting for so long, now..."

Shen Nannan was speechless, so she closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest.

The candlelight flickered, then was extinguished by the night breeze blowing in from the window.

In the darkness, only their warm breaths mingled together, along with his low, loving murmurs, intertwining into an inseparable, enchanting embrace.

Ah Chao called her name over and over again.

"Nannan" and "Miss"

"My little girl is finally mine."

"Your body, your heart, your life, they all belong to me."

In the midst of ultimate tenderness, Shen Nannan's mind flashed back to the days and nights in the Regent's Palace in her previous life, those nights filled with coldness and alienation, and gradually overlapped with the tender and passionate embrace she was sharing now.

It turns out that he wasn't born with ruthlessness; it was just that in her past life, she had never given him a kind look, and had never seen the overflowing love hidden beneath his ruthlessness.

She hugged his neck and whispered his name in his ear over and over again:

"Ah Chao..."

"Xiao...Xiao Yunzhao..."

His heart skipped a beat, and he tightened his grip on her arm.

"What did you call me, Miss?"

"Xiao... Yunzhao..."

He lowered his head, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and his whole body was trembling.

"Say it again," he said in a muffled voice.

"Xiao Yunzhao".

"Say it again."

"Xiao Yunzhao".

I don't know how much time passed, but the sky outside the window began to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

"Ah Chao... that's enough... I'm sleepy..."

"Just a little longer." He lowered his head and kissed her collarbone, his voice incredibly soft.

"You're lying... You said you'd only hug me for a little while..."

"This servant said..."

"But this servant is reluctant to let go."

Her nose tingled, and tears slid down her cheeks.

"You're bullying me..."

He looked down at her, his eyes red, filled with her image.

"Does Miss not like being held by her servants?"

"I like it..." her voice was muffled, "but I've been hugging you for too long... I'm tired..."

He smiled, lowered his head and kissed away the tears from the corner of her eyes, his voice low and tinged with a satisfied smile.

"Okay, let's sleep then."

Shen Nannan was worn down by his nagging and stopped talking. She closed her eyes, nestled in his arms, and let him gently pat her back.

Once her breathing had gradually calmed down and she was completely asleep, Ah Chao carefully adjusted his position to make her more comfortable.

Her hair was loose in his arms, her face was flushed, and there were still wet tears on her eyelashes. She looked like a peach blossom after being moistened by spring rain, delicate and soft.

Ah Chao looked down at her and reached out to tuck the stray hairs from her face behind her ear.

When she wakes up, he wants to hear her call his name.

Listen to it for a lifetime.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Nannan woke up groggily and found herself still being held tightly in his arms.

She stirred, and Ah Chao immediately woke up, looking down at her with an astonishingly bright gaze.

"Is Miss awake?"

"Um."

"Is my hold good enough?"

Shen Nannan's face flushed again. She turned her face away and said in a muffled voice, "...Okay."

"Where is it good?"

"You...! Can't you be serious for once?"

"No." He lowered his head and kissed the corner of her lips.

"This servant doesn't want to be proper in front of Miss."