The silence that followed Qui Anxin's playful interrogation weighed heavy in the air. Her icy gaze daring him to crack the fragile facade they had meticulously built. He forced a smile in return, a thin, unconvincing mask that did little to quell the cold dread coiling in his stomach.
While he continued to stare at her face, searching for any tell, Han Ke Ming couldn't help but swallow nervously. There was something unsettling beneath the seemingly perfect smile etched on her lips that sent shivers down his spine. Somehow, beneath the playful charade, a sliver of something colder, something he couldn't quite place, glinted in her gaze. That, more than anything, bothered him to the core.
