Chapter 125: Extra- Childhood Sweethearts (12)

Perhaps for Duan Ling’s convenience to rest, the servants hadn’t lit any candles in the main hall.

The room was dim, with two shadowy figures indistinctly overlapping.  

Because the windows were closed, a lingering scent of wine hung in the air, refusing to dissipate.  

Lin Ting had also drunk some wine tonight, but in moderation—far from drunk.  

Duan Ling had been toasted by many guests, the scent of alcohol on him stronger.

The mingling of wine and musk was transferred to her from their tightly pressed lips, inexplicably making Lin Ting’s head dizzy.  

Whether it was an illusion or not, Lin Ting felt the temperature around them steadily rise.

The sensation on her lips grew increasingly impossible to ignore—hot and damp.  

He gently licked over her lips and teeth, then, like a cold and slippery snake, hooked his tongue around hers, refusing to let go.  

Though Duan Ling’s initial deep kiss carried a hint of awkwardness, he quickly became instinctive, the pressure tender yet laced with an undercurrent of dominance.  

Strangely, Lin Ting felt no discomfort—only a bit breathless.  

Duan Ling pulled away slightly.  

Seeing him retreat, she hurriedly inhaled fresh air, preparing to speak again.  

But before she could utter a word, Duan Ling blocked her mouth, his tongue deftly slipping back in, kissing even more deeply than before.  

The sensation was like swimming underwater, only to have water weeds entangle her feet tightly, preventing her from reaching the shore.

Sinking to the bottom, she experienced a distorted, suffocating pleasure on the brink of death, unable to free herself even in her final moment.  

Gradually pulling back from the kiss, Lin Ting wanted to use her martial arts to suppress Duan Ling, to sober him up.

Drunk people always insisted they weren’t drunk; she didn’t believe a word he said.  

He must be drunk.  

If he wasn’t, how could he kiss her like this with no one else around—no need to pretend.  

It couldn’t be that he liked her, right?  

It was more likely that Duan Ling was drunk and didn’t know what he was doing.  

Before she could think further, Lin Ting swiftly untied the silk ribbon from her hair with one hand and grabbed Duan Ling’s hand with the other, aiming to pin him down to the Couch’s wooden board.  

But he turned the tables and caught her wrist instead.  

Duan Ling’s fingertip lightly traced the skin of her wrist.

Tilting his head, he gently bit her cheek—not painful, just ticklish—making that patch of skin tingle.  

Lin Ting was momentarily dazed.

How could a drunk Duan Ling act like such a bewitching demon?  

Seeing that Lin Ting didn’t show any disgust, he kissed her earlobe, parting his thin lips slightly, teeth pressing against the skin by her ear as he sucked gently.  

Lin Ting felt as if struck by an electric current.  

In modern times, she had read limited romance novels; in the past, she had also “remained true to her nature” by reading restricted serialized stories.

But she had never done anything this intimate with anyone—only ever watched.  

This was too intense—so intense that Lin Ting couldn’t control herself and slapped Duan Ling hard.

His pale side face immediately bore the imprint of her palm.  

Unexpectedly, he then licked her fingers.  

Duan Ling licked her fingers in a sickly way while raising his eyes to look at her.

The corners of his eyes were flushed red, almost like hooks, drawing her in.  

At that moment, Lin Ting didn’t just feel a tingling at the corner of her mouth, but all over her body.

After knowing Duan Ling for so many years, it was the first time she had seen this side of him.  

She couldn’t help but stare at Duan Ling, thinking to herself that she must never let him get drunk again.  

Just then, Duan Ling swallowed one of her fingers.

Lin Ting inwardly cursed and hurriedly pulled back her reddened finger.  

Looking at Duan Ling, his lips were flushed and glossy.  

Lin Ting felt herself standing beside the Couch, unable to exert much force to suppress him.

She simply turned over onto the couch, first pinning his legs with hers, causing the folded red skirt to cover his clothes.  

However, Lin Ting clearly overestimated herself.

Though her martial arts were considered high level to others, she was no match for Duan Ling—not yet “graduated.”

He flipped her leg over instead.  

Lin Ting was furious.  

She refused to believe that after all these years of martial arts training, she couldn’t defeat a drunk man.  

She gathered strength and kicked Duan Ling hard.  

He seemed hurt, groaning softly.  

Seizing the moment, Lin Ting quickly tied his hands and said, “When you sober up, you’ll realize your mistake.”  

Duan Ling moved and sat up, struggling.

Lin Ting immediately spread her legs, sitting on him to pin him down with her body.

She freed one hand with difficulty and pushed him back down.  

She was almost done tying him up—she couldn’t let all her effort go to waste.  

In truth, Lin Ting mainly feared he would continue kissing her, but she couldn’t call anyone in for help.  

This time Duan Ling didn’t struggle.

Lying beneath her, he looked at her without blinking.

His long hair loosened in strands, his collar slightly open, collarbone faintly visible, skin flushed with a light red.

He behaved more and more like a drunken man.  

Lin Ting glanced at him, feeling her eyes burn as if scalded by fire.

She quickly looked away.  

She bent down and tied Duan Ling’s hands to the wooden board at the front of the Couch, then bound his legs to the board at the foot.

His legs were too long and had to remain bent after being tied.  

Tying someone up wasn’t easy.

Lin Ting broke into a sweat, exhausted from dealing with Duan Ling.  

Fortunately, she had ten silk ribbons for tying hair and used four to bind him.

Her own hair remained in a bun—otherwise, she’d have to go out with her hair loose.  

Wiping sweat casually, Lin Ting went to the nearby tea table, poured two cups of water, drank one herself, and brought the other back to the Couch.  

“Open your mouth, drink some water, sober up.”  

He softly repeated, “I’m not drunk.”  

She touched his reddened lips and didn’t bother with politeness.

Pinching his chin, she poured the water straight into his mouth.  

“I know you have a strong tolerance, but you can’t just rely on that. Don’t think you’re some wine saint who never gets drunk.”  

Duan Ling kept looking at her.  

Trying to forget what had just happened, Lin Ting forced a light tone: “I’m just generous enough not to bother arguing with you. If it were someone else—Ziyu, for example—you’d be doomed.”  

She wasn’t good at feeding others water—her method was rough and crude.

Half a cup went into Duan Ling’s mouth; the rest spilled onto his clothes.  

In the blink of an eye, water soaked Duan Ling’s shirt.

The fabric clung tightly to his body, outlining his shape.

The red silk ribbons binding him only added to the oddness of the scene.  

Lin Ting felt her nose heat up and quickly looked away, “I didn’t mean to.”  

She pulled out a handkerchief to wipe him.  

Halfway through, Lin Ting suddenly heard the sound of a silk ribbon snapping.

She looked up in shock to see Duan Ling had already broken free of the bindings on both hands and legs.  

Does this ever end?  

She immediately tossed aside the handkerchief and grabbed him.  

No way.

Lin Ting couldn’t take it anymore.

She decided to beat him up while he was still too drunk to resist.

Who else was to blame for tormenting her like this tonight?  

Just as Lin Ting raised her fist to hit Duan Ling, he kissed her again.  

Lin Ting: “…….”   

‘Again? Did Duan Ling have a disgusting habit of kissing people when drunk?’ She thought back and realized she’d never actually seen him drunk before.  

The next moment, Duan Ling cupped her face and kissed her with closed eyes, his Adam’s apple moving slowly.  

His hands, reddened by the silk ribbons, caught her eye.

Lin Ting’s gaze darkened, her movements froze—why couldn’t she hit him anymore?  

Someone knocked on the door.  

“Miss Lin Qi, Madam Feng requests your presence.” Although there were no servants in the main hall, there were some outside.

Seeing Lin Ting had gone in, they came to inform her that Madam Feng wanted to see her.  

Lin Ting couldn’t make a sound in response.  

The servants looked at the unlit hall, knocked again, and didn’t dare open the door without permission: “Miss Lin Qi, are you still inside?”  

Lin Ting struggled with all her might to push Duan Ling aside, jumped down from the Couch, and ran out.  

“I know, I’m coming out now.”  

She opened and closed the door quickly.

The servants outside only felt a gust of wind; they couldn’t see inside.  

They exchanged looks, and an older maid asked, “Miss Lin Qi, are you alright?”  

Lin Ting feigned an itchy nose, rubbing it with her hand to cover her mouth, “I’m fine.”  

She was so guilty that she forgot servants usually dared not look their masters or guests in the eye, so they wouldn’t notice her lips were unusually red.  

The maid asked again, “How is the Second Young Master? Shall I prepare some sobering soup?”  

Lin Ting looked back at the closed door, imagining Duan Ling’s disheveled appearance.

She swallowed hard and replied, “No need. Don’t disturb him. He’ll be fine after some rest.”  

“Yes, ma’am.” The servants already treated Lin Ting like their mistress.

Upon hearing this, they all left to continue their duties, leaving only one maid to escort her to see Madam Feng.  

Lin Ting let out a sigh of relief.  

Before long, she saw Madam Feng and Li Jingqiu seated in the front courtyard of the Duan Mansion.

They were chatting animatedly, smiling brightly.

Duan Xinning stood behind them.  

As Lin Ting approached, she faintly heard the phrase “children’s marriage.”

No need to guess—they were talking about her and Duan Ling.  

Duan Xinning was the first to notice Lin Ting, “Leyun, where have you been?”  

Lin Ting stood in the darker corner of the front yard, greeted the elder Madam Feng first, and then answered: “I heard your second brother got drunk, so I went to check on him.”

She omitted the rest.  

Madam Feng beckoned Lin Ting closer with a kind smile: “Leyun, come here.”  

Lin Ting walked over, “Madam Feng.”  

Madam Feng warmly took Lin Ting’s hand and called a maid to bring a jade bracelet, “This jade bracelet is for Ziyu’s future wife. Since you are betrothed to him, it belongs to you.”  

Lin Ting recognized the jade bracelet as an invaluable treasure not to be bought with money.

She wanted to refuse but feared raising suspicion, so she allowed Madam Feng to slip the bracelet onto her wrist.  

“Thank you, Madam Feng.”  

Madam Feng tucked a stray lock of hair behind Lin Ting’s ear, “I should be the one thanking you.”  

Lin Ting looked puzzled, “Thank me?”  

“Thank you for liking Ziyu and choosing him,” Madam Feng said sincerely.  

Though Duan Ling was not close to his mother and did not confide in her, a mother was still a mother.

Madam Feng could see her son’s true feelings—he genuinely liked Lin Ting.  

Madam Feng didn’t care about family status.

As long as Duan Ling was willing to open his heart and marry, not ending up alone was good enough.

Besides, she had watched Lin Ting grow up and liked her very much.  

Lin Ting was silent for a moment then she replied, “You are too kind. We chose each other from the start.”  

Li Jingqiu agreed: “Yes, they liked and chose each other from the beginning. Madam Feng, you are too kind.”  

Madam Feng smiled and changed the subject: “It’s late. Why don’t you all stay tonight and leave tomorrow?”  

Lin Ting was Duan Xinning’s best friend—often staying overnight and sharing the same room.  

Li Jingqiu could stay in the side rooms.

The Duan Mansion had plenty of guest rooms.  

Duan Xinning signaled Lin Ting to accept staying overnight.

She couldn’t wait any longer to hear an explanation for why Lin Ting suddenly wanted to enter into a fake marriage with Duan Ling, deviating from their original plan.  

Lin Ting read the look in Duan Xinning’s eyes and turned to Madam Feng, “Alright.”  

They stayed, chatting late without worrying about the dangers of returning home at night.

Madam Feng and Li Jingqiu talked about the children’s marriage, while Lin Ting found an excuse to slip back to her room with Duan Xinning.  

Once inside, Lin Ting didn’t wait for Duan Xinning to ask but took the initiative to explain everything.  

Duan Xinning was shocked: “Are you saying the fake marriage was proposed by my second brother?”  

Lin Ting recounted the long story, feeling parched, and took a sip of water.

“Yes, the fake marriage was his idea. Why?”  

Duan Xinning bit her lip and spoke honestly: “It’s unexpected. I never thought my brother would do something like this. At first, I thought it was your idea again.”  

“Don’t judge a book by its cover. He didn’t want to be forced into arranged marriage by Madam Feng either.”  

Lin Ting set down her teacup.  

Duan Xinning stammered, “Really?”  

“Of course.”  

Afterward, Lin Ting called a servant to bring out her folding bed.

Since she tended to hit people in her sleep, to avoid hitting Duan Xinning, they always slept in the same room but on separate beds when staying at the Duan Mansion.  

The next day, Lin Ting didn’t sleep in.

Rarely did she rise earlier than Duan Xinning.  

She didn’t wake her sister but quietly went to wash and left the room, intending to jog around the courtyard a dozen times to train her body.  

Martial artists needed constant physical training.

Without endurance, martial skills couldn’t improve.  

The morning was cool with a light breeze.

Lin Ting jogged a few laps without breaking a sweat.

The servants, not wanting to disturb her, all moved away to other tasks.  

Running at the back, Lin Ting felt eyes on her and instinctively stopped to look around.

Her gaze finally landed on the courtyard gate, where Duan Ling stood tall and prominent, impossible to miss.  

She jogged over and stopped in front of him. “When did you get here?”  

“Just now.”  

“Duan Ziyu, do you even know what you did when you were drunk last night?” Lin Ting rolled up her sleeves, ready to confront him.  

Duan Ling looked at her flushed face from running, “I wasn’t drunk last night.”  

Lin Ting clicked her tongue.  

“You’re still stubborn. Last night…”  

Duan Ling bent down and kissed her on the lips, “Last night, I kissed you.”  

Lin Ting was stunned into silence.