Lin Ting was desperate:
“A man. Wait, why does that matter? Drinking isn’t divided by gender.”
The manager, knowing she wanted a secluded private room and such strong wine, and that she was meeting a man, had a good idea of what was going on:
“Drinking isn’t divided by gender, but some things are.”
Having run a wine house for so many years, he had seen some wild noblewomen who, unable to win the hearts of their loved ones, resorted to extreme measures like getting them drunk, just to have one night of passion, leaving no regrets.
The young lady before him was likely the same.
The manager didn’t try to stop her.
He was just a wine house owner; it wasn’t his place to interfere:
“Miss, Nanshan Pavilion doesn’t have any wine that can get someone drunk in one sip. You’ll have to think of another way.”
Lin Ting had already guessed as much:
“Then bring me some strong wine, the stronger the better.”
She couldn’t drug the wine; Duan Ling would notice.
She knew that getting Duan Ling drunk and stealing a kiss was unethical, but to save her life, morality and principles could be set aside for now.
She could repay Duan Ling’s “life-saving grace” after completing the task.
The manager held up a few fingers:
“Strong wine we have, but it’s not cheap.”
Lin Ting understood and took out a few silver ingots:
“Money isn’t an issue. Bring me the best strong wine, three jars to start. If you dare give me fake wine, I’ll destroy Nanshan Pavilion’s reputation.”
With the heavy silver in hand, the manager smiled broadly, assuring Lin Ting:
“Nanshan Pavilion has never sold fake wine, Miss. You can rest assured.”
The manager called a waiter to take her to a private room on the third floor, which was secluded and quiet.
The room was scented, and a vase of bright red flowers sat on the tea table in the center.
The waiter said these were carefully selected flowers, freshly picked that morning, with dewdrops still on the petals.
Lin Ting wasn’t interested in the flowers.
She walked around the room, lifting the gauze curtain on the east side to reveal a bed with bells hanging from it.
Why was there a bed in this private room?
It was different from the ones she had seen before.
The bedding on the bed had a mandarin duck pattern, which was too suggestive and clearly unsuitable for her and Duan Ling.
Lin Ting let the curtain fall:
“Waiter, change my room. I don’t want one with a bed.”
The waiter hesitated:
“This is the most secluded and quiet private room in Nanshan Pavilion. You won’t find a better one. If you don’t want to see the bed, just leave the curtain down.”
Lin Ting insisted on changing rooms.
“Alright, I’ll ask the manager. Please wait a moment.”
The waiter hurried out.
Not long after, the waiter returned, with Duan Ling following behind.
The waiter said,
“I’m sorry, but we’re full today. There are no other private rooms available. Miss, this gentleman said he’s here to see you.”
Duan Ling’s gaze passed over the waiter, landing on Lin Ting’s face:
“Miss Lin Seven.”
Unable to change rooms, Lin Ting had no choice but to enter with Duan Ling, asking the waiter to bring wine and food.
Before entering, she glanced at the curtain a few times, making sure the bed was completely hidden.
Duan Ling sat across from her, his face as serene as a benevolent Bodhisattva:
“Miss Lin Seven, what urgent matter brings you here?”
Lin Ting forced a smile:
“I heard you’re leaving for Suzhou.”
It wasn’t a secret that the emperor had sent the Imperial Guards to investigate the unrest in Suzhou, so he didn’t need to hide it:
“Yes, the emperor has sent me to investigate the unrest in Suzhou. Did you ask me here today just to ask if I’m going to Suzhou?”
“I’m here to see you off.”
Duan Ling looked at her calmly:
“You’re here to see me off? Miss Lin Seven, in what capacity are you seeing me off?”
Lin Ting spoke eloquently:
“As a friend. I’d like to see you off as a friend. To be honest, I’ve always wanted to have a friend like you, Commander Duan. I just don’t know if you’d like to be friends with me.”
“Friends?”
She was resolute: “Yes.”
Duan Ling chuckled softly, his rejection gentle:
“I’m sorry, but I don’t wish to be friends with you, Miss Lin Seven.”
Lin Ting thought to herself that his rejection was too direct.
This time, he didn’t even bother with superficial politeness.
Just then, the waiter brought in the wine and food.
After he left, Lin Ting asked,
“May I ask why? Do you think men and women can’t be friends?”
Duan Ling looked out the window, where the sky was clear:
“No. It’s just that I don’t think our relationship is suitable for friendship.”
Lin Ting felt that Duan Ling must still be holding a grudge over what she had done to him in the past:
“Even if we can’t be friends, I hope you’ll let me see you off today.”
Duan Ling rubbed his itchy wrist, then turned his gaze back to her eyes:
“Miss Lin Seven seems to enjoy seeing people off.”
“What do you mean, Commander Duan?”
He said,
“Didn’t you go to the city gate yesterday to see a friend off? I’m talking about the friend you rescued from the Prince of Liang’s residence.”
Lin Ting was stunned: “You…”
Yesterday, she had been in disguise, using common perfume from the capital and speaking with a different voice.
How had Duan Ling recognized her?
The same thing had happened at the Prince of Liang’s residence he had recognized her immediately.
“How did you recognize me?”
Duan Ling lowered his eyes, his wrist itching even more.
He didn’t answer directly:
“If you don’t want others to know, don’t do it. Once you’ve done something, you’ll leave traces and clues.”
Lin Ting still couldn’t figure out how he had recognized her twice in a row.
She was lost in thought for a long time:
“Thank you for not exposing me yesterday.”
He looked up:
“Thank me? I shot an arrow at you yesterday.”
She seized the opportunity to pour a cup of wine and handed it to him:
“But you missed, didn’t you? Thank you for showing mercy, Commander Duan. Let me toast you.”
Duan Ling glanced at the slightly swaying wine in the cup but didn’t take it:
“You’re too kind, Miss Lin Seven. You once saved my life at the Yellow Crane Tower. If anyone should be giving thanks, it’s me.”
Lin Ting’s mind worked quickly, and she grinned:
“Then you toast me?”
Duan Ling: “…”
He silently watched her, still not taking the cup.
Lin Ting guessed:
“You think I’m being too attentive today, that I’m plotting something and have drugged the wine? You’re mistaken. I would never do anything to harm you, Commander Duan.”
With that, she downed the cup of wine in one gulp, then turned it upside down to show she hadn’t faked it:
“See?”
Duan Ling: “I know there’s no poison or drugs in the wine. You don’t need to do this.”
Lin Ting kept her expression neutral, though she was anxious inside:
“Then why won’t you drink the wine I’ve offered? Are you still holding a grudge against me for the past? I admit, I was out of line back then…”
He interrupted with a smile:
“I’m leaving for Suzhou soon, so it’s best not to drink.”
“Not even one or two cups?”
Duan Ling remained unmoved, politely declining:
“I’m setting off tonight, so it’s better not to drink.”
Tonight?
Lin Ting’s eyes widened in shock, almost dropping the cup in her hand:
“You’re leaving tonight? Not tomorrow?”
He looked at her, seeing his reflection in her eyes:
“I didn’t expect you to have gathered such detailed information, even knowing when the emperor ordered me to leave. That’s correct. The emperor told me to leave tomorrow, but I’m setting off early.”
Lin Ting felt as if a hundred claws were scratching at her heart, muttering,
“That’s too rushed. When will you be back?”
Tao Zhu had said it could be as short as a month or as long as three months, but Lin Ting still wanted to confirm with Duan Ling, hoping for a definitive answer.
Duan Ling replied casually,
“I’ve already packed, so it’s not too rushed. After meeting you, I’ll return home and set off. As for when I’ll be back, I’m not sure. I won’t drink the wine. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
He stood up to leave.
In her desperation, Lin Ting grabbed his wrist:
“Commander Duan.”
Duan Ling turned back to see her slender fingers gripping his dark red wrist guard, her fingertips pressing against the ugly, twisted scars beneath the guard and sleeve, though she was unaware of them.
He looked at Lin Ting’s hand, then followed her arm up to her face:
“Miss Lin Seven, is there something else?”
Lin Ting lowered her head, silent.
Duan Ling’s fingertips twitched:
“Miss Lin Seven, what exactly do you…”
Lin Ting suddenly raised both hands, cupping his face, and leaned in to kiss him forcefully, even if their teeth clashed, she didn’t let go.
If she didn’t complete the task of kissing Duan Ling, she would be erased by the system.
Kissing Duan Ling might result in him killing her.
Either way, she was doomed.
She decided to throw caution to the wind and take the gamble.
After all, the former meant certain death, while the latter was only a possibility.
At the moment she kissed him, Lin Ting’s mind went blank, her heart racing.
This time was different from the previous two.
The first time she had kissed Duan Ling, he had been unconscious from the fire at the Yellow Crane Tower.
The second time, she had kissed him under the Prince of Liang’s orders, which could be seen as forced.
But this time, there was nothing.
Duan Ling was fully conscious, and she had kissed him of her own accord.
Lin Ting closed her eyes, pressing her cool lips firmly against his warm ones.
After a while, she began to count silently in her mind: ‘one breath, two breaths, three breaths, four breaths, five breaths…’
Their breaths mingled, becoming indistinguishable, merging into one over time.
Duan Ling’s body stiffened slightly, his long lashes trembling, his pupils contracting sharply.
For the first time, his jade-like face showed a hint of confusion.
He could have pushed Lin Ting away, or used his deadly poison to kill her.
But Duan Ling’s hand, raised halfway, couldn’t bring itself to fall.
His knuckles turned white, and the damp warmth of her breath was eroding him, from the outside in.
Lin Ting’s hands, which had been cradling his face, unconsciously moved to his neck.
The neck is everyone’s lifeline.
Just a precise cut in the right spot, and blood would gush out, leading to swift death, without even a chance to speak.
Duan Ling had killed condemned criminals in the imperial prison this way.
But Lin Ting bypassed his neck, just like last time, pressing on the nape of his neck, her long fingers threading through his dark hair, unconsciously weaving through the strands.
She deepened the kiss with absolute dominance, preventing any separation.
She wanted to kiss him, not kill him.
Duan Ling uncontrollably took a step back, and Lin Ting followed him, pushing him onto the tea table.
The tea set clattered to the floor, rolling around their intertwined feet.
The vase of flowers also fell, shattering on the ground, petals scattering, dew flying.
Lin Ting didn’t dare open her eyes, kissing him with a resolve as if facing death.
Unswallowed saliva slipped from the corner of her mouth, leaving silvery trails.
Duan Ling, as if bewitched, slightly parted his lips, unconsciously caressing hers.
The temperature in the elegant room seemed to rise with this damp, fervent kiss, their lips now tinged with a shimmering, ambiguous hue.
Duan Ling’s pale hand, braced on the tea table, showed faint blue veins from the strain.
Their clothes pressed together, the friction of their lips and teeth audible.
Lin Ting was almost out of breath.
‘… Twenty-eight breaths, twenty-nine breaths, thirty breaths,’ and the system prompt arrived, right on time:
[Congratulations, host, mission completed.]
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