Hu Xiaotian gazed quietly at Huo Xiaoru, suddenly feeling that she had changed a great deal. She had not answered his question directly. Wanyan Liexin had already indirectly admitted that Xue Shengjing was in Black Hu, and the Black Hu Envoy Group's decision to host a banquet for him here was probably no coincidence either. Hu Xiaotian asked softly, "Why did you change the name?"
Huo Xiaoru's delicate brows knitted slightly, her face full of confusion. "What?" She clearly had not understood what he meant.
Hu Xiaotian said, "Why did you take down the Misty Waters Pavilion sign?"
Only then did Huo Xiaoru understand what he was referring to. She smiled. "Don't you think Aftertaste Tower is a good name?"
Hu Xiaotian fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "I heard a song recently. Let me sing it for you!"
The surprise in Huo Xiaoru's eyes deepened.
"Time has passed and will never return; the past can only be savored in memory. I remember our childhood, bamboo horses and green plums, two innocent children together day and night. The spring breeze has reddened the blossoms again, and you, too, have grown another year older. Your heart is about to change, as hard to turn back as time. Only in dreams can I hold you close..."
Hu Xiaotian drained his cup of tea in one gulp, turned, and left without even saying goodbye.
Hu Xiaotian's low, sorrowful singing still lingered in Huo Xiaoru's ears. His singing was far from perfect, yet it possessed a power that struck straight at the heart. Biting her lip, Huo Xiaoru rose and walked to the window, only to find that he had already left the back courtyard.
Deep into the quiet night, Hu Xiaotian sat alone in his study, still pondering Huo Xiaoru's behavior