"You don't get to cage me," she said clearly now, voice carrying, projecting to the watching crowd. "Not with contracts. Not with threats. Not with kisses."
The crowd exhaled as one, a collective release of held breath.
Lu Yuze studied her for a long moment, his expression unreadable, weighing something only he understood.
Then he reached up, slowly, deliberately, and adjusted her hair where he'd disheveled it, tucking a strand behind her ear.
An intimate gesture.
Territory marked in plain sight.
"I don't need to cage you," he said quietly, but his voice carried in the stillness. "You'll come back on your own."
Shuyin scoffed, the sound sharp and disbelieving. "Delusional."
"Confident," he corrected, unmoved.
Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.
The crowd parted instantly.
Not in awe.
In instinct.
The same instinct that made prey scatter when predators moved through tall grass.
