After Duan Ling leaned back, Lin Ting’s lips still retained the warm and slightly soft sensation.
She unconsciously pursed her lips, her long eyelashes fluttering wildly.
Just as she was about to ask, Duan Ling sat up straight and said, “Madam Li has left.”
Lin Ting glanced outside the pavilion.
Indeed, Li Jingqiu was no longer there.
But now she cared more about something else—he had really kissed her.
“You just now… why did you really kiss me?”
“Madam Li didn’t seem to believe us. She took a few steps forward before leaving.”
So that meant he was afraid that if the fake kiss didn’t succeed, Li Jingqiu would realize they were acting.
That was why he actually kissed her?
Lin Ting’s mind was in turmoil.
Duan Ling studied Lin Ting’s expression, his lips, just kissed, slightly moving, emitting a sound that was quite pleasant, almost enchanting: “What, you think what I did just now was wrong?”
Lin Ting was momentarily at a loss for how to answer.
If he hadn’t really kissed her, and Li Jingqiu saw them pretending to kiss, all their efforts would be wasted.
Li Jingqiu would never trust them again and would force her to go for the matchmaking.
After a while, Lin Ting’s gaze fell on Duan Ling’s lips, then quickly averted.
“You did right.”
For the sake of the peaceful years ahead, Duan Ling was willing to go all out.
She could too—after all, it was just mouth-to-mouth contact, it wouldn’t cost a piece of flesh.
Duan Ling noticed her glance come and go but said nothing.
Lin Ting turned slightly, facing the direction where the sun was rising, her face warm in the sunlight.
“But I have something to say.”
He gazed at her intently. “Say it.”
She felt a bit uneasy.
“If you don’t follow the script from now on, you have to tell me in advance, so I can be prepared and not get startled.”
Duan Ling’s five fingers curled slightly into a fist.
“I just kissed you and scared you—startled?”
Lin Ting, feeling warm, fanned herself with her hand without looking at him.
“If I suddenly kissed you without following the script, let’s see if you’d be startled. This is a normal reaction, okay?”
Duan Ling imagined the scene Lin Ting described but didn’t answer the question, focusing on something else instead.
“What script?”
She looked at him sideways and said, “You can think of it as something I arranged a long time ago.”
He hummed, then added, “What if I don’t have time to tell you beforehand? Like just now, if I delayed a moment, Madam Li would have found out we were lying. What should I do then?”
She was at a loss for words.
Duan Ling didn’t press her for an answer.
Lin Ting considered and said, “You have a point. If there really isn’t time to tell me beforehand, then just improvise.”
Suddenly, she thought of Duan Xinning and said, “Don’t tell Linguan about this.”
He spread his hands as if to catch a stray sunbeam spilling into the pavilion.
“Doesn’t she already know we’re coming to Lianxin Lake to watch the sunrise?”
Lin Ting’s tongue got tied.
“I mean don’t tell her we turned a fake kiss into a real one.”
Over the years, Duan Xinning had read too many stories with her, her imagination growing.
Who knew if she found out about this, would she actually think they were a couple?
Duan Ling lowered his hands and calmly adjusted his wrist guard.
“You’re afraid she’ll misunderstand us?”
She straightened her back and replied, “We’re clean between us. I’m not afraid Linguan will misunderstand, I just think there’s no need to tell her. It might make her overthink.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Lin Ting was silent for a moment, as if contemplating what to do next.
Then she stood up, casually dusted off nonexistent dust from her skirt, and stepped outside the pavilion.
“The sunrise is done, the play is over. Shall we go back?”
Duan Ling watched her back without blinking, lost in thought.
Just as she was about to walk away, he said, “You can’t go back yet.”
She stopped and asked, “Why?”
He slowly came to her side and said, “According to our original plan, before you left you should have told Madam Li that after watching the sunrise, we’d go for an outing outside the city. It takes at least a few hours to go out and come back. You can’t go back now.”
Lin Ting nearly forgot about that.
Before nightfall, she couldn’t return to Lin Mansion, nor could she visit Duan Mansion to take Duan Xinning out, because Duan Xinning was accompanying Madam Feng to the temple outside the city to pray.
Duan Ling suggested, “You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, right? How about we go to the Early Market for a bite?”
She stretched lazily, the fragrance pouch tucked in her sleeve faintly visible.
“Sure, after breakfast, we’ll part ways. You go about your business, don’t worry about me. I’ll wander around alone and return before nightfall.”
Having stayed in one place for a while, Duan Ling could smell a faint sandalwood scent on Lin Ting, knowing she still carried the fragrance pouch he gave her yesterday.
His mood gradually brightened.
“I’m off duty today, not busy. Wherever you want to go, I can follow you.”
Lin Ting was surprised.
Since childhood, they had rarely experienced such a situation.
They would meet alone but not for an entire day—only when Duan Xinning was brought along would it be that long, but then it wouldn’t be just the two of them.
“You want to follow me all day?”
Duan Ling spoke softly: “Yes, consider it doing the whole act. Even if Madam Li finds out we didn’t go for the outing outside the city, she’ll just think we changed our minds last minute and decided to stay in town and stroll.”
Lin Ting bumped his arm with her shoulder, a small gesture of respect among martial artists.
“Not bad, you’re even more cautious than I am, very thorough. Truly deserving of being an Imperial Guard.”
Duan Ling’s arm tingled where she bumped him, but it wasn’t from force.
The Early Market in the capital started around the hour of Yin and ended at the hour of Chen.
They watched the sunrise at the hour of Mao, and by the time they returned from Lianxin Lake to the main street, the Early Market was still going on.
The streets were filled with the aroma of food and bustling with people.
Lin Ting had been to the Early Market before and knew which stalls were delicious.
She grabbed Duan Ling’s wrist and headed straight there.
“There’s a wonton shop ahead. Their wontons are really fragrant, even better than the restaurant’s chef.”
Her steps were light, the apricot-colored silk ribbon in her hair swaying down to her waist.
Several times, Duan Ling wanted to grab the silk ribbon but restrained himself, speaking normally: “Thanks to you, I’m in for a treat today.”
“Tsck, and you’re still being polite to me.” Lin Ting rambled, “A day isn’t that long, but not short either. After breakfast, we have plenty of time. What should we do?”
Though Duan Ling said he could follow her wherever she went, Lin Ting still wanted to “democratically” ask his opinion.
He asked her in return, “What do you usually do with Linguan?”
As an Imperial Guard, he often had duties at the Beizhen Fu Office and occasionally had to travel far.
Lin Ting spent more time with Duan Xinning than with him.
Lin Ting recalled, “Linguan and I sometimes go to a teahouse to listen to storytellers. Do you like listening to stories? If not, we can go to West Street to watch acrobatics.”
Duan Ling enjoyed listening to her talk, so he didn’t interrupt, letting her ramble on.
“Near the end of the month, if we go to West Street, we might even see the monthly courtesan parade.” Lin Ting spoke as they walked, her martial skills sharpening over the years, agile enough to pull Duan Ling along and dodge the crowd.
He followed closely.
Lin Ting was quite proud.
“Didn’t I open a cloth shop last year? Since then, I often go to West Street to find good quality, affordable fabrics and have made friends with many merchants there. If you buy something on West Street, use my name and you might get a discount.”
She suddenly remembered he was not short on money.
“I know you don’t need to save money for marriage, but saving a bit isn’t a bad thing.”
Duan Ling smiled faintly, “Got it. If I buy something on West Street, I’ll mention your name.”
The wonton shop was busy and packed.
After waiting a while, Lin Ting got a table and sat down.
She returned to the topic.
“Do you want to go to the teahouse to listen to stories, or head to West Street first?”
He sat opposite her and replied, “Let’s finish breakfast here, then go to West Street first. After that, we can listen to stories at the teahouse until the afternoon. How does that sound?”
“Good.”
Lin Ting glanced up and saw Duan Ling’s naturally reddish lips.
A scene from this morning, when he kissed her at sunrise, flashed through her mind—the soft sensation seemed to return to her lips.
Even though Lin Ting tried not to think about the real kiss this morning, sometimes she couldn’t help but recall it, like now.
At first, she convinced herself with “it’s just mouth-to-mouth contact, no flesh lost.”
But in the end, it was a kiss with a childhood friend.
The more she thought about it, the more awkward she felt, even if it was just acting for Li Jingqiu.
Lin Ting sneaked a look at Duan Ling.
Seeing that he acted as if nothing had happened, some of her awkwardness faded.
She silently repeated to herself: ‘it’s just acting, just acting. Duan Ling didn’t take it seriously, so why should me?’
Duan Ling took two spoons from the chopstick holder on the table, rinsed them in hot tea, then wiped them dry with a clean cloth.
“What are you thinking about?”
Lin Ting looked at the spoons in his hand.
“I’m thinking why the wontons aren’t here yet. I’m hungry.”
Speak of the devil, the owner brought over two large bowls of wonton, cheerfully announcing, “Your wontons are ready, honorable guests.”
“Eat.”
Duan Ling placed one spoon into the bowl in front of her.
Lin Ting lowered her head, watching the ripples in the wonton soup.
Suddenly, she realized that when Duan Ling was with her eating, he would prepare the utensils first.
He… was quite considerate.
Though calling an Imperial Guard “considerate” sounded odd, given their decisive and ruthless nature, right now he fit the description perfectly—a handsome and considerate Imperial Guard.
Thinking of this, she wanted to slap her thigh and laugh out loud.
Seeing Lin Ting’s lips curl up, Duan Ling couldn’t help but laugh too.
“You said you were hungry, so why aren’t you eating?”
Lin Ting pretended nonchalance, grabbed a spoon, and ate several wontons in a row, then sighed contentedly, “So fragrant. We should come eat here again.”
He paused, “We should?”
She sipped the soup and said, “Yeah, do you think it’s not good and don’t want to eat it again?”
“No, it’s very good.”
Lin Ting gave Duan Ling a sidelong glance.
“Naturally. I wouldn’t bring you to eat bad food. Next time, if there’s a chance, I’ll take you to try all the delicacies in the capital.”
She’d handle eating, and he’d handle paying.
After breakfast, they headed to West Street.
West Street was as lively as ever, with the clamor of carriages and horses.
Places with acrobatic performances were crowded with people.
Lin Ting aimed for a narrow alleyway, wanting to drag Duan Ling inside to watch the acrobatics.
She was in front, rushing forward, but just as she was about to enter, someone suddenly appeared from the side.
She instinctively slapped out her palm.
Unexpectedly, her palm knocked the person to the ground.
Lin Ting’s eyelids twitched, ‘When did I become so powerful that I can knock someone down with one palm? How did I not know?’
‘Could this person be trying to scam me?’
She looked at the man on the ground and felt it didn’t seem like that.
Though he wore a low-profile blue robe, the jade pendant at his waist was expensive, marking him as a noble Young Master—no reason to scam.
A man in purple robes hurried over to help Xie Qinghe up.
“Xie Wu Gongzi, are you alright?”
Xie Qinghe said, “I’m fine.”
The man glared angrily at Lin Ting and scolded, “How dare you hurt him? You don’t know martial arts and your body is weak. How could you think he’s alright? He is the son of a general, Xie Family’s Fifth Young Master.”
So it wasn’t that she had become strong—it was that the other person was weak, Lin Ting thought.
No, wait.
Xie Fifth Young Master?
Was he the Xie Wu Gongzi she was thinking of?
Lin Ting’s eyelids twitched even more.
Xie Qinghe hurriedly stopped the man from continuing.
“I suddenly approached Miss Lin Qi, which startled her, so that’s why she reacted that way. It’s my fault, not Miss Lin Qi’s.”
The man was shocked.
“She’s the Lin Qi who agreed to the match with Xie Wu Gongzi? She knows martial arts?”
Lin Ting was not surprised that Xie Qinghe knew her.
Li Jingqiu had given her his portrait, and Xie Qinghe’s mother had given his portrait to her.
Just because she didn’t look didn’t mean he didn’t.
“Xie Wu Gongzi.” Lin Ting greeted Xie Qinghe politely but distantly.
Xie Qinghe looked at Duan Ling standing behind Lin Ting, his gaze landing on their intertwined hands.
The joy in his eyes faded, replaced by disappointment.
The man also noticed this.
He was a distant relative of the Xie Family, newly arrived in the capital, unfamiliar with Duan Ling.
“Miss Lin Qi, didn’t you promise to be matched with Xie Qie? Why are you still entangled with another man? Publicly pulling and tugging—what kind of propriety is this?”
Duan Ling remained unmoved.
Xie Qinghe hid his disappointment and frowned, “Don’t be rude to Miss Lin Qi.”
Lin Ting stepped past them and said, “Xie Wu Gongzi, we have matters to attend to. We’ll take our leave first.”
Matchmaking was decided by both mothers; she alone couldn’t cancel it.
They had to wait for Li Jingqiu to intervene.
He stepped aside to let them pass.
“Miss Lin Qi, take care.”
Lin Ting didn’t look back and successfully squeezed into the crowd to watch the dazzling acrobatics.
Halfway through, Duan Ling’s voice suddenly sounded in her ear: “I want to formalize an engagement with you.”
She was stunned, “Are you crazy?”