Shura Field

"Crash—"

Ning Tian's hand trembled as she reached for a dish, and the sweet-and-sour sauce on her chopsticks splashed onto Huo Yuhao's cuff, leaving a small amber stain on the pale blue fabric. She instinctively reached out to wipe it, but before her fingertips could touch the cloth, Wang Dong's hand swept over like the wind and seized her wrist.

"What are you doing?" Wang Dong's voice was icy, her knuckles whitening from the force of her grip. "You're clumsy enough already, and you still want to touch Senior Huo?"

Ning Tian abruptly pulled her hand back. A red ring had already formed around her wrist. She stared at Wang Dong, most of the coolness in her eyes shattered, revealing a trace of wounded anger. "I only wanted to help him wipe it off."

"No need." Wang Dong pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it directly against Huo Yuhao's cuff. Her movements were hurried and rough, as if she were fighting with the fabric. "I'll handle Huo Yuhao's things myself."

Huo Yuhao wanted to stop her, but it was already too late. Wang Dong had rubbed too hard, and the butterfly embroidery on the handkerchief caught in the folds of his cuff, blue and white intertwining like a conspicuous mark.

Ning Tian looked at that butterfly embroidery and suddenly smiled, though there was a hint of self-mockery in her laughter. "Wang Dong, do you really need to guard against me like this?"

"Guard?" Wang Dong raised her brow and suddenly leaned close to Huo Yuhao, nearly pressing against his shoulder. "I'm only telling you who's closest to Huo Yuhao." As she spoke, she picked up the teapot and refilled Huo Yuhao's bowl, the angle of the spout perfectly blocking Ning Tian's view. "He can't drink tea that's too hot now. He has to let it cool until it's lukewarm before he'll touch it. Did you know that?"

Ning Tian's face paled slightly. She really hadn't known. Huo Yuhao had always said hot tea had more flavor, and she had even specially asked someone to bring charcoal from the Southern Border just to brew tea for him.

"And this." Wang Dong seemingly produced an iced date from nowhere and held it to Huo Yuhao's lips. "An iced date from the Far North. He said it's sweeter than the ones from the shops. Only I know he doesn't like large pits, so I specifically saved the small-pitted ones for him."

Huo Yuhao instinctively opened his mouth and bit into it. Only when the sweet chill of the date spread through his mouth did the tips of his ears slowly turn red. He wanted to spit it out, but Wang Dong had already pressed down on the back of his hand. "Swallow it. Don't waste it."

Wu Feng stared in stunned disbelief, nearly spraying the rib in her mouth everywhere. "Wang Dong, you... you're being so blatant..."

"And you two are both men!"

Wu Feng's words were like a thunderclap, splitting the little restaurant into silence. Even the uncle at the next table who had been gnawing on ribs froze, his chopsticks hanging in midair and his eyes wide as saucers.

Wang Dong's face instantly flushed scarlet, as if someone had dumped a bucket of boiling water over her. She abruptly released Huo Yuhao's hand, but unconsciously clenched her fist as she pulled away, her knuckles turning white. "What's wrong with being men?" she shouted stubbornly, her voice cracking. "Can't men be close? Is it any of your business?!"

Xiao Xiao froze mid-bite, her large eyes fixed on Wang Dong as though she were looking at some terrifying beast.

Wang Dong had shouted too quickly, making it seem like she was covering something up. She secretly glanced at Huo Yuhao. He was lowering his head and staring at the iced date pit in his bowl, his ears so red they seemed ready to bleed. His blue eyes were shrouded in mist, his emotions unreadable. Wang Dong's heart suddenly sank, as though stabbed by an icy spear from the Far North. Had she been too impulsive just now?

Ning Tian was stunned as well. Her chopsticks fell onto the table with a smack. Looking at the redness around Wang Dong's eyes, then at Huo Yuhao's tense profile, she suddenly remembered how she had always run into the two of them together, inseparable enough that they seemed to want to use the bathroom together. She remembered that whenever Huo Yuhao cooked, he almost always had Wang Dong taste the first bite. She remembered how Wang Dong always acted bashful and awkward around Huo Yuhao...

Details she had once dismissed as those of "good brothers" suddenly linked together, tightening around her heart until she could barely breathe.

"I..." Ning Tian opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, it only turned into a soft snort. Her laugh held self-mockery, along with an indescribable bitterness. "I was meddling."

"You were!" Wang Dong was still putting on a tough front, yet she quietly shifted closer to Huo Yuhao, her knee lightly brushing his leg as if seeking support.

Huo Yuhao finally raised his head, feeling rather speechless. You know it looks bad for two men to act like this, yet you think of yourself as a girl. But right now, you look like a boy. If word of what happened today gets out, how are we supposed to live at the academy?

His gaze first fell on Wang Dong's trembling shoulders before shifting to Ning Tian. With an awkward expression, he said, "That's not what Wang Dong meant... Don't misunderstand."

The moment Huo Yuhao said that, Wang Dong's face reddened again, even more than when Wu Feng had exposed her. She suddenly turned and glared at Huo Yuhao, tiny flames seeming to burn in her pink-blue eyes. "How is that not what I meant?!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she froze, as if she had not expected herself to shout so urgently. The uncle at the next table slammed his chopsticks onto the table with a clatter, pretended to cough, and pulled his wife to her feet. "Old woman, we're full. Come on, let's go home!" Their steps were hurried, as if they feared being entangled in something.

Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. He wanted to reach out and pull Wang Dong back, but she slapped his hand away. "Why are you pulling me?" Wang Dong craned her neck, her voice hurried and hoarse. "Was I wrong? What's wrong with men being close? The two of us have been together since we were little..."

"Ahem!" Huo Yuhao hurriedly coughed to cut her off. Catching Ning Tian and Wu Feng staring at them from the corner of his eye, his scalp went numb. "Wang Dong, say less."

"Why should I?" Wang Dong seemed like a firecracker that had been lit. "That's not what you said when we were at the plaza just now! You even said..."

"Wang Dong!" Huo Yuhao lowered his voice, the tips of his ears red enough to drip blood. "Don't talk nonsense!"

That "don't talk nonsense" only sounded more like a guilty attempt to hide the truth. Wu Feng's eyes widened as she tugged on Ning Tian's sleeve and whispered, "Young Mistress! Did you hear that? They really... really..."

Ning Tian's face grew paler and paler. Looking at Wang Dong's puffed-up appearance and the light in her eyes, then at Huo Yuhao's frantic attempts to cover things up and his evasive gaze, Ning Tian suddenly felt the bitterness from before fade away. All that remained was the exhausted feeling of dust settling. She bent down, picked up the chopsticks from the floor, and gently placed them on the table. Her voice was as calm as a frozen lake. "Since it was a misunderstanding, then let's leave it at that."

She turned to Wu Feng. "Let's go. We still have training."

"Huh? We're leaving already?" Wu Feng had not had her fill of the spectacle and unwillingly glanced at Wang Dong. "Young Mistress, they..."

"Go." Ning Tian's voice held no inflection, but it carried unquestionable resolve. When she reached the door, she suddenly paused. Without turning back, she left Huo Yuhao with one sentence. "Huo Yuhao, whatever your relationship is, it's never wrong to think it through."

The wooden door creaked shut, sealing the awkward atmosphere inside the little restaurant.

Wang Dong was still furious, clenching her fists as she glared at Huo Yuhao. "Why did you explain just now? That was exactly what I meant!"

"Keep your voice down!" Huo Yuhao lowered his voice and glanced around. Only the three of them and the owner's wife, who was clearing tables, remained in the restaurant. "Have you forgotten you're supposed to be a boy? Or are you a girl wearing a boy's skin?"

Wang Dong's momentum instantly deflated by half, like a punctured balloon. She turned her face away and stared at the sweet-and-sour fish stains on the corner of the table, her voice muffled. "So what..."

Xiao Xiao sat beside them, her spoon having stopped long ago. Her eyes were round as she looked from Wang Dong's reddened ears to Huo Yuhao's helpless yet indulgent gaze. Her mind buzzed. No wonder Wang Dong's little actions had always seemed strange. No wonder she had looked both angry and delighted when she saw Huo Yuhao return... So... so Xiao Xiao hadn't been overthinking it!

She quietly shrank back against the chair, feeling as if she had accidentally stumbled into some secret she was not supposed to see. Even her palms were sweating.

"Alright, don't be angry anymore." Huo Yuhao sighed and reached out to rub Wang Dong's hair, messing up the ends of her pink-blue hair. "It was my fault. I explained recklessly without discussing it with you first."

Wang Dong's shoulders stiffened, but she did not dodge. She still stubbornly said, "Who's angry? I'm not angry."

"It's good that you're not." Huo Yuhao took a small porcelain bottle from his Cosmic Sleeve and placed it in her hand. "Here, iced mint candy from the Far North. Have one and cool off."

Wang Dong held the porcelain bottle, her fingertips touching its icy surface as the anger in her heart suddenly dissipated. Awkwardly, she unscrewed the cap, poured out a transparent candy, and popped it into her mouth. The icy mint flavor instantly spread through her mouth, making her cough softly twice.

Huo Yuhao reached out and patted her back, the movement as natural as if he had done it countless times.

Watching this, Xiao Xiao suddenly found it difficult to swallow her food. She quietly set down her bowl and said in a small voice, "Um... Huo, Class Monitor, I just remembered that I still have homework to do. I-I'll be leaving first!"

Before they could respond, she had already darted out like a rabbit. When she reached the door, she could not help turning back for one last glance. Sunlight filtered through the window lattice and fell over Huo Yuhao's white hair. He was looking down at Wang Dong, the helplessness in his eyes hiding an irrepressible tenderness. Wang Dong held the candy in her mouth, her profile facing Huo Yuhao, the corners of her lips secretly curling upward. The ends of her pink-blue hair brushed against his arm like a little beast that had finally been soothed.

The wooden door closed behind her. Xiao Xiao leaned against the wall and patted her chest, her heart still thumping wildly.

So... that was how it was.