Zhang Yong was growing increasingly bored sitting in the room alone with nothing to do and nothing to see. He had flown into the courtyard in the mid afternoon. 

He had tried to stop thinking about her, but the more he forced himself to do so, the more he thought about her. The thought of not being able to see her anymore started an itch in his heart. This itch grew each day. Expending his entire energy fighting, sparring, and working with others did not help. He had also met up with Hui Shan and Wang Wei in a restaurant. He thought that seeing his love would soothe his heart but it made it feel weirder. He felt comfortable yet uncomfortable at the same time. Like a soft blanket covering him, so comfortable that he would never want to part with it, but it felt restrictive and stifling at the same time, simultaneously giving him the urge to throw it off. Today, he made up his mind to see her. How can I just ignore a diamond in the rough? Her growth may be stunted, but her hard work makes her a treasure to be taken care of.

He did not want to cause trouble for her though. So he did everything in secret. No one knew where he was. He sneaked into their estate then into her courtyard by jumping over walls. At mid level Heaven realm that is bordering on high level, he was able to detect people's presence around a certain radius from him. Therefore, he was not worried about being spotted. He was confident in his abilities.

When he arrived at an empty courtyard, he was slightly disheartened. I'll just wait then. He had thought to himself before making his way to her room. He knew no one was around but knocked on her door just in case. He would not want to catch her in any compromising situation. When there was no response, he made his way into the room and waited inside instead of staying in the hot sun.

Time passed and he grew bored. He looked around her room. There was not much to see. There was not much he could tell about her from her room. Or perhaps, how little she has in her room was indeed reflective of her personality. 

The sun soon set and his eagerness to see her heightened while the itch in his heart was hitting a new peak. In his distracted state, it was only at the last minute that he noticed he was under attack. 

He swiftly avoided the blow by a hair's breath. The axe swung down the side of his head. The edge of his hair that got cut off drifted down. Before the hair could touch the ground, he already began his counter-attack. He put in his full strength into his palm strike. At the last second before his power left his hand, he identified the assailant and his heart dropped. He instantly withdrew the power in his hand and it became a normal attack. However, he could not stop his hand from making contact with her soft body. 

The axe flew out of her grip. Xinyi felt immense pain spreading through her torso as her body flew across the room and crashed into the wall. She spurted out blood. He rushed to her aid and supported her upright in his arms. "How are you? I'll call the doctor." 

She weakly shook her head. She has already begun to circulate energy around her body to make herself feel a little better. "You really have no decorum, waiting for a lady in her room." 

"Like you have any decorum too. Who sneaks an attack on their visitor after knowing who he is?" He quipped back at her.

Xinyi smiled a little and pushed herself out of his arms. She slowly went to her herb garden. Every move she made caused pain to pulse from where she was hit. He saw her trying to harvest a herb and quickly helped her with it. She then took the herb from him and prepared it to be boiled into soup. Only after she set the pot onto the stove and sat down at the stone table, did she finally address him. "Didn't I say not to come again? There'll be unwanted trouble now." 

"I came here in secret. You didn't hear news of me through anyone, did you?" Zhang Yong looked genuinely confused. 

"No, I didn't." 

"Then you should have known that I came in secret today."

"Why should me not hearing about you from others be indicative of the secrecy of your visit?"

"Wasn't my visit to your estate always announced to the members of the household?" He thought back to how everyone would come out to greet him while he spent time with Hui Shan. He thought that she was simply waiting for him to go to her before she would greet him. This contributed to his impression that he did not need to be mindful of such decorum with her.

"No. I only hear about you through the gossips among servants and maids." 

Zhang Yong widened his eyes. How much have this family neglected is this girl? 

Xinyi closed her eyes to cultivate. They sat in silence for a long while. She stopped when she felt a little more energetic because she was thinking of preparing her bath while waiting for her soup. "Are you not leaving yet?"

"Nope. I got to make sure you're okay first. I'm responsible for your injury."

"It's my responsibility. I sneaked an attack. Also, I'm fine now." Xinyi said. It's not a lie. I'll soon be fine after I drink the soup. 

"How's that possible? Even I don't heal that fast. I'll stay to help you with things till you retire to bed." He declared.

Xinyi did not bother arguing with him. She was already familiar with his high handed nature. "Today you reacted much slower for someone at your level. Is it possible that you came to find me today because of some issue that has you distracted?"

"Good observation. I did come to you because of an issue I couldn't solve." His bright obsidian eyes looked into hers. 

"What is it?"

"No worries, it's all solved now." Zhang Yong was in a good mood. She reminded him how his heart did not feel itchy and uncomfortable anymore. "Anyway, I'll be coming by more often now since it's in secret." 

"You seem awfully free with nothing to do. Doesn't sound typical of a commander."

"I left everything in order. They should not always need me around to function properly. Otherwise, I'm just leading useless headless troops. If I'm needed, they'll call me." In actual fact, he just made up his mind to take over guarding the border at night, so that he could make time to come here in the day. He was planning to ask his father that night when he returned home.

"If you say so then."

She got up to move to the well. On their way there, he continued the conversation.

"This is longest conversation we've ever held. I just noticed, it's been 6 months since I've known you and I still don't know your name." 

Xinyi looked at him for awhile. She didn't want him to talk about her to others. She'd rather avoid trouble if she could help it. "Call me however you want." She told him nonchalantly. 

Since she's a treasure, I'll call her treasure. But she's not a thing... I got it. "BaoBei." 

Xinyi tripped over her own foot and fell towards the well. Zhang Yong pulled her back towards him by her arm which caused her face to smash into his chest. She grabbed onto her nose in pain. What is he? A brick wall?

Upon seeing her reaction and her red face, he cocked his head. "You don't like it? I can change how I call you." 

"It's not that I don't like it. Wait, no, that's not the point. Why- How did you even come up with that?" Xinyi asked him.

"You're really a BaoBei to me."

"I'm precious?" 

He nodded. 

"To you?" 

He nodded again. What is she so confused about? She's really valuable. 

"I'm your BaoBei?" Once she phrased her question this way, he finally understood what was wrong. He immediately turned around to hide his embarrassment. 

Xinyi looked at his red ears. I didn't know the second male lead was this dense and slow. 

He lightly coughed and apologised. "It's my mistake, forgive me. I simply meant you're a valuable person, like a treasure. But you aren't an object so... I immediately thought of that form of address."

"It's fine. Just... maybe it's more appropriate if you call me by something else now." 

Zhang Yong agreed. After becoming aware of its secondary meaning, he could not get it out of his head. "How about... Pearl?"

Xinyi slightly tilted her head.

"You're valuable but take a long time to grow. You're also not shiny like those stones that many women seem to cherish. You feel more modest, quiet, and unassuming. Pearl just feels right to call you by."

Xinyi nodded her head lightly to show that she did not mind being called as such. She also lightly rubbed the tip of her nose while turning away to go to the well. 

Is she being shy?

Oh my gosh, Xinyi, you're shy! BaoBao exclaimed in her mind.

Oh shut it. No one has said such sincere sweet nothings in front of me like that so I'm just not use to it okay?

If you say so~~~ BaoBao said it in such a playful way that made Xinyi's lips twitch. 

When Xinyi lowered the bucket into the well and was ready to hoist it back up, Zhang Yong forcibly took the rope away from her. The bucket came up in no time and he looked at her waiting for her to tell him what to do now. 

"I'm filling my bath tub with water. You sure you want to do that for me?"

He frowned. "Don't people normally heat up the water somewhere else first before bringing it into the room to fill your bath tub?"

Xinyi simply shrugged and tried to take the bucket from him. He did not let her do it. He took the bucket, walked into her room, then followed her to her bath tub in the opposite end of the room from the bed.

A few trips was enough to fill the tub half with water. When he wanted to go to the well to take more, she told him that it was enough water. "You're really making me doubt if you're really part of this family. You're the daughter of the second concubine, aren't you?" 

Xinyi nodded. 

"Why're you being treated like this? Why aren't you demanding at least for a little more?" Xinyi knew that the original character would have done so but the soul inhabiting the body now jsut could not be bothered. She preferred the freedom that came with being unnoticed. 

"It's better for things to continue this way. Too much attention, too little freedom and too much drama." 

Zhang Yong felt conflicted. He understood what she meant but he felt uneasy letting her live so frugally.

When he saw her about to take the pot off the stove, he immediately got into action and took over the job. He also helped to wash up the things then bring the bowl of soup back into her room. 

"That's all, I'm really fine now, you can go."

"What? We weren't going to eat together?"

Xinyi stared at him with a blank look. "Does this look like a meal for two to you?"

"I honestly thought it was just another one of your frugal living habits..." 

Xinyi sat down at the table and he followed suit. Xinyi looked at him questioningly.

"I haven't eaten."

"Then go home?"

"I want to eat here. You haven't retired to your bed."

"There's no food for you."

"It's okay. I'll eat your leftovers."

"There'll be no leftovers."

"I'll just stay hungry then. This is normal when we fight wars and have fights at the border anyway." 

Xinyi pursed her lips. She felt that she really could not win against his stubbornness so she decided to let him be. Zhang Yong really obediently and silently sat there to watch her eat. 

"...Do you mind looking elsewhere?" Xinyi was really not used to having so much attention on her. She was used to being ignored and forgotten.

"There's nothing else to see in here. Or do." Zhang Yong said with an eyebrow raised. Does she expect me to space out then?

Xinyi sighed lightly and continued her meal. With him staring, she ended up only being able to stomach half of the bowl. She no longer felt weak and her injury only ached whenever she moved. It no longer hurt. She slid the bowl across the table to Zhang Yong. Zhang Yong smiled and happily took it.