"You-" Zhu Qingyue sputtered, seizing Li Meirong by the wrist and moving her hand away from her face. She wriggled under his grasp as he leaned down and forced her to stare straight at him. He bent down so close that she could feel his breath mingling with hers.

"I was going to punish him!" he snapped.

Li Meirong stilled, raising a single eyebrow in disbelief. "Why would you punish him? Who is him, anyway?"

"I govern my family and sentence them to their punishments accordingly. The man you saw is one of my family members," said Zhu Qingyue, letting out a breath of exasperation. He quickly added, "A very distant family member, might I add. He not only neglected his duties, but completely failed his appointed task."

"I thought your father, the Grandmaster of the Bestiary division, was governing the family. Didn't he only recently find you and brought you back to his side, to your clan?"

Zhu Qingyue's golden eyes darted to the side, his tone mellowed. "Indeed, that was originally the case. However, I belong to a large family and hail from the main branch. My father bequeathed me with the title to govern over the main house, the sub-branches and our distant relatives along with them."

Li Meirong's small lips parted, letting out a humming sound as she tried to process all the information. "So let's say that what you tell me is correct, then why did you leave last time? Why do you keep disappearing?"

Zhu Qingyue grew silent again. She felt an indescribable ache as he put that invisible mask back on, covering his expression behind an unreadable screen. As she watched the mask of arrogance and indifference sweep across his countenance once more, Li Meirong couldn't find it within herself to utter a single word.

"It's not what you think. Stop entertaining such ridiculous ideas." Zhu Qingyue finally said, letting go of her hand.

"You're not willing to explain yourself, so what am I supposed to do?" Li Meirong responded in evident annoyance.

She felt tears beginning to burn within her eyes and hated herself for getting so emotional all over again. She was half glad that she did drink tonight because she knew she wouldn't have had the courage to ask him all these questions otherwise.

"One day, I shall reveal everything to you. I promise."

Li Meirong's brows drew into a frown as a series of questions escaped her lips. "Why can't you tell me now? I'm scared of being hurt again, and every part of me is telling me to keep away from you, but still, I think of you. So tell me, Zhu Qingyue, what is it that prevents you from telling me the truth? are you married to someone already? Do you have children? are you using me as a decoy to hide your preferences?"

"Or is it these scars that bother you... am I too ugly for you?"

Her frown turned into a glower as she locked eyes with Zhu Qingyue, daring him to confirm any of her suspicions.

"Is that what you've been thinking of me all this while?" asked Zhu Qingyue, his eyes widening as he swore under his breath. "No! None of that. May the Heavens strike me down if I am lying."

Outside, the darkened skies quivered with a deafening clap of rolling thunder, followed shortly by a streak of lightning that smote the slumbering heavens. The dimly lit room was momentarily illuminated by a flash of white light through the slightly opened window.

The window was mysteriously shut tight in an instant, reducing the outdoor ambience.

At once, Zhu Qingyue cupped Li Meirong's cheeks in his hands. His large palms felt warm and slightly coarse, but not uncomfortably so. They felt like hands that have been wielding a sword for many long years.

Then, he gently bumped his forehead against hers. His gaze seemed to desperately strive to bore into Li Meirong's very soul, and she couldn't look away from him.

"You must be incredibly ugly," Zhu Qingyue gave a wry, quick hiss of a laugh, "Because I cannot stop myself from looking at you. Yet every time I do, my breath is caught in my throat and I end up behaving no better than a simpleton."

Li Meirong felt the tears she had been holding back rolling down her ruined cheeks, sliding over Zhu Qingyue's fingers. She closed her eyes and kissed him.