Chapter 118: Extra- Childhood Sweethearts (5) 

“Qin Master, you may leave now.”  

Li Jingqiu turned to face the Qin Master, knowing his ears must have suffered.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let your trip today be in vain. The silver has been paid.”  

The Qin Master felt as if he had been granted amnesty.

He bowed to Li Jingqiu, picked up his qin, and slipped away quietly.  

Lin Ting was still sitting before the qin, her fingers lightly plucking the strings, wearing an innocent expression, “Mother, is my playing really that terrible?”  

Li Jingqiu avoided answering and instead instructed Tao Zhu, “Tao Zhu, take Seventh Miss Lin back to her room. I recall she has a new set of goose-yellow long skirts. Bring that for her to change into.”  

Ignored by Li Jingqiu, Lin Ting struck a few sharp, piercing notes, the sound like nails being scraped viciously across wood.  

Li Jingqiu involuntarily covered her ears and said, “Stop playing, please.”  

Her ears felt as if they might burst.  

Lin Ting paused, “Mother, as the saying goes, ‘Every craft has its own expertise.’ I really don’t have the talent for qin. Can I please stop learning it from now on?”  

Li Jingqiu surprisingly didn’t refute her.

After a whole year of lessons, Lin Ting still played that terribly, which was rare.

Duan Xinning had started learning the qin two months later than her and was already playing quite well.  

“Go change your skirt first. Whether you continue learning the qin, we’ll discuss that when you return tonight.”  

Lin Ting could hear that Li Jingqiu was softening her stance and almost danced with joy.

“Okay, I’ll go change now.”  

Upon arriving at the Duan Mansion, the servants directly led them into the main hall.

Madam Feng, who was seated, rose to greet them, showing great respect to the mother and daughter.  

“Madam Li.”  

Madam Feng’s children also stood as a courtesy.

Duan Ling raised his hands and bowed to Li Jingqiu, “Madam Li.”  

His voice was pleasant.

Li Jingqiu couldn’t help but glance up and take a few extra looks at Duan Ling.

The teenage youth was even taller than his father, with handsome and fully formed features.

His complexion was fair and neat, and he was polite—a rare combination that made him well-liked by almost everyone.  

Li Jingqiu looked sideways at Lin Ting thoughtfully, but Lin Ting stared straight ahead, unaware.  

Duan Xinning also bowed, “Madam Li.”

Although she bowed to Li Jingqiu, her eyes flicked toward Lin Ting behind her.  

Lin Ting noticed Duan Xinning looking at her and made a face, causing Duan Xinning to smile silently.  

Duan Ling’s gaze fell on Lin Ting.  

After some polite chatter, Li Jingqiu steered the conversation toward him.

“Ziyu, how have these past few months at Imperial College been?”  

“Not bad,” Duan Ling replied.  

“That’s good. I’d heard some students went missing there recently, and even the authorities couldn’t find them. I was worried about you.” Li Jingqiu was relieved to see he wasn’t affected.  

Madam Feng knew that Lin Leyun had sought out a peace talisman at Mòyǐn Temple for Duan Ling. “Ziyu has Leyun’s talisman, so he’ll be fine.”  

Mentioning this made Lin Ting clutch her pocket money sadly but kept her feelings hidden.  

Madam Feng, unaware of Lin Ting’s thoughts about her money, took her hand and had her sit beside her affectionately.

“Leyun must be hungry. Let’s eat first.”  

After the meal, Madam Feng said she had something to discuss with Li Jingqiu, then asked Duan Ling to take Lin Ting and Duan Xinning out to the courtyard outside the main hall to play chess.  

Lin Ting only knew chess among the four arts of qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and it wasn’t her first time playing with Duan Ling.

She skillfully lifted her skirt and sat on the stone bench opposite him, choosing the box filled with black pieces.  

She played black, so Duan Ling took white.

Duan Xinning didn’t participate and watched them play.  

After each move, Duan Ling looked at Lin Ting’s eyes.

She noticed but didn’t think much of it, her mind fully occupied with how to beat him.  

“Why are you looking at my eyes? Do my eyes really tell you where I’m going to move next?”  

He nodded, “Your eyes do tell me where your next move is.”  

Lin Ting didn’t believe him.

“Really? If you knew where I’d move next, you’d be able to adjust your position and place your piece to block me.”  

“It’s true.”  

Still skeptical, Lin Ting challenged him, “Then tell me, where will I move next?”  

Duan Ling looked into her eyes again and pointed to the far right side of the board.

“Here. You’re going to move here.”  

Duan Xinning, sitting beside Lin Ting and watching curiously, asked, “Did Second Brother guess right?”  

She also knew chess well enough to realize that Lin Ting could move to any of three places, so it wasn’t certain she’d move where Duan Ling said.  

Lin Ting was surprised—he really had guessed correctly.

That was indeed where she planned to move next.  

“It’s not my eyes telling you. You just guessed,” she said.  

Duan Ling smiled faintly, letting her doubt hang. “If you don’t believe me, we can try again.”  

Lin Ting tried twice more, and each time Duan Ling guessed correctly.

Could he really see through people’s eyes and read their thoughts?

No wonder she always lost when playing with him.  

She grew nervous, “How do you do it? Do you have mind-reading abilities?”  

“What is mind-reading?”  

Lin Ting explained, “It means knowing what the other person is thinking.”  

Duan Ling placed a white piece on the board.

“I don’t read minds. I say your eyes tell me because you have the habit of looking at the spot where you want to move before you make a move.”  

Duan Xinning recalled Lin Ting’s subtle glances before moving pieces and laughed silently.

“That really is true. Second Brother, you observe too carefully.”  

Lin Ting breathed a sigh of relief.  

“You scared me. I thought you could really read minds.”

She had often thought about modern things in her heart, and if he really found out, it would be trouble.  

They played chess for three quarters of an hour, and with the game clearly lost, Lin Ting reached out to push the scattered pieces.

“I admit defeat. I’m done.”  

Her bad habit of haphazard moves wouldn’t improve quickly; continuing would only lead to more losses.  

Duan Ling carefully gathered the disrupted pieces.  

Lin Ting watched Duan Ling’s slender, fair fingers.

The thin calluses left by long hours of holding pen and sword didn’t look rough; instead, they added a sense of strength.

Other than that, his hands were flawless.  

She often came to the Duan Mansion and knew Duan Ling’s father taught him martial arts.

She also knew Duan Ling preferred using a somewhat heavy dao rather than a sword in his training.  

Lin Ting found herself momentarily lost in thought.  

Actually, she wanted to learn martial arts too.

But no one taught her, and self-learning didn’t work.

She wondered if Duan Ling would be willing to teach her.  

If she mastered martial arts, when bullied in business, she wouldn’t have to swallow her anger but could fight back fiercely.

The thought made her excited.  

Unable to hold back, Lin Ting finally asked, “Duan Ling, can you teach me martial arts?”  

Duan Ling’s hand paused in mid-air.

“Why do you suddenly want to learn martial arts?”  

“Just tell me if you can teach me or not.”  

Duan Xinning quietly interjected, “Leyun, does Madam Li agree to you learning martial arts?”  

Few parents in the capital would approve of their daughters learning martial arts, believing it unbecoming for a proper young lady.  

Lin Ting shrugged, “Mother absolutely won’t agree. I haven’t even tried to persuade her, but I can hide it from her.”  

Duan Xinning, timid and never having hidden anything from her elders before, looked uneasy.

“You’re really bold. What if Madam Li finds out? Won’t she be angry? What will you do then?”  

“As long as you don’t tell anyone, she won’t find out so easily.”  

Lin Ting was optimistic.  

Though Duan Xinning still worried, she chose to support Lin Ting. “I won’t say a word.”  

Lin Ting fixed her gaze on Duan Ling, deliberately coughing a few times.

“Second Brother, you haven’t agreed yet.”  

Fearing he might refuse, Lin Ting wracked her brains for a backup plan.

“If we get found out, I’ll say it was me forcing you to teach me. You won’t get blamed.”  

Not wanting Duan Ling to refuse, Duan Xinning added earnestly, “Second Brother, Leyun really wants to learn. Please say yes.”  

Duan Ling remained silent.  

“Just teach me, then I owe you one. Deal?” Lin Ting gave it her all.

“I beg you…”  

Before she could finish, Duan Ling answered, “I agree.”  

“A gentleman’s word is his bond. You can’t go back on it, or you’ll be cursed,” Lin Ting said brightly, first looking at Duan Ling, then at Duan Xinning.

“Linguan, be our witness.”  

Duan Ling’s gaze dropped to her eyes, reflected there.

“I won’t go back on it. From now on, I’ll teach you half an hour every day.”  

Duan Xinning was genuinely happy for Lin Ting.  

“Alright, I’m your witness.”  

Lin Ting was usually indifferent about studies but very serious about learning martial arts.

“So, when do we start?”  

“Tomorrow. I won’t be going out; I’ll be at the mansion. Come find me whenever you’re free.”  

Unconsciously, Duan Ling had packed away all the chess pieces and called a servant to remove them.  

After the pieces and board were taken away, another servant brought out a refreshing sweet soup.  

Lin Ting drank a large bowl, tilting her head back.  

Duan Xinning accidentally spilled some on her skirt.

Sticky and messy, she said she needed to return to her room to change and asked them to wait in the courtyard.  

While waiting, Lin Ting ate grapes and didn’t forget to offer some to Duan Ling.

Eating was her favorite thing to do at the Duan Mansion.  

Duan Ling didn’t eat and suddenly stood up and said, “I’m feeling a bit unwell. I’m going back to my room.”  

Lin Ting popped a few grapes in her mouth, then put down the plate and asked, “Where do you feel unwell? Should I call a doctor?”  

His breathing was uneven.

“No need. I just want to be alone for a while. Also, don’t tell my mother or anyone else about this.”  

Duan Ling’s footsteps faltered as he left.  

Lin Ting noticed his unsteady steps.

He didn’t want the household to worry?

For Duan Ling’s promise to teach her martial arts, she decided to check on him.  

She beckoned Tao Zhu, who was waiting nearby, “Tao Zhu, stay here. If Linguan asks about us, tell her Duan Ling had something and left early, and I went to the restroom.”  

Tao Zhu asked, “You’re going to the restroom?”  

Lin Ting didn’t have time to explain much.

“Yes, I am.”  

With that, Lin Ting left the courtyard and headed to Duan Ling’s quarters.

Familiar with the Duan Mansion, she knew where he lived and had been there before, so she didn’t need a servant to guide her.  

After a moment, Lin Ting reached Duan Ling’s quarters and knocked on the closed door.

“Duan Ling, are you inside?”  

Hearing no response, she pressed her ear to the door.

“Duan Ling?”  

Inside, Duan Ling lay on the bed, struggling hard to suppress his desires, his fingers gripping the edge of the bed tightly.  

At fourteen, he had started experiencing normal morning erections and night emissions.

At fifteen, he developed abnormal and uncontrollable desires.  

More than two years had passed, and the cravings persisted.  

This wasn’t Duan Ling’s first time succumbing to these urges.

He knew the difference between these and regular morning or night emissions.

The former could strike anytime and wouldn’t subside unless addressed; the latter only came at morning or night and would dissipate even if ignored.  

Outside, Lin Ting kept knocking.

“Duan Ling, are you really in there?”  

Could he have fainted?  

She recalled his unsteady steps earlier and thought that was possible.

“If you don’t answer me, I’m kicking the door down.”  

Just as Lin Ting was about to kick, Duan Ling’s voice came from inside.

“I’m fine.”  

Lin Ting withdrew her leg.

“If you’re in there, why did you take so long to answer? I thought you’d collapsed.”  

“I was asleep and didn’t hear you.”  

So she had woken him up.

Lin Ting felt a bit embarrassed but spoke through the door, “Do you feel better now?”  

Duan Ling’s forehead was covered in sweat, the corners of his eyes reddened.

He reached under his pillow and found a dagger.

“Better.”  

Lin Ting looked at the door and didn’t say more.

“Rest well. Don’t try to tough it out.”  

“I know my limits.”  

She descended the steps, “I’m leaving now.”  

“Hmm.”  

Listening to Lin Ting’s footsteps fade away, Duan Ling didn’t hesitate to slash his wrist.  

***

Five years passed in the blink of an eye.  

Lin Ting had secretly learned martial arts from Duan Ling for five years.

On her eighteenth birthday, she came to the Duan Mansion to continue training with him.  

Duan Ling presented her with a gift.  

A golden buyao hairpin.  

After Lin Ting wore the golden buyao, any large movements would cause it to jingle loudly and clearly.