The lips were pale, tinted with a natural pink, their contours crisp, their curves perfect.
In the dream… it was these lips…
Mu Xi’s cheeks flushed instantly, and her heartbeat fell into disarray once more.
It was too vivid—the feeling of that kiss… as if it had truly happened.
She could even recall the soft texture and that crisp, clean scent.
She stared, dazed, not even noticing when she had finished her milk.
“What are you looking at?”
A cool, clear voice suddenly rang out, shattering Mu Xi’s wandering thoughts.
Mu Xi startled, nearly dropping the cup in her hand.
She jerked her head up and met Ling Yue’s faintly probing gaze.
Ling Yue’s eyes were fixed on her burning face, carrying a trace of scrutiny so subtle it was almost imperceptible.
“N-no… nothing!” Mu Xi hurriedly lowered her head, grabbed a piece of bread, and stuffed it into her mouth, mumbling, “I… I was just spacing out.”
Her heart raced, her cheeks burned even hotter, and she was certain her face must be as red as a boiled shrimp.
How humiliating!
She had actually stared at Teacher Ling Yue’s lips until she zoned out!
Ling Yue did not press further, merely withdrawing her gaze calmly and continuing her meal with elegance.
But Mu Xi felt that gaze still sweeping over her, carrying something that made her deeply uncomfortable.
She ate the entire breakfast without tasting a thing, sitting on pins and needles.
Every second felt endlessly long, the air around her seemingly frozen solid, pressing down until she could barely breathe.
At long last, Ling Yue set down her knife and fork and gently dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin.
Mu Xi immediately shot to her feet as if granted a royal pardon.
“I… I’m full, Teacher Ling Yue. Please take your time.” She spoke at a rapid clip, then turned and practically fled toward the stairs.
“Wait.” Ling Yue’s voice came again.
Mu Xi’s steps froze.
Her back to Ling Yue, she dared not turn around.
“This afternoon, continue practicing vocalization and piano.” Ling Yue’s voice betrayed no emotion, still flat and placid as ever.
“…Okay.” Mu Xi responded in a low voice, not daring to object in the slightest.
She could feel Ling Yue’s gaze on her back, piercing, making her whole body prickle with unease.
Only when Ling Yue stopped speaking did Mu Xi breathe a sigh of relief and flee up the metal staircase to the second floor.
Back in her bedroom, Mu Xi leaned against the door, gasping for breath, her heart still pounding.
Being in the same space as Teacher Ling Yue was far too stressful.
Especially after that nightmare.
She needed to calm down, needed a place to dispel the panic in her heart and those tangled, chaotic thoughts.
Before long, the familiar sound of piano drifted in from the neighboring room.
It was still that complex, ornate melody, but now it sounded like a death knell in Mu Xi’s ears.
She didn’t want to hear it anymore.
She didn’t want to be influenced by this music, didn’t want to be dragged into that uneasy emotional vortex where she lost all control.
As if fleeing, Mu Xi headed quickly to the third floor.
She was going to soak in the hot spring.
Only warm water enveloping her whole body might soothe her taut nerves a little, might let her temporarily forget that terrible dream, forget Teacher Ling Yue’s unsettling gaze and those lips.
The third-floor terrace had an open view, and the sunlight was just right.
On the other side, the artificial hot spring sent up curling wisps of steam, water murmuring softly, interweaving with the faint piano music drifting up from below to form a strange atmosphere.
Mu Xi walked to the edge of the hot spring, looking at the crystal-clear water that gave off a sulfuric scent, and felt slightly calmer.
She slipped off her clothes and stepped slowly into the pool.
Warm water enveloped her instantly, driving away the chill in her body and seeming to carry away some of the anxiety in her heart.
Mu Xi let out a comfortable sigh, immersing her whole body in the water, leaving only a small head above the surface.
She closed her eyes, feeling the buoyancy of the water, trying to empty her mind.
The piano music from below continued, becoming somewhat ethereal through the floor and the sound of water, no longer as aggressive as before.
But the melancholy and loneliness in the melody seemed to persist, stubbornly seeping through.
What was she thinking about, really?
‘Why… did Teacher Ling Yue always play pieces like this?’
Mu Xi shook her head, not wanting to dwell on it.
She just wanted to soak quietly for a while, to wash that nightmare completely out of her head.
However, just as she was trying to relax, her consciousness growing hazy, the piano music from below stopped without any warning.
The sudden silence made Mu Xi’s heart lurch.
She snapped her eyes open and listened intently.
All that remained was the murmuring of the hot spring and the soft sound of wind passing over the terrace.
That heart-stopping piano music had vanished.
‘Why did it stop?’
An uneasy thought crept into her mind.
Mu Xi held her breath, warily scanning her surroundings.
The terrace was empty, the sunlight still bright.
But that sudden quiet made her more anxious than the music before.
She had a premonition that something was about to happen.
Just then, from the stairway leading to the terrace, came the sound of light, unhurried footsteps.
The steps were neither fast nor slow, carrying a strange rhythm, tapping on the metal stairs with crisp echoes.
Each one seemed to land on Mu Xi’s taut heartstrings.
Her heart beat faster, almost about to burst from her chest.
The thought struck her like ice water, sending a chill through her whole body.
Not a servant…
Clinging to the last sliver of hope, she prayed she had guessed wrong.
‘Maybe it was just a member of the escort team doing a patrol?’
Though they usually didn’t disturb her at this hour…
Yet when that familiar figure appeared at the top of the stairs, backlit with sharply defined contours, the last faint hope in Mu Xi’s heart was utterly extinguished.
It was Teacher Ling Yue.
Mu Xi instinctively shrank deeper into the hot spring pool, warm water rising past her shoulders, leaving only a small head and a pair of panicked eyes exposed.
The rippling water blurred her submerged body, but it brought her no sense of security whatsoever.
She felt like a small animal cornered by a hunter, with nowhere to escape.
Ling Yue walked over, her steps as composed as ever.
She stopped at the edge of the hot spring pool, looking down at Mu Xi, who had only her head above water, her expression calm and revealing neither joy nor anger.
“Hiding from what?”
Ling Yue’s voice rang out softly, like clear spring water flowing over jade, yet it made Mu Xi’s heart lurch.
“We’re both women. What you have, don’t I have too? Afraid I’ll look?”
Her tone carried a faint, elusive teasing, but to Mu Xi’s ears, it seemed to hold some deeper implication, making her cheeks burn instantly.
It’s not… it’s not because of that…
How could she possibly tell Teacher Ling Yue that it was because of that absurd, chaotic nightmare last night, those shameful images that refused to fade, which made her so flustered and uneasy facing her now?
Mu Xi cried out inwardly, yet could not utter a single word.
She could only bite her lower lip harder, bury herself deeper, leaving only a pair of wet eyes, blinking rapidly, trying to squeeze out a smile that wasn’t too stiff: “…No, Teacher… I’m just… a little hot…”
The excuse was so poor even she couldn’t bear to hear it.
Ling Yue did not call her out on it, only raised an eyebrow slightly, that subtle movement carrying an understanding that saw through everything.