Chapter Two
611 Words
Only then did Yue feel safe enough to keep eating.
Luo settled quietly beside her.
The moment he moved, the silver ornaments at his waist chimed—clear as a bell.
Wait.
Something occurred to her.
When he'd entered the room earlier, she hadn't heard a single sound.
She paused, chopsticks still, and studied him.
He was already watching her just as closely.
Yue smiled quickly and lifted the flatbread to her mouth, as if nothing had happened.
Seeing that, Luo smiled too—faintly bashful.
Once she'd eaten her fill, Yue wiped her mouth and bowed her head slightly.
"Thank you."
"No need."
Luo's gaze dropped to the chains binding her wrists. He asked nothing further. Just said,
"I'll try to get these off."
He gripped the chain and pulled with all his strength.
It didn't budge.
Yue already knew it wouldn't. She'd tried herself, more times than she could count.
Still, she let him try.
"You saved my life today," she said softly. "I already owe you everything. May I ask your name?"
"Luo."
He gave it easily, then pulled again.
Still nothing.
"...May I call you Ashi?"
She leaned in slightly as she said it.
Luo looked up.
Before him: a face so delicate it looked carved from porcelain.
Moist eyes.
A small, elegant nose.
Brows and lashes so fine they might have been painted on.
Close.
Far too close.
Luo held his breath, gave a small nod, and looked away fast.
In the pale moonlight, even his ears had gone red.
...Cute, Yue thought.
She'd only meant to tease him a little.
Gently, she wrapped both hands around his.
"Don't force it if it won't come off. You'll hurt yourself."
One hand rested over his. The other traced lightly along his wrist—a touch just shy of a touch.
Luo's body shivered.
Something deep in his chest stirred, as if unseen fingers had reached inside and turned it over.
Just as he moved to catch her hand—
the warmth slipped away.
Yue smiled as though nothing had happened.
"I'm Yue."
Her voice rang clear, like a silver bell rolling across stone.
The sound alone seemed to send ripples across still water.
Yue.
Luo repeated the name in his head, again and again.
He still lacked the nerve to say it aloud.
His hand, left hovering in midair, settled instead over his own wrist—
as if to hold onto her warmth a little longer.
"...Mm."
Yue let out a small sigh.
Luo snapped back to himself.
"Why sigh?"
His gaze dropped to the chains again.
"And why are you locked up here at all?"
Yue smiled, calm as still water.
"I was chosen as an offering for the mountain god. Tomorrow, I'll be given to it. Alive."
Her tone was flat—almost as if she were speaking about someone else.
"They locked me up so I couldn't run."
A faint, sad smile.
"If I regret anything, it's that I won't get the chance to repay you."
Luo said nothing.
Only his eyes darkened.
"If there's a next life," Yue went on, still smiling, "remember my name. Come find me again."
Her smile was soft as dandelion down.
But that softness only made his chest ache harder.
Luo bit down on his lip. No answer came.
Yue smiled again, trying to shift the mood.
"Enough gloom. Tell me—how did you end up here?"
"I was chasing a fox on the mountain. Lost track of where I was going. Then I saw this place and just... walked in."
"Then I owe that fox a thank-you too."
Yue laughed softly.
"It's the reason we met."
- Writer
