I like the idea of Lan Fan finding a friend/hobby that doesn’t involve Ling - focusing entirely on being a guard can’t be good for her. And that last line was so adorable :) Honestly, I’m not sure he returns her feelings in the canon either, but I’m choosing to believe he does because they are so adorable!

As I was reading this, I kept thinking "this somehow feels similar to The Queen's Thief, why does this remind me of The Queen's Thief?" And then I actually looked at your name and realized I know you from tumblr, and you are in fact a Queen's Thief fan. XD I think it was your style that did it. Also, Jie Qiu's song couldn't help but make me think of Dite's song in KoA.

This was such a good story! I'm still not entirely sold on the LingFan ship (I can see them as just being close friends), but I feel like this has done a lot to win me over. They are lovely here.
I love how you wrote Ling's mom. The world can always do with more crafty mothers looking out for their kids. And Lan Fan's friendship with Jie Qiu was sweet.

To respond to your statement, I actually think Ling reciprocates Lanfan's feelings, and you portrayed that very well in your fic! I felt several things for this fic:
1. The angst! This is the kind of angst that I want ;-; the heart-clenching, chest-throbbing angst!
2. I kinda shipped Lanfan and Jie Qiu, but I also ship Ling and Lanfan. You are soooo good in narrating their interactions, I can't choose which ship I liked better
3. And the storytelling... it's so brillant. This is just a oneshot but it wasn't lacking, and it wan't boring at all.
Thanks for sharing this one! :)

You're one of the finest Lingfan writers around.

About the common headcanon of Lan Fan being a good singer: I think it's because her Japanese voice actress is Nana Mizuki, who is pretty much the most famous singer in Japan.

I love Jie Qiu, and I love that Lan Fan has finally found a friend of her own! I also love the juxtaposition between their similar situations and how Lan Fan knows a man pining after his princess would be seen as a romantic martyr while she would be criticized for looking above her station. Ling's increasing frustration leading to that outburst was well done. It was a definitely a conversation they needed to have, nd hopefully it will lead to better things.

i honestly find myself coming back to this story over and over again. it's so well written and the everything captivates me, especially since you illustrate characters' emotions really well. i love how you never straight up wrote that ling was jealous, but through his actions and whatnot, it was very obvious. those parts were fun to read, not gonna lie. i feel for ling though, and at the same time i love the dynamic between lan fan and jie qiu - but that bit with ling and lan fan at the end always gets me! love love love this story.

Loved it!

ah i loved this. it was super cute!

I loved this. I really really loved this. It's easily become one of my favourite Lingfan stories that I've read.
You got the characters so perfect, and the style you write in is really enjoyable to read!

gosh. I love it when ling's possessive of his lan fan!