The Unspoken Resolution
Xu Xiaoyan's words hung in the air, a bridge between hostility and wary acknowledgment. "Thank you!" she had said to Yao Xuan's welcome, her smile genuine and disarming.
"What's wrong? Did you call me?" Xie Xie interjected with his characteristic, timing-challenged humor, breaking the slight tension.
Tang Wulin rolled his eyes. "She's thanking Brother Xuan! Xu Xiaoyan, this is Xie Xie. He… specializes in comic relief. Please ignore him half the time."
Xu Xiaoyan's laugh was light. "Nice to meet you, Xie Xie." Her gaze then turned to Tang Wulin, curious and polite. "And you, senior?"
As Tang Wulin made introductions around the table, Yao Xuan observed the exchange. Xu Xiaoyan was clearly intelligent and socially adept, deftly managing her brother's prickly pride while extending genuine courtesy. Her interest, as she nodded to each name, felt analytical, especially when her eyes returned to him. It was the look of someone solving a puzzle, not seeking affection.
"By the way, seniors," Xu Xiaoyan continued, turning the focus back to the initial conflict, "I'd like to apologize again for my brother. His temper is quicker than his judgment sometimes. I hope there are no hard feelings."
Yao Xuan offered a conciliatory smile, extending his hand across the table towards the still-glaring Xu Xiaoyu. "Of course. As the saying goes, 'no fight, no acquaintance.' We're acquainted now."
Xu Xiaoyu stared at the offered hand, a battlefield of pride and pragmatism warring on his face. The memory of his ice shattering so easily was a deep bruise to his ego. But his sister's sensible words and the undeniable fact that she would soon be Yao Xuan's classmate tipped the scales. With a stiff, reluctant motion, he reached out and gave Yao Xuan's hand a single, brief shake. It was not friendly, but it was a ceasefire.
Tang Wulin, ever the peacemaker, brightened. "Since we're all here, why don't you join us?"
"No," Xu Xiaoyu said quickly, the word sharp. The idea of sharing a meal with the person who had so thoroughly humiliated him was intolerable. "We've finished." He placed a hand on Xu Xiaoyan's shoulder, steering her firmly toward the payment counter despite her slight hesitation and backward glance of curiosity at the group, her eyes lingering a final, thoughtful moment on Yao Xuan.
As the Xu siblings departed, a relaxed chatter resumed at the table. The news of a new classmate—a talented and seemingly amiable one—was a topic of interest, especially for Xie Xie and Tang Wulin. Wang Jinzi and Zhang Yangzi added their own optimistic comments about strengthening the class.
Only Gu Yue remained quiet. She picked at her remaining barbecue, her movements slower, more deliberate. The serene composure she usually wore had tightened almost imperceptibly around the eyes.
Yao Xuan noticed immediately. The shift in her energy was subtle but clear to someone so attuned to her. He leaned slightly closer, his voice dropping to a private murmur amidst the group's conversation. "Gu Yue, what's wrong? You seem a little unsettled."
Gu Yue's silver eyes flicked to his. She couldn't voice the complex, unfamiliar knot of feelings in her chest—the sovereign's analytical alert at a new variable close to her subject, intertwined with a much older, more visceral instinct from Na'er's memories: a simple, fierce desire to keep her most important person's attention securely hers. She grasped for a plausible, external reason.
"Nothing," she said, her tone cooler than intended. "Just thinking about how arrogant that Xu Xiaoyu is. It's… irritating." It wasn't entirely a lie. His presumption had been irritating.
Yao Xuan heard the unsaid words beneath. He didn't press, but a gentle understanding softened his gaze. "There's no need to be irritated by him. The lesson was delivered. Here," he nudged a perfectly grilled piece of honey-glazed rabbit toward her plate, a simple, caring gesture. "Eat up. Don't let it spoil your appetite."
His perceptiveness and the tender action melted a fraction of her tension. "Hmm," she acknowledged, a small, genuine smile touching her lips as she accepted the offering. "You saying that does make it better."
But the internal 'crisis,' as her mind had labeled it, was not so easily dismissed. The logic was clear, even if the emotions driving it were new and confusing.
*'Analysis: New female entity (Xu Xiaoyan) entering social-proximity sphere. Attributes: High intellect, strategic aptitude, observable curiosity towards primary subject (Yao Xuan). While romantic probability is currently low (estimated <3%), social bonding could increase familiarity and influence. Current relationship status with primary subject: undefined. This creates an unstable variable.'*
The cold calculus was interrupted by a warmer, more urgent impulse. 'Big Brother Xuan is mine. Na'er knew it first. Gu Yue knows it now.'
The two voices within her—the sovereign and the child—reached the same conclusion through different paths: the undefined nature of their bond was a vulnerability. It needed clarity. It needed a formal claim.
Confessing, however, was a terrifyingly human mystery. How did one navigate such a ritual? The textbooks on human interaction she'd absorbed for her cover held no clear guidelines for matters of the heart. Would being direct seem abrupt? Could it disrupt their precious, hard-earned synergy?
Her gaze drifted to Yao Xuan as he laughed at something Xie Xie said, the nine-colored light in his eyes warm and alive. Resolve crystalized within her. The opportunity was already on the horizon: the winter break. A month. In her own home, in a controlled environment, she could orchestrate the perfect conditions. It would require planning, the right atmosphere… perhaps elements that appealed to both his strategic mind and the nostalgic warmth of their Aolai City days.
A quiet, determined light settled in her silver eyes. The decision was made. The Xu siblings' arrival had merely accelerated a timeline that was, in the grand scheme of their destined bond, inevitable. The Silver Dragon King did not shy away from challenges, especially when the prize was the heart of the Ancestral Dragon.
The meal concluded with shared laughs and full stomachs. As they walked back to the academy under the burgeoning night sky, Yao Xuan and Gu Yue's hands found each other again. This time, her grip was just a fraction tighter, her posture a whisper closer. He felt the change, the subtle shift from comfortable closeness to purposeful nearness. He didn't comment, but his thumb gently stroked the back of her hand, a silent message received and returned.
The game had changed. The next move, she had decided, would be hers. The winter wind would not just bring the cold, but the careful, heartfelt beginning of something definitively, beautifully theirs.