This woman. This terrifyingly calm, dangerously pretty woman. She had shown up at his chamber in the middle of the night just to ask… for snacks?
Linyue hadn't expected this either. Earlier, on the horse, he had been close. His chest pressed against her back, his breath warm against her neck. But that had been different. That had been… easier. Now he was standing right in front of her, and she could feel every uneven exhale of his breath against her lips. Her heart gave a quiet thump. Then another. Then, traitorously, it decided to sprint without asking her permission.
Shu Mingye bent slightly. His arms moved in a sudden blur.
"Wai—" her words cut off in surprise as he picked her up.
A small, undignified sound escaped her throat before she could stop it. In three effortless strides, he crossed the room and set her firmly on the long wooden table at the side. The table creaked. Loudly. Probably offended.
Now she sat there, a little too high, her legs dangling as she stared down at the top of his very expensive, very serious royal head.
He just stood there in silence. One hand stayed braced on the table's edge, grounding himself, while the other rested lightly at her waist. His face tilted up just enough to meet her eyes, his gaze dark and sharp.
Linyue's gaze dropped to his hands. Large. Steady. Maybe a little too steady, like he was holding onto her with exactly the right amount of pressure to say "I'm calm. I'm in control." (Spoiler: he wasn't.) Then she looked at his face.
Shu Mingye looked like he was trying very hard not to look like he was panicking. He didn't speak. He just… existed there. His thumb brushed over the fabric of her robe in a slow, absent motion, as if he were making sure she was real. Or maybe making sure she wouldn't vanish in a puff of dumpling steam and leave him wondering if this entire night was just a strange dream.
Linyue also had no idea what to do. There were no instructions for this. No secret manual for "awkwardly sitting on a table while a terrifyingly attractive Demon King stares at you like you're both a life-threatening problem and a particularly delicious midnight snack." This definitely wasn't in any of Song Meiyu's training manuals either. Song Meiyu would've had a full three-step plan by now.
Step one: strike a dramatic pose.
Step two: deliver an equally dramatic flirty line.
Step three: mysterious exit, with hair blowing in nonexistent indoor wind.
Linyue had… none of those. She had... legs that were just hanging there, and a heart that refused to calm down.
She coughed softly, trying to reset the moment. "So… is this the royal method of handling unpaid sniffing fees?"
That broke him. Shu Mingye, the terrifying King of Shulin, actually flinched. Just a slight twitch of his perfect jawline, but it was there. Then he tilted his head, smirk playing at the corner of his lips. His voice dropped so low it seemed to rumble from somewhere deep in his chest. "If it were," he asked slowly, "would you prefer a gentler method?"
Linyue blinked. That was… also not in the script. This was not what she had planned. She had come here for a snack. Something soft. Something sweet. Something steamed. Not to be picked up, deposited on a table like a fragile antique, and have her world suddenly spinning into dangerous territory. This situation was officially out of her scope.
She peeked up at him, unsure what to do next. But when their eyes met, she stopped breathing.
Fire. Not the metaphorical kind, though it might as well have been. It burned in his dark gaze, bright and wild, focused entirely on her. Hot enough she swore she felt her skin warm. Her heart did a little backflip. She hadn't realized his feelings were this strong. She had suspected. He wasn't exactly subtle. But this… this was dangerous. And worse, it was flattering. Her mind was still reeling when she saw his hand move. Slowly, he reached inside his robes.
Linyue stiffened. Was he pulling out a hidden weapon? A dagger? Something romantic and horrifying at the same time? Or… a very expensive snack bribe?
Her stomach made a small, hopeful noise at the last option.
But no. It was a black hair tie. Embroidered with a golden phoenix.
Her eyes widened in recognition. Her brain, which had been short-circuiting from all the tension, suddenly kicked back into full power.
"You're the thief!"
Without thinking, she lunged for it. Gracefully. Or at least, it would've been graceful if her balance hadn't betrayed her at the worst possible moment. She leaned too far forward and wobbled. Straight into Shu Mingye's chest.
With reflexes honed from years of battle (and possibly too many dramatic saves in his head), Shu Mingye caught her. His arm wrapped around her waist. The other hand braced her shoulder. His heart was thundering. Loud and wild. Completely out of control. She had to hear it. How could she not? It was practically screaming, "Look at me! She's in my arms! AGAIN!"
Shu Mingye's voice came out lower than he intended, his words wrapped in quiet accusation. "Are you doing this on purpose?"
Linyue blinked up at him. "Doing what?"
He narrowed his eyes, tightening his hold on her just a little. Not because she couldn't break free, she probably could if she tried, but because he didn't want her to.
"Don't try to change the subject," she said firmly as she shifted in his hold. "You stole it."
His lips parted like he might protest, but no words came out. Because she wasn't wrong. The black hair tie. Embroidered with a golden phoenix. The one he had taken from her four years ago while she was sleeping. Yes. Technically, it was stealing. But at the time, he had convinced himself it was borrowing. He had planned to give it back. Really. Eventually. If she asked. Maybe.
Just moments ago, his thoughts had been a tangled mess. One second, she was standing at his door in plain white robes, asking for a midnight snack. The next, he was carrying her across the room and setting her on the table. He had almost put her on his bed. Thankfully, at the very last second, some desperate scrap of self-control had clawed its way out of the chaos in his mind and grabbed him by the collar.
Table. Not bed. Table was safe. Table was neutral. Table did not send the wrong message… hopefully.
And then he had pulled out the hair tie. Brilliant, he had thought. Perfect distraction. Shift the mood. Change the topic. Wave something shiny like a cat toy and maybe she would not notice the fact that he was slowly losing his mind.
Her eyes had gone wide with instant recognition, her voice sharp with accusation.
"You're the thief!"
So she really did remember. Had she come all the way to Shulin because of that promise back then? Or was it just coincidence? She always acted like she did not know him, like they were strangers.
He still hadn't let her go. His hand stayed at her waist, thumb brushing lightly over the fabric of her robe. His voice dropped lower, soft but steady. "I didn't steal it," he said quietly. His eyes fixed on hers. "I meant to give it back to you. But you… never came." Then he added, "Didn't you promise you'd come find me, Pie?" The nickname slipped out before he could stop it. It hung in the air like a soft, familiar echo.
Linyue froze. Come find him? Pie? What was he talking about?
She stared at Shu Mingye, confused. The man in front of her was tall, clean, terrifyingly handsome, and absolutely not someone she had ever—
Oh.
A memory crept in.
Four years ago.
Snow falling thick and heavy, muffling the world. She had stumbled upon a man half-buried in the whiteness, looking less like a person and more like a broken corpse thrown out by the world. Blood everywhere. A demon's claw sticking out of his side like decoration. His face had been so swollen, bruised, and frozen. She couldn't tell if he was human, demon, or some very unfortunate mix. She remembered sitting beside him, talking and shoving him a pie. Then they had become friend. Her first friend.
Her eyes narrowed. "…Clingy?" she asked, her voice careful and suspicious.
Shu Mingye smiled. The smile was small, crooked, and oddly gentle. It was the smile he only wore around her and probably didn't know he had.
"Yeah," he said softly. "That's what you decided to call me. Clingy." He lifted an eyebrow, looking both amused and somehow proud. "But this is actually the first time you've called me that nickname."
For a moment, his teasing faded, replaced by something quieter in his eyes. "So... why didn't you come find me? Wasn't that why you came to Shulin?"