That night, when Wang Heiyue clambered through the window late, he noticed that Bai Shuyin was fast asleep. Instead of going to bed, the dragon sat down on the wooden chair, facing the sleeping figure. He tilted his head to look at Bai Shuyin, who was sleeping soundly, the moonlight seemed to cast a glow on her white lashes.
He watched her intently. Half of him still couldn't believe she had offered him to spend the day with a tortoise. It was even more mind blowing that that tortoise knew where he lived! He merely mentioned where he was staying but how could she get the right one from a hundred rooms available?
Guessing? Just a coincidence? It was absurd!
She was tight-lipped as fuck, not saying a word and was acting like a little kid would. Gushing at everything and squealing so loudly.
Wang Heiyue leaned against the wooden table beside and let out a long, suffering sigh. He had wasted the night trying to find a way to escape her instead of spending the night with Bai Shuyin! The more he thought, the more perplexed he was. Li Fantong never fit in his puzzles. He used to think she was unique, but now, he wasn't quite sure about it.
Her lucky charm and innocent way of viewing the world had him erased from this world. The dragon massaged his forehead.
A soft, friction sound snapped him out of his thoughts.
Wang Heiyue immediately sat up, the wooden chair made a loud creaking noise as the wood scratched against the hard floor. He winced and quickly took a peek at Bai Shuyin, checking if he woke her up. Only when he noticed the even breathing that he finally sighed in relief.
The dragon looked around and raised his head upwards to sniff. There was nothing fishy in their room. In the end, he sat back down on the chair, feeling tired out with his own paranoidness. He couldn't even think of the right words that would accurately describe his mood.
Wang Heiyue stared blankly at the snowy haired girl on the bed. He watched her shifted from the side to lay on her back, hand sticking out from under her pillow. There, he noticed something in her hand.
He hesitated for a moment and finally reached out to pull the item out of her grip, carefully.
It was a hairpin.
The dragon weighed it in his palm, it looked sturdy and expensive, heavy and genuine stone. One look and Wang Heiyue knew this was something she would never buy for herself. For some reason, he knew who it was that gifted it to her. A certain redhead flashed through his mind.
What was his intention by giving this?
Wang Heiyue clenched the hairpin in his grasp until an audible crack echoed. He felt like crushing those phoenixes wasn't enough. He gritted his teeth, a wave of rage washed over him. Ever since he came here, nothing seemed to go his way. Whatever was the reason he was reborn, if he was going to experience another despair.
The candle flickered, on the verge of burning out. The wick had been burning for a long time and burst out, startling Wang Heiyue.
The only light in the room eventually went out and dark consumed them.
***
The sky was bright, morning sunlight peered in through the half open window. Bai Shuyin squinted her eyes at the direct assault and groaned into her comforter, her mind still muddy. Letting out a long exhausting sigh, she slowly opened her eyes, blinking in daze. She still couldn't believe how she managed to get some sleep yet still felt not enough.
The snowy haired girl rolled to her side, hand unconsciously slipped under her pillow only to feel nothing underneath. She immediately grew sober. Jerking upright, she felt through her comforter, looking for a certain hairpin.
"Where, where? I was certain…" She mumbled, voice still a little hoarse. She tucked her hair behind her ears as they kept covering her vision.
She caused a ruckus in the whole room, blankets and pillows thrown, yet she still couldn't find it.
She tumbled out of her bed, standing barefoot. Planning on looking under the bed, Bai Shuyin swayed in her steps. Body felt like floating, a massive headache hammered her skull like someone had been banging a frying pan against her head multiple times.
How could a few hours less sleep do this to her? A long stroll from one mountain to another wouldn't even do any damage to her body. Bai Shuyin blamed it all on the stress and overthinking.
She bent down, her ass up high as she peeked under the wooden bed, wondering if she managed to drop it while she slept.
"Yin Yin?"
Startled, Bai Shuyin knocked her head against the bed frame. "Ow!"
"Yin Yin!" Light padded footsteps and Wang Heiyue appeared beside her. The snowy haired girl nursed her bruised forehead as she hissed.
"I'm okay, I'm okay!"
"What are you doing?" Wang Heiyue asked, wiping his wet hair. Droplets of water dripped down the tip of his hair, any longer, he would have created a small puddle where he stood.
"Uh… I… Have you," Bai Shuyin cleared her throat, hands automatically reached out to take the towel from Wang Heiyue's hand and worked on drying his hair. "Have you seen a hairpin around here? It's really important."
"Is it yours?"
"Ye— No, actually no," Bai Shuyin bit her lips. She still wasn't sure if she was going to accept it or not.
"Then whose was it?"
"I'm just… keeping it for a friend." The transmigrator said, not even answering the question. "Why are you asking anyway? Did you perhaps see it?"
"Huh?"
Bai Shuyin raised an eyebrow at him. There was slightly different air about the little bun she knew. "Did your date not go well?"
"Date? What date? Oh look! Is this the hairpin Yin Yin is looking for?" Wang Heiyue pointed at the hairpin lying almost so innocently on the wooden table, which Bai Shuyin was a hundred percent sure it wasn't there just a minute ago. It just miraculously appeared out of nowhere.
The snowy haired girl narrowed her eyes at her little brother, who pretended to remain clueless.
Bai Shuyin decided to let it slide and picked the little thing up, only to notice a slightly thin and uneven line on the stem of the hairpin.
She frowned. "I don't think I see a line in here before—"
"I stepped on it."
There was as if an extension of time was being rewarded and the silence thickened.
"YOU STEPPED ON IT?"