The morning sun streamed through the window and fell across Bai Lan's face.
He opened his eyes and sat up.
On either side of him, Yinye and the Ice Empress were already awake.
Yinye sat by the window, gazing outside. Her long silver-purple hair shimmered faintly in the morning light.
Hearing him stir, she turned and smiled.
"Good morning, Master."
Bai Lan nodded and looked to the other side.
The Ice Empress leaned against the headboard, holding that copy of Record of Continental Customs again.
She was so engrossed that she hadn't even noticed Bai Lan waking up.
"Is it good?" Bai Lan asked.
The Ice Empress looked up. Her ice-blue eyes held a rare intensity.
"It is," she said. "I never knew there were so many places in the human world."
She paused, then suddenly asked,
"Master, does the Sun Moon Empire really have steam engines that big?"
Bai Lan smiled.
"It does," he said. "I'll take you to see one someday."
The Ice Empress's eyes brightened slightly.
"Okay."
Bai Lan stood and rolled his shoulders.
"Come on. Let's go have breakfast."
Yinye came over and stood beside him.
The Ice Empress closed the book and stood as well.
The three of them went out the door.
The dining hall.
It was the breakfast rush, and the dining hall was bustling with people.
Bai Lan carried his tray to an empty spot in the corner and sat down.
Yinye sat to his left, and the Ice Empress sat to his right.
As soon as they sat down, the eyes around them turned their way.
More precisely, they turned toward the Ice Empress.
Everyone had seen Yinye a few times by now. Though she still left them dazzled every time, at least they were prepared for it.
But the Ice Empress—
Ice-blue hair, ice-blue eyes, and a faint chill that seemed to surround her.
She sat there quietly, yet everyone nearby felt the temperature drop by several degrees.
"Who's that?"
"I've never seen her before..."
"She's so beautiful... but so cold..."
"She has a completely different air from Miss Yinye..."
Whispers drifted over to them.
The Ice Empress lowered her head and looked at the tray in front of her.
On it was the breakfast Bai Lan had gotten for her: a bowl of congee, two steamed buns, and a small plate of vegetables.
She studied the food, frowning slightly.
"Master," she said softly.
Bai Lan looked at her. "Hmm?"
The Ice Empress asked, "How... do I eat these?"
Bai Lan paused.
Yinye chuckled beside them.
"Have you never eaten human food?"
The Ice Empress shook her head.
"There was only ice and snow in the Extreme North," she said. "I went seven hundred thousand years without eating."
Bai Lan fell silent.
He looked at the Ice Empress and suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.
Seven hundred thousand years.
She had lived only by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
She had never tasted food.
"Here." He picked up a steamed bun and held it out to her. "Take a bite."
The Ice Empress accepted the bun and looked at it.
She hesitated, then took a small bite.
Then—
She froze.
Her ice-blue eyes widened slightly.
"What..." she murmured. "What is this flavor?"
Bai Lan smiled.
"Is it good?"
The Ice Empress nodded and took another bite.
"It's good," she said, a rare note of delight in her voice. "I've never tasted anything like it."
Yinye watched her with a smile.
"Take your time," she said. "There's plenty more."
The Ice Empress nodded and ate the bun one bite at a time.
She was so focused, like a child discovering a whole new world.
Bai Lan watched her, warmth rising in his heart.
Just then, a voice came from beside them.
"Bai Lan!"
Bai Lan turned to look.
Tang Ya came bounding over, with Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi following behind her.
Tang Ya ran up, about to say something—
Then she saw the Ice Empress.
She froze.
Bei Bei froze, too.
Xu Sanshi's mouth fell open so wide an egg could have fit inside.
The three of them stood there, motionless.
The Ice Empress looked up at them.
Then she lowered her head and continued eating her steamed bun.
"B-Bai Lan..." Tang Ya stammered. "W-Who is she...?"
Bai Lan put down his chopsticks.
"The Ice Empress," he said. "My new Contract Beast."
Tang Ya's eyes widened even further.
A Contract Beast?
This beautiful woman who looked like an ice queen was a Contract Beast?
"She... she..." Tang Ya pointed at the Ice Empress, unable to find the words.
Bei Bei drew a deep breath, suppressing his shock.
He stepped closer and gave the Ice Empress a slight nod.
"Hello. I'm Bei Bei."
The Ice Empress looked up at him.
Then—
She lowered her head and continued eating her bun.
Bei Bei's hand froze in midair.
Tang Ya covered her mouth, laughing.
Xu Sanshi was gleeful.
"Bei Bei, she ignored you."
Bei Bei glared at him and lowered his hand.
He looked at the Ice Empress, curiosity in his eyes.
"Bai Lan," he asked quietly. "Is she... always like this?"
Bai Lan thought for a moment, then said,
"She just got here. She's not used to things yet."
"She'll get used to it after a while."
Bei Bei nodded and didn't ask anything else.
Tang Ya sidled up to the Ice Empress, her eyes sparkling.
"Miss, what's your name? Where are you from? What do you like to eat? I can get it for you!"
The Ice Empress looked up at her.
There was no emotion in her ice-blue eyes.
She simply looked at Tang Ya in silence.
Tang Ya felt a little uneasy under her gaze, but did her best to keep smiling.
"Um... miss?"
The Ice Empress looked away.
She lowered her head and continued eating her bun.
Tang Ya: "..."
Xu Sanshi was laughing so hard beside her that he could barely stand.
"Tang Ya, now you know how it feels!"
Tang Ya glared at him, then turned to Bai Lan with a wounded look.
"Bai Lan, does she not like me?"
Bai Lan smiled.
"No," he said. "She's just not used to being around people yet."
He looked at the Ice Empress and spoke softly.
"Ice Empress, this is Tang Ya."
"She's my friend."
"She's your friend, too."
The Ice Empress paused.
She looked up at Tang Ya.
This time, there was something different in her gaze.
It wasn't indifference anymore, but rather a hint of—
Curiosity?
"Friend?" she asked.
Tang Ya nodded quickly.
"That's right! Friends! I'm Tang Ya! If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me!"
The Ice Empress was silent for a moment.
Then she gave a slight nod.
"Mm."
Tang Ya's eyes lit up.
"You spoke! You spoke to me!"
The Ice Empress looked at her, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
Why was this human so happy?
Yinye chuckled softly beside them.
"Ice Empress," she said. "In the human world, making friends is something worth being happy about."
The Ice Empress seemed thoughtful.
She looked at Tang Ya, then at the bun in her hand.
Then she spoke.
"This... is delicious."
Tang Ya paused.
Then she smiled even more brightly.
"Right? Right! The cafeteria's buns are the best! I eat two every morning!"
Ice Empress looked at her and suddenly thought—
Maybe this human wasn't so noisy after all.
Breakfast took half an hour.
When it was time to leave, Tang Ya clung to Ice Empress's hand, reluctant to let go.
"Sister Ice Empress, how about I come find you for breakfast every morning from now on?"
Ice Empress looked at Tang Ya holding her hand.
In seven hundred thousand years, no one had ever been this close to her.
She was silent for a second.
Then she nodded.
"Okay."
Before you continue