The journey ended just as it began—under golden skies and uneasy silence.
Hei Long guided the carriage through the final pass as the capital's towering spires came into view, glinting like polished spears against the morning light.
Beside him, the young lady—Lady Xuanyin—sat composed as always, though her eyes often flickered to him, softened by something unspoken. She hadn't said much after last night.
Not after what Lin Fan had done.
He had snapped. After weeks of humiliation, of watching the girl he adored slip beyond his grasp and into Hei Long's arms, Lin Fan had tried one final, desperate move.
A confession. Loud. Public. Reckless.
"I love you, Lady Xuanyin!" he had shouted, interrupting the dinner Hei Long was sharing with her beneath the fireflies. "I've loved you since the moment I saw you in that lavender dress! Please… please don't choose him!"
Her response had been cruel in its precision.
"You are beneath consideration, Lin Fan. Do not speak of love to me again."
