Too Late To Look Away

The Miteer Auction House towered in the center of Wu Tan City like a monument to ambition. Grand banners fluttered on white stone walls, trimmed in gold. Rumors passed through its gates like coin: secrets, treasures, and scandal.

But Xiao Ranyu didn't come looking for gold.

He came to say hello to Sister Ya Fei.

And maybe a bit of trouble.

He strolled through the outer courtyard with his hands tucked into his sleeves, dodging auction officials and waving off greeters who didn't recognize him.

Then he saw her.

Ya Fei.

Crimson silk. Flame-gold hair. The poise of a queen and the voice of a storyteller.

She stood at the center of the bidding platform, coaxing nobles to throw fortunes at baubles with nothing more than a tilt of her chin.

"Three hundred gold coins? A fair start. But the gentleman from the Song Clan surely knows his wife deserves better than that."

Gasps. Laughter. Bidding war ignited.

Xiao Ranyu leaned against a pillar, watching her with quiet fascination.

She played the crowd like a zither, and her notes struck deep.

Three Years Ago — Xiao Ranyu, Age 10 | Ya Fei, Age 14

Their first encounter was less elegant.

Ranyu had wandered into the Miteer Auction House uninvited—. Mischievous, bold, and oddly sharp-tongued for a ten-year-old.

Ya Fei had found him sneaking around the appraisal room, holding a spirit herb upside down like it was a paperweight.

"Little brat," she said, arms crossed. "That herb's worth more than your clan's monthly income "

Ranyu blinked. "Then you should label it better."

That was the start.

He began visiting more often. Curious. Asking questions. Mocking everything. She humored him at first, then gradually found herself laughing more than scolding.

He poked fun at noble customs. She corrected his trade math. He called her 'sister vixen.' She called him 'rude brat.'

She watched him grow—not taller, but sharper. He remembered everything. Picked up business like it was a board game. And when he joked, it wasn't the same childish nonsense the other boys threw around.

Still, he never once looked at her with anything but calm, curious detachment.

She noticed that.

And sometimes, late at night, she'd ask herself: "Why does it bother me?"

At fourteen, she was already considered a blooming beauty. Adults flattered her. Boys stammered.

But not him.

To him, she was a friend. Not anything more.

And she hated that it stung.

Still, she smiled.

The day he turned ten, she gave him a book: rare auction cases from the northern tribes. He read it twice before sunset.

"Why this?" he asked.

"Because the rarest treasure is a mind that questions everything," she said.

He nodded and tucked it into his sleeve.

She said nothing more. But her hand brushed his hair lightly before she turned away.

He didn't flinch.

And she didn't admit why her heart skipped.

Present Timeline — Xiao Ranyu, Age 13 | Ya Fei, Age 17

They met again in the VIP observation lounge.

He arrived this time not under a fake name, but with quiet acknowledgment.

She raised a brow. "Finally dropped the cousin-of-a-steward act?"

He smirked. "Didn't need it. You missed me?"

She rolled her eyes—but didn't deny it.

Over time, Ya Fei stopped pretending he was a nuisance.

He wasn't a boy anymore. His mind was keener, his presence stronger. She still acted composed around him, still never hinted at anything deeper—but inside, she knew the feeling hadn't faded.

He was clever. And dangerous.

And unlike the first time… she feared now that he would outgrow her.

After all 

Ya Fei, for all her grace and elegance, lacked what Ranyu had in abundance—talent.

She was not a prodigy. She dealt in silver, not flames.

Even at the age of 17, she was only a 7-star Dou Fighter. And she feared the day he would rise beyond her reach.

So she smiled.

And said nothing.

> "He'll leave this place behind someday," she thought, staring into her red-crystal mirror. "And I won't be able to follow."

Still, she taught him about rare items, temperamental bidders, and how to lie without ever speaking.

And when he teased her, she didn't roll her eyes as much as she used to.

One rare winter evening, 

The auction house hosted a private event.

After the event

"Late birthday gift," Ya Fei said, handing him a red box.

Inside: a pendant of blood jade and flame crystal.

Elegant. Understated. Warm.

He raised an eyebrow. "Expensive."

"I make good commissions," she replied. "And I spend them on people who are worth it."

Later, in the upper lounge—just the two of them sipping tea by candlelight—Ya Fei turned, expression unreadable.

> "Ranyu," she said softly. "What realm are you really at?"

He blinked. "What?"

> "Don't play dumb. You expect me to believe you're stuck like your third brother? That you can't cultivate?"

She was smiling, but her voice carried an edge. A woman's intuition sharpened by years in a den of wolves.

> "I'm a little over Dou Fighter," he admitted. "Barely."

She froze.

He was thirteen.

And already beyond Dou Fighter?

He wasn't just clever.

He wasn't just strange.

He was monstrous.

> "He's going to become someone untouchable," she thought, heart tightening. "And when that day comes, what will I be to him? Just another name he's outgrown?"

Xiao Ranyu seeing her silent, 

He tilted his head. "You okay?"

She smiled. "I just realized… you're not a boy anymore."

He smirked. "I'm only thirteen."

"Exactly. Which means in three years, you'll be impossible to control."

Later, they stood on the rooftop garden, lanterns glowing dimly around them.

"Since liking someone can't be controlled… I'll leave it to fate," Ranyu said casually. "So if fate gives me more than one… I guess I'll marry multiple wives."

Ya Fei laughed lightly.

Her laughter was soft, light-hearted—yet beneath it, her heart was whispering things she dared not say aloud.

Could I be one of them?

Would I even have a place in that kind of future?

She never voiced it. Not to him. Not even to herself when the mirror stared back.

But later that night, as she watched him walk away beneath the moon, the flame-crystal pendant she'd chosen resting warm against his chest, she knew.

She had already fallen.

And she might never have the courage to say it.

From the Shadows — Xun'er's Eyes

Xiao Xun'er hadn't meant to follow. It just… happened.

The rooftops of Wu Tan were quiet that night, painted silver with moonlight and the hush of sleeping tiles. She crouched behind the archway of the auction house's upper garden, breath held, eyes fixed.

Down below, Ranyu stood next to Ya Fei.

He was laughing.

Not the usual crooked smirk or smug chuckle, but a real one. Unfiltered, unguarded.

And Ya Fei—

She laughed too. Not with that elegant, razor-edged grace she used on merchants and nobles. This laugh was lighter. Personal. Something real.

She doesn't laugh like that for just anyone, Xun'er thought, her grip tightening.

And then she heard him say it.

> "Since liking someone can't be controlled… I'll leave it to fate. So if fate hands me more than one… I guess I'll accept that, too."

Ya Fei laughed again, softer this time—like someone surprised her own heart could still skip.

Xun'er exhaled quietly, eyes narrowing.

> "He's thirteen," she thought. "He's too young to say things like that—and actually mean them."

But something coiled in her chest.

Not anger.

Something more complicated. And sharper.

> "He's infuriating. He doesn't know when to stop. He makes everything into a joke."

> "And yet…"

Why did Ya Fei's smile feel like a blade slipping between her ribs?

Why did her chest feel tight every time he looked away?

---

That Night – Sleepless

Back in her room, Xiao Xun'er lay still beneath her covers, wide-eyed as the stars blinked above.

She kept hearing it:

> "I'll leave it to fate."

And again—

> "If I end up with multiple wives…"

She turned onto her side, fingers curling against the pillow.

> "I don't like him," she whispered to the empty room.

But it didn't feel true anymore.

---

The Next Night — Rooftop Garden

The garden at the Miteer Auction House was quiet again. The lanterns burned low. Wind stirred the crimson drapes.

Ya Fei stood alone beneath the terrace, arms crossed gently as she watched the clouds.

She didn't flinch when Xiao Xun'er approached.

> "Miss Xun'er," she said softly, without turning. "Out for a walk?"

Xun'er didn't respond with pleasantries.

"I came to ask… about the other night."

Ya Fei glanced at her. "With Ranyu?"

A pause.

Then: "Do you love him?"

Ya Fei didn't avert her gaze.

> "More than I ever intended."

The answer hit like a quiet thunderclap.

Xun'er's voice dropped. "But he said… he'd marry multiple women."

Ya Fei's smile was sad, but not bitter.

> "He did. And he might. Men like him usually do."

> "But if he can love fairly, truly—then what's wrong with standing beside him, even if we don't stand alone?"

Xun'er bit her lip. "And if he doesn't?"

"Then I'll leave," Ya Fei said simply. "I have my pride."

There was a long silence between them.

Xun'er studied her—this older girl, composed yet vulnerable. Not an enemy. Maybe not even a rival.

Just someone brave enough to speak first.

"You think he's destined for greatness."

"I know he is," Ya Fei replied. "And I won't wait for fate. I'll tell him how I feel. If it works—wonderful. If not—I'll move on knowing I tried."

Xun'er looked down.

"…He's always teased me. Always been around. I thought he was just annoying."

She paused.

"But watching you with him…"

She didn't finish.

Ya Fei didn't press.

Instead, she said softly, "Don't wait too long, Miss Xun'er. The storm's already forming. When it hits, you'll want to be beside him—not looking out from behind a window."

They stood there, not quite allies, not quite anything else. Two girls, hearts quietly trembling, each drawn by the same reckless flame.

Later — Xiao Ranyu's Courtyard

Under a moonlit tree, Xiao Ranyu sat alone.

The pendant Ya Fei had given him gleamed softly where it rested near his collarbone.

He stared upward.

> "Leaving it to fate, huh…"

But the moment lingered.

Xun'er's eyes.

Ya Fei's silence.

His own words.

It struck him all at once.

> "...I'm in trouble."

Still, he didn't panic.

He just smiled—and rested his hand gently over the warm pendant.

> "Too late to undo it now. Might as well see where fate really takes me."