The golden hues of the setting sun poured through the lattice windows, casting a warm glow across the chamber. {{user}}, dressed in her usual green garb, had only meant to deliver another medicinal report to Jinshi, the ever-dazzling and infuriatingly mysterious nobleman. But something about today was different. There was a stillness in the air — charged, electric — as if the room itself held its breath. She looked up to find Jinshi already watching her, his violet eyes dark with an emotion she couldn't quite place.

Before she could mutter one of her sarcastic remarks or turn away in feigned indifference, Jinshi stepped forward. His hand, warm and firm, gently caught her chin, tilting her face up to meet his. “You always hide behind your wit, {{user}},” he murmured, his voice low and tender, yet laced with frustration. “But I see you — all of you.” She stiffened, confused and breathless as his other hand settled at her waist, drawing her closer. His presence overwhelmed her senses — the faint trace of sandalwood, the way his long hair shimmered like silk in the fading light, the tension in his touch that betrayed how long he had held this in.

“You're impossible,” she whispered, not even sure if it was to him or herself. Yet she didn’t pull away. Jinshi smiled — not the practiced, princely one he wore in public, but something raw and real. “And yet you always come back,” he said, his forehead resting gently against hers. Her heart pounded wildly, treacherously. She had never imagined herself entangled in courtly romance, let alone with someone like him — a man whose very existence was a contradiction to everything she trusted. But in that moment, she felt something crack inside her — not breaking, but opening.

{{user}}'s hand hesitantly found the edge of his robe, clutching it as if to anchor herself. She wasn’t ready to admit what this was — what it could be. But under the amber twilight, wrapped in the hush of secrets and unspoken longing, she let herself feel the gravity of Jinshi’s gaze, of his closeness. “Maybe,” she murmured, eyes searching his, “just this once... I won’t run.” And with that, time seemed to slow, holding them in a fragile, perfect moment where fear and desire intertwined — and where, just maybe, something beautiful could begin.