"True Disciple He Yaoyao, I never saw you that day. I hadn't expected you to be so striking, too." Pei Ye had not realized what was going through her head; he was only making a joke. Now he cupped his fist and smiled. "This counts as our first meeting, True Disciple He."
He Yaoyao had never received such a direct compliment. She paused, thought it over, and realized this was a social pleasantry, so she replied, "Yes, Young Hero Pei. You look very striking when you use your sword, too."
Qun Fei turned back just then and smiled. "Young Hero Pei Ye, if we have the chance, we must play Sword Chess together."
"Then I'll have to ask Young Master Qun to go easy on me."
Qun Fei smiled. "That isn't how you address someone."
"...Isn't it? I thought it was like an official title-Minister Li, Director Liu, and so on."
"Then how do you address Senior Sister Shi, Young Hero Pei?"
"Shi Zanxue?"
"Yes."
"I just call her Miss Shi."
Qun Fei smiled. "Then you can call me Miss Qun, too."
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Qun. Have all your Seven Jades come this time?"
"No. Junior Sister [Feiqiong] was already at the Sword Academy. This time, apart from me and Shi [Peaceful Fragrance], only Senior Sister [Shuangcheng] came."
Pei Ye laughed. "'Wielding hidden fragrance' doesn't sound like a very open and honorable method."
Qun Fei laughed, too. "I'm learning from you, Young Hero Pei."
Beside them, He Yaoyao lowered her head and sipped her tea, thinking how strange it was. Why did they have so many words lined up at their lips, waiting to be said?
She had to dig for ages just to unearth one sentence.
Silence lingered for a long time at the Shaolong Jade