The word was flat. Toneless. The response of a teenager who had been asked the same question a thousand times and had learned that the shortest answer ended the conversation fastest.
Madam Yueying's beautiful face fell. The relief was there, but so was the pain. The pain of a mother whose son looked at her with the eyes of a stranger.
She straightened. Composed herself. Her dark eyes found Xu Ran. The relief returned.
"Thank you," she said. Her rich voice was steady. Formal. "For saving my son. If you hadn't been there..."
Xu Ran opened his mouth. To correct her. To explain.
"No, it's fine," Lau said, cutting him off. His voice was tired. "Headmistress. It is the brother who saved me."
Madam Yueying's dark eyes widened. She looked at Xu Ran. At the young man she knew as the main family heir, the talented swordsman, the pride of the academy. Then at her son. At the boy who sat in the back of the class.
"The brother... saved you?" she said. Confused.
