Outside Shaoguang Courtyard, the sun had climbed to its peak. It was time for lunch.
The first thing Shen Tingyu asked was, "Did that scare you?"
"..." Cui Lingyao slowly shook her head.
"My mother is just having a hard time accepting it. She isn't a despot; she'll come around eventually."
Shen Tingyu then asked, "Do you think I was being disrespectful to an elder?"
What a question...
Cui Lingyao pursed her lips and looked at him. "How do you want me to answer?"
'If I say no...'
'...it would seem like I'm happy to see him at odds with his mother.'
'But to say yes would be incredibly ungrateful.'
'After all, he did it all for me.'
A faint ripple of amusement appeared in Shen Tingyu's eyes, and his voice was tinged with a smile. "Then don't answer."
He changed the subject. "Are you hungry?"
'Of course I am.'
She had walked for a long time this morning, and just now, when he and his mother were arguing, she hadn't gotten involved, but it hardly felt right to sit and watch.
