The fear stayed with him after that.
Quietly.
Like cold water beneath warm sunlight.
The tea café remained filled with lantern glow, soft music, and the steady hum of evening conversations drifting between crowded tables, but suddenly Xu Chen could feel the shape of something heavier beneath the happiness of the day.
Not enough to ruin it.
Enough to sharpen it.
Outside the open windows, Sanyuejie continued transforming Old Dali into light and sound. Lanterns swayed above the stone streets while festival crowds moved endlessly beneath drifting flower petals and smoke from the food stalls lining the roads.
The world remained warm.
But Xu Chen's chest no longer did.
Because now the thought existed fully.
What happens when Brihyansh comes back for him?
The question would not leave.
Xu Chen stared down into the dark amber surface of his tea while steam curled upward against his fingers.
Beside him, Aum remained very still.
Observing.
Waiting.
Not pushing.
And somehow that gentleness hurt more.
Meera looked carefully between them across the table.
The earlier warmth and teasing had faded from her expression now too. Not because she understood the actual truth—she still knew nothing about Brihyansh, the crash, or the impossible reality hidden beneath Xu Chen's silence.
But she knew Xu Chen well enough to recognize when something shifted internally.
"A-Chen," she said softly, "where did you disappear just now?"
Xu Chen blinked once slowly.
Then forced a small smile.
"Nowhere."
Meera immediately looked unconvinced.
Beside him, however, Aum said nothing.
That silence alone told Xu Chen everything.
Because Aum knew exactly where his thoughts had gone.
God.
The realization settled heavily through him.
The server passed nearby carrying fresh tea toward another crowded table. Warm light flickered across the café walls while voices and laughter blended softly beneath the music drifting through the open courtyard.
Ordinary evening.
Ordinary people.
And somehow Xu Chen sat there carrying the knowledge that the person beside him did not belong to this planet.
The thought suddenly felt unbearable in a completely different way than before.
Earlier, the truth had frightened him because it felt impossible.
Now it frightened him because it felt temporary.
Xu Chen lowered his eyes briefly toward the silver bracelet hidden beneath his sleeve.
A tiny object.
A human object.
Bought during a human festival in a human city.
And yet somehow it already mattered to Aum.
The realization tightened painfully through Xu Chen's chest.
Meera finally sighed dramatically and leaned back in her chair.
"Okay. You two entered telepathic silence again." She pointed between them weakly. "I officially hate whatever emotional synchronization this is."
Warm amusement touched Xu Chen's mouth automatically.
Aum glanced toward him immediately afterward.
And there it was again.
That constant returning.
No matter where conversations moved, no matter who else sat at the table, Aum's attention always circled back toward Xu Chen eventually.
Like gravity.
The metaphor hit too deeply.
Xu Chen looked away toward the street outside before his expression betrayed him completely.
The crowds beyond the windows had thickened further now as night settled fully across Old Dali. Lanterns reflected gold against wet stone roads while festival vendors called through the streets selling late-evening sweets, tea eggs, carved silver ornaments, and flower crowns woven from fresh jasmine.
A group of young musicians passed outside carrying drums and string instruments.
Their laughter drifted through the open café windows.
Aum watched them quietly.
Then softly:
"Human celebrations feel different after emotional attachment forms."
The sentence entered Xu Chen directly beneath his ribs.
Because it was true for him too.
Everything today had felt altered.
Not because Sanyuejie itself changed.
Because love changed observation.
Xu Chen looked toward Aum slowly.
"What do you mean."
Aum considered the question carefully.
"Earlier, I processed environments primarily through structural analysis." His gaze shifted briefly toward the lantern-lit streets outside. "Now I continuously associate locations with emotional memory."
The café fell strangely quiet around Xu Chen after hearing that.
Meera, thankfully, interpreted the sentence normally.
"That," she announced while pointing toward Aum dramatically, "should not sound that romantic when spoken like a scientific conference presentation."
Warm laughter escaped Xu Chen before he could stop it.
Aum looked toward him immediately.
And smiled slightly too.
God.
That look again.
Not restrained anymore.
Open.
Xu Chen suddenly realized something terrifying:
Aum had stopped hiding happiness.
The realization hurt softly.
Because if Brihyansh arrived tomorrow—
what then?
Would Aum leave?
Could he?
Would Earth still matter once duty returned?
Once home returned?
Once logic returned?
The thoughts spiraled faster suddenly.
Xu Chen looked down toward his untouched tea again.
Aum noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
The warmth faded slightly from his expression.
Not fully.
Concern replaced it.
"You are still afraid."
The quiet certainty in his voice cut directly through Xu Chen's chest.
Meera blinked once.
Then looked between them.
"Oh, okay, now I actually feel like I interrupted an emotionally important subplot."
Xu Chen laughed weakly under his breath.
"You always interrupt emotionally important subplots."
"That's because your communication skills resemble government encryption."
Warm amusement flickered faintly across Xu Chen's face again.
But beside him, Aum remained focused entirely on him now.
Steady.
Patient.
Xu Chen realized suddenly that avoidance would not work here.
Not with Aum.
Because Aum always noticed when something changed emotionally.
Always returned to it eventually.
Always waited quietly until Xu Chen chose honesty himself.
And somehow that trust made lying feel impossible.
Xu Chen exhaled softly.
Then finally asked the question that had been sitting beneath his ribs all evening.
"When you think about Brihyansh now…"
His voice lowered slightly.
"…does Earth still feel temporary?"
The café noise blurred softly around them.
Not dramatically.
Just enough that Xu Chen became suddenly aware of his own heartbeat.
Aum went completely still beside him.
Meera looked confused immediately.
"Wait," she interrupted carefully, "what's Brihyansh?"
Xu Chen froze.
God.