Chapter 55: PAST-THIRTEEN.
The class had just ended.
Quivers were being emptied, bows unstrung, the soft hum of idle chatter rising as students packed up their things. The wooden floor of the archery hall creaked beneath their footsteps, and arrows clinked faintly against one another inside their cases.
But Hua Rong barely noticed any of it. She moved quietly, her face unreadable, her steps automatic. Today, she hadn't said much to anyone—not even to Xu Lingwei. Her fingers tightened slightly around the strap of her bag as she hoisted it over her shoulder and made her way toward the door.
"—Hua Rong!"
His voice cut through the low din of the room.
She paused mid-step, her back still to him, before slowly turning around. Xu Lingwei was jogging toward her, expression unreadable but hopeful, his training gloves still in one hand, his chest rising and falling from the final round of practice.
He stopped in front of her, hesitating just slightly before speaking.
"My competition," he said, "it's in four days."
She nodded, unsure what to say. He continued, more carefully now, like choosing his next words mattered more than usual.
"And I... I just wanted to ask if you'd come."
Her brows twitched subtly. She looked at him—not sharply, but with a quiet caution—and replied, "Won't your parents be there? They must be happy you got selected."