This day, Su Zhaoyan came to find Lu Xueqing.
When Su Zhaoyan arrived at the courtyard gate, she found it was bolted from the inside.
Su Zhaoyan knocked twice, but there was still no response.
“Not here, huh? Out on a mission?” Su Zhaoyan thought silently.
Initially, having come all this way for nothing, Su Zhaoyan planned to return to Chixia Peak.
But after taking two steps, her pace slowed.
She suddenly remembered Lu Xueqing's loss of composure on the day of the finals.
The usually steady Lu Xueqing had actually pulled someone into a tight embrace in front of so many people. She said it was a congratulation, but in Su Zhaoyan's eyes, it didn't look like a congratulation at all.
Su Zhaoyan had seen far too many disciples congratulate their peers.
No one hugged like that.
No one would pull their arms so tight like Lu Xueqing did, burying her face in the other's shoulder. If one had to describe Lu Xueqing's embrace, it was as if she were afraid the person would run away.
And in all the time Su Zhaoyan had known Lu Xueqing, she had never seen her act that way toward anyone.
The more Su Zhaoyan thought about it, the more interesting it became.
Why was that little junior sister so charming? How did she manage to turn the ever-composed Lu Xueqing into that?
Since she was already at Xueji Peak today and Lu Xueqing wasn't around, she might as well go see the little junior sister who had caused her to lose her cool.
Besides, she knew the way around Xueji Peak.
...
Bai Qingxue was meditating under the tree.
At this moment, spiritual power flowed slowly through her meridians, continuously completing cycles.
Bai Qingxue didn't hear any footsteps, nor did she hear the courtyard gate being pushed open. She only noticed someone's presence when they sat down across from her.
“Junior Sister Bai, I’ve come to see you~.”
Hearing this, Bai Qingxue opened her eyes.
Su Zhaoyan had sat down opposite her at some unknown point, propping her chin on one hand while placing a bag of spirit fruit on the stone table with the other. Her posture was as casual as if she were in her own backyard.
Su Zhaoyan was dressed in red, her long hair tied up, a smile playing on her lips. Her gaze slid from Bai Qingxue's brow to her chin, then from her chin to her collar, unhurriedly, as if she were flipping through an interesting book.
Bai Qingxue did not stand up or respond.
Su Zhaoyan didn't mind either, casting her gaze around the courtyard.
Her eyes swept from the old plum tree to the stone steps, from the stone steps to the veranda, and from the veranda to the old tassels hanging on the window frame.
After looking around, she brought her gaze back.
“This courtyard is cleaner than I thought. Did Lu Xueqing tidy it up for you?”
“No.”
“Then she’s quite good at resisting the urge to touch your things.”
Bai Qingxue glanced at her.
Su Zhaoyan's tone was as casual as before, and that curve remained at the corner of her mouth, but Bai Qingxue felt there was something strange about her words.
Bai Qingxue didn't respond. Out of courtesy, she stood up, went into the house to get a teacup, poured some water, and pushed it over.
Su Zhaoyan picked it up and took a sip.
“This tea is very weak.”
“It’s cold water.”
Su Zhaoyan froze for a moment and looked down at the cup.
The surface of the water in the cup was perfectly still, reflecting the sky. It was clean and clear, indeed without a trace of tea leaves.
Su Zhaoyan stared at the cup of cold water for a moment, as if trying to confirm that Bai Qingxue wasn't joking.
But Bai Qingxue’s expression told Su Zhaoyan plainly that she wasn't.
Su Zhaoyan stared into those calm, rippleless eyes for two heartbeats, then suddenly burst out laughing.
However, she soon shook her head and put the cup back on the table, her finger lightly tapping the rim.
“Where is Lu Xueqing?”
“Out on a mission.”
“Not here, then.” Su Zhaoyan leaned back, her gaze falling on Bai Qingxue’s face again.
Before coming, she had imagined what Bai Qingxue’s reaction would be.
Coldness, silence, or even chasing her away.
She had prepared responses for all of them. But Bai Qingxue wasn't cold; she was indifferent. Whether you came, left, sat, or stood, it had nothing to do with her.
This kind of indifference was more baffling than coldness.
Looking at the frost-like Bai Qingxue before her...
Su Zhaoyan suddenly felt that things were even more interesting than she had imagined.
This little junior sister hadn't noticed Lu Xueqing’s cautious feelings at all.
And the steady Lu Xueqing probably wouldn't dare to speak up, either.
One didn't dare to speak, and the other was completely oblivious.
Interesting, truly interesting.
Su Zhaoyan leaned against the back of the chair, the curve of her lips almost impossible to suppress now.
No, Su Zhaoyan didn't intend to suppress it at all.
But before she could laugh out loud, the courtyard gate was pushed open.
Lu Xueqing stood at the entrance. Her Daoist robe was still stained with dust, and she held a mission token in her hand.
She saw Su Zhaoyan sitting in her spot, legs crossed, a bag of spirit fruit by her hand, and the tea poured by Bai Qingxue sitting in front of her.
Her gaze lingered on Su Zhaoyan for a moment before shifting to Bai Qingxue. Bai Qingxue’s expression was normal, revealing nothing.
Lu Xueqing didn't say a word. She simply walked in and stood beside Su Zhaoyan.
“What are you doing here?” Lu Xueqing’s voice was several degrees colder than usual.
“I heard you’ve been running here every day.” Su Zhaoyan stood up, placed the teacup back on the stone table, and patted her robes. “I just came to take a look.”
Lu Xueqing didn't respond. Su Zhaoyan walked over, pausing as she passed her. She leaned in and lowered her voice: “Your little junior sister is very interesting. Keep a close eye on her.”
As she said this, Su Zhaoyan looked back at Bai Qingxue, but her peripheral vision remained fixed on Lu Xueqing.
Lu Xueqing didn't reply, and her expression didn't change, but her fingers tightened around the mission token for a split second—so briefly that it wouldn't have been noticed if one hadn't been watching her closely.
Seeing this, the curve of Su Zhaoyan's lips deepened. The mirth seemed ready to overflow from her eyes. At this moment, Su Zhaoyan looked like a cat that had spotted its prey.
Without another word, Su Zhaoyan simply bid Bai Qingxue farewell and turned to leave.
Her footsteps were light and brisk.
Lu Xueqing stood at the gate for a while. Only after the sound of footsteps faded did she sit down across from Bai Qingxue.
She pushed the cup Su Zhaoyan had used to the corner of the table and didn't look at it again.
Bai Qingxue took a fresh cup, poured some tea, and pushed it over.
The tea gave off a thin veil of steam, which swirled around Bai Qingxue’s fingertips before dissipating.
“She came looking for you,” Bai Qingxue said.
“I know.” Lu Xueqing picked up the cup. The tea was warm, not cold water.
Lu Xueqing looked down at the tea infusion in the cup without raising her head, simply saying, “You don't need to pay her any mind. She’s just like that.”
Her voice was soft, as if she were speaking of something that didn't need further mention. Yet even she didn't know why she felt the need to say it anyway.
Bai Qingxue didn't respond and took a sip of her own tea.
The leaves of the old plum tree rustled in the wind. Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, falling onto the table between them. The patches of light swayed for a moment before steadying.
Lu Xueqing held her cup, drinking sip by sip.
The tea was no longer hot, yet she didn't feel cold.
She thought of Su Zhaoyan's words: “Keep a close eye on her.”
Keep an eye on what? And what was there to see?
Lu Xueqing lowered her eyes, turning that sentence over in her mind again and again.
Her feelings for Junior Sister Bai were merely a senior sister's concern for a junior sister. Su Zhaoyan was always like that, never serious. Everything that came out of her mouth carried some other meaning; there was no need to take it seriously.
Lu Xueqing told herself this. She said it so many times she almost believed it herself.
But she knew all too well that some things couldn't withstand scrutiny.
She didn't want anyone to see the look in her eyes when she looked at Bai Qingxue. She didn't want anyone to discover her feelings for her.
Lu Xueqing wasn't afraid of being laughed at; she was afraid of Bai Qingxue finding out.
She was terrified. She feared that if Bai Qingxue realized, the look in her eyes would change. She would grow distant, and Lu Xueqing would lose even the small chance she had now to be close to her.
But Su Zhaoyan's look today, the smile on her lips, and that casual “keep a close eye on her” all seemed to be telling her: You can't hide it. I've already seen.
The teacup was empty. Lu Xueqing set it down.
“Junior Sister, I’ll head back now. See you later.”
“Mm.”
Lu Xueqing stood up and walked to the courtyard gate, then stopped.
“Junior Sister,” Lu Xueqing began, her voice so soft it was as if only she could hear it.
Bai Qingxue turned her head slightly to look at her.
Lu Xueqing fell silent for a moment. What did she want to say?
To tell her not to take Su Zhaoyan's words to heart? But Junior Sister Bai probably hadn't taken them to heart at all.
To ask if she knew why Su Zhaoyan had come? But what would that accomplish?
To ask if she felt Su Zhaoyan was getting too close? But she shouldn't say that. She was the senior sister; a senior sister shouldn't say such things.
So many words were blocked in her throat. Each one reached her lips, only to be swallowed back down.
In the end, it only became: “...Never mind. It’s nothing.”
Without waiting for Bai Qingxue's response, Lu Xueqing stepped out of the courtyard.
The stone steps were long. Lu Xueqing didn't walk fast. The soles of her boots crushed the fine gravel, the sound echoing step by step on the empty mountain path.
Those words had tumbled over her tongue many times, only to be swallowed back down, leaving her throat tight with bitterness.
Junior Sister Bai knew nothing.
Junior Sister Bai would never know.
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