An Bing Qing was about to freeze in place when she saw Mo Yan Yan and Wang Shu speaking to each other but An Yu Yong blocked her line of sight as he kept walking.
She slightly shook her head and didn't stop her steps, but her pace slowed down and she fell to be three steps behind her eldest brother.
Even though she was looking ahead, her eyes were unfocused, 'Bing Qing, don't think too much about it. Sigh, they had been playing mates since their childhood because of the Wang and Mo Families' close relationship. In the past, if it weren't because of me, Mo Yan Yan would have been Shu's firs...' as this thought formed in her mind, she pressed her lips together and unconsciously wrinkled the long skirt of her white robe with both of her hands as she turned her head to her right, they were at some steps from passing by their teams side.
There were more people there but her eyes first landed on Mo Yan Yan, only when she was with Wang Shu her icy face would crack and a reserved smile will be drawn on her cherry lips with twinkles in her black eyes.
After giving her a brief glance, An Bing Qing focused her sight on Wang Shu.
She could only see his side profile, but even if she were to be facing his back, she knew he would have his pair of gentle eyes and mild smile as an expression when talking to her; even though it was the same expression that he had with everyone, it still didn't felt right to her.
Wang Shu had already been used to be stated at; therefore, he would ignore it whenever he felt one but this time, the gaze that was locked on him gave him a particular feeling, making him turn his head back and look over his right shoulder.
His eyes met the ones of the owner of such peculiar gaze; it was An Family's young miss, An Bing Qing.
She got startled; and an instant after their gazes intertwined, she was able to react and she quickly turned her head to her left. She swiftly reached her eldest brother side as well, to shield herself from Wang Shu's eyes.
Her response amazed him yet again, making him widen his smile.
That girl was strange, he felt as though she was struggling to avoid him. She doing so wasn't due to shyness which was a reaction he had met countless of times before with plenty of girls; that was what surprised him and made him more curious every time she did that.
Mo Yan Yan had been keeping her eyes on him all this time; thus, when his eyes left her, she followed the track of his sight.
She saw how a girl clad in a white gown changed her line of sight and then how she hid like a scared rabbit, she shook her head secretly at her last action. Not caring about that girl anymore, she put her eyes on Wang Shu again, just to see something unbelievable.
He was smiling so naturally as though he was having true enjoyment.
As someone who had met him since childhood, she could differentiate between his usual gentle smile and his true smile of mirth. This made her heart pound and confusion blurred her dark eyes.
She was about to look in An Bing Qing direction once again to regard her but Wang Shu turned his head back and looked at her with his normal gentle smile.
She made her best to keep her light smile on her cherry lips. She wanted to continue their talk but before she could open her mouth, Wang Shu's voice sounded with a joking undertone, "We must go or else we will be left behind".
"Aye", she softly replied but her heart hammered with discomfort. There was no way for them to be left behind.
The people near them have been quiet all this time, from time to time they will hold their own conversation in a low voice. Only the most concerned from each clan about the future possibilities had been paying attention to the interaction between their captains.
The smarter ones were able to catch some glimpses and went into deep thought; it was probably nothing but who knows in the future. Besides, they could try and lead the situation to where they could get some kind of benefit. But it was still too early to do baseless assumptions and to make decisions, letting themselves or not look forward to future developments.
As Mo Yan Yan walked towards the hall's entrance, she saw how the girl with swaying white robes was distancing more and more from them. She couldn't size her up now and she could only remember the image of the girl who she had spared a glimpse on the stairs. She regretted that she hadn't paid attention earlier and with a wondering heart, she kept walking.
An Yu Yong felt his little sister sudden approach, he hasn't been paying much attention as he had his head on the first trial at the moment; he was driven out of his thoughts and he turned his head to his left to see her. He lowered his gaze and saw her being rather restless so he asked with concern and inquiry, "Little sister, are you all right?"
"Eh!" her heart almost skipped a beat at her eldest brother sudden question. She then turned her head around to her right and answered while meeting his eyes, "Ah, yeah. I'm all right".
After telling her last sentence, she clearly saw that he had a pair of eyes of incredulity; hence, she added while turning her sight to the front, "I'm just a little nervous because of the competition".
As soon as he heard her answer, his heart felt heavy; she was clearly lying to him. Lately, he had gotten the feeling of his little sister saying quite the lies, leaving him without knowing what to think or do. He could only guess the true answer and make his decision from there.
'Sigh, since when did I lose her trust?' he contemplated as he looked at her side profile.
'No, when isn't the question but what did I do to lose it?'
"Sigh", he sighed and shook his head lightly before turning his head to look ahead.
Outside, in a bystanders' building that was two buildings apart from the Ancient Clan's one, there was a devilish white-haired young man clad in purple robes with silver patterns sitting in front of a big window of a private room in the ninth floor.
His cold yet charming purple eyes were looking towards the Ghost Forest that was tens of meters behind the pavilion where the hosts were while sipping a pink-coloured wine.
If An Bing Qing were to see this handsome young man, she would be able to recognize him as well as that wine.
It was Xue Zi Hui who was drinking his favourite wine; Purple Snow Orchid Heavenly Wine.