Qi Gu suspected he had misread the message, or perhaps Sang Ma had made a typo. Standing beneath the eaves of the main hall, he watched Lin Hanzhi's back while sending Sang Ma a message to confirm.
Sang Ma replied: [Right now, yes. Wait and see.]
Qi Gu: [Okay.]
He strode toward the figure he had already been watching for so long. Once close, he reached out and patted his shoulder. "Hanzhi."
Lin Hanzhi was still mentally preparing himself. Qi Gu's sudden pat nearly sent him jumping straight down from the temple gate. "...You're here."
Qi Gu nodded and stood beside him at the gate, gazing down the long flight of stone steps stretching downward until darkness swallowed them completely.
The wind funneled through this spot, the mountain gusts biting cold. Even Qi Gu felt chilled to the bone after a minute or two, let alone Lin Hanzhi with his poor constitution. He took Lin Hanzhi's wrist and squeezed it to check his temperature, then said, "Go inside first. The wind's cold out here."
"What about you?" Lin Hanzhi had not expected Qi Gu to remain so calm after learning his identity, as though he had known all along.
And Qi Gu's natural gesture of checking his temperature had felt immensely comforting and gratifying. Even his wind-chilled body seemed to warm a little with his quickening heartbeat.
"I'll wait here. I'll call you when they arrive," Qi Gu said matter-of-factly, giving Lin Hanzhi another little push to hurry him inside.
At last, Lin Hanzhi noticed something was wrong. His expression shifted, turning subtle, and a thoughtful look flickered through his peach-blossom eyes. "If it's not too presumptuous to ask, who exactly are you waiting for?"
Qi Gu had not expected that question. Was Lin Hanzhi volunteering to reveal his secret