EMPEROR You of Zhou (Ji Gongsheng)
These past two days were hell for me. I hadn't seen my girl, Concubine Ji, at all.
On the first day, I tried to hold myself back. I told myself to focus on court matters, to do my duty as emperor—but it was impossible. My mind kept drifting back to her. In the end, I gave up pretending and instead hid myself away, watching from a distance. I don't even know what I was expecting. There they were—the Queen and Concubine Ji—sitting outside, sipping tea, laughing together.
On one hand, seeing them get along made me happy. But on the other… I felt jealous.
How could she smile like that? I kept wondering—was she missing me the same way I was missing her? On the second day, I spent almost all day just watching them like a stalker.
When morning came, the very first thing I wanted to do was go see Concubine Ji. The eunuch kept repeating that I should attend court first, but I didn't care. My priority was her—my beautiful girl. I wanted to hold her. Hug her. Kiss her. If I could tie her to me, I would—just to keep her by my side all the time.
…Or maybe I shouldn't.
Knowing her personality, that would be the worst thing I could do. She would get mad—and I hate it when I upset her. I would do anything just to see her happy.
The moment I reached her door, I knocked immediately. If it were up to me, I would've walked straight in. After all, I'm the emperor—I have every right. But I didn't want to wake her in case she was sleeping. After only a second, the door opened. The moment she saw me, a smile appeared on her face. I stepped inside, pulled her into my arms, and kissed her.
God… Those lips. So soft.
One of my hands wrapped around her waist, the other cradled her head as I kissed her.
No—not kissed. Devoured.
She had no idea how hungry I felt. The animal inside me clawed to get out every second I held her. I kept pulling her closer, tighter—at this point, it felt like I wanted to merge her into me.
Then I heard a small moan. I immediately stopped and pulled back just enough to see her face.
"You want to crush me?" she asked.
"Why would you ask that?" I said, confused.
"You're holding me too tight."
Only then did I realise how much force I was using.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to… I just missed you so much." I said, resting my forehead against hers.
"I missed you too," she replied softly, not moving.
"You sure you missed me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes playfully.
"Of course. Why would I lie?"
"I don't know…" I glanced toward the window instead of looking at her. "Maybe you had too much fun with the Queen and forgot about me."
"Why would you think—" She suddenly stopped, as if something clicked in her mind. "You were watching us from afar, weren't you?"
"Me? Pff… of course not."
"Ji Gongsheng!!!" she snapped in a strict, authoritative tone.
I looked at her, surprised. "Did you just call me—the emperor—by my full name?"
"What if I did?"
"You know—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. If it were anyone else, they'd be dead before finishing the sentence," she cut me off.
"So, you do know."
"But I also know you won't do anything to me," she said confidently. "Now, back to the subject—did you spy on us?"
"Well—"
"Don't you dare lie," she said seriously.
How can someone be this cute?
"Alright, I admit defeat. Yes, I did spy on you. But in my defence—I missed you so much I couldn't stop myself from at least seeing you from afar."
She just looked at me, slowly nodding.
"So… are you mad?" I asked quietly.
"What do you think?"
"I don't know. Maybe you're not."
"And why not?"
"Because you probably missed me just as much as I missed you," I said with a smirk.
"You're lucky I like you. Otherwise, I would've beaten you by now."
"What did you say?" I asked, grinning widely. "That you like me?"
The moment she realized what she had said, her face turned red like a tomato.
Shyly, she buried her face in my chest, trying to hide.
"I didn't hear that," I teased. "Could you repeat it?"
Of course I heard it. But I wanted to hear her say it again. And again.
"You heard me," she muttered, her face still pressed against me.
"Sorry, I couldn't. You'll have to repeat it."
"It's your fault if you didn't hear it."
"And why would that be my fault?"
"Because…"
"Because what?" I asked, hugging her tighter.
I'm going to die from her cuteness.
"Come on…" she said, lifting her head just enough to look me in the eyes.
I decided not to tease her anymore.
"I like you too," I said softly. "I like you a lot."
Her eyes lit up like stars, yet she couldn't say a word. I know she already knew. But knowing and hearing are two completely different things. The same for me. I knew she liked me—but the moment she said it, my world stopped. Everything stopped. I couldn't look away from her. The joy I felt… couldn't be described.
Without thinking, I kissed her again. If I could spend the rest of my life just holding her and kissing her, I would be the happiest man alive.
What felt like seconds to me were probably minutes. Eventually, she pushed me away. It was difficult to stop. I could've easily held her there and continued – but I forced myself to pull back.
"Let me breathe for a moment," she said, trying to catch her breath.
I had forgotten about breathing altogether. To me, she is my oxygen. She is everything. If she only knew how much I was holding back… After a few minutes, once we both calmed down, I asked,
"Are you hungry?"
She nodded instead of answering.
"Then let's go eat," I said, kissing her gently on the forehead.