novelraw Chapter 86: You trusted me
Chapter 86: You trusted me
Lan Yue avoided her for exactly one hour.
It was not intentional.
At least, that was what she told herself as she moved from one place to another with suspicious efficiency. She had simply taken a different path after they separated, which then led her to a quieter courtyard, which then led to a junior disciple struggling with a pair of heavy water buckets. Helping had been the natural thing to do. That part was reasonable.
After that, she had somehow ended up in the storage room.
And then, somehow, she had decided that the shelves were not organized properly.
Which was untrue.
They were perfectly fine.
But now she was standing there, refolding cloth that had already been folded, stacking items that had already been stacked, and telling herself that this was a productive use of time and not an extremely obvious attempt to avoid thinking about one very specific moment on a very quiet path.
Absolutely nothing about this was avoidance.
"...You are hiding."
Lan Yue nearly dropped the stack of folded cloth in her hands.
Her fingers tightened instinctively, barely keeping everything from slipping to the floor.
"I am not," she said immediately, her voice coming out just a little too fast, just a little too defensive, and she did not turn around right away.
"You are," Zhao Lingxi replied.
Her voice was calm.
Steady.
And entirely too close.
Lan Yue closed her eyes briefly, gathering herself.
Then she turned.
Zhao Lingxi stood a few steps away, composed as ever, as if she had simply always been there and Lan Yue had only just noticed.
Lan Yue lifted her chin slightly, forcing her expression into something resembling confidence.
"This is a storage room," she said, gesturing vaguely around them.
"Yes."
"I am organizing supplies."
"Yes."
"That is a productive activity."
"Yes."
Lan Yue narrowed her eyes. "...Stop agreeing like that."
Zhao Lingxi’s lips curved faintly, just enough to be noticeable. "Like what."
"Like you know something I do not."
"I do know something you do not."
Lan Yue crossed her arms, immediately suspicious. "What."
"You are avoiding me."
"I am not."
"You changed your route twice."
"That is coincidence."
"You reorganized the same shelf three times."
"It needed refinement."
"You are holding a cloth upside down."
Lan Yue glanced down.
She was.
For a brief second, she considered pretending she had meant to do that.
Then she flipped it over immediately, with as much dignity as she could manage.
"...That proves nothing," she said firmly.
Zhao Lingxi said nothing.
She did not need to.
Lan Yue exhaled slowly, her shoulders dropping just slightly.
Then she set the cloth down.
"...Fine," she admitted at last. "I am... temporarily repositioning."
"Avoiding."
"Strategically repositioning."
Zhao Lingxi inclined her head slightly. "For what purpose."
Lan Yue hesitated.
Her gaze shifted briefly to the side.
Then back.
"To think," she said.
"You can think while walking beside me."
"That is exactly the problem."
Zhao Lingxi’s gaze rested on her, steady and patient, waiting without pressing.
Lan Yue looked away first.
"...You make it difficult to think," she said, quieter now.
"How."
Lan Yue gestured vaguely, like she could physically point to the issue and present it as evidence.
"Just... in general."
"That is not specific."
"I do not have a specific explanation."
"Then it may not be accurate."
"It is accurate," Lan Yue insisted, a little more firmly this time. "Very accurate."
A brief silence passed between them.
Then Zhao Lingxi stepped closer.
Not enough to be obvious.
Not enough to be confrontational.
But enough that Lan Yue noticed immediately.
"...You are doing it again," Lan Yue said, her voice tightening slightly.
"Doing what."
"Reducing distance."
"Yes."
"Stop that."
"No."
Lan Yue stared at her. "...You are very uncooperative today."
"Yes."
"That is new."
"No."
Lan Yue opened her mouth, ready to argue.
Then stopped.
Because Zhao Lingxi was closer now.
Just slightly.
"...We agreed on minimal incidents," Lan Yue said, trying to regain control of the situation.
"Yes."
"This feels like the beginning of one."
"Yes."
"Then we should prevent it."
"Yes."
Neither of them moved.
Lan Yue pressed her lips together, her thoughts tangling slightly.
Then she said, very carefully, "You are doing this on purpose."
"Yes."
"...Why."
Zhao Lingxi considered her for a moment, her gaze steady and unhurried.
Then she said, "You are avoiding me."
"That is not a reason."
"It is sufficient."
Lan Yue made a quiet, frustrated sound under her breath, somewhere between a sigh and a protest.
"...You could have just said something."
"I am saying something."
"This is not saying something," Lan Yue said, gesturing vaguely between them, her hand moving in a small, helpless motion. "This is... whatever this is."
Zhao Lingxi’s gaze did not shift. "And yet you are still here."
Lan Yue froze slightly.
Her thoughts stalled.
"...That is not a valid point," she said after a second.
"It is."
"I could leave."
"You have not."
Lan Yue inhaled slowly.
Then exhaled.
"...You are very difficult to argue with when you do that."
"Do what."
"State obvious truths in a calm tone."
"Yes."
"It is unfair."
"It is effective."
Lan Yue looked at her.
Really looked this time.
At the calm expression that never seemed to crack unless she allowed it to.
At the steady eyes that did not waver.
At the complete lack of hesitation in everything she said.
"...You are doing this deliberately," she said again, softer now.
"Yes."
"...Why."
Zhao Lingxi did not answer immediately.
The silence stretched between them.
Not uncomfortable.
Just... waiting.
Then she said, "You said you trusted me."
Lan Yue blinked.
Her thoughts stumbled for a moment, caught off guard by the shift.
"...That was not an invitation," she said.
"I did not treat it as one."
"This feels like you are."
"It is not."
Lan Yue frowned slightly, trying to understand.
"...Then what is it."
Zhao Lingxi took one more small step forward.
Closing the remaining distance between them.
Not touching.
But close enough that Lan Yue’s breath caught anyway.
"It is a response," she said.
Lan Yue’s heart did something very unhelpful.
"...That is not a normal response," she said, her voice quieter now.
"No."
"It is a concerning response."
"No."
Lan Yue stared at her, searching her expression for something she could argue with.
"...You are very confident about that."
"Yes."
A pause settled between them.
Lan Yue did not step back.
"...This is an incident," she said again, softer than before.
"Yes."
"We are definitely having one."
"Yes."
"And you are not stopping it."
"No."
Lan Yue let out a slow breath.
Then, almost reluctantly, "Neither am I."
Zhao Lingxi’s gaze softened.
Just slightly.
"That is correct," she said.
The air between them shifted again.
Not sharply.
Not suddenly.
Just enough.
Lan Yue became very aware of everything.
The quiet of the room.
The faint scent of wood and clean cloth.
The way the light filtered in through the doorway.
And the distance between them.
Or lack of it.
"...If someone walks in," she said.
"Yes."
"This will be very difficult to explain."
"Yes."
"Especially since we said no incidents."
"Yes."
Lan Yue nodded once.
"...Good," she said.
Zhao Lingxi raised an eyebrow slightly. "Good."
"Yes. That means we should stop."
"Yes."
Neither of them moved.
Lan Yue let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh, shaking her head slightly.
"...We are terrible at following our own rules."
"Yes."
"Absolutely terrible."
"Yes."
Lan Yue hesitated.
Then she said, very quietly, "Are you going to do something again."
Zhao Lingxi did not answer right away.
Instead, she lifted her hand.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Lan Yue’s breath caught again, her attention locking onto the movement.
But this time, she did not close her eyes.
She watched.
Zhao Lingxi’s hand paused.
Just before touching her.
Giving her time.
A choice.
Lan Yue did not move.
Zhao Lingxi’s fingers brushed lightly against her sleeve.
Not her skin.
Just the fabric.
Soft.
Careful.
But it was enough.
Lan Yue exhaled slowly, the tension in her shoulders easing just slightly.
"...That counts," she said.
"Yes."
"Minimal incident."
"Yes."
Lan Yue nodded, almost to herself.
"...We are still improving."
"Yes."
A small pause followed.
Then she added, quieter now, "Still bad."
"Yes."
But her voice had softened.
And this time, she did not step away.
The air lingered between them, quiet and steady, like something had settled into place without either of them naming it.
Lan Yue glanced at Zhao Lingxi again, slower this time, less guarded.
"...You are not going to leave," she said.
"No."
"That was not a question."
"I know."
Lan Yue exhaled softly.
"...Good," she said, almost under her breath.
Zhao Lingxi did not comment on it.
But she did not move away either.
They stood there, just for a moment longer, not quite touching, not quite distant, existing in that narrow space between restraint and something else neither of them was ready to define.
And this time, Lan Yue did not pretend she did not understand it.