The night was deep.
Bai Qingxue sat in her quiet room, cultivating.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the courtyard gate.
Bai Qingxue rose to open it.
Lu Xueqing was standing outside.
Lu Xueqing stood at the door, holding a tea tray with a pot of tea and two cups on it.
At this moment, the moonlight was mostly obscured by thin clouds; it wasn't particularly bright as it fell upon her, yet it cast her silhouette in a soft light.
Lu Xueqing had her long hair down, unlike the tidy way she bound it during the day. Strands of hair draped over her shoulders, gently stirred by the night wind.
She had changed into frost-white casual attire. The fabric was softer than her Daoist robe and did not cling to her as formally; one button at her collar was undone, and no sword hung at her waist.
Lu Xueqing possessed a bit less of her usual heroic spirit, yet gained an aura that was difficult to define.
“Junior Sister, did I disturb you?” Lu Xueqing asked softly.
Bai Qingxue shook her head slightly and stepped aside to let her in.
The two sat down under the old plum tree. Lu Xueqing poured two cups of tea and pushed one over.
“What did Su Zhaoyan say to you when she came today?” Lu Xueqing picked up her teacup but did not drink, merely holding it in her hands.
“She said the courtyard was clean,” Bai Qingxue said. “She asked if you tidied it. I said no.”
The corner of Lu Xueqing's mouth twitched, though it couldn't quite be called a smile. “What else did she say?”
“She said you were quite good at resisting the urge to touch my things.”
Lu Xueqing was taken aback for a moment, then her finger brushed against the rim of the cup.
“...She’s not serious when she speaks. Don't take it to heart.”
Bai Qingxue didn't respond, simply picking up her cup and taking a sip.
To be honest, Bai Qingxue didn't know why Lu Xueqing had come to deliver tea late at night, nor did she intend to ask.
If she came, she came; if there was tea, she would drink it.
Lu Xueqing lowered her head, looking at the tea infusion in the cup. Her own face was reflected in the water, her expression unreadable.
She opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again.
She hadn't come to talk about Su Zhaoyan. What she wanted to say was that Su Zhaoyan would likely come again, and she didn't want her to.
The more she thought about that “keep a close eye on her,” the more unsettled she felt.
But how could she say that? Should she say, “Don't let Su Zhaoyan into your courtyard”? She had no right to do so.
Should she say, “I don't like her looking at you”? Lu Xueqing couldn't bring herself to say it.
Lu Xueqing took a sip of tea and set the cup down again.
“Su Zhaoyan,” she began slowly, “is like that with everyone. She seems familiar with everyone, but in truth, no one is truly in her eyes. She came to find you not because of you, but because... she found it interesting.”
Bai Qingxue glanced at her but didn't respond.
Lu Xueqing knew she was saying too much. Bai Qingxue didn't need her to tell her what kind of person Su Zhaoyan was.
Yet Lu Xueqing couldn't stop. She feared that if she stopped, she would say something she shouldn't.
She feared those forbidden words would spill from her throat like water, impossible to hold back.
“She wasn't like this before,” Lu Xueqing’s voice grew quieter. “Before, she wouldn't... wouldn't notice these things. She wouldn't notice what others were doing, or who was close to whom. She’s changed recently. I don't know what she’s thinking.”
In truth, she knew; she just didn't dare say it.
Su Zhaoyan was watching her.
Or rather, Su Zhaoyan was watching her watch Bai Qingxue.
She wanted Su Zhaoyan to stop looking, but if she said so, Su Zhaoyan would ask “why.”
Lu Xueqing couldn't answer. She couldn't answer because she had hidden that answer in her heart for a long time; she didn't even dare admit it to herself, let alone have others recognize it.
Bai Qingxue set her cup down. She didn't urge her or press for details.
She simply sat there, quietly drinking her tea.
Moonlight essence shone upon them both.
Sitting across from her, Lu Xueqing watched Bai Qingxue.
Bai Qingxue didn't look at her; her gaze drifted elsewhere, her thoughts unknown.
The bright moonlight made Bai Qingxue’s profile look somewhat ethereal.
Lu Xueqing suddenly wanted to ask: What are you thinking? Have you ever wondered why I come every day? Have you ever wondered why I always arrive just as you finish practicing your sword? Have you ever wondered why I hugged you that day at the finals?
Lu Xueqing’s lips parted.
Bai Qingxue picked up her cup and took another sip.
Bai Qingxue’s fingers were long and white, her posture elegant as she held the cup. Lu Xueqing stared at that hand for two heartbeats before swallowing the words that had reached her lips.
Lu Xueqing didn't dare ask.
She was afraid.
She was afraid Bai Qingxue would give her a reason she couldn't refute, pushing her away—pushing her back to the position where a “Senior Sister” ought to stay.
Lu Xueqing didn't want to be pushed away.
She would rather stand here, neither too far nor too close, not speaking, not asking, not looking.
At least this way, she could still come.
At least this way, Bai Qingxue would still pour tea for her.
Lu Xueqing finished the pot of tea.
“Junior Sister, I’ll head back now.” She stood up, her tone as casual as when she arrived, as if she truly had only come to deliver a pot of tea.
After Lu Xueqing left...
Bai Qingxue remained sitting under the old plum tree, holding her cup.
Moonlight fell on her shoulders, making her frost-white Daoist robe glow.
The tea grew cold. She didn't refill it with hot water, nor did she stand up.
Bai Qingxue noticed that Lu Xueqing had said much more than usual tonight. Much more.
Bai Qingxue didn't understand.
She didn't understand what Lu Xueqing was thinking when she sat with her head lowered, silent over her teacup.
She had clearly given the Jade Radiance Pendant to her Senior Sister in hopes it would help her calm her mind and focus her spirit.
But now, her Senior Sister seemed even more restless than before.
Bai Qingxue couldn't figure it out. She picked up the cup and finished the last of the cold tea, the bitterness spreading across the tip of her tongue.
She set the cup down, stood up, and returned to the quiet room.
Bai Qingxue closed her eyes, and an image of Lu Xueqing’s recent appearance surfaced in her mind.
Lu Xueqing with her hair down, a button undone at her collar, sitting under the old plum tree, hesitating to speak.
She suddenly felt that Senior Sister Lu hadn't come tonight to talk about Su Zhaoyan.
Perhaps she had wanted to say something else.
But Senior Sister Lu was always hesitating to speak.
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