When he thought about it, he realized that he had never confronted Li Meili on what she felt for him. If there's even an ounce of hope that she loved him back, then he would be willing to cling onto that hope until he was able to convince her that he was worthy to be her other half. They were both adults who could decide on their own, so why was she worrying over such things?

  "I-I haven't…" He confessed to Qin Jiran.

  "Then that's it. You have to find out first before giving up. Do you know why I persisted in being with your sister even though she had so many reasons to reject me?" Feng Tianyi asked him.

  Tang Beixuan shook his head in response. If Li Meili was hard to convince, there was no doubt that it would be harder to convince his sister, the empress.

  "Because I know she has feelings for me. That the reason she was hesitating was not because she doesn't want me." Feng Tianyi replied.

  If he hadn't known what Tang Moyu felt for him, or if she told him that she could only see him as a friend and nothing else, he would have respected her decision and stepped back.

  But since Tang Moyu had made it clear that she was confused by her growing feelings for him, defying all her logical reasons why she cannot be with him, Feng Tianyi refused to back down.

  Tang Beixuan considered his words, which had given him another point of view on his predicament. Should he have been more persistent? Did he need to do more to be able to convince Li Meili?

  Like what? Five years wasn't still enough to prove his worth?

  If he waited a little bit longer, perhaps he would be too late. He was aware that her family was trying to set her up with some eligible men of the same status as her. He'd be damned if he let her escape from him without a fight.

  He was nineteen when he lost his innocence to her, the drunk woman who passed out in his arms after his heartfelt confession to her. He knew that he shouldn't have done it with her in her vulnerable state and hated that Li Meili had blamed herself for something he'd done.

  Tang Beixuan wanted to take responsibility for what had happened, but Li Meili had insisted that he should forget about it and treat it as a one night stand that shouldn't have happened. But how could he when she was everything that he ever wanted?

  After that, he made up his mind. The plan was to grow up first before resuming his pursuit for her, but at the same time not allowing her to forget about him, hence, he started to arrange the daily flower delivery to Li Meili for the past five years.

  "I see." Tang Beixuan nodded. "Then I'll make it clear to her. If she still insists that it's just too impossible for us to be together then…." He swallowed the lump in his throat and sighed.

  "Then be a man and accept her answer no matter how hard it would be for you." Feng Tianyi finished his words for him.

  Tang Beixuan thanked him for his time and returned to the main house, ready to retire for the night. Meanwhile, when Feng Tianyi returned to the guest house, the little buns were nowhere to be found and he roughly guessed that they were already asleep, given that it was already past their bedtime.

  He saw Tang Moyu step out from the spare bedroom where the twins had taken over months ago and joined him on the porch, bringing a tray laid with a tea kettle and a couple of cups with her. However, instead of him starting to steep the tea like he usually did, he pulled the empress to sit on his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

  "Is he alright? Did he tell you what's going on?" Tang Moyu asked as she reached up a hand to touch his head as he placed his chin over her shoulder.

  "Nothing that he cannot deal with, Moyu. It's not about your mother, I assure you." He told her. Feng Tianyi wasn't planning to tell her that her younger brother was enamored with an older woman and the fact that Tang Beixuan was having a hard time winning her heart.

  "Really?" Tang Moyu shifted on his lap, her hands on both of his shoulders as she looked at him.

  "En. It's his own affairs and problem. Let your brother deal with it on his own. Enough about that, won't you give me a reward for talking it out with your brother?" His eyes turned half lidded, gaze landed on her luscious, plump lips that he enjoyed kissing.

  Without waiting for her reply, he came forward and kissed her until she couldn't remember what they'd been talking about. Tang Moyu parted her lips and allowed him to steal a taste of her, driving him insane with the need for her, pressing herself against his body while the devil held her face like she was the most precious thing in the world.

  Suddenly, he parted his lips from hers, breathing heavily.

  "You should go follow your brother back to the main house, Moyu." Feng Tianyi told her.

  Tang Moyu, who was still in daze from their passionate kiss, lips slightly swollen from it, asked him. "Why?"

  "Because we should stop while I am still able to control myself." The devil shut his eyes and dropped his forehead on her shoulder, his heart beating loudly in his chest. "Not unless you want a third little bun pattering around this house next year." He added.