Gu Jin tapped the table lightly with her finger, her eyes still locked on Wen Xue.
"This still doesn't explain," she said slowly, "why I need to pretend to be your girlfriend."
Wen Xue winced like he'd been caught trying to skip a hard question. He sat up straighter and met her gaze, though his voice was slightly nervous.
"Right. That part… is a bit complicated," he admitted. "The ritual I'm going to perform—it's not just any spell. It's a sacred tradition passed down in my mother's bloodline. And there are rules. Old ones."
He leaned forward, placing both hands on the table.
"To awaken the Prophet's Gate, the one performing the ritual must share a bond with the one assisting. Not just physical, but emotional. Trust-based. And… that person has to be presented as someone important. Like family. Or—"
"A lover," Gu Jin finished flatly.
He gave a sheepish nod. "Yeah. Exactly."
She frowned. "That's incredibly outdated."
"I agree!" he said quickly, raising his hands.
