Chapter 57: The Princess Escapes from the Castle

“Meng Zhi… are you in a rush to get home?”

“Not really.”

“Then, can you walk with me a bit?”

As they left the buffet, Lin Yuhan spoke shyly at the entrance.

“Sure, but…” Meng Zhi looked at her curiously. “Is something up?”

“Nah, just felt like enjoying the city at night, that’s all.”

Lin Yuhan stretched like a cat, then turned, hands behind her back, smiling at Meng Zhi.

“As a reward, I’ll treat you to milk tea~”

“…Not everyone’s as easily bribed by food and drinks as you.”

“Huh? Not enough? Two cups then?”

“Ten wouldn’t do it! Look at me—do I seem like I could handle milk tea right now?”

Meng Zhi felt a bit awkward. He’d overeaten at the buffet, and his stomach was uncomfortably full.

No choice. A walk to digest sounded necessary.

Outside the buffet was X City’s famous food street, lined with dazzling snack stalls that made mouths water just passing by.

Along the way, they saw plenty of couples holding hands, looking cozy as they strolled together.

Meng Zhi was used to such sights. Lin Yuhan, though, kept sneaking curious glances at the couples.

“Um, Meng Zhi? Can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“About… love stuff.”

“Do I look like I’d have dating experience?”

“Huh? None?” Lin Yuhan blinked. “I thought you’d be super popular with girls, maybe even really experienced.”

“…That’s straight-up slander.” Meng Zhi turned his head, guilty.

“At the bar, you seemed so close with your sister’s bandmates. I thought you’d definitely hooked up with one of them—”

“Do I look like some sleazy player? Don’t talk about hooking up like it’s as casual as eating!”

Lin Yuhan grinned mischievously, hopping to his side, walking shoulder to shoulder.

“So, do you have someone you like right now?”

Meng Zhi thought for a moment and shook his head. “Nope.”

“Really? What kind of girl do you like?”

“Hard to describe… Someone who makes me feel that spark, I guess.”

“That’s so vague,” Lin Yuhan said, lowering her head slightly.

“Can’t help it. I don’t have any dating experience, so I can’t picture what kind of girl I’d fall for.”

‘Or rather, I’ve had too much dating experience.’

‘And every time, it always left me disappointed.’

So Meng Zhi didn’t know what kind of girl could make him feel that spark again.

“Why the sudden questions? Planning to confess to someone?”

Lin Yuhan let out a long hum, seeming to wrestle with her thoughts before saying cautiously, “…Haven’t decided yet.”

“That so? It’s a big deal, so plan it carefully.” Meng Zhi turned his head casually.

“Any advice?”

“Advice? I don’t even know what your crush is like. How can I advise you?”

“Just for reference.” Lin Yuhan’s fair cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head shyly. “Like… if it was you.”

“What kind of confession would you want?”

Meng Zhi scratched his head, thinking for a long while before saying hesitantly, “For me… I’d want the other person to confess after I say ‘I like you’ first.”

“Huh? What’s that mean?” Lin Yuhan froze.

“I mean, I don’t want to deal with confessions from girls I don’t like.”

Meng Zhi spoke as if to himself. “Rejecting them makes me feel guilty. I’d rather they realize I don’t like them before confessing and give up on their own. That’s better for everyone. We can just stay normal friends or classmates, like nothing happened.”

‘…It’s not just Chen Xinya.’

That thought had hit him during the teacher’s banquet, when girls whose names he couldn’t recall confessed to him.

Being confessed to wasn’t always a happy thing. People’s actions always affect others, and confessions were an extreme case.

Once the words are out, success or failure, the relationship can never go back to how it was.

Maybe it was the trauma from years of looping. Meng Zhi was growing to hate being put on a pedestal like that.

It wasn’t his fault. It was just someone else’s one-sided expectations.

But failing to meet those expectations still made him feel pain.

“If it’s a girl I like, I’d want to confess first and hear her response.”

“But I don’t know if I’ll ever like someone.” Meng Zhi tilted his head lazily. “So I can’t really answer your question.”

“Oh… I see.”

Lin Yuhan’s tone grew subdued.

She wasn’t dumb. She understood what Meng Zhi meant.

He was gently warning her not to act impulsively and do something she’d regret.

‘So gentle. That’s just like him.’

In her past life, out of so many suitors, she picked the seemingly ordinary Meng Zhi, maybe because of this almost hypocritical gentleness.

It was a kindness that could unconditionally accommodate anyone—a deadly weapon to any girl.

And back in college, she was a troubled girl desperate for understanding and acceptance.

When he entered her world, it was like Prometheus bringing fire.

“Thanks. I think I know what to do now.”

Lin Yuhan tucked her hair behind her ear, turning to him with a smile, showing her little tiger tooth.

“Confessing… I’ll think it over carefully.”

“Yeah, good call.” Meng Zhi nodded absently.

“Talking to you tonight was the right choice. You’re surprisingly reliable.”

“…Why don’t I feel flattered?”

“I’m heading back.” At the crossroad, Lin Yuhan turned, waving with a grin.

“Oh, right.”

She suddenly remembered something and called out with a smile, “If you ever confess to a girl you like…”

“Make sure…”

“Make sure you’re serious about it!” Her effort to smile brought a faint blush to her fair, cute face.
“Otherwise, even if she likes you, she might reject you out of spite!”

Like a blurred hue, the streetlights tinted the girl’s figure.

Meng Zhi suddenly couldn’t recall how he’d confessed to Lin Yuhan in that past life.

Maybe it was just an ordinary, forgettable confession.

Surely far from the romantic scene Lin Yuhan must’ve imagined.

That delicate, doll-like princess probably dreamed of a knight kneeling before her, offering a ring.

But in the end, all she got was a down-and-out bard.

Even so, the princess accepted him and fell in love with him.

So maybe the confession wasn’t that important to her.

What mattered was that the princess needed someone to take her away from the castle.

That was all.