Chapter 6: Not Bad

  "Hey... Hey, wake up."

  A soft voice whispered directly into Kun's ear. He groaned, squirming on his thin mattress and pulling the blanket tighter around himself.

  "Ten more minutes..." he mumbled into his pillow. "No... one more hour."

  The voice was replaced by an irritated sigh, followed by a moment of silence. Then...

  Thunk.

  A solid cube of ice dropped directly onto Kun's forehead, its shocking coldness jolting him awake instantly.

  "Wha—where am I?" Kun sat bolt upright, his heart pounding. He was holding something soft and warm in his arms. As his eyes adjusted to the morning light filtering through the taped-up window, he scanned the room. And then he saw her.

  Lin was sitting on the edge of his bed, her face bright red, looking anywhere but at him. He looked down and realized that the "something" he had been hugging so tightly in his sleep was her arm. In his unconscious state, he had pulled her so close that their shoulders were touching.

  Slap.

  A sharp sting bloomed across his cheek. Kun let go of her arm as if it were on fire, scrambling back on the mattress.

  "How rude can you be?" Lin yelled, her face still a deep shade of crimson. "Suddenly grasping my arm while you are asleep!"

  Kun held his stinging cheek, his own face now burning with embarrassment. "You're the one who came here unannounced! I was asleep! I thought it was my pillow! It was... squishy."

  Lin's eyes widened, her embarrassment instantly replaced by a flash of anger. "Are you calling my arm fat and squishy?"

  "No, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

  Before Kun could react, another, much larger ice cube materialized out of thin air and flew directly at his forehead, smacking him squarely between the eyes.

  Moments later, a fragile peace had settled over the small room. Kun now had a red mark on his forehead to match the one on his cheek. He and Lin were sitting as far apart as the tiny apartment would allow, their backs turned to each other in a stubborn, childish silence.

  Kun rubbed the new red mark on his forehead. "Can you stop sending flying ice cubes at my face every five seconds?"

  "Only if you stop being rude about everything I do," Lin shot back, still not looking at him. "Then I'll consider it."

  He sighed, his curiosity getting the better of his annoyance. "How do you not get tired, anyway? Isn't Core power supposed to make you so exhausted that you'd rather just use a refrigerator or something?"

  She finally turned to him, a proud, almost haughty smirk on her face. "Obviously, I'm better than the rest. Thank you very much."

  "Weirdo," he muttered.

  "Idiot," she retorted instantly.

  "What are you here for anyway?" Kun finally asked, breaking the quiet. "And how did you even get in?"

  "Your door isn't locked," Lin replied without turning around. "And I was bored. You seriously need to improve your security. Someone might rob you, you know."

  "You're the only robber I see who is bold enough to break into this decrepit apartment," Kun muttered under his breath.

  "Hmph." "Hmph."

  They both grunted at the same time, a childish display that hung in the air for a moment before the tension broke.

  "Can you accompany me again today?" Lin asked, her voice a little softer.

  "Can't." Kun sighed. "Jack already covered my shift yesterday, remember? I have to work."

  "Oh. Right." Lin's shoulders slumped, a wave of disappointment washing over her.

  "But," Kun continued, "you're free to stay here if you want while I'm gone."

  Lin's head perked up. "Then I shall do that. I want to read my new book anyway." She reached into the bag she had brought with her and took out the worn copy of 'Lady Huanli and the Adventure of the Hidden Depths.'

  "Guess this place isn't my own anymore," Kun said with a dramatic sigh as he stood up and started getting ready for work.

  "Nope," Lin replied, already engrossed in her book, a happy, genuine smile on her face.

  A few hours passed. The initial morning awkwardness had faded, replaced by a comfortable, domestic quiet. Kun had left for the warehouse, and Lin was curled up on the new dining chair, completely lost in the world of Lady Huanli. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt a simple, uncomplicated peace.

  Creak.

  She heard the old wardrobe shift, its wooden frame groaning under its own weight. She ignored it, turning a page.

  Clack... clack...

  The wobbly table swayed as a breeze came through the taped-up window, its uneven legs tapping a soft, annoying rhythm on the floorboards. Her brow furrowed slightly. She tried to focus on the words.

  Doosh.

  The front door, which hadn't been properly latched, swung open with a loud bang, startling her. She got up, her irritation growing, and slammed it shut.

  She sat back down, trying to find her place in the book again, but the spell was broken. Now, every little sound was magnified. The drip from the leaky roof. The distant shouting from the harbor.

  Clatter!

  A tray holding a few cheap utensils slid off a slanted shelf in the kitchen and crashed to the floor.

  "Alright, that's it!" she yelled, standing up and glaring at the offending objects. "Everything in here is broken! Even if he is poor, this is not how someone can live!" She paced the small room, her voice rising with frustration. "And it is way too distracting for me to read!" she shouted at the empty apartment.

  With a new, determined frown on her face, Lin Meihua put down her book, grabbed her bag, and walked out the door, a woman on a mission. As she strode from the forgotten district toward the city center, the people of Jinlun who saw her that day would later spread rumors. Some thought the royal chefs had made a bad meal, others that a maid had been rude, and some even speculated that the quality of the weapons she had received was subpar. In reality, she was just irritated by the noises of broken objects in a poor janitor's room.

  Lin arrived at one of the largest all-in-one shops in the Sunstone Ward. The frown on her face was so severe that most of the clerks were afraid to even approach her.

  "You." She pointed at one of the clerks, a young, small girl who looked like she was about to faint.

  "H-hiii," the clerk shrieked.

  "Give me this, this, this, that, and that. ASAP." Lin commanded with the force of a military debriefing, pointing at multiple expensive, high-quality pieces of furniture: a sturdy wooden bedframe, a thick mattress, a new wardrobe, a proper dining table with two matching chairs, and a set of reinforced shelves.

  "Y-yes, ma'am!" the young clerk stammered.

  "Send the furniture to this address," Lin said, handing her a slip of paper with Kun's address on it. "And I want it there today."

  "Yes, ma'am!" the clerk saluted.

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  "And you." She pointed to another clerk. "Find me the best handyman in the city and tell them to go to the same address. I want the place done and fixed by today. And don't worry about the payment. I will cover it."

  That day, the clerks of the Sunstone Ward could feel their lifespans drain, all thanks to a very irritated Snow Flower.

  Meanwhile, back at the warehouse, the afternoon sun beat down, making the air inside feel thick and heavy. Kun was mopping a particularly stubborn patch of grime near the large, open doors when the sound of heavy wagon wheels and shouting men caught his attention.

  He looked up and saw a procession of wagons, laden with high-quality, polished wood furniture, rumbling past the warehouse and heading deeper into the unnamed district.

  "Hey, Kun, isn't that the direction of your place?" Jack asked, setting down a massive crate and wiping sweat from his brow.

  Kun watched the expensive cargo disappear down the street. "Yeah, but do you really think whoever bought all that would be staying at my place, Jack?" he said with a dry, humorless laugh. "Must be a rich merchant who got lost."

  "I guess you're right," Jack commented, shrugging his massive shoulders.

  They both went back to work, Jack moving crates and Kun mopping the floor, neither of them giving the strange sight another thought.

  Back in the Amber Palace, Xiang Feng was walking through one of the main corridors, a stack of scrolls in his arms. He overheard two clerks from the Sunstone Ward whispering frantically to each other.

  "...I'm telling you, it was her! The Snow Flower herself!" the first clerk said, her voice a hushed, terrified squeak. "She came in looking like she was about to declare war, pointed at half the showroom, and just started barking orders!"

  "Are you sure?" the second clerk asked, his eyes wide. "Lady Meihua is always so composed."

  "Composed? She was a blizzard! 'Give me this, ASAP! Find me the best handyman! I want it done today!'" the first clerk mimicked, her voice a poor imitation of Lin's commanding tone. "She terrified that poor rookie into saluting!"

  Xiang Feng stopped in his tracks, a small frown on his face. He listened for a moment longer, then shook his head and continued walking. What nonsense, he thought, a small, dismissive smile on his lips. As if the noble and prideful Senior Lin would ever cause such a chaotic scene in a public shop. They must have mistaken her for someone else.

  Evening finally came, the last rays of sunlight painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. After a long, brutal day of work, Kun trudged wearily up the stairs to his apartment, his body aching. Still the same old wooden door, he thought, reaching for the handle. Hope Lin behaved herself. And I hope she didn't break anything else.

  He turned the handle.

  Clunk.

  It was locked.

  There's no way, he thought, his tired brain struggling to process the information. He tried again.

  Clunk.

  Still locked. His apartment door lock had been broken for as long as he could remember. I must be more tired than I thought, he concluded. I must have accidentally gone to the wrong door.

  With a groan, he went back downstairs and carefully retraced his steps, counting the doors until he arrived back in front of the familiar, faded "#4B." This has to be it.

  He tried the handle one more time. Clunk. Still locked.

  There was only one possible conclusion. It must be that girl.

  He knocked on the door, his exhaustion giving way to a new wave of bewildered frustration. "Hey! I know you can hear me in there!" he shouted. "What did you do to my door?"

  "Coming!" a voice called from the other side.

  He heard the sound of multiple new locks being undone, and then the door swung open. There she was, Lin Meihua, looking as if she had just taken a bath, her long blue hair still slightly damp.

  But Kun's mind wasn't on that right now. "What did you do?" he asked immediately.

  "Not much," she said, puffing out her chest with pride. "Just replaced the lock. And some other things."

  Kun pushed past her into his room. And then he saw it. The wooden floorboards were new and pristine. His ceiling, door, and window had been completely replaced and fixed. In the corner where his thin mattress used to be, there was now a new, oversized bed. The wobbly table and crate-chairs were gone, replaced by an ornate dining table. The kitchen was new, the bathroom was new. Everything was new, and everything looked impossibly expensive.

  "This is not 'some other things,' Lin," Kun said, his voice a strangled whisper. "You... you renovated the entire room. How much was all this?" He turned to her, his face pale, and braced himself for the answer.

  "Not much," she said, shrugging. "Just around one hundred thousand Cal."

  "One... hundred... thousand... Cal?" Kun gasped, the strength leaving his knees. He stumbled backward and fell onto the new, plush mattress. This girl had just spent more than two years of his salary in a single afternoon. On him. She has absolutely no concept of money, he thought, his mind reeling.

  "What's wrong, Kun?" Lin asked, her voice full of genuine, innocent confusion. "Aren't you happy? I fixed everything." She puffed her chest out once more, clearly proud of her work.

  Lin tossed a small, silver key onto the bed next to the still-lifeless Kun. The shock of the money was still reeling in his mind.

  "What's this?" he asked, his voice hollow.

  "The new key," she said simply. "I changed the lock, so it makes sense the key is new, too. Oh," she added, pulling an identical key from her pocket, "and I have the spare."

  "Great," Kun groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Not only has this place been renovated, I've lost my privacy, too. I can't with you."

  Lin giggled and jumped onto the mattress, landing softly next to him. "Aren't you happy that the 'Snow Flower' is blessing your home with her presence?"

  Kun let out another long, defeated sigh. "Whatever you say, Your Highness."

  They both laughed, a comfortable, easy sound that filled the newly renovated room. Then, they finally realized how close their faces were to each other. They both jolted back up, a sudden, awkward silence falling between them.

  "So... what now?" Kun asked, breaking the quiet.

  "I actually need to go back to the Amber Palace," Lin said, her voice softer now. "This is my last day off. I should be there tonight."

  Kun nodded, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes. "Be careful."

  "I will," Lin said, and she smiled. It was a genuine, unguarded smile, the kind that no one but him had ever seen.

  He walked her to the newly fortified door. As she stepped out into the hallway, bathed in the moonlight shining through the new window, she turned back one last time. For a moment, they just looked at each other, the unspoken promise of another visit hanging in the air. Then, with a final, small wave, she was gone.

  The days that followed settled into a quiet, secret rhythm.

  Their initial meeting might have been a coincidence, but they soon found a strange comfort in each other's company. At the start, Lin would only come once a week, on her designated day off. But soon, that became three times a week, and eventually, it was almost every evening.

  One night, while reading side-by-side on the new bed, Lin shifted to turn a page, and the back of her hand brushed against Kun’s. The touch was fleeting, barely a whisper of skin on skin, but a jolt of electricity, warmer and more startling than any Spark Core, shot through them both. They instantly pulled away, a sudden, awkward silence filling the room. Lin stared intently at her book, her cheeks flushed a faint pink, pretending the words on the page were the most fascinating thing she had ever read. Kun cleared his throat and quickly stood up, muttering something about needing more tea before practically fleeing to the kitchen.

  "Aren't you coming here too much these days?" Kun asked. "How is the work at the Amber Palace?"

  "It's fine," Lin responded without looking up, kicking her feet up in the air. "I'll deal with it."

  The Mid-Year Founder's Banquet came and went, marking six months since the fateful night of the storm. It was the most important state event of the season, and for the first time in her career, Lin Meihua was not there. Xiang Feng had saved her seat at the High Council’s table, but it remained conspicuously empty all night. Zhu Lihua watched as the King’s gaze flickered to the vacant chair, his fingers drumming a silent, irritated rhythm on the armrest. Whispers began to ripple through the nobles—the Snow Flower, once the pillar of diligence, was becoming a ghost.

  In the kitchen, their attempts at domesticity were a chaotic dance. "I told you, that's not how you chop vegetables!" Kun would shout, dodging a piece of flying carrot.

  "Well, my apologies! I've never done something like this before!" Lin would yell back. A moment later, a small fire would start on the stove, and Lin would have to instinctively freeze the entire kitchen to put it out. They could only look at the icy mess and laugh.

  This company... Kun thought, a small, genuine smile on his face. It's not bad.

  Some time after.

  "Lady Huanli is the best," Lin declared later, looking up from her book with a determined glint in her eye.

  "No way," Kun shot back from the kitchen. "Shilook Huang is better."

  "How could you say that bumbling detective is better than a composed and prideful adventurer like Lady Huanli?"

  "Well, at least Detective Shilook is brave and doesn't get captured by a random trap every two seconds!"

  The argument quickly escalated, culminating in the two of them pinching each other's cheeks across the small dining table.

  Never mind, Kun thought, his cheek stinging. I take it back. Her company is not needed.

  Zhu Lihua found herself walking past Lin’s office more often, only to find it dark and empty. The reports on her desk from her stepdaughter were still flawless, but they arrived late, delivered by a palace runner instead of by Lin herself. She would occasionally catch a glimpse of Lin in the corridors, and for the first time in centuries, the girl’s smile looked... genuine. But it was a smile Zhu realized was not meant for her, or for anyone within these golden walls. A cold knot of worry tightened in her gut; the daughter she had raised to be an unbreakable weapon was beginning to show cracks, and Zhu had no idea why.

  On the sparring ground, a strike that should have been an easy parry caught Lin off guard, sending her stumbling back several meters.

  "Lin, that was a simple strike," Master Lihua said, her voice sharp with a concern she couldn't hide. "You usually dodge that in your sleep."

  "I'm sorry, Master," Lin answered, her tone as cold and composed as ever. "I will do better next time." But her mind was elsewhere, humming a tune she'd heard in the harbor district, a happy, secret smile threatening to break through her mask.

  In the halls of the Amber Palace, Xiang Feng would call out, "Senior Lin! The envoy from Zarateph is arriving today!" only to find her office empty. That day, Lin was once again in Kun's apartment, carefully arranging a set of her own custom utensils in his new kitchen drawer.

  And in the throne room, the King's patience had finally run out. "Her reports from the last two weeks are missing, Commander!" he roared, his voice echoing in the vast hall. "Where is she?"

  Zhu Lihua knelt before him, her head bowed, her own heart a knot of worry and frustration. For the first time in a long time, she had no answer.

  That evening, Lin was back in the apartment, her most favorite place in the world. She was sitting at the new dining table, reading her book, when her ears twitched.

  "Hmm?"

  "What's wrong?" Kun asked from the kitchen, where he was washing rice for their dinner.

  "Nothing." She looked up from her book. "I just felt like someone was talking about me for a second."

  "Well, you are famous in Jinlun, Miss 'Snow Flower'." Kun laughed.

  Lin reached over and jabbed him in the ribs. "Ouch!" he yelped.

  "Let's just prepare this dinner, idiot," she said, a wide, genuine smile on her face.

  "Aye, aye, Captain Weirdo," Kun replied, rubbing his side, but he was smiling, too.