When Commander Shen lost his temper, someone usually died. This time he said it with such reproach in his voice that she would not have noticed if he had not told her outright. Was he really angry? Qingyuan looked at him closely. He was frowning, and his eyes were slightly misty. They had stood this close before, but never in broad daylight, face to face, with the tips of their noses almost touching. His palm was warm against her back, and she could feel a faint tremor in it. People said the Commander of the Front Palace Command was fierce, cruel, a man who covered the sky with one hand. No one knew that he was better at stealing a girl's soul with a gentle tone and a peculiar, aggrieved sadness. She looked at him, and for no reason her heart stirred. She was not afraid of him. She liked him very much. Perhaps they were the same kind of person; she could not remember who had told her that only those alike are drawn to each other. But each of them had a future to go toward, and a...
This was not Qingyuan's first trip to Shangjing, but both times she had gone because of Shen Run. He must already know everything that had happened in Youzhou. Li Congxin's return, her plan to come to Shangjing to find him: none of it could have escaped his notice. Sometimes it was convenient and easy to have a person like that nearby. You did not have to rack your brains to explain yourself. You only had to stand in front of him, and he knew what you would do next. It was a pity that she had enjoyed the convenience for so short a time, as if she had stolen a privilege that belonged to some luckier person. Now that it was time to give it back and settle things, she found, thinking it over, that she was reluctant. Seeing her grave face, Baoxian said gently, "Miss, have you made up your mind? If you're still unsure, why not wait a little longer?" What good would waiting do? It would end the same way. The longer she delayed, the more she would think, and the deepe...