Han Yunyi stood frozen, visibly caught off guard by Ningyan’s words.

He was... different now. Stronger. Not just in power, but in presence.

He was nothing like the beast she had known at the Celestial Beast Academy. And somehow, in trying to help him, she had turned herself into someone he no longer trusted.

Ningyan gave her a polite bow and stepped past her.

"Wait." Her voice came quickly.

He paused and turned back.

Yunyi exhaled, relief slipping through her composure as she walked toward him.

"I’m not your enemy, A-Yan," she said softly. "I promise you, I’m not."

She hesitated, then added, "We are family. By blood. Why would I ever..."

She stopped as an emerald glow tore open the air beside Ningyan.

A portal.

Lan Meishan stepped through. He blinked, clearly not expecting the scene.

"Oh," he said lightly. "Did I interrupt something?"

Yunyi recovered quickly, offering him a composed smile. "No. Not at all. I was just leaving."

But before she turned away, her gaze returned to Ningyan lingering.

A silent plea. Don’t see me as your enemy.

Then she left quietly.

Ningyan watched her retreating figure until she disappeared from sight.

His brows knit slightly. "She is... so absurd..."

Meishan glanced in the direction she had gone, then back at him. "What did she say?"

Ningyan exhaled. "She’s in contact with the phoenixes. Apparently, they want me to unite them and rule them. I don’t want that."

His voice hardened. "I don’t want to rule anyone."

Meishan’s expression softened, a faint smile touching his lips. "Do not let her ruin your day."

Ningyan shot him a look. "You’re the one who told me to forgive her."

He began to walk away, and Meishan followed him without any delay.

"Because I thought it might lighten your heart," he said as they stepped out of the garden. "Besides... She is your blood. Suspicious, yes, but if she is truly in contact with the phoenixes, then she may know something about the ones who escaped that night."

Ningyan stopped and turned to look at him.

"I don’t like this feeling," he admitted quietly. "It’s... twisted. Like something is about to happen."

His hand rose to his forehead as he exhaled. "Something worse than Lan Yunlai. Worse than everything we’ve already faced. I can’t even sleep properly."

Meishan jolted, clearly thrown by that.

"But you’ve been sleeping well," he said gently. "In my arms. And with Haoxuan, Rong Yue, and Wuhen. None of them mentioned anything..."

Ningyan’s face flushed. He reached out and pulled off Meishan’s glasses in one smooth motion.

"You know what I mean," he muttered, turning the glasses between his fingers. "I’m worried. It’s not about rest... it’s here."

He tapped his chest. "This feeling won’t go away."

Meishan watched him for a moment with a thoughtful expression.

"Then perhaps..." he murmured, stepping closer, "I should distract you."

He was already leaning in, closing the distance, his lips brushing against Ningyan’s before deepening into a soft, grounding kiss.

Ningyan melted into it instantly. The tension in his body eased, his fingers tightening in Meishan’s sleeve as he leaned closer...

"Ningyan?" A sharp, familiar voice cut through the moment.

Ningyan stiffened.

Meishan froze, caught off guard as his husband pulled away abruptly.

They both turned.

Rong Chao stood rooted to the spot. His eyes widened, then quickly clouded over with heavy hurt he was trying very hard to hide.

"Rong Chao..." Ningyan breathed, still caught between surprise and the breathy feeling of the moment he was sharing with Meishan. "What are you doing here?"

A small, uncertain smile touched his lips. "I didn’t expect to see you. This is... a pleasant surprise."

But even as he said it, the timing of it all felt anything but pleasant.

Why was he here? And why now?

Rong Chao blinked rapidly, as if trying to erase the image he had just witnessed.

"I..." He cleared his throat, composure snapping back into place.

But he didn’t look at Ningyan. Instead, he bowed deeply to Lan Meishan.

"It is good to see you again, Your Divine Majesty. It has been a long time."

Ningyan’s expression went completely blank.

He was being ignored. Just like that.

Meishan returned the bow calmly, as though the tension in the air didn’t exist. "The feeling is mutual, Prince Rong Chao."

A faint flush colored Rong Chao’s cheeks. He turned on his heel and moved off without so much as a glance back.

Ningyan stared after him, disbelief slowly settling in. "...That was awkward."

"What was?" Meishan asked, genuinely puzzled. "Aren’t you two acquainted?"

Ningyan stepped closer and placed Meishan’s glasses back onto his face with a soft tap.

"Honestly," he teased, pressing his palm against his chest. "If you hadn’t confessed to me first, we probably wouldn’t even be together right now."

Meishan froze. "...What?"

His arms came around Ningyan almost immediately, pulling him close. "What do you mean by that?"

Ningyan chuckled softly.

"It means you’re oblivious," he said, tapping his chest. "There are beasts who are very obviously attracted to you."

His gaze flickered briefly in the direction Rong Chao had gone.

"For example... Rong Chao."

The warmth drained from his expression. "And even... Yishu."

Meishan’s brow furrowed, but he kept his tone perfectly steady. "I do not care about them."

His grip tightened just a little. "I adore about you. Only you."

"I know," Ningyan smiled.

"But still..." He exhaled. "I should talk to him. Otherwise I’ll feel like the worst beast a...."

Meishan didn’t respond. Instead, he moved in, a possessive kiss cutting off whatever Ningyan was about to say.

Ningyan’s breath caught and then he melted into it again, his fingers curling into Meishan’s robes as the lingering tension dissolved under the warmth of the kiss.

For a moment, everything else faded.

Everything...

He desperately hoped that the shadows in his chest were nothing more than a passing mood. A hollow sensation rather than a looming reality.

But feelings rarely stayed just feelings.

Especially not after that vision he had a few nights ago.....