Candid Hearts

The greatest distance in the world was when you and I could have been honest with each other, yet insisted on being separated by a wall.

Bai Heng had never expected Jingliu to bring him to a hot spring bathhouse called Tanghai Dust Bathhouse.

Unfortunately, the men's and women's baths were separated by a bamboo wall covered in wooden grain.

Most importantly, the wall's soundproofing was impeccable.

That left not even the sound of water to stir one's imagination.

Before entering the bath, one had to rinse clean, change into the disposable moon-white silk bathrobe provided by Tanghai Dust Bathhouse, and only then enter the hot spring.

White or smoky-blue narcissus flowers grew beside the pool, while several laurel and cherry blossom trees leaned over the edge of the bath, which had been built from gray raw stones.

From afar, pink cherry blossoms and golden-yellow laurel leaves drifted down in a gentle shower.

At first, Bai Heng worried that the petals might affect the bathing experience, but upon closer inspection, he found that the cherry blossoms, laurels, and narcissus were merely projections.

After Bai Heng entered the bath, a golden automaton attendant brought a basket of fresh eggs into the hot spring room.

Boiling eggs in the hot spring was also a common activity when soaking in one. Perhaps hot spring eggs did not taste especially good, but as long as it was fun, that was enough.

Yet after only enough time to peel four eggs, Bai Heng received a message from Jingliu.

Wuxia Feiguang: "I've finished bathing. I'll wait for you at the entrance."

Looking at the message on his phone, Bai Heng peeled the last egg clean and placed it with the others in the jade dish meant for the hot spring eggs.

Five flawless hot spring eggs, white with a rosy sheen, lay nestled together on the dish.

Bai Heng nodded in satisfaction, then rose from the bath while wiping his damp hair.

After changing back into his usual clean clothes and arriving at the entrance of Tanghai Dust Bathhouse,

he saw Jingliu standing there with her arms folded, her long silver hair tinted with a faint golden glow by the sunlight.

Even with black gauze covering her eyes, her frosty aura and otherworldly beauty still drew countless glances from passersby.

Yet the chill she constantly exuded made those who wished to strike up a conversation hesitate, not daring to approach.

When Bai Heng came closer, Jingliu turned her head, lightly tossing her silver hair scented with a cool fragrance, and said calmly,

"Let's go."

"Not so fast." Bai Heng stopped Jingliu, then took out the eggs he had just peeled. "They were cooked inside, Master Jingliu."

Bai Heng handed her the jade dish. A hazy mist still lingered around the hot spring eggs inside.

Jingliu looked at the jade dish offered to her, her lips shifting slightly as she asked,

"Why are you giving them to me?"

That question caught Bai Heng off guard.

But after a moment, Bai Heng answered naturally,

"Maybe... because I wanted to share something I found interesting with someone I wanted to share it with."

After he spoke, Jingliu understood. She lifted her slender hand, pinched one rosy-white boiled egg between her smooth fingertips, and placed it between her lips.

No matter what food Jingliu tasted, she never showed much expression.

Thus, she simply carried the jade dish with an especially placid face as she walked along one side of the street.

If you can't find a book by its title, try searching for the author. It may have simply been renamed!

Bai Heng walked on her left, able to smell the faint cool fragrance lingering on Jingliu after her bath at any moment. From time to time, he watched from the corner of his eye as she took small bites of the boiled eggs.

After quite a while, Jingliu finished all the eggs and returned the jade dish to Bai Heng before finally speaking.

"They weren't good."

"Huh? Then why did you eat all five?" Bai Heng asked in confusion.

Jingliu's expression remained calm as she replied in a tone that suggested it was only natural,

"You gave them to me, so I ate them."

Bai Heng froze slightly at her words. Though he wore a smile, a faint ache stirred in his chest.

He had his somewhat "dim-witted" Master Jingliu wait where she was while he went to a nearby tea shop and bought a cup of Immortality Joy Tea.

It was early autumn on the Xianzhou. The autumn wind swept through golden leaves, and rows of parasol trees stretched for miles, shading the city streets. Yellow leaves drifted endlessly from the cloudless blue sky, lending the scene a distinct charm.

In such a season, the tea shops had already begun advertising the first cup of Immortality Joy Tea of autumn.

But for the current Jingliu, she probably would not go, and no one would bring her to taste this so-called "first cup of Immortality Joy Tea of autumn."

After returning to Jingliu's side, Bai Heng handed her the warm tea and said,

"Five boiled eggs didn't choke you, Master Jingliu? Have some Immortality Joy Tea. We can look around nearby afterward. Let's not go to the training grounds today."

Upon hearing Bai Heng's words, Jingliu said with a cold expression,

"One must not neglect martial preparation for even a day. Today is the first day I teach you swordsmanship. How can you be so lax?"

"But people also say that martial training requires a balance between work and rest. Besides, Master Jingliu, you can treat today as our first date in seven hundred years," Bai Heng said gently.

"A date?" Jingliu's eyes shifted beneath the black gauze, as though she did not understand.

Seeing her confused expression, Bai Heng was initially puzzled.

Master Jingliu was an old internet user just like him. She should not have failed to understand even this word.

But then he remembered something else... she seemed to have forgotten many things.

"A date means..." Bai Heng thought for a moment before saying,

"It means two people who like each other doing things that are meaningful to them together, just like we are now."

"Like each other..." Jingliu repeated softly. Her thin lips pressed together as she asked,

"How can I know whether one person likes another?"

Listening to Jingliu's questions, Bai Heng answered patiently,

"Hmm... let me think. Suppose you were holding two ice creams while waiting for me. You waited a long time, crabapple petals settled on your shoulders, and the melting ice cream stained the dress you had carefully chosen today, yet I still did not come. If you still did not get angry, and next time you would wait for me like this again, that would mean you liked me. Though that kind of liking would be somewhat humble."

"..." Jingliu imagined the scene Bai Heng described and said, "If that happened, I would wait for you again next time. But this time, I would get angry. I would even take my sword and cut you down."

With a faint smile, Bai Heng said,

"That would still mean you like me."

"Why?" Jingliu asked.

"Because..." Bai Heng recklessly placed his hand atop Jingliu's smooth silver hair and smiled.

"Because I like you too, Master Jingliu."

"Between us, no one needs to be humble."