The weight of Mei Lan's confession still hung in the air as the silence between them deepened. Wei could feel the tension, thick and palpable, but beneath it was something more—something unspoken that neither of them had fully acknowledged yet.
They stood close, their hands still intertwined, but neither dared to move. The flickering candlelight cast long shadows on the walls of the Midnight Pawnshop, making the world around them seem distant and unreal. In that moment, it was just the two of them, locked in a quiet understanding that words couldn't quite capture.
Wei's heart pounded in his chest, his mind racing with everything she had just revealed. The pain she carried, the fear she hid, and the courage it took for her to finally let him in. He knew she was strong—stronger than anyone he had ever met—but seeing her so vulnerable now stirred something inside him. A fierce protectiveness. An urge to be more than just her partner in battle.
