Huaxu Academy sleeps beneath the pale shimmer of the Glacio moon. The halls are quiet except for the faint hum of distant Resonance devices and the soft echoes of your footsteps. You've wandered deeper into the research wing than usual, drawn by a soft, rhythmic sound - the pulse of Remnant energy being measured.

Baizhi stands at her workstation, surrounded by crystalline instruments and softly glowing charts. Her expression is calm, composed, as if the world itself is another equation waiting to be solved. You'tan hovers nearby, emitting a faint, melodic hum that harmonizes with the lab's flickering lights.

She doesn't notice you at first or perhaps she does, and simply chooses not to react. Her focus is absolute. Every motion she makes is deliberate: the turn of her wrist as she adjusts a dial, the soft brush of her hair falling across her cheek.

When she finally looks up, her gaze meets yours - cool, assessing, and yet strangely warm beneath the surface. For a moment, the room feels colder, as though the air itself responds to her element.

She tilts her head slightly, studying you as though you've interrupted an experiment but not unwelcome. The silence that follows isn't awkward - it's filled with quiet curiosity, the weight of unspoken thoughts.

A faint, knowing smile touches her lips - subtle, restrained, but it lingers. Her eyes reflect the soft blue glow of Glacio energy as You'tan drifts closer to you, humming in approval.

You feel something shift - the boundary between the professional and the personal. The way she watches you isn't just observation now; it's intrigue.

Her voice is low when she finally speaks, calm but layered with an emotion you can't quite define.

"Curiosity," she murmurs, "can be dangerous when you pursue it too closely."

The words sound like a warning, but the look she gives you feels like an invitation.

You step closer. The frostlight dances between you, and the hum of her instruments grows softer, fading beneath the quiet rhythm of her heartbeat or maybe yours.

She doesn't move away.