“Don’t mind me... Ying Xuan’er, let me have some quiet.” I let the words fall like a curtain of rain, then slipped to my room like a shadow.

“Tangxue...” Ying Xuan’er watched the girl’s back fade like a receding tide, worry misting her eyes.

“Your Highness, I think Miss Tangxue’s got something on her mind. Right now, we shouldn’t trouble her,” a soft voice said, as calm as still water.

Ying Xuan’er narrowed her eyes like shutters closing against wind, thought a beat, then breathed, “...Mm.”

...

Snow Orchid stayed alone by the lake, plucking petals like drifting snow, her soul adrift like a boat in fog.

“Go find Tangxue... don’t go find Tangxue. Go... don’t go...” Each petal fell like a coin tossed at fate.

Ever since Snow Orchid learned Tangxue had left and gone back to Teacher Xuewei’s home, she had been like this, tangled like vines.

She ached to go to Teacher Xuewei’s place to bring Tangxue back. But every time she pictured facing the teacher alone, her legs turned to reeds in the wind.

That person was her teacher... the benefactor who pulled her from the brink like a hand from shore. Without Teacher Xuewei, she’d have become a living husk, like in the book’s cold pages.

She liked Teacher Xuewei too—kind, beautiful, poised, steady. With her, safety wrapped her like a warm quilt, and every meeting set her heart drumming like rain on eaves. Her fondness for Teacher Xuewei was second only to Tangxue.

Two joys should be twin lanterns. So why... every time she saw Teacher Xuewei and Tangxue together, did her chest tighten like frost?

“Uu...” The sound broke out like a snapped string.

“Hey there... what a coincidence, Snow Orchid, you’re here too—huh? Why’re you crying...” Yanfengle stood nearby with a fishing rod, eyes popping like startled fish.

“Classmate Yanfengle... I was thinking. Say... if someone falls for two people who also like each other, and they’re good friends—by all rights it should be a happy thing, like braiding three threads tighter. But why...”

“Down with the have‑it‑all crowd!” he blurted, like a hammer hitting a bell.

“...Have‑it‑all crowd?” Snow Orchid blinked, puzzled as a deer.

“Ahem.” Yanfengle winced, heat crawling up his neck like climbing ivy. “Go on, go on... I had a moment. Don’t mind me. You said you fell for two of your close friends?”

“Mm. And my bond with both of them is good...” Her voice was a leaf on a stream.

“Psssh... In that case... obviously, I’d want them both!” He flashed a grin like sunlight on water.

“...?”

Yanfengle straightened, the air around him settling like a classroom before a lecture. “Snow Orchid, think it through. You’re lost because you think love and friendship are a forked path. But why must you choose one road?”

He spoke like a counselor by a brazier. “If they’re both your wives, then what’s there to fear? Two moons can share one sky.”

“W-wives...” Snow Orchid ducked her head like a peony folding at dusk, cheeks blooming red.

If it’s like that... could we really keep what we have? I... I don’t want to be left outside in the cold.

“So yeah, ‘I want them both’ is the best answer!” Yanfengle planted his hands on his hips, proud as a rooster at dawn.

“By the way... Classmate Yanfengle, what are you doing here?” Snow Orchid turned, curiosity fluttering like a moth.

His face wavered, a ripple on a pond. He hesitated, then chose to trust her—after all, she was the rarely approachable beauty from class who still felt familiar.

“I... uh... Snow Orchid, don’t you dare tell that woman! I actually snuck out.”

“...That woman?”

“That lazy Holy Maiden from the church! All day long, nothing proper, just dragging me off to be her pack mule!” Yanfengle bristled, his complaints pouring like summer rain.

Hearing someone bad‑mouth her idol, Snow Orchid’s heart pricked like a thorn. But he was a classmate and a friend—and he’d just helped. She smoothed her mood like silk.

“...I think Her Holiness is a very good person...”

“Ha?! She is a good person! She just loves making me carry her bags. Sends me running clothes to the orphanage while she watches, all serene like a cat in sun. Every time I play with the kids I’m the bad guy and she’s the good one! In Eagle Catches Chicks I’m always the eagle! Every time I’m gaming, she drags me off to copy scriptures! Every time I—”

“So jealous...” The words slipped out like a sigh scented with spring.

“????” Yanfengle’s chant stalled mid‑note, jaw dangling like a hooked fish.

“I bet you get to see Her Holiness every day, right... walking beside the Holy Maiden daily, side by side under the same sky—that’s too blissful...” Just picturing it, stars lit in Snow Orchid’s eyes, and blush rose like dawn. “The Holy Maiden is so gentle and kind. Being near her heals me like warm sunlight. If I could be with her every day, I could die without regrets~”

“...” Yanfengle went blank, as if someone blew out the lamp.

“Then, Snow Orchid—if you had to pick between Her Holiness and Qingsheng Tangxue, who would you choose?”

“I want them both!” This time, Snow Orchid didn’t hesitate, her voice bright as a bell.

“...” Noted. Truly applied learning.

“Hey, hey? Classmate Yanfengle, why are you leaving...” Her voice trailed like a caught kite string.

“I want some quiet. Please don’t bother me,” he said, shoulders drooping like wet cloth.

“Oh... oh.”

Yanfengle, fishing rod on his shoulder, almost tripped right there, his step snagging like a shoe on a root.

Heartless! At least ask who Quiet is...

“Decision made! I’ll go find Tangxue later!” Snow Orchid pumped a small fist, cheering herself like a drumbeat. “Tangxue seems a bit clueless. Compared to Teacher, she’s easier to approach. I’ll follow the book’s methods and farm enough favor! Then, just like Classmate Yanfengle said, I’ll go to Teacher...” Her cheeks warmed again, a kettle rising to boil.

“If I do that, our bond won’t crack like those stories in the books... right?” She lowered her head and whispered, a wish set afloat like a paper boat.

Unfortunately, Tangxue didn’t show that afternoon. She fell asleep in the dorm... and slept for days, seeing no one, like a swan vanished into morning mist.

When she woke, the city stood on the edge of upheaval, storm clouds already rolling over its rooftops.

Xuewei and Edgar had set out for the Radiant Empire’s capital days ago. She never expected so many thorns along the road. Luckily, Xuewei had told Bai Zhi they’d handle that matter after she returned, so the impeachment wouldn’t derail for timing.

But then, a sudden shift rippled from Edgar...

Walking ahead, Edgar looked back with a smile sharp as a knife’s reflection. “Heh... Miss Xuewei, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why do you hate me so much? Is it really just because I almost hurt that little girl, Qingsheng Tangxue?”

“No. It’s also because I can’t stand the sight of you.”

“...” The wind paused, then moved on like a blade of grass bowing.