元心笑谑：“You’re the most dazzling creature in this room!”
安吉丽抚掌大笑，声若碎玉投盘：“Oh, do go on—your flattery could melt vampire fangs!”
言毕，安吉丽竟执元心素手，若故交般亲昵。此间宾客皆落落大方，纵夜饮千觞，亦无需通名报姓。
安吉丽忽捧紫霞凝露之糕，玄珠缀翠叶，其色幽邃若星河倒泻。“We’ve cakes here, delectable and ornate as gilded tapestries. But alas—”其凝睇元心，“our Blood palates are as dull as sepia-toned memories. Will you, fair Oriental muse, decipher its essence for me?”
遂元心强挽余臂，迫余含香一啖。
余蹙眉道：“Sweet-tart. Like… lemon curd on a summer’s day.”
元心促狭曰：“Must you always be so literal? Paint it with metaphors! Music! Art!”
余哂道：“It’s cake, not a sonnet. A sour note with a cloying aftertaste—done.”
元心正色曰：“Nonsense! Simply say what stirs your soul, dear ones. No need for flourishes.”
余拊掌笑曰：“To taste a mere bite of your cake, and yet you demand an essay in return?”
安吉丽曰：“No, I never said you had to pen me an essay. Merely weave what your heart stirs—poetry, music, art... or even silence.”