The rain had yet to stop.
It came in soft sheets now, quieter than before, but the sky remained a dull silver-gray, and the mountains around the sect were cloaked in mist.
The disciples who wandered the outer courtyards all walked with their heads bowed, murmurs of gossip trailing behind them like ghosts.
But Lin Fan only heard silence.
He stood on the far edge of the Celestial Petal Pavilion, staring through the downpour, his robes soaked through, hair clinging to his skin.
His gaze was fixed on the lone figure across the stone bridge: Mu Lanyue.
She walked beneath a paper umbrella, pale blue, matching the color of her robes. Her every step was elegant, restrained.
She was surrounded by two junior sisters, but Lin Fan could see it clearly—the smile she gave them wasn't the one she saved for him.
Or... used to save for him.
His fingers curled into fists.
That smile had been his. The gentle one, slightly shy, where her eyes sparkled but she pretended not to care.
