Looking at Yun Qian beside him with a hooked smile and high spirits, Xu Changâan stopped in his tracks, thinking that with her personality, at least she wouldnât 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 itâs useful?
Yun Qian: "..."
She once said that she probably wouldnât be able to cry.
Xu Changâan also said he couldnât 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 Changâanâs affection.
But now, as Xu Changâan considered whether to leave, everything was different.
The hot spring was at the end of the path, and they could already vaguely see the lanternsâ light. Yun Qian released Xu Changâanâs 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 Changâan 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 Changâanâs gaze flickered over Yun Qianâs clear, watery eyes and fell on her hands, seeing her fingers clutching the hem of her dress, unconsciously bent together.
Though silent, Xu Changâan seemed to hear the crystalline sound of her glassy eyes cracking after he left, imagining her melting like snowflakes under the blazing sun.
"...Iâm just joking." Xu Changâan quickly conceded.
"Youâre not leaving?" Yun Qian asked.
"Not leaving, not going anywhere," Xu Changâan 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 Changâanâs hand again, simply saying quietly, "Letâs go."
Xu Changâan, as if wanting to make up for something, looked at the girl hidden in his shadow and said softly, "Wonât you come with me?"
"You go ahead," Yun Qian stated with an indisputable tone.
Xu Changâan sighed, looking at this one-way path and thought, was she afraid heâd 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 wouldnât do such a thing.
It was fitting to say it was a dreamâwhat he feared most, Yun Qian grasped immediately.
He couldnât bear to see her sad, not even in a dream.
Because Yun Qian appeared so real, Xu Changâan 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 springâcould the lady eat him alive?
Xu Changâan 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.
"Letâs go." Xu Changâan took the lead toward the end of the path.
"...Hmm." Yun Qian responded, stepping on Xu Changâanâs 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 Changâan, 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 like this, always behind the light. Merely watching like this was satisfying, and should there be a chance to draw nearer to warmth, it would be an unexpected delight.
She didnât like the sun because he said it couldnât be looked at directly after sunrise.
Yet she likened Xu Changâan 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.
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 couldnât stay in Xu Changâanâs 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, sheâd retrieve this memory, sip on it like tasting aged wine.
This is what it means to be fickle.
Also, the clouds havenât scattered yet to block the light.
"...Hmm?"
Not hearing Yun Qianâs footsteps catching up, Xu Changâan 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 Changâan felt helpless: "What are you doing? Didnât you want to soak in the hot spring? Oh... I said I wouldnât run off."