166: Chapter 166: The Lost Snow Empress!

Inside the room, Snow Empress leaned her back against the cold door panel, her heart still beating somewhat rapidly.

The probing gaze Lu Jing had given her at the dinner table just now, along with her own embarrassing loss of composure, kept her mind in turmoil.

At this moment, she was sitting on the soft couch by the window, forcing herself to calm down.

But in her mind, the words Qian Renxue had spoken last night couldn't help but surface again.

"Love, husband and wife, following him to the Divine Realm..."

Every word was like a small hammer, striking against her long-frozen defenses, bringing waves of unfamiliar palpitations and confusion.

She was immersed in her own thoughts, struggling to sort through the tangled mess of emotions in her heart.

The sudden knock at the door startled her, and she nearly sprang up from the soft couch.

"Who... who is it?" She tried hard to make her voice sound calm, but it still carried a trace of imperceptible nervousness.

"It's me, Sister Xue." From outside the door came Lu Jing's familiar and gentle voice.

It was Lu Jing!

Snow Empress's heart skipped several beats instantly!

Why... why did he come?

Did he discover something?

Or... was it just ordinary concern?

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, making her already chaotic thoughts even more confused.

She stood up subconsciously, her hands unconsciously gripping the hem of her dress. Her stunningly beautiful face was a mix of worry, panic, and a hint of a secret expectation she hadn't even realized herself.

She took several deep breaths and exhaled slowly, trying to calm her overly rapid heartbeat.

Then, she walked to the vanity, quickly tidied her silver hair, which was slightly messy from her agitated state, in the mirror, and tugged at her water-blue dress to ensure nothing was amiss.

After doing all this, she turned around, walked to the door with somewhat stiff steps, paused for a few seconds, then gathered her courage, reached out, and slowly pulled open the door.

Outside the door, Lu Jing stood tall, looking at her with his usual, reassuring, and gentle smile.

"Sister Xue!" Lu Jing's gaze swept quickly across her face, keenly capturing the lingering panic in her eyes and the unnatural flush on her face, confirming in his heart that she had something on her mind.

He asked in a relaxed tone, "I didn't disturb your rest, did I?"

"No, no."

Snow Empress stepped aside, her voice still somewhat tense, and asked softly, "Do... do you need something from me?"

"I have something I want to ask you." Lu Jing said, walking into the room quite naturally.

Snow Empress hesitated for a moment, followed behind him, and gently closed the door behind her.

Just this action of closing the door seemed to make her heartbeat quicken a few beats more, as if it had isolated the two of them in a more private space, one that made her feel even more flustered.

Lu Jing did not walk to the window but instead took Snow Empress's slightly cool hand and led her straight to the sofa in the center of the room, which was covered with soft cushions, signaling her to sit down.

Snow Empress's hand was held by him, and the warm sensation made her fingertips tremble slightly. She obediently sat down with him but subconsciously pulled her hand back, placing it on her lap, her fingers unconsciously twisting together.

Lu Jing sat down beside her, turned to the side, and looked at her with focused eyes, his tone exceptionally gentle, carrying a trace of imperceptible probing:

"Sister Xue, do you... have something on your mind?"

"Boom!"

Snow Empress felt as if something had exploded in her head!

He really had seen through it!

He had asked!

Her delicate body trembled violently, and she subconsciously wanted to deny it. She looked up, meeting Lu Jing's deep black eyes that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, but the words on the tip of her tongue just wouldn't come out clearly:

"Why... why would you... ask that?"

Her voice carried obvious nervousness, and even a hint of guilt from being seen through that she hadn't even realized herself.

Watching Snow Empress's reaction, Lu Jing became even more certain.

He sighed softly, his tone carrying a hint of understanding and helplessness, along with a bit of indulgence that he only showed to those close to him:

"Because I know you, Sister Xue. You are simple-minded, not very good at hiding your emotions, and even worse at lying. Your worries are practically written on your face. Take right now, for example: you are so nervous your hands are shaking, your face is flushed, and your eyes are darting around. How can you say you are fine?"

"I..." After being told this, Snow Empress subconsciously reached up to touch her still-hot cheeks, feeling a wave of warmth.

She bit her lower lip, her crimson lips slightly whitening from the pressure.

A strong sense of embarrassment and an urge to stop him from continuing to ask surged into her heart.

She lowered her head, her voice even quieter, carrying a hint of stubbornness:

"You... you don't ask anymore. This... this is just my own worry, it has nothing to do with... with you."

She tried to use "it has nothing to do with you" to draw a line and stop him from continuing to probe.

Lu Jing raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling even more curious.

A worry that had nothing to do with him?

What kind of matter could make Snow Empress lose her composure like this?

"What is on your mind?"

Lu Jing pressed on, his tone sincere, "Tell me about it, let's see if I can help you. Is there anything between us that we can't talk about?"

"Don't ask!"

Snow Empress shook her head violently, a rare, almost pleading expression appearing on her stunningly beautiful face.

But her eyes were filled with determination, clearly showing she wouldn't say a word even if it killed her.

"Really... it's nothing. I can handle it myself. You... you don't need to worry about it."

Looking at her stubborn, unyielding demeanor, determined not to reveal a single thing, Lu Jing felt a bit helpless for a moment.

He knew Snow Empress's temperament; once she had made up her mind not to speak, trying to pry words out of her would likely be harder than ascending to heaven.

Pressing her forcefully would only make her more resistant and might even hurt her.

Lu Jing was silent for a moment and eventually had to give up.

He stood up and looked at Snow Empress, who was still keeping her head down, her shoulders slightly tense. Although his confusion was even greater, he had to let it go for now.

He reached out, hesitated for a moment, and finally gently patted Snow Empress's slightly trembling shoulder, leaving a sentence with a gentle tone:

"Alright, since you don't want to say, I won't ask. But Sister Xue, you must remember, no matter what is on your mind or what difficulties you encounter, don't carry it alone. You can come to me anytime; I will definitely help you. We are... friends, aren't we?"

After speaking, he took one last deep look at Snow Empress, then turned around, filled with confusion, and left her room, gently closing the door.

Only when she heard Lu Jing's footsteps fade away and the door was completely closed did Snow Empress's tense body suddenly relax, and she leaned weakly against the back of the sofa.

She raised her hand to cover her still-hot cheeks, her ice-blue eyes filled with confusion, inner conflict, and a hint of... loss.