"Alright, I'll say it," Mu Anxiao said, picking up her teacup. "Are you and Mai familiar with each other?"
"Not at all," A'chu stated decisively.
Mu Anxiao was somewhat aware of the relationship between A'chu and Mai. She knew they didn't have much interaction, and asking now was merely a way to find a stepping stone for herself. It was clear this stepping stone had been well-constructed.
"Not familiar," Mu Anxiao nodded and took a sip of tea.
A'chu looked at Mu Anxiao's hesitant demeanor with confusion, her brow furrowed. "You seem to have something you want to say, don't you?"
"Yes…" Mu Anxiao said, taking the teacup away from her lips and smiling at A'chu. "I can't see that place anymore."
"Which place?" A'chu didn't understand Mu Anxiao's meaning.
"That place," Mu Anxiao said faintly, confident that A'chu would understand her.
To her surprise, A'chu furrowed her brow after Mu Anxiao's words. "I'm rather slow. Could you please clarify? I..." She gasped. "I really don't understand." She stared intently at Mu Anxiao's face.
At that moment, the already fragile understanding between them shattered.
Mu Anxiao looked at A'chu's stunned expression and said helplessly, "Congratulate me. Your master doesn't trust me anymore." Some things have a completely different effect when said by others compared to oneself.
It was like this with her and A'chu. A'chu was Ouyang Ye's subordinate, while she was just an imposter. Her relationship with A'chu was based on Ouyang Ye's trust in her. Because of this, she worried that if she said those words, A'chu's perception of her would change. Hence, she had tried her best to get A'chu to say it first.
She hadn't expected that... in the end, it was she who uttered the words.
A'chu's expression stiffened. "You mean you can't see that place anymore."
Mu Anxiao nodded.
A'chu laughed.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao looked confused. "No, is it that funny? What are you laughing at?" She couldn't understand what A'chu was trying to do.
A'chu said, "I thought your relationship with the master was much better. After all this time," she shook her head slightly, "it's just so-so."
"You..."
"What 'you'? You can't see it there either," Mu Anxiao interrupted.
A'chu shrugged her shoulders. "I don't mind. Because from the day I arrived here, I was destined to be abandoned by the master." A smile played on her lips. "You're different. You work for the master. If you're not trusted by the master, that could be troublesome."
Mu Anxiao's lips twitched. "Heh, you know quite a lot."
"I naturally know a lot," A'chu said, picking up her teacup and inhaling its fragrance. "If I'm not mistaken, you're looking for Mai?" she asked, then put down the teacup and stared intently at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao smiled down.
A'chu was bewildered. "What's the meaning of your smile?" she asked, shivering slightly.
Mu Anxiao calmly watched A'chu's slightly trembling shoulders and asked, "Are you cold?" She suddenly turned to glance at the open window and the light veil being stirred by the wind, then stood up.
"What are you doing?" A'chu didn't understand Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao said, "The weather is cold, and the wind is very chilling." She stopped by the window, bent down, and gently closed it. "If you were to catch a chill, it would be troublesome." After closing the window, she turned around.
A'chu laughed.
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao stiffened, turned to look at A'chu, and asked, "Why are you laughing?" She found A'chu's laughter quite eerie.
"You still care about me. If you were a man, I'd definitely like you," A'chu said, picking up her teacup again.
"Then I think you prefer Song Xu," Mu Anxiao said, returning to the table and looking at the tea in A'chu's hand. "Why aren't you drinking it?"
"Just smelling it is enough," A'chu said, putting down the cup and glancing at the cup in front of Mu Anxiao. "Why aren't you drinking it?"
"The perfume scent from this teacup is too strong, I can't drink it," Mu Anxiao said, sitting down.
A'chu smiled. "Then let's switch cups," she said, pointing to the empty teacup.
Mu Anxiao's lips curled. "The fragrance in this room is already strong enough, and this teacup has been stained with the scent..." She trailed off, suddenly remembering that she had already taken a sip of the tea. She swallowed awkwardly and gave a dry laugh.
"You're not a man, so stop pretending," A'chu said, pointing at the teacup. "Drink it."
"..." Mu Anxiao gave an awkward smile, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said, "This tea is quite good."
"Does it have a strong fragrance?" A'chu taunted Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao curled her lips upwards and said, "It's fine, there's no taste." As she spoke, her gaze darted away.
"You want to find Mai," A'chu brought the topic back again.
Mu Anxiao nodded. "Yes, didn't you say to ask you if there was anything you didn't understand? So I came. Of course," she added, fearing A'chu might overthink it, "Song Xu's matter is more important. This is just secondary."
"Oh," A'chu replied dismissively.
Mu Anxiao calmly looked at A'chu's perfunctory attitude and asked, "What's wrong?"
"The master came by," A'chu said, gently moving her teacup.
"What do you mean?" Mu Anxiao's heart skipped a beat.
"What else could it mean? It means..." A'chu pursed her lips and smiled. "The master mentioned you."
"Mentioned... me?" Mu Anxiao's heart sank. She leaned forward, scanning A'chu's face. "What did he mention me for?" She really couldn't understand A'chu's meaning.
A'chu: "I don't know. He just mentioned you, said you were quite interesting."
"Anything else?" Mu Anxiao wanted to clarify.
A'chu: "No, then he left."
Just "quite interesting" and nothing more? Listening to A'chu, Mu Anxiao thought of Ouyang Ye's usual indirect way of doing things. Her eyes darkened, and she suddenly stood up.
A'chu was startled. "What's wrong?" she asked, looking up at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao furrowed her brow slightly and said, "Your master knew I was coming here."
"What do you mean?"
"It's a secret between us..." Mu Anxiao spoke halfway when the wind suddenly blew the window open. Hearing the sound, her heart leaped.
A'chu stood up. "What's going on?" she asked, peering towards the window, then looking back at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao frowned, also glancing towards the window, and murmured, "Could it be Ouyang Ye?" After speaking, she swallowed and slowly moved towards the window.