While the courtyard buzzed with laughter and toasts, Lin Hao found a moment to slip away through the side garden. The faint scent of jasmine filled the air, and the soft hum of distant conversation created a cocoon of quiet. He didn't need to look back to know she had followed—he felt her presence, calm and familiar.
Qingyue stepped beside him, her hands tucked behind her back. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The moonlight caught the edges of her hair, giving her an almost ethereal glow.
"You didn't run," she said softly.
"Should I have?" Lin Hao replied.
"You used to get flustered just hearing my name," she teased.
"That was when you were the ice princess of the training hall," he shot back, a small smile forming.
"I still am," she said, turning to face him fully. "But… maybe only to others."
Her eyes lingered on his, searching for something unsaid.
"Did you really mean it?" she asked. "What you said earlier, in front of our families?"
"I did," Lin Hao answered without hesitation. "We've spent twelve years together. I don't know when it happened, but… I want to be by your side."
A long pause. Then she reached forward and took his hand.
"I was afraid you didn't feel the same," she whispered. "You always kept a bit of distance."
"I had my reasons," he said, his voice lower now. "But none of them matter anymore."
Qingyue nodded, stepping closer. The tension between them had long since melted into something deeper—something both had avoided naming until now. Her free hand reached up, lightly brushing his cheek.
Their lips met in a quiet, unhurried kiss. Not fiery, not rushed—just simple and real.
When they pulled apart, Qingyue's face was pink and she refused to meet his eyes. "That was… our first," she muttered.
"Should we make it memorable, then?" Lin Hao joked.
She smacked his arm, but didn't let go of his hand.
They returned to the main room just as the laughter peaked. And then—
"There you are!" a voice chirped.
It was Lin Xinyao, Lin Hao's younger sister. She grinned like a fox who'd just caught two rabbits in the same trap. Her eyes darted between the two, then to their still-intertwined hands.
"Oh?" she said, drawing out the sound.
Qingyue tried to pull away, but Lin Hao held firm.
Before either could explain, Madam Yuan and Madam Lin turned their heads at once.
"Why are you two so flushed?" Madam Yuan asked with a knowing smile.
"Must be warm in the garden," Madam Lin added, barely suppressing a laugh.
"It's chilly out," Xinyao chimed in, giggling. "Unless their hearts were racing from something else..."
Lin Hao groaned. "This is going to follow us for the rest of our lives, isn't it?"
"Oh, absolutely," Qingyue whispered back, lips twitching.
The celebration resumed, but from that moment on, everyone seemed to look at the two a little differently. Not just as talented cultivators or childhood companions—but as something more.
And for once, Lin Hao didn't mind.