He had wanted to demand why Ming Lingyi left without a word.
He had wanted to ask if she even had a heart. They had promised to watch the New Year's fireworks together. Even with this year's unexpected turn of events, would she have tried to run away even if he had been in the Capital City?
Was he really so unworthy of her trust?
There were so many questions, but at this moment, as Li Yun's deep gaze met her serene, water-like eyes, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
Ming Lingyi spoke first. Her voice was calm, holding the unhurried ease of someone who had just been gathering snow. "It really is you. What are you doing here?"
She spoke as if Li Yun were merely a friend paying a casual visit, not someone who had traveled a thousand miles to appear so suddenly in this Jiangnan plum grove at dawn.
Her perfectly natural tone sent a sour, resentful pang through Li Yun's chest.
He took a step forward, his boots crunching over the thin snow and fallen plum blossoms.
