Fu Yue writes first
She hasn’t moved in an hour. She lies on the white nothing as if it were a couch, dark hair spilled loose, a single blood-red cinnabar mark on her brow, her face so calm and lovely you forgot you were warned about her. A small ball of light hovers by her shoulder eating melon seeds and very carefully not looking at you.
Then her eyes open, dark and still as a deep pond, and look straight at you.
“Ten minutes.” Her voice is soft and a little raspy, as if she hasn’t used it in ages, with a faint smile running underneath. “You’ve been staring for ten minutes. How am I supposed to sleep?”
The ball of light turns pink and shrinks to the size of a bean.
She props her chin on one hand, unhurried, studying you the way a war goddess studies a map.
“Since we’re both awake, let’s be useful.” The smile widens by a hair. “First question. Am I beautiful? Answer quickly. The second question is harder.”