The evening breeze was still gentle.
The lawns of Sea God Island stretched beneath the night sky. Tiny ice crystals left behind by the dissolving ice dome still clung to the grass, glimmering a faint silvery white in the moonlight. The lake had grown calm again. The lights along the floating bridge still shone, their icy blue glow running the length of the railings and breaking into scattered patches in the water, swaying with the ripples.
Tang Wulin and Gu Yue rested on the lawn of Sea God Island.
They sat side by side, with half a fist's width between their shoulders. Tang Wulin had yet to change out of his navy formalwear. He had loosened the deep blue bow tie at his collar, exposing part of his Adam's apple. His legs stretched straight across the grass, his boot tips pointing toward the lake. Gu Yue sat beside him, her pale blue bridesmaid's dress spread over the grass, the silver ribbons at her waist trailing at her sides. Both hands rested on her knees, her fingers intertwined, their joints pale beneath the moonlight.
They had been sitting there for a long time. From the end of the banquet, to Wu Changkong and Long Bing disappearing beyond the floating bridge, to the ice dome dissolving completely and the lake settling into stillness. Zhuo Shi had left, and so had Feng Wuyu. Yun Ming and Ya Li had taken Na'er back to the Sea God Pavilion. After crouching at the edge of the lawn and counting the ice crystal fragments, Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan had run off too, who knew where.
Only the two of them remained on the lawn.
"Shall we head back?"
Gu Yue tilted her head to look at him. Her long black hair slipped off her shoulder