She gently placed the flower basket on Yan Huan's lap.
The basket was woven from deep-purple vines traced with silver patterns, elegant and distinctive in shape.
Its interior was lined with a soft, thick layer of moss that gave off a faint blue glow, like a condensed night sky.
And atop the moss bloomed clusters of crystal flowers, congealed like pure gemstones.
They came in all shapes: some resembled blossoming starlight, others unopened buds of ice crystal. Their gentle radiance cast a hazy glow over Yan Huan's still-sleepy, bewildered face.
"?"
Yan Huan picked up a small crystal flower, cool to the touch and neither quite jade nor not jade, with some confusion.
"What are you giving me this thing for?" He blinked. "It looks like something for a funeral... Are you seeing me off?"
"You jest, sir."
"They will not wither, and their light lasts a very long time."
"Placed upon this cold, solitary cloud cliff, they can serve as... a little decoration, to drive away some of the loneliness."
She lowered her eyes slightly, and her voice grew softer.
"After all, once you fall asleep, another ten years pass. Some things... are better than having nothing at all."
Her tone sounded calm, but her faintly curling fingers betrayed a trace of barely perceptible nervousness.
Yan Huan looked at the quietly gleaming crystal flowers in the basket, beautiful enough to seem unearthly, then raised his head to look at the exquisitely featured, ethereal Castorice before him.
"I'm only sleeping. It's not like I'm dead."
"If you miss me, or if something comes up, you can come see me anytime..."
"I... may?"
Castorice looked up in surprise, a flash of delight and uncertainty passing through her eyes.
"But I... am not a citizen of Okhema. Dawn Cloud Cliff is your