After that stormy night, the following month was all clear weather.
During this time, Quan Heng and Quan Rui’s relationship improved greatly. Almost whenever she had free time, Quan Rui would come to play with her.
The two of them gradually went from grudging rivals to companions who saw each other every day.
Her relationship with Ah Zheng also grew much closer.
Ever since he had snuck into her bed that night, he insisted on sleeping beside her every night.
Whenever Quan Heng pretended to get angry and tried to kick him out, Ah Zheng would lower his head, eyes brimming with tears, saying he was just worried about her.
Even though she knew he was being manipulative, she always fell for it. She couldn’t bear to see those red-rimmed eyes.
Since he only lay beside her without doing anything inappropriate, Quan Heng eventually let it go.
Soon, it was time for the imperial exams, a matter the entire capital was paying attention to.
During this period, Wen Zheng did his utmost to play the role of a scholarly young man. He always carried books with him and even read them when staying in his own courtyard.
Gradually, he began to genuinely enjoy reading.
If possible, he would definitely participate in the next round of exams three years later.
Days passed like flowing water. Time slipped by so quietly, he even began to fantasize about staying like this forever.
That day, when he entered Quan Heng’s courtyard, he felt something was off.
Normally, there would be maids sweeping the yard. Today, they were all gone. Even Ah Heng was nowhere to be seen—only Ziyun remained.
He hesitantly walked forward and asked nervously, “Ziyun, do you know where your lady went?”
But Ziyun only shook her head.
“I don’t know either. Miss went out early this morning without saying a word. Please just rest in the courtyard—she’ll be back soon.”
There was no other choice.
Wen Zheng quietly sat in the courtyard and casually picked up a book to read. The sunlight warmed him. The spring sun wasn’t harsh—it felt very pleasant.
In such an atmosphere, drowsiness crept up on him.
Suddenly, his vision was filled with a flurry of falling flower petals.
He reached out and caught one—peach blossom. He took a sniff, and the fragrance cleared his mind.
Instinctively, he looked up—and saw Ah Heng standing on the rooftop at some unknown point, holding a small basket in one hand. With the other, she scattered handfuls of petals down into the yard.
Wen Zheng was stunned by the sight—so beautiful, he forgot to breathe.
Today, she wore a peach-pink dress, a peach blossom flower mark painted between her brows. Bathed in sunlight, she looked like a fairy descended to earth.
Then he heard her call out: “Happy birthday, Ah Zheng!”
As she said it, her eyes curved into a sweet smile—utterly adorable.
He suddenly felt like crying.
So today… was his birthday?
In all the nightmares he’d had over the years, his parents only ever showed him blame and resentment. No one ever remembered his birthday.
They hated him, yet still hoped he’d become a weapon in their hands.
Such peace and happiness—he had never known it since birth.
At this moment, it didn’t matter whether this birthday was for Wen Zheng or for that Shen Zhengyu. As long as it came from her—he would cherish it with all his heart.
Seeing him smile, Quan Heng finally sighed in relief.
She didn’t know when it started, but she often felt like Ah Zheng was burdened with something. Yet every time she asked, he just said it was nothing—leaving her helpless.
She had begun planning this birthday half a month ago.
Last night, she’d ordered the maids to go out to the countryside to pick peach blossoms—an entire cart full.
If Ah Zheng hadn’t insisted on sleeping beside her every night, she would’ve gone too.
As she thought of all this, she got distracted for a moment—and her foot slipped.
She fell straight off the roof—
“Ahhh!!”
Seeing what was happening, Wen Zheng felt as if his heart and soul were about to split apart.
He rushed over at the fastest speed of his life and managed to catch Ah Heng just as she was falling.
The momentum from her fall knocked into him, and the two of them tumbled together across the courtyard several times before finally coming to a stop.
By the time they sat up, both of them were covered in flower petals from head to toe.
“Ah Heng, are you alright?”
Hearing this, Quan Heng let out a soft laugh. She reached out and plucked a few petals off Wen Zheng’s head, smiling as she said, “I’m fine. But look at you—rolling around in the petals like that, how did you end up in such a mess?”
“I…”
Glancing at both himself and her, Wen Zheng couldn’t help but laugh too.
“And you’re laughing at me? Just look at yourself—aren’t you the same?”
Supporting each other, the two stood up and walked over to sit by the small table in the courtyard.
Quan Heng waved her hand, and the little maidservants stopped scattering flower petals. Each of them covered their mouths, stifling giggles as they quietly walked away.
“Ah Zheng, sit here for a while. I’m going to bring something over.”
Wen Zheng stood up. “You just fell off the roof! Even if you’re not hurt, you must’ve been frightened. Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll go get it?”
Quan Heng pushed at his waist and stomach, pressing him down onto the small stool. “Alright, I said I’d go, so I’m going. Don’t move!”
A moment later, she returned with a large porcelain bowl in her hands and placed it in front of Wen Zheng.
“Here—how can you celebrate a birthday without eating longevity noodles? Hurry, try it!”
Looking into Ah Heng’s bright eyes, Wen Zheng’s eyes turned red. “Did you make this yourself?”
Quan Heng nodded happily. “Yup!”
At this, she looked a little embarrassed. “It was because I was cooking these longevity noodles that you had to wait so long… When you were waiting in the courtyard earlier, I was actually in the small kitchen cooking.”
She lowered her head and looked at the bowl of noodles. The soup had almost all been absorbed by the noodles. She scratched her head awkwardly. “Maybe I haven’t cooked in too long. They were either too raw or too soft—I had to try a bunch of times to get it just right. Then the whole flower-petal rain thing delayed me so long, now they’re all clumped together.”
“I really like it, Ah Heng. Thank you.”
Quan Heng looked up in surprise, only to see him pick up the bowl and scoop a big mouthful of noodles to eat. “It tastes great too. My Ah Heng is the best—she can do anything.”
Hearing this, Quan Heng finally smiled. “As long as you like it. If you do, eat more.”
The two exchanged a glance and smiled, both blushing to their ears.
Seeing that he was almost done eating, Ah Heng finally summoned her courage and voiced the words she’d held in her heart for so long.
“Ah Zheng, when your memories come back, you’ll come propose to me and marry me, alright?”
For a moment, Wen Zheng was stunned.
In his memory, Ah Heng had always been reserved and shy—yet today, she’d actually said something like this on her own.
It felt like a great surprise had crashed into him, leaving him unable to think at all.
Seeing he hadn’t responded, just staring blankly at her, Quan Heng grew bashful and nervous. She turned to leave.
“If you won’t say anything, I’ll take it as a no. If you won’t marry me, then I’ll marry that Xie fellow instead!”
These words finally snapped Wen Zheng out of it. He stood up and said loudly, “No way!”
Seeing Ah Heng was still walking away, he panicked and rushed forward, pulling her into his arms from behind.
“Ah Heng, I’ll marry you. You can only marry me. You absolutely cannot marry that good-for-nothing Xie Fengyun!”
Hearing this, Quan Heng’s face turned completely red. “Mm. It’s a promise. You must never betray me.”
At that moment, Wen Zheng felt like his heart was burning—it was so hot, it could’ve incinerated him whole.
He turned her around and, before she could react, kissed her lips.
At that moment, their hearts were in perfect sync. They kissed deeply, passionately, until Quan Heng was so weak she could barely stand, and only then did he finally release her.
Wen Zheng looked at her with such straightforward, burning intensity that Quan Heng finally realized what had just happened.
She turned and fled into her inner room, slamming the door shut.
From within, came the bashful voice of the young woman. “I’m tired. I need to rest now. Ah Zheng, you should go back!”
Knowing she was just shy, Wen Zheng smiled happily and replied, “Alright.”
In his heart, he added—Then I’ll come see you again tonight.
From now on, in the days to come, I’ll always be with you.
***
Time flew by, and a few days later, the imperial examination results were finally released.
Even though Wen Zheng didn’t participate, seeing how everyone in the capital was eagerly awaiting the results, Quan Heng couldn’t help feeling a bit excited too.
That morning, the two of them were having breakfast in the courtyard when Ziyun suddenly rushed in, breathless and excited. “Good news! Good news!”
She had run too fast and was completely out of breath, unable to finish a full sentence for a while.
Only after drinking the cup of hot tea Quan Heng handed her did she manage to catch her breath.
“Ziyun, speak slowly—what’s the good news? No one from our marquis household even took the exam this time.”
After drinking the tea, Ziyun placed the cup on the table and sat down beside them, excitedly saying, “It’s not about us. Guess what—the name of this year’s top scholar—guess what it is?”
Quan Heng and Wen Zheng exchanged a look, both confused.
They’d only been in the capital for half a year. How could they know so many names?
Grabbing Ziyun’s hand, Quan Heng gently patted the back of it. “Alright, stop keeping us in suspense. Just tell us!”
Ziyun smiled and turned her gaze to Wen Zheng. “The top scholar, it turns out, has the exact same name as our Young Master Shen—down to the character. His name is Shen Zhengyu!”
Upon hearing this, Wen Zheng felt as if a thunderclap had struck him.
How could he have forgotten? Ah Heng once told him her true childhood sweetheart was an incredibly gifted scholar. It made sense he would come first in the exams and become the top scholar.
But now that the name had reached her ears… what if they met? What if she realized that man was her real childhood friend—and he himself was just a fake?
Seeing the shocked look on Wen Zheng’s face, Quan Heng thought he was just overly excited. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “What’s wrong, Ah Zheng? This year’s top scholar has the same name as you—what a lucky omen! It means next time you take the exam, you’ll definitely come out on top!”
Wen Zheng’s heart was filled with unease, but he didn’t want Ah Heng to notice. He forced a smile and said, “Oh? Really? That’s great, then.”
Quan Heng eagerly asked Ziyun, “Do you know what that Shen fellow looks like? Compared to our Ah Zheng, who’s more handsome?”
Ziyun giggled, covering her mouth. “I knew you’d ask that! Right now, the top scholar is parading on horseback outside. Let’s go take a look together and see for ourselves!”
