A Night Out and Unspoken Feelings

As evening fell, Qin Yan carried the takeout he had brought back and opened his apartment door. Xiao Miao, who was inside, heard the commotion. Seeing the door open and Qin Yan’s figure appear, she finally let out a breath of relief.

The young woman, her bare feet pattering, scurried over to Qin Yan, asking:

“You didn’t run into any trouble, did you?”

“This isn’t the Northern Wastes, where a disagreement quickly escalates into a fight to the death,” Qin Yan said, looking at the young woman who inexplicably seemed a little playful. He couldn’t help but ruffle her hair. “Come, sit down and eat. The food today shouldn’t be too spicy, but then again, you never know. Around here, the woks generally retain the spice from previous dishes, thoroughly seasoned by others.”

Her hair now a mess, the young woman reached up to tidy it. ‘Seriously,’ she thought, ‘what kind of woman lets a man pat her head? No matter how I look at it, such a doting gesture should be my privilege to bestow!’

Yet, bound by the unspoken rule of ‘he who eats another’s food owes a favor, he who takes another’s gift is beholden,’ Xiao Miao ultimately remained silent, settling obediently before the small table.

The small room filled with the fragrant aroma of the meal. Observing Xiao Miao’s eager anticipation, Qin Yan teased, “Starving, aren’t we?”

“Of course not! Don’t underestimate me, alright? Back in the Northern Wastes, I often found myself wandering through desolate wildernesses, conditions far harsher than these. Yet, looking back, those times hold a certain beauty. One day, I stood atop a towering tree, gazing at the sunset painting the horizon. The entire world seemed steeped in a golden twilight, and an inexplicable sensation rippled through my spine, though I can’t quite describe it…”

Xiao Miao prattled on, looking at Qin Yan.

“Freedom?”

Qin Yan opened the takeout containers, then offered them to Xiao Miao, speaking softly.

“Yes, yes, exactly! The feeling of freedom!” Xiao Miao nodded vigorously. “In that moment, it truly made one think, ‘It’s so good to be alive!’ Such beauty could never bring a single worry, and…”

At this, Xiao Miao, for reasons unknown, subtly glanced at Qin Yan beside her.

“If someone had been with me then, I would have simply appreciated the beautiful scenery, and any confusion, any bitterness, any grievance in my heart would have vanished completely.”

Her Shizun would surely cough up blood if she heard this; was she not a person? Though, strictly speaking, she really wasn’t human.

Qin Yan nodded noncommittally at her words.

‘Was Xiao Miao trying to hint at something with those words? She was far too obvious!’ A smile involuntarily touched his lips as he replied:

“Indeed, having just anyone accompany you would bring a great sense of peace, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s not it at all…!”

Xiao Miao felt as if Qin Yan had heard the unspoken meaning in her words, yet also hadn’t, and his reply was utterly exasperating.

“So, who was Xiao Miao thinking of at that moment?”

Qin Yan pressed on, looking into her eyes.

Feeling an inexplicable unease under Qin Yan’s gaze, Xiao Miao averted her eyes, focusing instead on the dishes laid out on the table. She picked up her chopsticks and began to push around the rice in her bowl.

Though the young woman offered no direct answer, her reaction was as clear as day.

Thinking carefully, if he were Xiao Miao, and in her most desperate hour, a stunning beauty had extended a hand to her—that alone would be enough to make his younger self fantasize.

Adding flowers to brocade is never as impactful as sending charcoal in the snow. You might believe you’ve merely extended a small kindness, yet you remain unaware that, to another, it could be the life-saving straw in their drowning existence—

This, then, is the wisdom of not neglecting even the smallest good deed.

“I… I was thinking of you…”

Xiao Miao opened her mouth as if to say something, but her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. As a woman, expressing her feelings so directly was truly a difficult feat.

“Hmm, what?”

At that moment, Qin Yan had just pulled out his phone, intending to find some videos to watch while eating, and thus hadn’t heard Xiao Miao’s words at all.

‘Never mind,’ Xiao Miao thought, her gaze complex as she looked at Qin Yan. ‘It was like this in the beginning, and it’s still like this now. I’m always being taken care of by this man. Just pretend I said nothing at all.’

“Stop being so cryptic…”

Qin Yan put down his phone. What was with speaking in riddles? How was one supposed to sleep soundly after that?

“I—”

Xiao Miao looked at Qin Yan’s persistent, ‘get to the bottom of it’ attitude. The words caught in her throat, making her stammer for a long moment. Then, as if summoning all her courage, she said, her voice trembling slightly, “I said, I was thinking of you.”

“Thinking of me?”

Qin Yan paused, as if deliberately playing dumb.

“Why would you think of me?”

At Qin Yan’s reaction, Xiao Miao felt a momentary wave of deflated disappointment. This was nothing like what she’d read in books! When a girl bravely confessed, shouldn’t the man be taken aback, perhaps even shy? Qin Yan’s reaction, in contrast, was utterly bland.

‘Could he truly not understand the meaning? An emotional idiot in matters of the heart—such male leads were common enough in novels.’

“Alright, alright, I’m not teasing you anymore—”

Observing Xiao Miao’s reaction, Qin Yan quickly spoke, feeling he was about to ‘break’ the young woman.

“Oh, come on—”

The young woman pouted, realizing he had just been teasing her. Still, a pang of disappointment resonated within her; she couldn’t shake the feeling that her emotions seemed utterly unremarkable in Qin Yan’s eyes.

After they finished eating, Xiao Miao cleared the table as she always did. Once the chores were done, there was nothing left to do.

“Xiao Miao, do you want to go out and look around?” Qin Yan suddenly asked.

“Eh? We can?” Xiao Miao asked, a little surprised.

“With me accompanying you, it should be fine. Anyway, no major problems should arise,” Qin Yan said, and then the two left the apartment.

They walked down the street. It was nighttime, and the city lights blazed brightly. Xiao Miao clung tightly to Qin Yan’s side, her heart filled with a panic that left her no mind to appreciate the diverse scenery around them in this new world.

Suddenly, Qin Yan took her right hand. As the crowd swelled into a torrent, he worried they might be separated.

‘It’s like this again…’

Xiao Miao always had this peculiar sensation: in front of Qin Yan, she felt like a younger sister, with Qin Yan as her elder brother.

Why did Xiao Miao feel this way? She had two older sisters, both of whom treated her similarly, so she understood this kind of affection perfectly.

The two walked and walked until they arrived at the riverside.

The evening breeze caressed the river’s surface, stirring a ripple. The neon glow from the riverside high-rises reflected in the water, transforming the scene into something ethereal and dreamlike, as the surrounding crowds gradually thinned.

Xiao Miao gazed at the scene before her, a beauty she had never witnessed before.

“Qin Yan, you must truly miss being here, mustn’t you?” She suddenly looked at Qin Yan beside her.

“Yes—”

Qin Yan nodded emphatically, his heart swelling with a myriad of emotions at her words. Suddenly, he felt a tightening around him; while he had been gazing at the neon lights across the river, Xiao Miao had stepped in front of him and embraced him tightly.

In that moment, they could hear each other’s heartbeats, and beyond that, their very thoughts seemed to intertwine.

“If I truly become something like the Flame Emperor, as written in that book, I will surely repay you, Qin Yan.” Xiao Miao’s voice reached Qin Yan’s ears.

“You saw it?” Qin Yan inquired.

“Battle Through the Heavens.”

The young woman lifted her head, looking at Qin Yan with a serious expression.