She had unfastened the top two clasps of her white tunic, exposing just a hint of her pale collarbone.

She walked with a lazy swagger, carrying a painted silk fan that she occasionally used to hide a roguish, devastating smirk.

Su Yin was a natural.

Draped in shimmering crimson silk, the girl clung tightly to Ji’an’s bicep, pressing herself against her side, giggling musically at everything Ji’an said.

Whenever they stopped at a merchant stall, Ji’an would casually toss a handful of gold coins, buying Su Yin jade hairpins, spun-sugar treats, and pearl necklaces, placing them on the girl with lingering, gentle touches. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Look at this one, Yin-er," Ji’an drawled loudly, holding up a delicate silver hairpin, ensuring her voice carried to the nearby tea houses. "It matches the fire in your beautiful eyes. The craftsmen of the capital pale in comparison to your radiance."

Su Yin practically melted into a puddle on the cobblestones, blushing furiously, burying her face against Ji’an’s shoulder. "Oh, Hero... you are too kind to me!"

Ji’an smirked, casting a subtle glance toward the second-floor balconies.

The fujoshi squads were there, as expected.

They were watching Ji’an’s every action intently.

’Checkmate,’ Ji’an thought victoriously, paying the merchant and guiding Su Yin down the street.

’Take that, you gossip-mongers. Look at me. Look at this girl draped over my arm. I’m a womanizer. I’m a playboy. I’m so undeniably into women that I’m practically a walking hazard to the maidens of the capital. The brotherly incest rumors are dead in the water!’

Feeling incredibly satisfied with her brilliance, Ji’an decided to celebrate her victory.

She guided Su Yin toward the Golden Lotus Pavilion, the most expensive, highly visible open-air restaurant in the district.

"We shall dine here," Ji’an announced loudly, pulling out a chair for Su Yin with a suave, sweeping gesture. "Only the finest cuisine for my little flower."

They sat down at a table directly overlooking the main street.

Ji’an ordered a lavish spread of delicacies, leaning back in her chair, fanning herself lazily, entirely confident that she had successfully rewritten the narrative.

And then, she heard the whispers.

Sitting at the table directly behind them, separated only by a thin, carved wooden screen, were three young noblewomen from the Duke’s estate.

"Did you see him?" the first voice hissed, trembling with absolute, scandalized horror. "The Martial Uncle! He is parading that unknown hussy through the streets like a prized mare!"

Ji’an smiled smugly behind her fan. ’Yes. I am. Take notes, you stupid women.’

"It is a tragedy!" the second voice wailed, sounding as if she were on the verge of tears. "A complete and utter betrayal! How could he do this?! After everything they shared during the sword dance! After the Commander looked at him with such soul-shattering devotion!"

Ji’an’s smile faltered.

Her fan stopped waving.

’Wait. What?’

"He’s a scumbag!" the third girl hissed viciously, her voice dripping with venom. "He’s a fickle, heartless playboy! He knows the Commander is bound by duty and honor, unable to declare his forbidden love publicly! So what does the Martial Uncle do? He flaunts this little tramp in the streets to make the Commander jealous! He’s purposefully breaking his poor, stoic brother’s heart!"

"The sheer cruelty of it!" the first girl sobbed quietly. "The Commander fought a war for him! And the Martial Uncle repays his devotion by acting like a common womanizer! Oh, the angst is unbearable! It is the classic ’unrequited gaze of the loyal hound while the master plays in the mud’ trope! I’m so furious!"

Behind the wooden screen, Lin Ji’an stopped functioning completely.

The color did not drain from her face this time.

It rushed into her cheeks with the violence of a volcanic eruption.

Her face, her neck, the tips of her ears, everything turned a blinding, furious, catastrophic shade of crimson.

The fake Playboy gambit didn’t kill the rumors.

It had mutated them.

It had elevated the gossip from a tragic romance to a high-stakes, toxic, angst-ridden melodrama where she was the villainous, cheating scumbag breaking the heart of the noble war hero.

The unfathomable absurdity of teenage girls’ imaginations had officially broken her mind.

"Hero? Are you okay?" Su Yin asked, looking across the table, her eyes widening in alarm as she noticed Ji’an’s red face and the terrifying spiritual pressure suddenly radiating from her body.

"I am fine," Ji’an whispered.

Her voice was not normal.

It was a terrifying, low, demonic rasp that sounded like rocks grinding together at the bottom of the ocean.

Ji’an slowly stood up.

She didn’t use her hands.

She placed her palms flat under the heavy, solid mahogany table that was currently laden with expensive porcelain teapots, plates of roasted duck, and silver cutlery.

"I AM NOT A SCUMBAG LOVER!" Ji’an roared, a sound that shattered the serene atmosphere of the entire Golden Lotus Pavilion, turning every single head in the restaurant.

With a terrifying, explosive surge of raw kinetic force, Ji’an flipped the table.

It wasn’t a dramatic shove.

The heavy mahogany table launched into the air like it had been hit by a cannonball, flipping three times in the air, sending porcelain, tea, and roasted duck flying in a spectacular arc before crashing against the far wall of the pavilion.

The three fujoshis behind the screen shrieked in terror, scrambling backward as a shower of hot tea and plum sauce rained down near their boots.

Ji’an stood amidst the wreckage, panting heavily.

Her chest heaved, her nostrils flared.

In the sunlight, the steam rising from the spilled hot tea swirled around her face, making her look like a literal, fire-breathing dragon that had just been woken from its hoard.

"WE ARE SIBLINGS!" Ji’an screamed at the terrified girls behind the screen, pointing an accusing, trembling finger at them. "HE IS MY BLOOD BROTHER! WE SHARE THE SAME PARENTS AND THE SAME BLOOD! HE IS STRAIGHT AS A ROD! I AM NOT CHEATING ON HIM WITH A TEENAGER! YOU DELUSIONAL, GOSSIP-MONGERING MANIACS NEED TO READ A DIFFERENT GENRE OF LITERATURE!"