She stared at it for a second.
Then slowly walked closer.
[At least they didn’t give me a slightly broken bed this time.]
[That’s improvement.]
She sat down at the edge of the bed and leaned back slightly, letting out a quiet breath.
But far away, in another part of the manor, Xi Wenzhe was still moving through the night with unresolved thoughts, and Li Mei was still under observation.
And somewhere between all of it...
The truth of tonight had not yet fully revealed itself.
...
Su Yueqing slowly walked around the spacious room until she finally located the inner chamber where a large bathing area had already been prepared for her, filled with warm mist rising gently from the water and soft lighting reflecting against the polished stone walls in a way that made the entire space feel unusually calm compared to the chaos outside.
She paused for a moment at the edge of the bath.
[At least this is acceptable.]
[If I had to die today, I would prefer it be in warm water and not in fire.]
Without much further complaint, she slowly loosened her outer robes, letting them fall neatly aside before stepping into the bath and sinking into the warm water with a long, quiet exhale, her tense shoulders relaxing almost unwillingly as the heat began to ease the soreness she had been carrying since the fire incident.
[Just silence.]
She leaned back slightly, allowing the water to cover her collarbone as she closed her eyes for a brief moment, almost convincing herself that perhaps the night had finally ended peacefully, even if only for a short while.
But then—
Bang.
The bathroom door suddenly swung open with a sharp force that broke the stillness instantly.
Su Yueqing’s eyes snapped open immediately, her body freezing for half a second in pure disbelief as she turned her head toward the entrance, her wet hair clinging lightly to her shoulders while droplets slid down her skin, and her expression slowly shifted from relaxation to something dangerously close to irritation.
[What now.]
That was her first thought.
And the second—
[If this is another "villian scene," I am going to drown this system myself.]
Standing at the entrance was Xi Wenzhe.
He had not changed out of his dark robes yet, and faint traces of ash still clung to his sleeves and collar from earlier in the night, while his expression carried the same cold sharpness as before, except now it was mixed with something heavier, something unsettled, as though he had not expected to walk into a scene like this and had momentarily forgotten how to react.
For a brief second, neither of them spoke.
The silence stretched.
Only the faint sound of water shifting in the bath filled the space between them.
Su Yueqing blinked slowly.
Then she leaned her head slightly to the side.
"...Do you usually enter rooms like this without knocking?"
Her voice was calm, but the sarcasm underneath it was unmistakable.
[Is this man serious.]
Xi Wenzhe’s gaze sharpened instantly as he realized where she was.
His expression tightened, and for the first time since entering, something like hesitation flickered across his face, as though even he had not intended to walk into such an unexpected situation.
"I did not—" he began, then stopped, his voice cutting off briefly as if even explaining it felt unnecessary.
Su Yueqing slowly raised a hand and rested her cheek against it while still sitting in the bath, looking at him with complete lack of urgency, as though the entire situation was simply another inconvenience added to her already long list of problems.
[If he says he came to interrogate me while I’m half-drowned in warm water, I swear I will lose what little respect I have left.]
Xi Wenzhe’s jaw tightened slightly as his eyes twitched slightly at her thoughts. What a sharp mouth she had.
"Why are you here?" Su Yueqing shouted.
"Where else will I be if not here?" He said with a mischievous grin as he started slowly removing his robe,
"I’m here to bathe with my wife."