Jingliu had always worn gloves in the past, but this time, for some reason, she had taken them off.
She lifted her hand to adjust the flower crown on Zero's head and said softly, "As long as you like it."
Zero handed the peony in his hand to Jingliu, walked side by side with his lover, and listened to her tell the origin of this flower crown.
Zero naturally held Jingliu's hand, and for some reason, she suddenly stiffened for a moment.
He felt confused and remembered the guides he had read before.
The forum had said that holding hands and k*ssing should always be asked in advance… Was he supposed to ask every single time?
Zero turned his head to look at Jingliu and asked quietly, "Is this okay?"
Jingliu lowered her eyes and glanced at their joined hands.
She didn't answer the question. Instead, she held back tightly, interlocking her fingers with his, and continued speaking about the flower crown she had brought.
The planet the Cloud Knights arrived on this time had a certain custom.
This custom could be traced back a very long time.
Back when the insect plague and the "Emperor War" had still not ended, disaster descended upon this planet.
People never gave up. They rose to resist, doing everything they could to protect their families, but their mortal bodies were no match for endlessly breeding insects and iron-forged automatons.
Fortunately, the Xianzhou Alliance intervened. The Xianzhou people and the Interastral Peace Corporation brought life back to the planet that had been drained of vitality by disaster.
The people pondered over and over, not knowing how to repay the heroes who saved them.
When disaster struck, everything they possessed had already been destroyed. The only things they had left to offer were withered flowers.
They carefully offered this gift. Thankfully, the heroes who saved them did not refuse it.
When all things revived again, the people added olive branches to this special flower crown and gifted it to the Xianzhou.
After receiving this gift, the Xianzhou helped them build roads and schools, bringing them new life once more.
At first, their planet was too barren, and they could only weave with olive branches and fresh flowers.
Later, with help from the Xianzhou and the Company, they made flower crowns from gold.
After that, they used gemstones as petals and gold as leaves.
Over time, this flower crown became the one unique gift they offered to the Xianzhou.
Zero and Jingliu walked with fingers tightly intertwined, occasionally meeting each other's eyes when one of them turned.
He listened quietly.
From beginning to end, Jingliu never mentioned anything about the Cloud Knights.
Even to her lover, she would never reveal military secrets.
She was a proper Cloud Knight.
Zero raised his free hand to adjust the flower crown on his head and smiled, "It really is a special gift. Even if someone handed me the most expensive coronet, I wouldn't trade it."
As they spoke, night had deepened, and they arrived at the entrance of Jingliu's residence.
Not knowing what he was feeling, Zero turned toward Jingliu and, on impulse, asked, "Want to take a picture together?"
Jingliu nodded and was just about to take out her jade communicator when Zero interrupted again.
He quietly watched her, then shook his head with a small laugh and urged, "Lady Swordmaster, you should first look at the surprise I prepared for you."
Jingliu raised an eyebrow and walked toward the door as he requested.
When Zero asked her for her residence passcode, she already knew he must be preparing a gift for her.
Because that was exactly the kind of person Zero was.
Even back when they were only friends, he never fussed over gain or loss, always calm, always thinking from others' perspectives.
Preparing a gift for his lover returning victorious, this was nothing out of the ordinary for Zero.
Zero had always seemed gentle and steady.
When would someone like him ever lose control of his emotions?
At first, Jingliu had no idea. And by the time she became curious, her eyes could no longer look away from him.
She pushed open the door, and what entered her sight was a completely transformed courtyard.
Jingliu had never put effort into arranging her residence.
Before, some drifting seed from who-knows-where had landed on the rockery in her courtyard. After that, the seed rooted and sprouted in the cracks, and before she noticed, it had begun growing wildly.
Back then, Jingliu had no time to deal with such trivial matters. She had wanted to split the rockery in half with one strike, but considering that the rubble would be too difficult to clean, and crushing it to dust would create too much debris, she had given up.
Now, that long-neglected courtyard had been completely renewed. Even the weeds on the rockery were gone.
Most eye-catching of all was the huge bundle of pink peonies placed in the courtyard.
For a moment, Jingliu couldn't even count how many flowers there were.
Zero stepped forward and stood beside her, both of them looking at that massive bouquet of peonies.
"Nine hundred ninety-nine peonies. Plus the one in your hand, that makes a thousand. They were too heavy… so I didn't bring them over."
Of course, it wasn't only because of the weight.
Knowing how easily Jingliu got embarrassed, he gave up the idea of presenting the flowers in public and instead placed them in the courtyard.
This way, she would feel more at ease.
He took Jingliu's hand, squeezing the palm that carried the thin calluses formed from cutting down abominations for the Xianzhou, and asked softly, "Do you like it?"
Jingliu tightened her grip, the pressure gradually increasing.
She instinctively thought back to the bouquet she herself had ordered, costing a great deal of Celestium, at the Luofu flower shop, meant for a proposal.
It seemed that bouquet also had about this many flowers.
But… wasn't this too soon?
Most Xianzhou people her age had already fallen into Mara-state corruption. How long could she stay by his side?
Zero was so young. Did he really know what he was doing?
Jingliu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
Zero took out a ring box, removed the open-ended ring that didn't require an exact size, and gently lifted Jingliu's hand.
Jingliu had never backed down on the battlefield, but now, facing her lover, she suddenly felt the urge to run.
Her body stiffened. She stared at the ring but couldn't pull her hand away.
Her hand, which had never trembled even when lifting a three-thousand-pound Shardsword, was trembling now.
She could only watch helplessly as Zero slipped the ring onto her finger.
Jingliu raised her eyes, staring into Zero's gentle and calm amber-like gaze, as if it could hold everything within it.
Night had deepened, and the Xianzhou's unique moonlight reflected in her lover's eyes.
Suddenly, Jingliu remembered a poem she'd once read in ancient texts.
Among its lines was the phrase sunset melting into gold.
The color of sunset looked just like molten gold.
The first time she saw those four characters, she hadn't thought much of them.
But today, those words became real in her lover's eyes.
She held her breath, fully intending to refuse Zero,
yet what she heard was his serious voice, "Will you be with me?"
Jingliu, "…"
She almost lost control of her expression.
Seeing her silence, Zero squeezed her hand and repeated the question.
Jingliu looked at his face for a long time.
She should have expected this.
Even though Zero was steady enough, there was still a difference of several hundred years between them.
A generation gap was only natural.
As the older one, she should be the one to accommodate her younger lover.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again and nodded, "…Okay."
Jingliu had already mentally prepared herself, so when Zero pulled out a tall stack of blank papers for her to sign, she wasn't very surprised.
She thought, 'When lovers reunite after a long separation...'
It's normal for Zero to do things that leave her utterly confused…
He was only twenty years old, having whimsical ideas was completely normal.
Jingliu picked up the pen and signed page after page.
She had prepared herself beforehand, but after she finished dozens of sheets, Zero produced three hairpins.
Jingliu looked at the hairpins as she listened to Zero explain.
Her lover said the hairpins weren't just for wearing, they could also be used to clean out abominations.
Jingliu, "…"
She was honestly worried that if she wore them, a single shake of her head would accidentally stab a nearby Cloud Knight.
She couldn't refuse Zero's gift, so she accepted them.
Not wanting to injure any comrades, she resolved to keep this special gift stored away properly.
When Zero finally finished giving gifts, and Jingliu thought they could finally say something intimate, Zero asked, "Can I hug you?"
Jingliu, "..."
She let out a deep sigh.
No longer indulging this overly young lover, she stepped forward on her own, opened her arms, and hugged him.
She held back and held back, but still couldn't suppress herself. She pulled her chest away from his, looked up at his face, and said irritably, "Next time, you don't need to ask."
Then her tone cooled, "Where did you even learn that from?"
Zero was very restrained while hugging, carefully avoiding the exposed skin on her back.
He rubbed her hair and said, "From the forum."
Jingliu fell silent for a moment, then said helplessly, "...Spend less time on the forum."
Zero continued to rub her hair and admitted, "I'm not good at this kind of thing… but I'll respect your wishes. I won't force you to do anything you don't like."
That was why, even if his lies were exposed and Jingliu wanted to leave, he wouldn't stop her.
He added, "I didn't go into your room. I only had someone tidy the courtyard. What kind of decorations do you like?"
Jingliu wasn't surprised.
Zero was gentle, but when interacting with others, he had a clear sense of boundaries.
Even after they became lovers, he didn't enter her room without permission.
Jingliu turned to look at the countless bouquets in the courtyard, though really, it shouldn't even be called a bouquet, more like a flower bed wrapped in colorful paper.
She sighed, "You didn't have to spend so much."
It seemed Zero was far wealthier than she thought.
But he had already given her so many things.
Zero said nothing.
Good thing he had asked Jingliu for her signature.
For just one time gifting something… Jingliu already said he was being extravagant.
Good thing he got her signature.
Otherwise, how would he forge the gifting contract? How would he transfer his assets to her?
Zero released Jingliu from his embrace, then took her hand and led her to the stone table. After they sat down, he smiled and said, "To offer a gift to Lady Swordmaster, no, now I should address you as the Emanator of the 'Reignbow Arbiter', how could that be called extravagant?"
Hearing this, Jingliu's expression grew heavy.
Ever since becoming the Emanator of the "Reignbow Arbiter," she had heard too many praises.
Outsiders, upon hearing of it, never held back on flattery.
But Jingliu believed that her own achievements couldn't compare to the Marshals and Generals who gave everything for the Xianzhou, and definitely weren't worth catching the eye of "Reignbow Arbiter."
Only by working harder, by killing more abominations, could she truly be worthy of being an Emanator.
Jingliu reached out and straightened the flower crown on Zero's head, sighing, "I only have some minor skill in swordsmanship and earned the title of Swordmaster, killing some abominations alongside my comrades…"
"Compared to the Marshals and Generals who give everything for the Xianzhou, what does that amount to?"
Hearing this, Zero propped his chin in his hand, tilted his head, and asked, "Then do you want to be a General?"
Jingliu let out a small laugh. She couldn't understand how Zero connected her words to the position of General.
She reached out and pinched his cheek. "Becoming a General isn't something you can just say and then do."
Zero asked again, "Do you want to be a General?"
Jingliu withdrew her hand from his cheek and shook her head.
Zero thought for a bit. True enough.
With Jingliu's personality, she was more suited to being a subordinate rather than a person in power.
Not that she lacked the ability to be a General.
But the process of shifting from subordinate to authority would be exhausting, truly exhausting.
Unless she had capable subordinates, then it might be easier.
Just like Zero himself, his personality had never been suited to being a Marshal.
Zero held Jingliu's hand, the one wearing the ring, and said, "Right now is good. Staying in a position that doesn't suit you is tiring, really tiring."
Jingliu seemed thoughtful. She tightened her grip on his hand, looked into his eyes, and said, "Sounds like you speak from experience."
Zero met her gaze with the same flawless smile.
"Of course. Back in the academy, I was even the group leader of a project team."
He nodded with a laugh, "Group projects are the worst thing in the universe. After that one time, I never volunteered again."
Jingliu once again raised her hand and touched Zero's face.
Zero slowly blinked. He didn't move, still keeping his head tilted.
Her cool fingertips first brushed his chin, then his cheek, and finally rested near his lips.
Zero stared at Jingliu.
They had been lovers for a little more than a month.
But as lovers, they had actually only spent less than a day together.
If he asked to k*ss her cheek now, would it seem too frivolous?
Following his principle of "if you don't know, just ask," Zero asked again, "Can I..."
'K*ss your cheek?'
Jingliu instantly tightened her grip on his cheek.
Zero didn't understand why, watching her stand up.
Then Jingliu moved closer, one hand gripping his chin, the other resting on the back of his neck, leaning down slightly.
Even with the intimate distance between them, Zero kept his calm, composed expression.
Someone like him, who could contain everything, untouched by all external things, was the only person who showed a youthful, mischievous side in front of Jingliu.
Jingliu thought that she had learned bad habits from Zero, otherwise, why would she want to see even more expressions from him?
Their foreheads touched, and they could clearly feel each other's breath.
Jingliu's eyelashes trembled slightly as she pressed a k*ss onto his lips.
Zero's eyes widened, blank for a long moment, only reacting after Jingliu pulled away.
Jingliu squeezed his face and teased, "Will you still ask in the future?"
Zero fell silent.
If he didn't ask… how would he know when he could k*ss her?
Seeing him give no response, Jingliu leaned down again irritably. One hand still pinched his chin; the other pressed firmly on the back of his head.
She closed her eyes, bit his lips precisely, and used her tongue to pry them open.
Zero blinked, watching as his lover melted into the k*ss, her cheeks growing hotter and hotter. He couldn't help laughing inwardly.
The k*ss lasted unusually long. Only when Jingliu accidentally bit his lip hard enough to draw blood did she stop.
She quickly pulled away and touched his bleeding lip with her fingertip. "You're bleeding."
Zero didn't mind. "It'll heal in a moment."
Jingliu examined the cut carefully. After a while, in an emotionless tone, she said, "Is that so? Speaking of which, you should go back and feed Jade. Hurry and go."
Zero, "…"
'Jingliu seems angry, but why is she angry?'
He couldn't figure it out, so he simply left and went home.
Dating was so difficult.
———
The next day, Jingliu invited Zero out for a meal.
Zero arrived at the restaurant on time, only to find that besides Jingliu, Dan Feng was also present.
The Dragon Lord slowly set down the menu, looked at Jingliu, then at Zero, and couldn't help questioning, "Jingliu, the one you woke me up for in the middle of the night, calling me and disturbing my dreams to ask for a pulse reading, is this him?"