Chapter 133: Extra- Childhood Sweethearts (20)

Half a month after their marriage, Lin Ting’s habit of hitting people in her sleep gradually showed signs of improvement.  

A person so exhausted that they didn’t even want to move a finger wouldn’t have the strength to hit anyone, sleeping like a salted fish and too lazy to even turn over.  

Lin Ting never expected Duan Ling to have a sex drive, and that it had been there since he was a teenager.

If he hadn’t told her the day after their wedding, she probably would never have thought about it.  

Besides being shocked, she didn’t have any other feelings—his sex drive didn’t hurt her.  

Besides, she liked him.  

Spending time with someone you like naturally made you want to get close, to touch, to kiss.

Lin Ting often did this to Duan Ling, and since he had a sex drive, feelings easily sparked.

A touch, a kiss, and they’d be at it.  

When she was with him, it was truly pleasurable, like floating on air; and afterward, she was truly exhausted, feeling as if she were about to ascend to heaven.  

So Lin Ting admired Duan Ling—he still managed to report for duty at the Imperial Guard’s Northern Command Office every day on time.  

Lin Ting couldn’t.

Lately, she often slept until the sun was high, usually only going to the Fabric Shop and the Study after noon to see if there was any business that needed her intervention.

If not, she would just return to the Manor.  

They hadn’t been intimate yesterday, but today she woke up early.  

Just after finishing breakfast, Lin Ting received a letter sent by Jin Anazi through someone else.

The letter said he was taking the dog out today and wouldn’t have time to sun the books, so she should get to the Study earlier instead of waiting until the afternoon.  

This letter was like a hammer, awakening Lin Ting.

Since their marriage, she had indeed become lazier, much like a negligent ruler, indulging in pleasures and neglecting her “career.”  

No, she had to get back on track.  

Lin Ting put away the letter and went to find Duan Xinning, telling her not to bring any maids and to come out of the Manor with her to the Study.

Lin Ting felt it was time to tell Duan Xinning about the Study and Jin Anazi’s existence.  

At the Study, Lin Ting saw the pile of books waiting to be aired out was as high as a mountain.

She wanted to go back and lie down again—so many books, when would she even finish moving them?  

Oh well, she might as well treat it as physical training.

Lin Ting rolled up her sleeves and started moving books to the backyard.  

Duan Xinning was still processing the news, standing there stunned, watching her move books.

“You’re saying this Study is something you run with a friend from the martial world?”  

Lin Ting: “That’s right. When he’s back from walking the dog, I’ll introduce you to him.”  

Duan Xinning nodded blankly and went over to help move books, but she was weak and unaccustomed to hard work, only able to carry a few books at a time and needing frequent breaks.  

“Leyun, sorry, I can’t help you much.” Duan Xinning felt dejected.  

Lin Ting pointed at the small pile Duan Xinning had moved: “Every little bit adds up. You’ve already helped a lot. Don’t underestimate your own strength.”  

Duan Xinning’s frustration vanished.  

Once the books were moved to the back, the object of their sunning suddenly changed from books to Lin Ting and Duan Xinning.

Lin Ting grabbed Duan Xinning and laid her down on a big rock in the yard, lazily basking in the sun, thinking to herself how comfortable it was and no wonder some people liked to sun themselves whenever they had the chance.  

Jin Anazi returned to the Study, only to see a mess of books and two people lying flat.  

He and the dog stared at each other.  

Dog: “…………”  

He put the dog down and strode over to her.

“Lin Leyun!”  

Hearing Jin Anazi’s voice, Lin Ting leisurely raised her hand to block the sun, then opened her eyes, calling out to his dog first, “Jin Jin,” before greeting him, “You’re back.”  

At first, Jin Anazi couldn’t accept Lin Ting’s choice of name for the dog and forbade her from calling it “Jin Jin.”

Later, hearing it so many times and not wanting to argue, he chose to ignore it.  

“I told you to sun the books, didn’t I?”  

Seeing this, Duan Xinning hurriedly sat up, her eyes filled with curiosity as she looked at Jin Anazi.

She found this man very fierce for shouting at Leyun and mysterious for wearing a mask, never showing his face.  

Lin Ting: “We did sun them.”  

She sat up, gesturing to the ground.

“Look, all these are the books we aired. Are you blind? Can’t you see?”  

Jin Anazi glanced at the unsplayed books on the ground and asked, “What’s the difference between this and not sunning them? You need to open every single book.”  

He shouldn’t have had such a hopeful mindset when he asked her to do the work.  

Lin Ting shrugged innocently.  

He squatted and started opening the books one by one.

“Forget it, you should leave.”  

Lin Ting didn’t leave.

She pulled Duan Xinning over and introduced them.

“This is Duan Xinning, third Miss of the Duan Family, and my close confidante.”  

Jin Anazi’s gaze was neither cold nor warm when he looked at Duan Xinning, but his attitude was fairly decent.

“I am Jin Anazi.”

Lin Ting had told him she would introduce them someday, so he wasn’t surprised.  

Duan Xinning felt a little shy facing a stranger and spoke softly, “Young Master Jin.”  

Lin Ting knew Duan Xinning needed time to adjust, so she took her to play with the dog.

She noticed the dog had become very close to her recently, often rubbing its head and paws against her, sniffing her scent, no longer as distant as before.  

Jin Anazi feared the dog would become like her if it got too close.

“One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, one who stays near ink gets stained black. Stay away from my dog.”  

Lin Ting wanted to hit Jin Anazi.

How could he say such a thing?

That she would influence his dog!  

Lin Ting gave a forced smile, “Honestly, I think your mouth is useless. Shall we just cut it off?”  

Jin Anazi expressionlessly ignored her and turned to the dog, “Come here.”  

The dog ignored him.  

Lin Ting slapped her thigh, laughing heartily.

“Serves you right! Even your dog won’t listen to you.” She stroked the dog’s head and praised it, regardless of whether it understood, “Jin Jin, good job, don’t listen to him.”  

Jin Anazi: “Childish.”  

“Ha, you’re the one acting childish.” Lin Ting made a funny face, looking like she wanted to be hit.  

Duan Xinning couldn’t help but laugh at their banter and petted the dog’s head too.  

Jin Anazi threw a book at Lin Ting.  

Duan Xinning worried: “Leyun!”  

“Tsk tsk tsk, angry now.” Lin Ting dodged quickly, the book missing her and hitting the empty ground behind, kicking up dust.  

Duan Xinning relaxed.  

At that moment, someone lifted the curtain at the backyard gate and came out of the Study, bending down to pick up a book and dust it off.  

Lin Ting turned and brightened.

“Duan Ling, what are you doing here?”  

“Second Brother.” Duan Xinning also turned around.  

Duan Ling walked toward Lin Ting.

“I went back to the Manor and didn’t find you there. I came to the Fabric Shop looking for you, but you weren’t there either, so I guessed you’d be at the Study.”  

Lin Ting took the book from his hand and threw it back at Jin Anazi.

“I came to air the books at the Study. I left in such a hurry this morning that I forgot to have Tao Zhu tell you.”  

Jin Anazi dodged again.  

The dog caught a stronger scent of agarwood and ran to Duan Ling, pawing at his clothes.

From Jin Anazi’s perspective, the dog was close to both Lin Ting and Duan Ling, but not to him.  

Lin Ting continued playing with the dog.  

Jin Anazi, not wanting to see this, turned his back and silently continued spreading out the books.

Within moments, the backyard was full of open books.  

Having played enough, Lin Ting said, “Jin Anazi, is there anything to eat in the Study? I’m hungry.”  

Jin Anazi paused in his task, pondering.

“I just met a friend who loves cooking. He packed some food for me. If you’re hungry, you can go eat it.”  

Lin Ting quickly ran into the Study and opened the food container he brought back.

There were three dishes: two meat, one vegetable, along with a few pairs of unused bamboo chopsticks.  

She first tried the visually decent crab meat lion’s head, then immediately spat it into the waste bowl, hurriedly drinking some tea to wash down the taste.  

How could there be such awful food in the world?  

Lin Ting didn’t even have to guess—Jin Anazi was definitely doing this on purpose.

He must know exactly how his friend’s cooking tasted and sent it to her to eat.  

But rather than seek revenge on Jin Anazi, Lin Ting was more curious about who made this food, so she could tell them, “Cherish life, stay away from the kitchen.”  

Lin Ting didn’t dare recall what the crab meat lion’s head had tasted like.  

Duan Ling and Duan Xinning were a few steps behind Lin Ting, and they didn’t see her spit anything out; they only saw her staring at the food, lost in thought.  

Duan Xinning leaned in: “These dishes look pretty good.”  

“It’s not just the look—they taste ‘great’ too,” Lin Ting smiled as she offered a piece of meat to Duan Ling.

The food was so terrible she couldn’t suffer alone.  

Duan Ling ate it without changing expression.

Lin Ting gave him a look and asked, “How is it?”  

He paused, then smiled faintly.

“Just as you said, it’s good. Not worse than dishes at a restaurant, leaving one with ‘a lingering aftertaste.'”  

Duan Xinning picked up a pair of the new bamboo chopsticks and tried the dishes they’d eaten.  

The next moment, Duan Xinning’s eyes widened in disbelief, and she turned away to spit into the waste bowl, whining, “Leyun, Second Brother, you’re lying to me. This is not good at all. It’s terrible. Did Young Master Jin offend his friend?”  

To be honest, she’d never tasted such awful food in her life.  

Far away at the Xie Mansion, Xie Qinghe sneezed inexplicably several times.

Without much thought, he sat at his desk and opened a cookbook to decide what to cook tomorrow—Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs?  

Back at the Study, Lin Ting poured tea for everyone.

“Here, have some tea.”  

At some point, Jin Anazi came in holding the dog, leaning against the wall to watch them.

He asked knowingly, “Why didn’t you finish eating?”  

Lin Ting glanced at him and said, “Jin Anazi, you’ll get your comeuppance.”  

She completely forgot she had tricked two people into eating the food.  

That evening, Lin Ting returned to the Manor for a proper meal to soothe her stomach, wounded by the “dark cuisine.”  

After dinner, she suddenly remembered she had a newly purchased drama script she hadn’t read yet.

She quickly bathed, then sat on the bed to read.  

Just as Lin Ting was engrossed in the script, Duan Ling finished bathing and came toward the bed.

She heard footsteps and moved inward a little to make room for him to sit.  

Duan Ling sat beside Lin Ting.

The thin, rose-colored inner garment caught her eye, and the scent of agarwood filled her nostrils, as if bewitching her body and mind.  

Lin Ting still didn’t look up.  

The script wasn’t thick, and she read quickly.

In an hour, she was almost at the end.  

“Is this your newly bought script?” Duan Ling leaned over, his loose hair brushing Lin Ting’s hand holding the book, lightly touching her fingertips.  

Her peripheral vision caught his long hair, and for a moment she lost focus on the book.  

“Mm.”  

He moved closer, his breath brushing her face.

“When will you finish reading it?”  

Lin Ting finally looked up at Duan Ling.

Tonight, he wore the inner garment she had bought for him.

The red fabric made his fair skin look even paler, making one want to undo it and reveal what lay beneath.  

She swallowed unconsciously and replied, “Soon. Give me fifteen more minutes.”  

Duan Ling waited silently.  

But Lin Ting knew that once he started waiting, she wouldn’t be able to read a single word.

She tossed aside the script without even looking at the ending, tilted her head up, and kissed him.  

Finally, Lin Ting and Duan Ling faced each other, the kisses unending as she slowly settled into his embrace.