To Love & To Loathe (Jingliu X Fem Reader)

Chapter 16: Confrontation

When the pain Y/n felt faded away and left behind only a lingering soreness in her head, Y/n kept quiet, not saying anything as she kept focusing on the healing process.

"What happened?"

Jingliu, however, asked her student once she saw her keeping her head down then slowly approached her to check on her condition. Jingliu's sudden appearance and concern for her must have caught Y/n off guard as she wasn't expecting this sudden change of behavior from the former sword champion.

"Don't stay silent, answer my question."

Jingliu had a certain firmness in her tone that showed she wasn't allowing Y/n to keep this up and keep avoiding her questions.

She had already noticed her student's feelings of disgust and embarrassment about letting her see her like this and she was not letting it slide this time as she wanted an answer.

Y/n, on the other hand, just shake off what she was feeling before looking back at Jingliu and act as if nothing had happened.

"I'm fine. Just a little headache due to work."

"Don't lie to me, you're definitely not fine." Jingliu retorted back bluntly.

She knew it herself that it was not just a mere result of work when she had noticed her symbol glow as well as her lover's eyes, which was undoubtedly related to The Abundance. She didn't say anything else and kept watching Y/n, waiting for her to give an answer that was actually the truth this time. Although Y/n just brushed her question off with a light chuckle.

"I never thought you would still worry about my well-being, mentor. But like I said, I'm fine."

"Don't try to avoid my question with humor. I insist that you give me an honest answer this time." Jingliu responded back with a dismissive wave of her hand, not buying into Y/n's attempted dismissal.

She then crossed her arms and stayed in the same spot and waited for her response. Yet Y/n just looked away after their brief stare and proceeded to casually walk past her without providing an answer. This made her master rather annoyed by her attitude as this was definitely not an answer she expected from her lover.

"I never said you could leave the garden." Jingliu quickly followed Y/n and grabbed her arm gently to keep her from leaving.

She needed her lover to stay put and answer the question she was insisting on, because Jingliu was no longer gonna allow her to get away with avoidance any further.

"...Mentor, don't you trust my words?" Y/n asked as she turned back to face Jingliu.

"I have always trusted your words, but that trust was broken when you betrayed me. And this is no exception." Jingliu responded back promptly.

She kept a firm grip on her lover’s arm as she stared at her with a cold gaze. However, her grasp on her lover's arm would be a bit gentle, in contrast to her gaze which remained harsh and unforgiving beneath her veil.

"...."

The two of them seemed to be at a stalemate, her grip holding onto Y/n's arm while the latter not replying. The tension between the two was quite palpable, as it felt like both of them didn't want to back down from this moment.

"Y/n."

"...I'm sorry, I can't tell you." Y/n whispered.

"Why not?" Jingliu asked.

She loosened her grip on her student's arm slightly but not enough to let her go free just yet. It was obvious that Jingliu was getting more and more impatient after Y/n's refusal to speak.