Looking at Yun Qian beside him with a hooked smile and high spirits, Xu Chang’an stopped in his tracks, thinking that with her personality, at least she wouldn’t cry, right.
He glanced at the dark woods on both sides, his gaze drifting as he said, "Miss, if I left now, would you feel bad?"
He could wake up from the dream to escape what was happening and what was about to happen.
Escaping may be shameful, but who can resist when it’s useful?
She once said that she probably wouldn’t be able to cry.
Xu Chang’an also said he couldn’t imagine what kind of situation would make Yun Qian shed tears.
Her nature was so flawless and hard to evoke sympathy that she wanted a teardrop mole, to pretend like she could cry, to elicit Xu Chang’an’s affection.
But now, as Xu Chang’an considered whether to leave, everything was different.
The hot spring was at the end of the path, and they could already vaguely see the lanterns’ light. Yun Qian released Xu Chang’an’s hand, stepped back two paces, and quietly watched him.
His body blocked the faint distant light, and his shadow illuminated by the torch in his hand covered her.
"Miss?" Xu Chang’an looked at the girl hidden in his shadow, stunned for a moment, then gripped the torch more firmly.
Yun Qian lightly touched beneath her eyes with her pinky, "Do you want me to cry for you?"
The thing she disliked most was being left behind, which was very important.
Upon hearing the word "cry," Xu Chang’an’s gaze flickered over Yun Qian’s clear, watery eyes and fell on her hands, seeing her fingers clutching the hem of her dress, unconsciously bent together.
Though silent, Xu Chang’an seemed to hear the crystalline sound of her glassy eyes cracking after he left, imagining her melting like snowflakes under the blazing sun.
"...I’m just joking." Xu Chang’an quickly conceded.
"You’re not leaving?" Yun Qian asked.
"Not leaving, not going anywhere," Xu Chang’an replied sheepishly. "If I left, what if Miss fell asleep alone in the hot spring?"
Yun Qian nodded, slowly releasing her clasped hands. She looked toward the faint light and bright torch but did not step forward to hold Xu Chang’an’s hand again, simply saying quietly, "Let’s go."
Xu Chang’an, as if wanting to make up for something, looked at the girl hidden in his shadow and said softly, "Won’t you come with me?"
"You go ahead," Yun Qian stated with an indisputable tone.
Xu Chang’an sighed, looking at this one-way path and thought, was she afraid he’d run away, insisting on personally cutting off his retreat?
Miss Yun really was naive. If he truly wanted to destroy this dream world, he could do so with a single thought.
But he wouldn’t do such a thing.
It was fitting to say it was a dream—what he feared most, Yun Qian grasped immediately.
He couldn’t bear to see her sad, not even in a dream.
Because Yun Qian appeared so real, Xu Chang’an simply imagined the look of disappointment she would show if the dream world disappeared... even for a moment, causing his chest to ache badly.
An affection for the false comes from love for the genuine.
He was utterly resolved to abandon his escape plans.
Whatever comes, comes. What was there to fear about soaking in a hot spring—could the lady eat him alive?
Xu Chang’an had always been a very traditional person. He never caused her trouble outside, had no precedent, nor would he start. The lady understood his limits.
"Let’s go." Xu Chang’an took the lead toward the end of the path.
"...Hmm." Yun Qian responded, stepping on Xu Chang’an’s shadow, watching as it stretched further away, not hurrying to follow.
The girl looked at the not-so-wide but profoundly reassuring back ahead.
Unlike Xu Chang’an, the girl named Yun Qian did not need to be reserved, nor did she know how to be, so she felt her cheeks and chest heat up, which was a genuine liking.
Shadows are , always behind the light. Merely watching was satisfying, and should there be a chance to draw nearer to warmth, it would be an unexpected delight.
She didn’t like the sun because he said it couldn’t be looked at directly after sunrise.
Yet she likened Xu Chang’an to the sun and thus liked the sun.
And the sun... would inevitably have a moment where it turns sharp and unapproachable after a gentle and beautiful sunrise. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovᴇlFir(e).nᴇt
There are two kinds of people in the world.
The timid, lacking the courage to expose themselves beneath the scorching sun, afraid of getting burned.
The brave, like moths to a flame, unable to resist the lure of light and heat, even knowing they will burn everything in themselves the next second.
Occasionally, she pondered that she couldn’t stay in Xu Chang’an’s shadow forever, just like the previous "Miss Yun" by his side, would eventually shed their disguises, becoming a representative memory she sealed away.
The same fate awaited the girl named "Yun Qian," becoming one of those memories, those names, those girls.
On some whim, she’d retrieve this memory, sip on it like tasting aged wine.
This is what it means to be fickle.
Also, the clouds haven’t scattered yet to block the light.
Not hearing Yun Qian’s footsteps catching up, Xu Chang’an turned back in confusion and saw Yun Qian stepping on his shadow like a little girl.
He tilted his torch at an angle, shifting the shadow, so Yun Qian made a small hop to continue treading his shadow.
Xu Chang’an felt helpless: "What are you doing? Didn’t you want to soak in the hot spring? Oh... I said I wouldn’t run off."