"Haha! Look at your little nipples!" Yin Changpu laughed.
"Shut up!" Fan Mingli covered his chest, his entire face burning red.
"He's right, his nipples look so pink!" Another man chimed in with a chuckle.
"They're like two tiny rosebuds or something."
Fan Mingli's body trembled, the visible humiliation written on his face.
"All of you, shut up!"
Not too far away from the group, behind a boulder with their backs facing one another, neither Rin nor An Sun said a word. Despite being unable to see each other, the heat from the other's back, and the tension within the air was enough to make both feel stiff. While An Sun was looking in the direction of the others, his back covered Rin, who stared at a tree across from her.
At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to focus all her attention on that single tree. However, it was near impossible when she could feel and smell An Sun's scent.
A furious blush flared back to life on her cheeks. Her stomach was fluttering, her heart as well, and she knew she'd be blushing in no time if she didn't control her thoughts.
She covered her burning cheeks with her hands and soaked in the water in an absent-minded daze until she heard An Sun's low voice.
"It's almost sunrise. They won't stay long. We'll just have to wait here until they leave."
"Mm," Rin nodded her head faintly, her body sinking deeper into the water.
The wait continued. All they could hear was the sound of the men laughing and splashing water at one another.
"Sorry..."
Rin's eyes widened at the unexpected apology. "What?"
"For what I said to you yesterday, I'm sorry."
Blinking her eyes in shock, Rin shifted her gaze a little to see An Sun's large back still faced toward her. When she noticed the old scars on his back, her lashes trembled and she quickly looked away.
"No, I should be apologizing. You were right to question my motives. The truth is...from the beginning, I always had one plan. And that was to fight against the enemy." Rin's voice came out low, almost as if she didn't want him to hear her words.
"What about now?" An Sun asked with no particular change in his tone. "Now that you know Manchu is among them, will you still make that choice to fight them?"
Rin's stomach immediately tightened. This question she buried deep within her had finally come to light. Her lips trembled until she bit them and took a quick breath to calm herself.
A long minute passed in silence.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm sorry."
Regardless of Manchu, she would still do everything in her power to defeat them.
The moment she said those words, Rin felt the urge to bite her tongue. The harsh truth of her feelings buried deep in her heart was released. Met with silence, Rin's heart grew uneasy.
Although she wanted to hear his response, she was scared. Too scared to see the look of disappointment and possible disgust on his face to her words. The mere thought made her body tremble.
Her words to someone like An Sun were foul. Unlike her, An Sun valued the trust and well-being of his men—his brothers. Had they been in danger, he wouldn't hesitate to defend them. Yet now, she had revealed to him her cruel decision to fight against his closest friend.
