"Lu…" Xia Yuqing's voice broke.
Tears welled in her eyes before she could stop them. The days of longing, the nights of silent fear, the ache she had buried deep within her chest surged violently to the surface.
"Lu Jinchen?" she breathed, staring at him as if afraid he would disappear if she blinked.
Her fingers clutched at his sleeve unconsciously, as though testing whether he was real. Her entire body trembled, not from fear but from yearning.
For a moment, Lu Jinchen could not speak. The woman in his arms—disguised, trembling, tearful—was the one he had searched for through worlds. The one he had feared he might never find again.
His own eyes misted despite himself. He had imagined this reunion countless times. In some visions, she was angry. In others, cold and distant. And in some, just like this, clinging to him.
