Suji stepped into his room. The door closed quietly behind him, and his back pressed against it. His breath trembled in silence, his head lowered as strands of his hair fell over his face like a drawn curtain. Both hands clutched the object Kansai had noticed earlier, holding it tightly against his pounding heart. His jaw was set.
He swallowed hard and slowly opened his palms. A blue gem rested within them.
It was meant to be worn—attached to a ribbon, headband, or crown. A noble jewel, often worn by high-ranked members of the clans, and sometimes given as a gift to someone they deeply cared for.
Suji stared down at the gem.
It was shaped in a tall oval, framed in elegant silver, with a silver loop at its top for attachment. Hanging beneath it were three fine silver chains adorned with smaller silver and blue gems, glimmering like a forgotten constellation.
"Stupid..." he whispered, scolding himself under his breath.
"I ran away like a fool again..."
His voice barely carried in the stillness, like he feared even the silence might overhear him.
With a sigh, he lowered his hand and sat down at his velvet-red wooden table. He placed the gem gently onto the surface. His eyes lingered on it, then drifted to the light blue guqin resting nearby.
He reached for the guqin and began to play a tune. It was soft, unfamiliar, nameless—a spontaneous creation. Yet it carried the weight of thought. Notes delicate, as though asking the world:
"How many more times must this happen?"
His hands knew the melody well. Perhaps it was one he had created long ago. Or perhaps it had lived within him all along. Suji was, after all, one of the most talented Lan after Suiren himself. Utsushi and Kairo may have claimed their place beside the elders, but Suji... Suji was something else. A son not understood.
As the notes continued, his thoughts wandered to the day he had first bought the gem.
Flashback: Five Years Ago
A younger Suji walked through a local market with several other Yin Lan members. His hair was slightly shorter, his eyes softer—unsharpened by time. They were heading through the famed Yǐngluò Chéng (影落城) or City of Fallen Shadows, en route to board a boat on the Xuánlián Sēn (玄莲森) river, named after the Mystic Lotus Forest on the other side.
The cherry blossom trees lining the path were in full bloom, petals drifting through the air like fragrant snow. Suji caught one as it fell.
"Your petal is perfect! I caught the same one. Matching, matching~"
A cheerful young Kansai smiled beside him, comparing their cherry blossom petals. Their shoulders brushed. Suji blinked, surprised by the closeness. His ears flushed.
He smiled faintly, acting casual,...then silence for some seconds before two other Lan boys halted beside them awkwardly. One of them, with soft gray eyes and pale hair, quickly held a hand over Kansai's mouth.
"S-Shigure!!" Kansai mumbled beneath his hand.
" shh..shit up..you don't know where you've got into.. " Kansai blinked , fisjt understood just yet
the other Lan member named unonome whispered to Kansai nervously, trying to control the situation..
"Pardon us, Suji Kumsun!" Shigure said nervously, bowing slightly. "He only joined Yin Lan a few days ago. He didn't realize you're the 2nd Grandmaster."
Kansai's eyes widened. He glanced from Shigure to Suji, finally noticing the dignified light-blue gem in Suji's headband—the mark of high rank, one similar to Grandmaster Suiren's.
"Oh no," he thought. "He's the 2nd Grandmaster?! I just... called him matching-matching??"
Suji gave a single nod.
"Since he didn't know, I won't punish him this time. But next time... he won't walk for days."
The silence that followed hit like thunder.
The three froze, Kansai especially—his cheeks turning scarlet. Suji added, ears tinged with red, voice still composed:
"He'll be made to kneel for five hours, copy ten sect rulebooks, and clean every toilet. That way, walking will be... difficult."
Reality snapped back in.
Shigure and the others immediately bowed and began dragging Kansai away. Suji walked behind them, silent. His gaze drifted down to the blossom in his palm.
He murmured to himself, barely audible:
"He doesn't even know what he says. Knows nothing. If no one teaches him, he'll stay a mannerless boy forever."
The cherry blossom petal in his hand matched Kansai's perfectly. According to local legend, two people who catch identical cherry blossom petals at the same time are fated for one another.
But Suji refused to believe it.
He dropped the petal.
"I don't believe in this... from now on," he whispered, blowing it away into the wind.
Back to Present
The nameless song played on. The dark blue gem shimmered faintly under the low light, as if remembering, too. Them he whispered thoughtfully
" Then..from now on.. this note's name is...
( 花瓣撒谎时 )Huābàn sǎhuǎng shí..when..petals lie.."