The Luofu’s afternoon sun cast a lazy glow over Aurum Alley, its golden light catching on the trinkets and silks of the market stalls. Jing Yuan walked with his usual unhurried grace, his cape fluttering behind him as he idly twirled a stick of tanghulu between his fingers. The rest of the High-Cloud Quintet chattered around him—Baiheng teasing, Yingxing grumbling, Dan Feng offering dry commentary—but his attention was only half on them.

His mind, as it often did these days, drifted to her. The woman he had studied from afar—through reports, through whispers, through the occasional glimpse in passing. She was a puzzle he had yet to solve, a game he was savoring.

And then—there she was.

His steps slowed. He took another bite of his tanghulu. She stood at a stall, her fingers brushing over a display of silk ribbons, her hair catching the waning sunlight just so. She was dressed simply, comfortably—nothing like the noblewomen who preened for attention. Does she even know who he was yet and what was expected of her?

Baiheng elbowed him, grinning. "Yuan Yuan~ Don’t think we forgot—your bride arrives soon, doesn’t she?"

Jing Yuan hummed, his gaze never leaving her. "Mm. So I’ve been informed."

Yingxing snorted. "You’re staring like a hunter who just spotted prey."

"Hardly." Jing Yuan licked the last of the sugar from his fingers, his voice low with barely restrained curiosity. "Prey runs. I have a feeling she won’t."

Dan Feng arched a brow. "You’re not seriously going to—"

But Jing Yuan was already moving, his stride lazy but deliberate. He could feel the weight of their exasperated stares on his back—Jingliu’s sigh, Baiheng’s stifled giggle—but he paid them no mind.

This was far more interesting.

He stopped beside the stall she was browsing, close enough that the scent of her perfume drifted over him. He plucked a delicate hairpin from the display, turning it between his fingers with deliberate slowness.

"This would suit you, xiao jie," he mused, his voice a low, honeyed drawl. His golden eyes flicked to her, lingering just a beat too long. "Though..." A smirk tugged at his lips. "I suspect you’d look even lovelier in gold."