The door slid shut behind Anning with a soft click, she stayed in front of the door one hand holding the wooden frame like it might keep her steady. The corridor was bright but quiet, giving her a moment to breathe.

She stood there for what felt like forever before thinking, Why the hell do I feel so weird?

Anning frowned, she was supposed to be furious. Livid even.

She’d walked into the room ready to scream at Wanqing, ready to give that cold woman a piece of her mind. She did exactly that but was it normal for her feelings to feel so tangled up instead of burning with rage?

She leaned against the door, arms crossed against her chest. "I should still be upset."

She whispered to herself, but felt nothing. She wasn’t as angry as she used to be in the past.

Her mind kept replaying Wanqing’s words, "I never meant to make you cry."

Anning rolled her eyes, that wasn’t even a real apology, she took two steps away from the door, then stopped. "Was it?"

She shook her head. "No. Definitely not."

When she took a few more steps forward. A loud sigh of frustration left her lips. "Maybe it kind of was."

This was utterly ridiculous, she was arguing with herself like a crazy person. But still, how was she supposed to stay made at Wanqing when the usual cold woman had looked so confused and helpless.

It even looked as though she genuinely had no idea how to fix the mess between them.

Anning ran a hand through her hair. Gu Wanqing never looked confused, she was always calm. Always in control, like the whole world could or would bend in her will.

But in that room, she looked like a kid who’d broken her favourite toy and didn’t know how to put it back together.

The image was stuck in Anning’s head, but could she really be trying?

Anning scoffed at her own thoughts. "No. Don’t you dare feel sorry for her."

She started walking again, this time increasing her pace like she could outrun her own thoughts. But they followed her anyway.

Anning groaned, running a hand down her face as she half yelled, "Why is this happening to me?"

A servant carrying a laundry basket nearly dropped it when she heard Anning yell. The poor girl glared at Anning before walking away. Anning didn’t even notice.

She was too busy wrestling with the two sides of her. The side that wanted to stay angry at her, a side she actually knew too well. The other side kept seeing Wanqing’s face.

Anning stopped in front of her room, taking a moment to calm herself down.

"Anning?"

She flinched and quickly turned around. A-mei stood a few feet away from her holding a lantern and staring at her with a mix of confusion and worry.

As A-mei walked closer to her, Anning pushed open the door and said, "I think my mistress is broken."

A-mei frowned, "What?"

"Let’s go inside." Anning said, stepping into the room with A-mei following closely behind her. They closed the door behind them and then sat on their respective beds.

"What did you do to your hair?" A-mei asked. "You look like you got into a chicken fight."

Anning leaned back slightly, staring up at the ceiling. "She really did apologize."

The whole room went completely silent. A-mei blinked numerous times before asking, "Your mistress... apologized?"

Anning nodded, her expression remaining blank.

"Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?" A-mei asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Why would you say that to me?" Anning grumbled. "I can’t even remember the last time I hit my head."

"Why wouldn’t I ask you that?" A-mei said with a straight face. "Stranger things always happen to you."

"That’s rude." Anning murmured.

A-mei ignored her and fell back against the bed. "Just to be sure, she apologized with like real words. Right?"

"Sort of." Anning scratched the back of her neck. "She said she never meant to make me cry."

A-mei gasped dramatically, slapping a hand over her mouth. "Young Miss Gu apologized. I never thought I’d live to see the day. Someone should write this down in the books of history."

Anning tried to glare at her, but her lips just curled into a smile.

"Stop it! You’re making it sound like she won a war or something." said Anning.

A-mei sat up straight and pointed at Anning’s face, "You’re smiling."

"Excuse me?"

"You are excused. You definitely are smiling."

"I’m not." Anning said firmly, turning away. But she could feel her cheeks turning warm. "I hate you."

"No, you don’t." A-mei grinned. After a moment, she asked in a more softened voice. "So... are you still angry?"

Anning opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out immediately. She frowned, staring down at her hands. Sure, she had been angry. For nine months, that anger had become like an old friend. But now, the edges felt blurry... like it never even existed.

"I don’t think I’m that angry anymore." She admitted softly.

"That’s good." A-mei responded, nodding in understanding.

"But, I didn’t say I forgave her." Anning added quietly, reaching up to tame some strands of her hair.

"No one said you did, Anning." A-mei responded with a sigh.

Anning wrapped her hair into a messy bun then said, "I just... I don’t think she meant to hurt me. At least not on purpose, she’s just utterly clueless about things like this.

"You sure care about her, alot." A-mei said, wriggling her eyebrows.

"I do not!" Anning snapped, looking horrified.

"You do."

"I absolutely do not."

"Do you think about kissing all the people you don’t care about?" A-mei asked, laughing.

Anning nearly choked on her own saliva. "What?! Where the hell did that come from?"

"You should see your face right now!" A-Mei was laughing so hard she had to hold her stomach. "It’s bright red!"