On an empty classroom, the air was thick with the scent of stale chalk dust and old wood.
The late afternoon shadows stretched long and thin across the floorboards, matching the bleakness that had settled deep into the bones of the young prince.
"I see." Xu Jingshan nodded as Bai Wenxin relayed Haoran's refusal.
He tried to keep his voice level, to maintain the dignified mask expected of the third prince of the Tian Yuan Empire, but a slight tremor betrayed his inner turmoil.
"Thank you for trying, sister Wenxin."
Bai Wenxin, leaning on a door frame, arms crossed, stared at him and nodded. Her ruby eyes held no pity, only a calm, detached understanding of the harsh realities governing their world.
She had delivered the message exactly as promised, and she had witnessed the inevitable answer.
To her, the matter was thoroughly closed.
"Take care, don't stress yourself over things you can't control," she said before standing straight and leaving.
