Ever since Yue Yan returned from the corrupted realm, something about her had changed.
On the outside, nothing was different.
She still trained.
Still attended the Divine Court.
Still wore her radiant robes like a proper Divine Lord.
But inside…
Something felt quieter.
Softer.
Like a voice she didn't want to listen to.
—
That voice belonged to him.
Wen Shouye.
—
She hadn't seen him again.
Not in dreams.
Not in visions.
Not even in the shadows.
And yet—
She thought about him.
Too often.
Sometimes, when she looked at the stars, she remembered the way he had looked at her… like she was made of them.
Sometimes, in the middle of training, she remembered the moment he caught her—
Not as an enemy.
But as if she mattered.
It made her angry.
Angry that her thoughts kept drifting back to him.
Angry that the memory of a demon could make her feel…
Safe.
—
One evening, Yue Yan stood alone in the Cloud Garden.
It was one of the highest places in the Celestial Realm, where divine flowers drifted through mist and the air felt endless.
No one came here at this hour.
No one—
Until the wind shifted.
Yue Yan turned instantly, her power flaring to life, ready to strike.
But she stopped.
Because he was already there.
Standing beneath the floating petals as if he belonged—calm, unmoved by the sacred space around him.
Wen Shouye.
Her voice cut through the silence.
"You shouldn't be here."
His golden eyes met hers.
"I had to see you."
Yue Yan stepped back, her expression hardening. "You're the enemy."
"And yet… you didn't tell them the truth."
She froze.
He moved closer—slowly, deliberately. No force. No threat.
"You could've exposed me," he continued. "But you didn't."
A pause.
"Why?"
Her hands clenched at her sides.
"Because I didn't want to hear them," she said tightly. "Accusing me of something I haven't done."
"But you thought about it."
She looked away.
He stepped closer, his voice lowering.
"You're stronger than all of them," he said. "But they still watch you like you might break."
A beat.
"I don't."
"You don't know me," she snapped.
"I know how you breathe when you're angry," he replied quietly. "I know you still look up when you're afraid… like the stars might answer you."
Her heart stuttered.
"I know you fight like fire," he continued, "but feel everything with your whole soul."
She shook her head, but her voice came out softer than she intended.
"I don't need your words."
"Then why are you still here?"
—
The question lingered between them.
Yue Yan didn't answer.
She couldn't.
Because the truth was—
She didn't know.