When they finally arrived, Wu Ling offered his arm and escorted his senior sister into the elegant interior of the Crystal Pool. While the Eastern Blossom Ward of Silver Sword City was mostly known for its plentiful gardens and beautiful views, the Crystal Pool created an environment that drew its guests inward rather than directing their attention outward.
The polished stone tables of the restaurant were supported by giant, glittering crystals in a multitude of hues. At the center of the grand dining room, a geode several meters across had been split cleanly in two and set into the floor to form the gazing pool that gave the restaurant its name. Within the pool, several glowing crystals had been suspended in the water of the pool, each one reflecting and refracting off the crystals that lined the geode before casting their light in a shimmering curtain on the ceiling of the restaurant.
"It's beautiful," Yao Meifeng whispered, clutching Wu Ling's arm tightly as she let her Artist's senses absorb every facet of the enchanting environment. Not only had the restaurant created visual splendor, but several musicians played quietly near the pool, allowing their music to resonate with the many crystals suspended from the ceiling and creating a sound that couldn't be heard anywhere else in Silver Sword City.
"It is now that you're here," Wu Ling said softly, breaking Yao Meifeng out of her trance and earning a pinch to the ribs for his comment.
When they took their seats, both artists let the environment sweep them away instead of picking up their previous conversation. It wasn't until they'd finished several dishes while watching the lights and listening to the music that Yao Meifeng broached a topic with Wu Ling that had started to weigh on her heart.
"Junior Brother, now that you've awakened, will you ever dress up as my junior sister again? Or have you put all of that away and closed the door on that part of your life?"
"I don't know," Wu Ling said honestly. "During my awakening, my master pointed out that I have 'two selves' and that I shouldn't ignore my other half. I spent so long hiding away the truth that it feels good to just be myself without worrying about being caught or giving myself away."
"At the same time, I'm finding that life is different like this, and not always in ways I expected," he added. "You and Sister Xiang are the only ones who really know. That you both accept me is something I'm beyond grateful for, I had half feared that you would despise me for deceiving you for so long," he admitted.
"You had your reasons," Yao Meifeng said gently. "And, a year ago, when I'd just awakened, I might not have understood. Now though, after running from my family and the things I've done to avoid their attention, I think I can understand, at least a little bit. So I don't blame you for what you did."
"Maybe one day I'll find a reason to go back," Wu Ling said. "For now though, it doesn't feel like the most important part of my future."
"And what is the most important part of your future?" Yao Meifeng asked with a teasing smile. Behind the smile, however, she hid an anxiousness that only emphasized the other things she felt at the moment. Above everything else, an Artist cultivated the Heart and no artist could deceive themselves about what they felt for long.
"Are you," she started to ask. For a moment, the words became lodged in her throat and she almost couldn't make herself ask, but her heart would never be still if she didn't. "Are you courting someone? Sister Xiang perhaps?"
When she asked, Wu Ling's chopsticks went completely still.
"Sister Xiang? No, not at all," Wu Ling said quickly. He and Su Xiang had been apart too long. They'd only just found each other again and while they'd stepped back into a familiar relationship as sworn siblings, the idea of going further than that never occurred to him. Even if it had, he wouldn't have acted on it. The relationship he already shared with her was too precious to consider anything else that might damage what they had.
"Then, is there anyone else that you see in your future?" Yao Meifeng asked, glancing briefly at his enchanting silvery eyes before looking back down at her own dinner and moving things around with her chopsticks. Her heart raced and her stomach quivered, she couldn't possibly eat a bit at the moment but somehow, the thought of looking her junior brother in the face when he told her about some other woman that he'd set his sights on felt…
"Isn't it obvious?" Wu Ling said gently, reaching out and placing a finger underneath Yao Meifeng's chin, raising her gaze until it met his. "Senior Sister told me how she felt yesterday when she played 'Midnight Rose.' Tonight, I wanted to bring you here to give you my answer."
"I don't know what the future holds," Wu Ling said honestly. "And, I don't know if meeting you again that day was the beginning of a great love or the reunion of a great friendship. I do know that my days are brighter when I spend time with you, and that's more than enough to ask you if you'll accompany me to find out."
"I'd like that," she said, blushing deeply. "Then, will you do something with me?"
"What would you like?" Wu Ling asked.
"I want to write a song with you. A duet that belongs just to us," she said with a smile. "It begins with friendship and we can write as many verses as we need to until we know how it ends."
In truth, Yao Meifeng herself wasn't sure how their duet should end. From the moment he reached out to her on the stage, Wu Ling had taken on a strange presence in both her mind and heart. In the Pure Virtue Musician's hall, Junior Sister Wu Ling was one of her closest friends.
Then, when her good friend reappeared, it wasn't a sister, but a handsome junior brother who swept in elegantly and rescued her in a way no swordsman hero with a gleaming blade ever could.
The combination left her heart jumbled, and just like Wu Ling, she wasn't sure whether this was the next chapter in a great friendship or the beginning of a beautiful love. But while Wu Ling wasn't willing to risk his relationship with Su Xiang on the chance that it could be something more, Yao Meifeng would never forgive herself if she didn't find out.
"A duet," Wu Ling repeated. "I'd love to. As many verses as it needs," he said, smiling warmly and taking her hands in his.
Music played around them but neither of them could hear it as both became lost imagining the song they'd write together.