“Brother Yan, when I grow up, will you marry me?”
On a night when the stars sprinkled the skies above the Jixing Abyss, little Mu Tianji tugged at Yan Xiao's sleeve and tilted up her exquisitely pretty face. The light in her eyes shone brighter than the stars.
At the time, Yan Xiao had only recently become her personal guard. He was still slight of build, and at her words, his ears instantly turned scarlet, exposed beneath the moonlight. He dared not look into those pure eyes, free of the slightest impurity. Instead, he turned his head slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he answered in a low, solemn voice:
“The princess is the bright moon in the heavens. Yan Xiao... is only the dust beneath your feet. Protecting you is my duty for all my life.”
“I don't care about clouds or moons!” the little princess protested, stamping her foot. “Just tell me yes or no!”
In the end, Yan Xiao could not resist her pestering. He gave a soft “Mm,” like a sigh, yet it landed heavily on both their hearts.
Back then, Mu Tianji thought this would last forever. Her Brother Yan would always stay by her side, until the day she got what she wanted.
How could she have known that beautiful things do not last, that colorful clouds disperse and glass is brittle? One day, the Brother Yan she loved most would shatter all her hopes with his own hands and push her into an endless winter.
