A faint sadness lingered on Serena's face. Her elbows propped on her knees, hands cupping her cheeks, she gazed eastward as if waiting for the sun to rise over the horizon. But William noticed that Serena's eyes were unfocused—empty, like a doll without a soul.
William opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing.
Since they'd chosen to be friends, some words shouldn't be spoken, and some matters were no longer his concern. If they got too involved, both would end up hurt. If not for this, Serena wouldn't have run off from the imperial city without a word.
William sat quietly on the rooftop, watching the sun rise slowly over the horizon with Serena. Golden rays swept across the earth, the ground warming bit by bit, but neither William nor Serena felt any comfort in their hearts.
They'd come to the roof to watch the sunrise, but when the sun finally appeared, neither of them looked directly at it. They simply sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts, each immersed in their own world.
Only when the sunlight on the rooftop grew so bright they couldn't keep their eyes open did Serena snap back to herself. She turned to William and said, "The sun's up. Let's go down."
William didn't ask any questions, just nodded in agreement. After Serena went down, he followed at a leisurely pace. Sure, it looked impressive when experts leap off rooftops, but William's way of descending the ladder was charming in its own right—so much so that several maids were left staring, entranced.
Serena gave a teasing smile, and when William reached the bottom, she told him about it.
William's face flushed with embarrassment. "Serena, don't laugh at me. You know a scholar's good for nothing. They're not admiring my heroic descent—they're just waiting for me to make a fool of myself and tumble down the stairs."
Feigning worry, William touched his forehead where there was no sweat, his exaggerated expression finally coaxing a real smile from Serena. She stopped teasing and, seeing it was getting late, invited William to breakfast. William shook his head and declined, "No, thanks."
He had no desire to make himself unwelcome.
There was clearly an issue between Prince Nolan and Serena—they needed time and space to talk. He had no intention of getting in the way of their relationship.
"Alright then, I'm off," Serena said with a wave, leaving with easy grace.
William sighed softly and returned to his room. After freshening up, he headed to the flower hall for breakfast, only to find Yana Zhan waiting for him inside.
"Jinling-gege." Yana rose awkwardly, head lowered, like a child who'd done something wrong.
William's smile froze for a moment, then he replied as if nothing was wrong: "Yana, what are you doing here? Are you having breakfast here?"
"No, Jinling-gege, I came here just to wait for you." Yana could sense William's distance, and it hurt her.
With her father gone, not only did the Zhan family look down on her, but now even Jinling-gege seemed to be ignoring her.
"Waiting for me? Is something wrong?" William feigned ignorance. Yana bit her lip and finally spoke: "Jinling-gege, I'm here to apologize for last night. I was wrong—I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to ask you about some things. Please forgive me."
"No need to talk about forgiveness—it was my fault too. I was too harsh last night." Thinking back on his words, William realized he'd been too severe and felt a bit embarrassed.
"Yana, don't be upset with your Jinling-gege. He didn't mean it." No matter what, Yana was innocent—Old Matriarch Zhan's scheming had nothing to do with her.
Yana let out a sigh of relief. "As long as Jinling-gege isn't mad at me. Jinling-gege, may I ask how my grandmother is?"
"Yana, you can see for yourself." William's brows furrowed slightly. He had a feeling Old Matriarch Zhan had turned Yana away at the door.
Sure enough, Yana said, "Grandmother says she's unwell and won't see me. She told me to get ready to go home in three days."
"Your grandmother had a stroke—her condition isn't good. Since she's asked you to pack, you should go prepare. Master Wenyuan should be laid to rest soon." Yana's status was what it was; William could try to win her slightly better treatment, but he couldn't ask Old Matriarch Zhan to treat her as before.
Yana nodded silently. After a moment's thought, she asked, "Jinling-gege, will you attend my father's funeral?"
"Of course. Master Wenyuan treated me as a son—of course I'll be there." If not for his worries that Old Matriarch Zhan might use Yana against him on the road, William would have traveled with the Zhan family.
"Then I'm relieved. Jinling-gege, I'll take my leave." Yana tried her best to smile, but it looked more like she was about to cry.
Her grandmother refused to see her, but did leave her with one thing: Grandmother said she'd personally proposed marriage to Jinling-gege, but he refused. Grandmother wanted her to do everything possible to make Jinling-gege marry her—otherwise, after her three-year mourning, she'd never find a good match. But...
How could she possibly force Jinling-gege?
Yana knew that after this farewell, it might be years before they met again. Reluctant to leave, she stepped quietly toward the door.
William let out a gentle sigh.
Yana was a good girl, but... he wanted nothing to do with the Zhan family. With Master Wenyuan dead, he'd fulfilled his duty as a disciple—his ties to the Zhan clan were finished.
Compared to William's morning, Serena's breakfast was much quieter—because Prince Nolan didn't show up.
Serena glanced at the empty seat across from her, gave a brief laugh, and finished her meal. After breakfast, she returned to her room to change the dressing on her own hand, then went to change Beanie's bandages.
"Serena, when will I get better? I'm dying of boredom here." The moment Beanie saw Serena, he sat up like he'd seen his savior—only to be pushed back down by Left Bank beside him: "Don't move."
"You jerk! I didn't tear my wound open, so why can't I move?" Beanie lay flat on the bed, glaring hard at Left Bank.
Damn it, Left Bank was such a pain—watching him every day, never letting him move. If this kept up, he'd go moldy.
Serena cast a cool glance at the two of them, said nothing, and just took out the medicine box to change Beanie's bandages.
Affected by Serena's gloomy mood, Beanie dared not say much. He glanced at Serena, then at Left Bank, and finally decided Left Bank was easier to bother. He poked Left Bank: "What's wrong with Serena?"
Left Bank rolled his eyes at Beanie, saying nothing. Serena hadn't spoken a word the whole time—she finished changing the bandages and left. Beanie's eyes lit up and he kept pestering Left Bank, until Left Bank finally spat out two words: "Quarreled!"
It was more like a cold war. After that unpleasant day, Prince Nolan and Serena hadn't seen each other at all—no one knew what was going on between them.
Actually, there wasn't any real quarrel—they were just both so busy that neither had time for romance. Serena wasn't angry; she just couldn't figure out why Prince Nolan had slipped up.
Prince Nolan said it was an accident, but Serena didn't believe it. Yet Prince Nolan refused to let her investigate further.
"Miss Feng, His Highness requests your presence." That afternoon, Prince Nolan finally found time to see Serena—but he didn't come himself; he sent a guard to summon her instead.
Such treatment...
Serena nodded, indicating she'd received the message.