Chapter 8: Princess Zhining!

At first, when Suo Ningbing saw the young man before her who truly resembled her brother in every way, her emotions were incredibly complicated, with a touch of solace, but more so with boundless sadness, so much so that she didn't even pay attention to Lanling's dazed, wooden-chicken-like expression.

Latter, when Lanling suddenly rushed over to hug her, she felt shocked, embarrassed, and angry all at once. After being stunned for quite some time, she tried to forcefully break free, but Lanling held on too tightly, and she couldn't escape at all.

When Ye Jingyu discovered this, he quickly charged in, both startled and enraged, and scolded, "What are you doing?"

Then, he grabbed Lanling's arm and gave it a violent shake, dislocating his shoulder instantly.

Despite the dislocated shoulder, Lanling felt no pain at all, still clinging firmly to Suo Ningbing,

"Sister, Lancome, we'll never be apart again, I want to marry you, I want to protect you for the rest of my life!" Lanling blurted out the confession he never had the chance to make on Earth.

At that moment, Suo Ningbing calmed down, because Lanling's words were too foolish, too sincere, born from the deepest part of his being, the kind of emotion that was completely incapable of deception.

"Jingyu, don't hurt her," Suo Ningbing said, Then she stopped struggling and looked into Lanling's wildly joyful and confused eyes, speaking gently, "You, let go of me first, my name is Suo Ningbing, not Lancome, you've mistaken me for someone else... "

Lanling was startled and said, "Sister, it's me, Lanling, the one you've raised since I was little."

Suo Ningbing said, "I really don't know anyone named Lanling."

Lanling's mind gradually calmed down, and he took a closer look at the woman before him.

Whether it was her demeanor or her appearance, she was just like his sister Lancome, only she had an added air of nobility and dignity due to her esteemed status. Moreover, perhaps because of her affluent life, her features seemed even more exquisitely beautiful; it was a breathtaking beauty.

But that gentle, water-like feeling, that look in her eyes, was truly identical.

If he could travel to this place, couldn't his sister as well? Suddenly, Lanling asked, "Were you born in this world?"

Suo Ningbing was surprised, then nodded, "Of course, I was born in the Earl Tianshui's estate."

Lanling continued, "Then, do you have any other memories in your mind, as if they're from someone else?"

Suo Ningbing was surprised once more, then shook her head.

Lanling's heart sunk instantly. Was the woman before him not his sister Lancome? If Lancome had traveled to this place, she should have memories of Earth.

Then, Lanling thought of another possibility. Could this be a case of past and present life, where this Suo Ningbing was Lancome's next life?

Yes, it must be so, it must be. They looked almost exactly alike, so they had to be the same person. Even if their bodies and memories were different, the essence of their souls had to be the same.

Lanling kept telling himself that the woman before him was this life's Lancome, even if she herself was unaware of it.

His presence in front of her was definitely fate, it had to be fate.

Softly, Suo Ningbing asked, "Can you tell me the story about her? The sister Lancome you speak of?"

Lanling nodded and began, "I was an orphan. From the time I was born, I never knew who my parents were. I grew up in an orphanage, and when I was four, I was adopted by a family..."

Lanling narrated his and Lancome's story in detail.

When he reached the point where his adoptive parents died in an accident, Suo Ningbing had already started crying again.

And when he got to the part about Lancome's face being ruined by acid thrown by a criminal, Suo Ningbing was thoroughly unable to hold back her tears.

"Because my sister no longer wanted to live, I decided that before killing that bastard, I would immediately propose to her... to give her the courage to keep on living. Even though her face was ruined, she will always be the most beautiful to me in my heart."

As he spoke about this, even Ye Jingyu's expression quivered.

"That night, under a sky full of shooting stars, I used a machine to record my marriage proposal and confession to her, then planned to show it to her. Instead, it was hit by a meteor, and when I awoke again, I found myself in a strange place..."

Lanling had finished the story of him and Lancome. He didn't mention crossing through worlds, just a place very far away, a completely different realm.

After listening, both Suo Ningbing and Ye Jingyu fell silent, with Suo Ningbing's eyes completely red.

"Really... does she really resemble her that much?" Ye Jingyu asked.

"Nearly identical in appearance, the same temperament deep down, the same eyes. When she wanted to scold me for being naughty, I would crack jokes to defuse her anger; even though she tried to keep a straight face, she couldn't help but laugh, pressing hard on her lower back while others would clutch their stomachs."

"When she got angry, the insides of her ears would grow itchy. When I tickled her, she wasn't ticklish under her feet, stomach, or armpits, but very much so behind her knees..."

Upon hearing these incredibly intimate details, Suo Ningbing's delicate body trembled, and she turned to look at Ye Jingyu.

"I have never shared any of Miss's secrets, and besides, I didn't know these things," Ye Jingyu said. "Could it be... Miss, you're the same?"

Suo Ningbing nodded in disbelief.

"Miss, this must be fate; it really must be destiny..." Ye Jingyu said. "He was destined to come to your side."

Suo Ningbing's gaze upon Lanling became softer and filled with emotion, then she stepped forward to gently embrace Lanling, whispering word by word, "From today on, you are my brother. Sister will protect you for a lifetime, take care of you for a lifetime!"

...

The news that Suo Lun, one of the four great profligates of the royal city, had returned spread through the mouths of the s, and in less than a day, it had reached the entire royal city. There were those who rejoiced, those who mourned in sorrow, and of course, many who looked on with disdain.

This wastrel had been missing for several months, so much so that he wasn't present for his own father's funeral. Everyone thought he had died in the Demon Mountain Range, but unexpectedly, he had come back alive.

It was thought that the Suo Family was on the verge of dying out, another legendary noble house about to turn to dust, but unexpectedly, it had been given a reprieve.

Inside a pavilion within the Li Shui Garden near the royal palace, a gorgeously extraordinary woman, dressed in a snow-white gown, was lazily reclining on the garden veranda. She held a book in one hand, while the other sifted through the clear waters of the pond, letting pretty little fish gently nibble her fingertips.

She was the most talented woman of the Rage Wave Kingdom, the Commandery Princess Zhining, whom countless young talents dreamed of.

An eunuch hurried to the outside of the pavilion and said in a low voice, "Commandery Princess, that toad Suo Lun has returned."

Princess Zhining's nearly perfect brows twitched slightly, her hand in the water tensing before she replied softly, "I know."

"What would you like your servants to do?" the eunuch asked.

"Nothing at all," Princess Zhining said.

"Yes," the eunuch replied, pausing for a moment before silently withdrawing.

Princess Zhining continued her reading, releasing her grip in the water. One of the little fish slipped back, belly-up, already turned white.

"Don't worry, brother. The fish that falls into my hands, I won't let slip away. I will secure Tianshui City for you," Princess Zhining whispered lowly to herself, audible only to her own ears.