Guiying stepped out of the room on unsteady legs, the door clicking shut behind him louder than it should have been. His hands still trembled slightly at his sides, adrenaline and grief tangled too tightly together to separate.
Liuxian stood a few feet down the corridor, waiting.
Something in him looked different.
Guiying noticed it immediately, the way his shoulders sat too rigid, the redness rimming his eyes that hadn't been there before he walked into the room, the muscle in his jaw ticking faintly like he was holding something back by force.
He crossed the distance between them slowly. "What happened to you?"
Liuxian's jaw worked once before he answered. "Not here. Let's go somewhere quiet."
He led Guiying down an empty hallway, past two more closed doors, until they reached a small side room, bare except for a single table and two chairs. Liuxian shut the door behind them and checked it once, making certain it had latched, before finally turning to face him.
