Yanmei pulled away the moment his arms loosened, heat flooding her face in a way she found deeply irritating. She always kept a distance from everyone in the sect, focusing solely on alchemy and her mother's affection,nothing else had ever demanded more for her— those were things she understood. The warmth of him clung stubbornly to her senses, refusing to fade, and that unsettled her more than any physical contact ever should have.
And yet, beneath the irritation, something else stirred. A quiet pull she didn't recognize, threading its way through her thoughts before she could cut it off. She didn't know when it had begun—only that the memory of Lingling clinging to him, smiling so freely, had planted a seed she hadn't noticed until now. Yanmei turned away before any of it could show.
