Returning home that evening felt strange. His mother had left and the apartment, empty, clean and tidy, welcomed him coldly.
Zeyang took some of the papers his mother had placed on the dresser and sat cross-legged on the sofa.
After a while he got up to prepare some tea, then put on some music because there was too much silence.
Finally he stood up, exasperated with himself.
His thoughts kept returning to Lu Shen.
He knew he no longer had a reason to stay with him since he had recovered enough, even though he still had no magic, but he wondered how he was doing after the meeting with his mother and the conversation about his father.
It had seemed right to give him back his space, and the sorcerer hadn't asked him to stay…
He sighed. The truth was that the bubble in which they had spent those days had been a beautiful interlude, and he was sorry it had already ended.
He settled for sending him a message reminding him to eat.
---
Zeyang's message warmed his heart a little. Seeing him leave had caused him physical pain. But he couldn't keep him there.
Lu Shen smiled at the reminder he had received, since it was Zeyang who didn't pay attention to his meals. However, that evening he had no appetite, so he made himself some tea and sipped it while thinking back over the events of the day.
He wondered whether it would be better to go speak with the general before or after his meeting with Zeyang. In the end he concluded that perhaps it was best to wait: he feared that whatever he said might fall back on the policeman, and instead he hoped that he would come out of it unharmed.