An Ning couldn’t help but lean against the pillar behind her.

Lin Zichan propped his hand against the pillar above her head. His tall figure leaned over, completely enveloping her beneath him, blocking out the moonlight above and the dim candlelight around.

An Ning’s view became dark.

The scent of Lin Zichan filled her nostrils.

The smell of wine mixed with rouge.

An Ning lowered her eyes.

Her hand instinctively clenched.

Her heartbeat gradually sped up.

"Even though I’m just a solitary person, visiting the red-light district is only natural. Your Ladyship, despite your noble status, shouldn’t behave so irrationally." Lin Zichan’s magnetic voice was unmistakably close to her ear.

She seemed to feel his breath, hot and heavy.

"Guard, since you accompanied me to Wenzhou, you bear a heavy responsibility and naturally cannot indulge yourself arbitrarily." An Ning raised her eyes to look at him.

Their gazes met.

Despite Lin Zichan being backlit, his eyes seemed to shimmer with starlight, dazzlingly brilliant.

An Ning pressed her lips together.

It was merely a gesture to mask her nervousness.

But Lin Zichan’s gaze was entirely diverted.

He just looked at her tender, petite lips, noting their crimson hue, enticingly vibrant...

An Ning’s heart trembled.

She clearly saw the color in Lin Zichan’s eyes deepen and become mesmerizing.

The next moment.

Lin Zichan’s body leaned down, his face approaching her cheek.

An Ning’s fists clenched tighter and tighter.

Her heartbeat seemed to accelerate.

Her eyes were fixed on Lin Zichan’s lips, which drew nearer and nearer.

Suddenly, An Ning closed her eyes tightly.

It was...

Consent.

Perhaps it was the alcohol.

Maybe the intoxication.

Perhaps Lin Zichan was also under the influence of the alcohol.

An Ning’s heart trembled with such intensity, even her breathing turned rapid.

However.

The imagined touch did not occur.

She slowly opened her eyes, only to see Lin Zichan’s side ear, already flushed crimson.

She heard his low, hoarse voice whisper in her ear, "Is Your Ladyship planning to favor me behind the emperor’s back?"

An Ning’s heart jolted.

At that moment, she thought of Fu Xingyi.

She bit her lip hard.

Yet she remained silent.

Lin Zichan seemed to sense An Ning’s emotional shift.

He released her.

Slowly, he withdrew from her, maintaining a step’s distance. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Under the nighttime sky.

The two stood in opposition.

They looked at one another.

As if waiting.

Waiting for who would speak first, or who could pierce through that thin veil.

For a long time.

The night grew ever deeper.

The intoxication seemed to completely clear.

Lin Zichan suddenly turned and left.

"Give me some time," An Ning suddenly spoke.

Lin Zichan’s body paused slightly.

"I will give you an answer," An Ning said, "But before then, don’t leave first."

Lin Zichan pressed his lips together.

Slowly, he said, "Alright."

Then he left.

Striding away from her sight.

An Ning remained leaning against the pillar, watching Lin Zichan’s departing figure, her heart growing heavier...

...

Two days later.

These past two days, An Ning attended to some remaining matters.

Yan Jinyao seemed to have placed what happened that night behind her after drinking.

After all, after so many years, she still felt her career was more important.

As for people, if it’s destiny, she would not force it.

Lin Zichan didn’t go out for the next two days either; even when Guan Yu and the others invited him to drink, he refused, staying instead in the residence to polish the sword.

Finally, on the last day before leaving Wenzhou, he made a delicate little sword for An Youyou.

An Youyou was so thrilled when she received the sword that she almost jumped for joy.

She showed it off to everyone, occasionally pulling it out to perform a couple of moves, and she promised Lin Zichan that even after he left, she would practice her swordsmanship diligently.

Lin Zichan smiled gently.

An Ning watched Lin Zichan and An Youyou interact from a distance...

Due to the busyness of the past two days, she hadn’t seen Lin Zichan since that night.

Now suddenly seeing him...

"Actually, Lin Zichan isn’t that handsome," Yan Jinyao suddenly spoke.

At the moment, she was also behind An Ning, naturally noticing Lin Zichan teaching An Youyou swordplay in the courtyard.

Her gaze remained on Lin Zichan.

"I don’t know why there’s an inexplicable feeling for him," Yan Jinyao sighed.

She was also thinking of how the boss would be taking Lin Zichan away today, feeling a bit reluctant.

An Ning’s eyes flickered slightly, but she didn’t respond.

She walked directly over to where Lin Zichan and An Youyou were.