The Celestial Veil Sect's inner training hall was usually a place of serene discipline. Today, however… it became Shen Yu's personal disaster zone.
Shen Yu stepped inside, eyes wide with determination.
"Today will be different," he muttered.
"Today, I won't embarrass myself. Today—"
CLANG!
His foot caught on the very first wooden rack inside the hall.
The entire row of neatly stacked training poles wobbled once… twice… then toppled like dominoes.
Shen Yu froze.
"…oh no."
The poles crashed loudly across the hall.
THUD
CLUNK
CRRRRRAAASH
"Shen Yu." A calm, dangerously calm voice said behind him.
He turned slowly.
Ling Wei stood in the doorway, expression blank in a way that made Shen Yu want to dig a hole and hide inside it forever.
"I—I can explain!" Shen Yu squeaked.
Before he could, one last pole teetered on top of the shelf and fell straight toward his head.
Ling Wei blurred.
In less than half a breath, his hand shot out, catching the pole inches before it hit Shen Yu.
Shen Yu stared, mouth open. "Y-You… you saved me!"
Ling Wei exhaled sharply.
"I'm not letting you get concussed in my sect."
He set the pole aside with elegant precision.
Shen Yu felt his face heating up.
Great. Saved heroically—again. Humiliated—again.
"I swear," Shen Yu said, rubbing the back of his neck, "the equipment just… jumped at me."
Ling Wei gave him the flattest stare imaginable.
"Yes. The weapons must have risen in rebellion."
Shen Yu groaned. "You don't have to say it like that…"
Ling Wei brushed past him to pick up the scattered poles.
"Help me clean this before Yu Zhen sees it."
Too late.
Xiao Rong and Yu Zhen were already standing at the entrance.
Xiao Rong burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
"Hahahahaha—Shen Yu!! What did you do this time?!"
Shen Yu pointed at the floor. "It wasn't me! The pole attacked me first!"
"That's exactly what someone guilty would say," Xiao Rong teased mercilessly.
Yu Zhen walked forward, hiding a tiny smile behind his usual calm expression.
He knelt and started picking up a fallen training ring.
"You know…" Yu Zhen murmured, "for someone who trains so much… you have surprisingly poor balance."
Shen Yu whipped around.
"Yu Zhen! Not you too!"
Xiao Rong nudged Yu Zhen with his elbow.
"So you do have a sense of humor. I knew it."
Yu Zhen shot him a sideways glance.
"Are you going to help or are you just going to stand there laughing?"
"Oh, I'll help," Xiao Rong said cheerfully.
He leaned closer, voice dropping mischievously.
"Only because you asked nicely."
Yu Zhen stiffened slightly, ears turning pink for just a heartbeat before he regained composure.
Shen Yu blinked.
"…did his ears just—"
"No," Yu Zhen cut in quickly. "They did not."
Xiao Rong grinned wider.
Meanwhile, Ling Wei was quietly stacking poles back into perfect alignment, pretending he wasn't listening to their nonsense.
Shen Yu walked up beside him, cheeks still red.
"Ling Wei… thanks for catching the pole earlier. I, uh… would've looked stupid if you didn't."
Ling Wei paused, then glanced at him.
"You already looked stupid," he said simply.
Shen Yu placed a hand dramatically over his heart.
"Wounded. Deeply wounded."
Ling Wei's lips twitched—just barely.
A micro-smile. Shen Yu's eyes widened like he'd just witnessed a divine miracle.
"You smiled!" he yelled.
"I did not," Ling Wei said immediately.
"You did!"
"I didn't."
"Yu Zhen, Xiao Rong—he smiled, right?!"
Xiao Rong nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh definitely. It was tiny, but it was there."
Yu Zhen crossed his arms.
"It was… subtle. But yes."
Ling Wei sighed heavily.
"I regret saving all three of you."
Shen Yu beamed.
"But you still did!"
Ling Wei didn't reply.
But his ears were the slightest bit red.
As the four of them finished cleaning up the chaotic hall, a strange sense of warmth settled between them—soft, teasing, and awkwardly blossoming.
And Shen Yu thought, not for the first time:
Maybe embarrassing himself wasn't so bad… if Ling Wei was the one catching him every time...