As the setting sun painted the sky in reds and oranges, Jin Lu slowly started moving. Bai Feng would reach out to adjust her posture or repeat a movement that she hesitated on, but otherwise, he didn't move, watching her intently until all the positions were finished.
"Continue to repeat these movements for the next week. I will come to see your progress then," Bai Feng said, nodding at someone behind her. Jin Lu twirled around, frowning when she saw Long Yin slowly stand up straight from the tree he had been casually leaning against.
"What are you doing here?" Jin Lu asked suspiciously after bidding Bai Feng goodbye. Long Yin raised his eyebrow, his habitual look of amusement ever present.
"I came to escort you to dinner."
"Why?"
"Why not?" The familiar reply had Jin Lu growling as she bit her lip.
"Don't you have important things to do? I can get to the cafeteria by myself," Jin Lu said stubbornly.
"What could be more important than sharing a meal with my little Yang?" Long Yin purred, leaning forward until his nose almost brushed against Jin Lu's. Jin Lu took a step back, her eyes widening as she felt her throat bob nervously.
"Fine, do as you like." Jin Lu waited until she was a few steps away from Long Yin, "And I'm not 'your little Yang'."
"Mhmm," Long Yin hummed behind her in answer.
I'll take it.
They walked in companionable silence, side by side, back to the main campus. Though Jin Lu wouldn't admit it, she was glad to have Long Yin with her. The thought of getting grabbed again wasn't something she wanted to repeat.
"Long Yin?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did you enroll me in this school?" With no one on the path, Jin Lu thought that this was a good time to ask a few of the questions that had been bothering her.
"For you to learn, of course." Jin Lu glared at Long Yin, knowing there was more to it than that.
"Why?" Jin Lu asked through gritted teeth, praying and yet knowing what the answer was going to be.
...
"Are you unhappy?" Long Yin's question startled Jin Lu for a few seconds. Long Yin changing his habitual answer had her mind going blank, and she blinked a few times before she could answer.
"No… not unhappy really. I'm just really confused. There's no logical reason for you to help me by enrolling me in a school unless you want something." Jin Lu watched Long Yin as she spoke, yet his expression didn't twitch.
"You'll know soon enough," Long Yin finally said as they came to the 'T' in the path. Jin Lu stopped her questions as the students from Martial Field came into view. Uneasy at the crowd and the memories of what happened yesterday, Jin Lu slid her hand into Long Yin's belt. Realizing what she had done, she tried to release it quickly, but was stopped by Long Yin's hand settling over her fist. Jin Lu could feel heat flooding her face, and she lowered her eyes, too embarrassed to look at her classmate's judgmental faces.
Long Yin felt a thrill of satisfaction and joy at Jin Lu's actions. Though he could tell that his Yang hadn't meant to grab him, knowing that Jin Lu found comfort in Long Yin's presence was empowering. Even as Long Yin could feel the waves of embarrassment coming off Jin Lu, he couldn't help but be riddled with pleasure as they followed the crowd to the cafeteria.
Jin Lu made a sour face at the food in front of her, while Long Yin relaxed with a cup of tea. It wasn't long until they were joined by Fan Genji, her appearance making Jin Lu's movements halt for a second.
"Hey, Jin Lu! How have you been? I haven't seen you in class, so thought I'd come over and check on you. Everyone's talking about what happened at Martial Field! Expending all of your Qi to the point of fainting, you're lucky you didn't go into Qi deficiency! But you've got your friend here, and now you're being taught by Master Bai, so you should be fine. Master Bai is great when it comes to difficult talents; he'll have you cultivating in no time!"
Jin Lu had an uncomfortable suspicion as she listened to Fan Genji speak. It reminded Jin Lu of those girls in school who were hiding their true motives behind a bright smile and overly cheery attitude. At the first sign that the one they were targeting had something bad happen, they couldn't help but gloat in a falsely sympathetic manner.
"Jin Lu-" Long Yin broke through Fan Genji's continued chatter, a flash of displeasure crossing the girl's eyes before she turned to Long Yin.
"Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Fan Genji, Jin Lu's classmate." Fan Genji waited for Long Yin to introduce himself as well, but he only stood, taking Jin Lu's finished tray in one hand and Jin Lu's sleeve in the other. Jin Lu had no choice but to stand with him and hastily apologize as she was dragged away from Fan Genji.
"What an unpleasant girl," Long Yin observed.
"Unpleasant or not, what you did was still rude," Jin Lu scolded lightly. Though she had wanted to leave after Fan Genji's first few sentences, she had dealt with her share of false personalities. As long as you sat back quietly and let them shine, they were relatively harmless. After being ignored by Long Yin, however, Jin Lu had a feeling Fan Genji was going to become more troublesome.
Back at the dorm, Jin Lu was about to wish Long Yin a good night when he asked the question Jin Lu had been reluctant to answer.
"How did you get so badly hurt yesterday?"
Jin Lu hesitated, deciding to go with a whitewashed answer.
"A classmate wanted me to accompany them. I wasn't willing, so we got into a small scuffle. It was no big deal." Blood drained from Jin Lu's face at Long Yin's expression, her instinct to flee raising the hairs on her neck.
"I see." Long Yin gathered Jin Lu into his embrace, startling a squeak from her lips. Jin Lu struggled for half a second, but stopped when Long Yin's murderous aura flared again. "During your training, you will not leave this space. If something like that happens again, call for me." Long Yin stroked the forgotten yellow gem dangling from Jin Lu's ear. "All you need to do is touch this and think of me." Long Yin's arms tightened around Jin Lu, giving her the impression that Long Yin kissed the top of her head.
As Long Yin held Jin Lu, his aura calmed, a long sigh escaping. If it wasn't for the fact that Jin Lu needed training and Long Yin had to finish his assignment, he would take Jin Lu from there immediately.
"Get some rest. I will see you at the end of your lessons." Long Yin released Jin Lu, the slight push making her stumble before she caught her balance and went to her room. The door shut softly as Jin Lu shook off the overwhelmingly confusing emotions rolling in her stomach.