"Want some lychees?"
Yunjian had just finished a pastry when Sui Yun placed the peeled lychees in front of her.
The tender white flesh looked like fine silk, piled one atop another in a sky-blue saucer with a crackled glaze.
Yunjian turned toward Sui Yun and opened her mouth, waiting to be fed.
His face showed little expression, but his movements were gentle.
He picked up a small wooden fork, speared a plump white lychee, and fed it to Yunjian.
"So sweet! Do you know why these lychees are so sweet?"
Before Sui Yun could answer, she beat him to it. "Because you peeled them for me!"
Yunjian's voice was sweet enough to squeeze honey from, and Sui Yun fell for it completely.
When he looked at Yunjian, his eyes held nothing but her.
"Master."
One of Sui Yun's subordinates came to find him. He gave Yunjian an apologetic look, and she waved him off, signaling for him to go take care of his business.
Once the two men had gone, Yunjian, who had been so helpless and delicate in front of Sui Yun, abandoned all concern for appearances in front of her best friend.
"You're getting more and more natural at switching between those personas."
Wenren Luoshui had been sitting quietly to one side, enjoying the show. She was using the system as a hand warmer, which it had initially objected to.
But Wenren Luoshui had used food to bring it to heel, and it could only sell itself for a bite to eat.
"Hmph! Men are all the same, aren't they? Just praise them, and they'll be delighted, no matter what position they hold."
Yunjian popped sugar mandarins into her mouth one after another as she chatted with Wenren Luoshui.
Although she spoke with studied nonchalance, the expression