The snow is finally beginning to melt in the front mountain, but winter still clings to the peaks of the back mountain where Xue Chongzi resides. I trace the red string bracelet on my wrist, feeling the faint warmth it seems to hold—the only physical reminder of him these past two weeks.

"Still moping, I see." Jin Fu's voice startles me from my thoughts as I sit in the medical pavilion, pretending to organize herbs while actually watching the path that leads to the back mountain.

I scowl, turning back to my workbench where half-finished medicinal preparations lie abandoned. "I'm not moping. I'm working." My voice betrays me, cracking slightly on the last word.

Jin Fu raises an eyebrow but doesn't call me on my lie. Instead, he approaches quietly, keeping his voice low. "The Young Master has been asking about you. He's worried your... distraction might affect your duties."

My fingers tighten around the mortar in my hand. "I've completed everything required of me." I pause, then add quietly, "Tell brother I'll visit him at the usual time this evening."

After Jin Fu leaves, I allow myself one moment of weakness, pressing my palm to my chest where my heart still races at the thought of Xue Chongzi. Two weeks of silence since our last meeting on the mountain, where he told me of his upcoming seclusion to recover his martial arts.

"Soon," I whisper to the empty room. "We'll be together soon."

The sound of approaching footsteps makes me straighten, instantly composing my features into neutrality. But when the figure rounds the corner, my breath catches in my throat—it's not the servant I expected.

There he stands, dressed in white that seems to glow against the gray stone corridor, his pale face serious but his eyes softening when they meet mine. Xue Chongzi has come for me, despite the danger.