Hua Jing stirred awake, her eyelids fluttering open slowly. A warm comfort enveloped her, and for a brief, blissful mont, she forgot everything.
Her gaze wandered around the room, and it wasn’t until she realized the bed beside her was empty that her senses sharpened.
Zhao Yan was gone.
She sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes, and spotted him standing by the other side of the room. He was already dressed in fresh robes—a light greenish hue that seed to glow in the morning light. It softened the sharpness of his features, and the faint glimpse of his face behind the mask made him look... regal.
Hua Jing blinked twice, trying to clear her sleep-heavy thoughts. She instinctively looked around, scanning for anything out of place. Her brows furrowed as she tugged at the quilt and peeked under it dramatically. Her hands checked her robes with exaggerated urgency.
Zhao Yan clicked his tongue, his sharp gaze catching her mid-act. "Nothing happened," he said flatly.
Hua Jing froze, caught red-handed.
"I don’t know what you think of ," he continued, his tone clipped yet tinged with amusent, "but you can stop being so dramatic. I don’t need to explain myself, but I assure you—nothing."
Hua Jing’s lips twitched as a mischievous grin spread across her face. "Oh?" she drawled, cocking her head. "A little defensive, aren’t we? Did soone get a little flustered last night?"
Zhao Yan’s eyes narrowed, though there was no sharpness in his expression. "Flustered? You’re dreaming."
"Am I?" Hua Jing leaned back against the bedfra, stretching leisurely. "Then why is your face all... tight? Oh wait, I can’t really tell with that mask of yours."
His fingers twitched, tempted to retort, but instead, he found himself letting out a quiet huff. There was sothing oddly comforting about her glib tongue—a stark contrast to the quiet chaos they had endured the past few days.
"Maybe you should be thanking ," Zhao Yan said at last, crossing his arms.
Hua Jing raised an eyebrow. "Thanking you? For what exactly?"
"For not leaving you in the snow," he quipped, his voice laced with dry humor. "You’re welco, by the way."
Hua Jing placed a hand over her chest dramatically. "Oh, my noble prince, how could I ever repay such generosity?"
Zhao Yan exhaled, shaking his head, though a faint smile tugged at his lips.
He didn’t respond imdiately, watching as Hua Jing tilted her head and smirked, clearly pleased with herself. For so inexplicable reason, her antics didn’t irritate him like they used to.
Instead, he felt a strange warmth spreading through his chest. It wasn’t annoyance or exasperation—it was sothing softer, sothing... dangerous.
"Get dressed," he said finally, his tone lighter than before. "We have a long day ahead of us, and I won’t be dragging you along if you’re slow."
Hua Jing laughed. "As if you could leave behind."
Her glibness returned full force, but Zhao Yan didn’t mind. If anything, it felt like the start of sothing new—sothing he wasn’t entirely ready to define yet.
...
Hua Jing threw the covers off and dramatically stretched her arms high above her head. She leaned one way, then the other, letting out exaggerated sighs of relief as her body arched.
Zhao Yan, standing nearby, paused mid-thought and stared at her, utterly bewildered. His brow twitched, and he couldn’t help but ask, "What are you doing?"
"Morning exercises, of course!" Hua Jing replied without missing a beat, bending down to touch her toes. "It’s the secret to a good body. Don’t you know that?"
Zhao Yan blinked. "A... good body?"
"Exactly!" Hua Jing straightened up and placed her hands on her hips, smirking as she struck a pose. "See? Look at this body!"
Zhao Yan’s eyes widened in shock, unsure of how to respond. His gaze flickered over her, and much to his dismay, he found himself agreeing with her statent. She did look... good.
But there was no way he’d say that out loud. Her ego was already inflated enough.
"Ridiculous," he muttered, turning away in an attempt to hide the faint redness creeping up his neck.
Hua Jing laughed, clearly amused by his reaction. She didn’t seem the least bit annoyed at his lack of acknowledgnt. Instead, she ignored him completely and continued her strange routine, stretching her legs and twisting her torso as if preparing for battle.
By the ti she finished, a light sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead. She wiped it off with her sleeve and announced, "Well, I’m all ward up! Ti to find Xia Lin for so fresh robes and cleaning arrangents."
Zhao Yan raised a brow. "You’re not even going to ask if—"
But Hua Jing didn’t wait for him to finish. She was already halfway to the door, swinging it open with confidence.
The mont she stepped outside, however, she froze.
Standing directly in front of her were Xia Lin and a small group of palace maids. They had clearly been on their way to see her, their arms full of robes and other essentials.
Hua Jing’s eyes widened in surprise. "Xia Lin?!"
But what caught her attention even more was the state of the maids. Their faces were all bright red, as if they’d just run a marathon—or seen sothing they weren’t supposed to.
The maids shuffled awkwardly, avoiding direct eye contact. Xia Lin, however, couldn’t hide the mixture of amusent and exasperation in her expression.
"What’s... going on?" Hua Jing asked, glancing between them.
Xia Lin coughed lightly, her gaze darting toward the room behind Hua Jing. "I—um—we didn’t an to intrude, young lady."
"Intrude?" Hua Jing blinked in confusion before realization dawned on her. She whipped her head back toward Zhao Yan, who was still inside, standing tall and composed, though his mask was slightly askew.
"Oh," Hua Jing said, her tone laced with understanding.
The maids whispered amongst themselves, their blushes deepening. Hua Jing narrowed her eyes at them. "What are you all thinking?" she demanded, crossing her arms.
"Nothing, my lady!" one maid stamred, though her gaze betrayed her thoughts.
"Nothing?" Hua Jing repeated, raising a skeptical brow. She looked at Xia Lin. "And you?"
Xia Lin cleared her throat, trying to keep her composure. "I just thought... Well, seeing the two of you together like that—"
"Like what?" Hua Jing interrupted, her tone sharp but playful.
Xia Lin faltered, her blush growing. "Forget it! We brought you fresh robes. Please, get dressed properly!"
After she said that, she quickly bolted!
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