The lingering glow at the edge of the sky was as fadingly vivid as a channel of mingled colors.
Evening light spilled through the woods.
Wei Lingjiang looked up at Chen Heng, somewhat at a loss. His moon-white Daoist robe had taken on the colors of the sunset, as though mottled crimson peach blossoms had been added to it.
Against this deeply rose-colored backdrop, his eyes remained pools of unfathomable depth, his brows indifferent, his bearing untouched by dust.
"With so many eyes on us, gossip is inevitable."
Chen Heng met her gaze. After a moment's silence, he turned his face slightly aside, avoiding it a little. "Repeated slander can melt bones; malicious tongues can melt gold. Senior sister, you really shouldn't be so intimate with me."
"So many eyes?"
Wei Lingjiang lifted her lashes, her eyes widening slightly as she looked steadily at Chen Heng. Her expression showed little change, but her fingers unconsciously tightened out of sight as she said:
"Are you very close to these people? Or are they some dear friends of yours, junior brother?
"Is this because of other people...
"Or is it what you yourself want?"
Her voice was calm, but a barely perceptible tremor threaded through the end of her words, and even her body seemed to stiffen for an instant.
Chen Heng looked at those stubborn, earnest eyes. His gaze lowered, settling inexplicably on her face before drifting indifferently away after a long while.
"What difference does it make whether it's other people or what I want?"
He spoke.
"We... we only need a clear conscience. We don't need to care about anyone else!"
Wei Lingjiang bit her lip and spoke each word distinctly, as though she had not heard the latter half of his question.
Chen Heng did not answer.
Only