The aroma of food filled the cafeteria's private dining room. Watching Tang Wulin eat with his head buried in his food, Shen Yi's eyes flickered with amusement before he turned to the ever-silent Wu Changkong and Long Bing, who sat beside him.
"Congratulations, senior brother, senior sister."
Shen Yi raised his teacup, his voice tinged with emotion. His gaze moved between the two before settling on Wu Changkong's still-austere face. He sighed softly. "The road had its twists and turns, but you finally ended up together."
Wu Changkong's hand paused slightly around his teacup. He glanced at Long Bing beside him, and a rare trace of tenderness appeared in eyes that were usually locked in ice. He said nothing, merely nodding in acknowledgment.
Long Bing's expression remained calm, but the faint blush at the tips of her ears betrayed the ripples in her heart. "Thank you, junior brother," she said softly.
Shen Yi set down his teacup, his gaze deepening as though it had pierced through time and returned to the years when the three of them had trained together.
"Senior sister, you're descended from an Evil Soul Master, but that doesn't mean you have to follow that path." Shen Yi's voice was firm and forceful. "You never committed those atrocities, and that's the truth. Master thinks so too."
He paused and glanced at Wu Changkong. A complicated emotion flashed through his eyes: resignation, a little resentment, but above all, a deep longing.
"But you know what Master is like. He's just as stubborn as senior brother, too proud to show what he feels." Shen Yi smiled bitterly. "In his heart, he forgave senior brother long ago. He's only waiting for senior brother to lower his head and admit his mistake. After all... the way senior brother stubbornly left back