The voice of a five-year-old girl was soft, and Little Lin Ting deliberately made it even gentler.
Little Duan Ling in the pavilion seemed to notice her only then.
He put down the book in his hand and looked at her with a gentle gaze, though there was a subtle coldness in his eyes.
“Little Sister Lin Qi.”
Little Lin Ting walked into the pavilion and insincerely said,
“Second Brother Duan, please accept my condolences.”
She hated Duan Xinning and also hated Duan Xinning’s seemingly flawless second brother, Duan Ling.
Childishly, she wished they would grieve to death and never recover, but she continued to pretend,
“My mother said that the dead cannot be brought back to life. The living must take care of themselves.”
Little Duan Ling looked directly at her.
He didn’t know what it meant to offer condolences because he felt no sorrow.
Even though his own eldest brother had died tragically, he felt no sadness, just as usual.
Hearing Little Lin Ting’s words, he glanced at her hands, which had crushed flowers by the lake, and then at her seemingly concerned face.
Her skin was fair with a hint of pink.
Her hair was tied with silk ribbons, and she wore no hairpins, only small tassels.
Her attire was simple, as it was inappropriate to dress too brightly after the Duan family’s mourning.
Little Duan Ling averted his gaze.
“Little Sister Lin Qi, are you here to accompany Lingyun?”
Little Lin Ting nodded and immediately burst into tears.
“Lingyun was so heartbroken when she heard about Elder Brother Duan… She hasn’t been eating or sleeping these past few days, so I came to accompany her. She just had a piece of pastry and finally fell asleep.”
Her crying was pitiful, nothing like the person who had thrown flowers into the lake with hatred.
He thought indifferently while handing her a handkerchief.
“Thank you, Little Sister Lin Qi.”
Though still young, he strictly adhered to the etiquette of a noble family and treated her well.
Little Lin Ting was slightly taken aback.
She reached out and took the handkerchief from Little Duan Ling, pretending to cry.
“Thank you, Second Brother Duan.”
The more he acted this way, the more she hated him because he possessed what she didn’t.
Little Duan Ling turned to look at the lake, calmly saying,
“Little Sister Lin Qi, don’t be too sad either. As you said, the dead cannot be brought back to
life. The living must take care of themselves.”
She nodded repeatedly.
The pavilion fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of the wind rustling the curtains.
Having “calmed down,” Little Lin Ting leaned over to look at the book in his hand, speaking in an innocent tone that betrayed no hint of jealousy or hatred.
“By the way, Second Brother Duan, why are you reading here alone?”
Little Duan Ling stroked the ancient book on the table, the corner of the paper lightly scraping his skin.
“I just felt like reading.”
With that, he stood up and walked to the railing, looking down at the many fish swimming in the lake.
As she watched his back, a sudden, wicked, and foolish impulse came over her: she wanted to push him into the water.
At the moment Little Lin Ting raised her hand, the goodness deep within her heart stopped her, temporarily suppressing the villainess’s instincts, and her hands froze mid-air.
What Little Lin Ting didn’t know was that her every move was reflected on the water’s surface.
Little Duan Ling, with his back to her, could see it all.
After a long while, she lowered her hands.
Just as she lowered her hands, he turned around and walked towards her calmly, a thin silver needle hidden in his sleeve.
“Little Sister Lin Qi.”
Little Lin Ting avoided his gaze, quietly hiding the hands that had almost pushed him into the water behind her back, and ran out.
“Second Brother Duan, Lingyun might be awake. I should go back to her. See you another time.”
Their next meeting was several years later, during her second visit to the Duan family.
To please Duan Xinning, Lin Ting played a boring game of hide-and-seek with her and accidentally wandered into a courtyard.
In the middle of the courtyard, a handsome but frail young man was kneeling under the scorching sun, his thin clothes soaked with sweat.
Lin Ting stood to the side, staring at the young man’s face for a while, thinking that Duan Xinning’s second brother, Duan Ling, had grown even more handsome, surpassing all the noble young men she had seen in the capital.
But what good was Duan Ling’s good looks?
He wasn’t even worthy of licking her feet.
She stared at him for a few more moments.
Why was Duan Ling being punished?
Duan Xinning often bragged to her about how capable he was, and both Duan’s father and Lady Feng had high hopes for him.
Regardless, seeing Duan Ling being punished made Lin Ting happy.
So what if he was outstanding?
So what if he was born into a noble family?
He still had to be punished, just like her.
Lin Ting walked over.
“Second Brother Duan, why are you kneeling here?”
Duan Ling replied,
“I’m being punished.”
“Being punished?”
Lin Ting deliberately walked in front of Duan Ling, making it look like he was kneeling to her.
“Second Brother Duan, why are you being punished?”
He seemed unaware of this detail.
“I made a mistake and deserve to be punished.”
During a martial arts training session,
Duan Ling had almost killed someone because he became excited at the sight of blood and pain.
Not many people knew about this, and even Lady Feng had been kept in the dark by Duan’s father.
Lin Ting didn’t ask for details.
She fetched a bowl of water, took a few sips in secret, and then brought it to Duan Ling, offering him the remaining water.
“It’s so hot. Have some water.”
Duan Ling’s hands remained at his sides.
He said,
“I appreciate your kindness, Little Sister Lin Qi. My father has ordered me to kneel for a day and night without food or water.”
Lin Ting ignored him and tried to feed him the water.
“If you don’t drink water while kneeling for a day and night, you’ll faint. Just one sip, just one.”
Duan Ling had been whipped and had been kneeling for half a day.
He couldn’t use force against her here, so he allowed her to pour some water into
his mouth.
The rest of the water spilled onto his collar and flowed down his neck.
Finally, he turned his face away to avoid more.
Duan Ling’s usually gentle face now showed a hint of killing intent.
“Little Sister Lin Qi.”
After succeeding, Lin Ting slowly moved the bowl away and took out a handkerchief to wipe the water off him.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to give you some water.”
He was only worthy of drinking the water she had left behind.
In the future, she would trample him under her feet and humiliate him.
Just then, Duan Ling, who had lost too much blood from the whipping, fainted.
He didn’t have time to poison Lin Ting and instead fell into her arms.
Lin Ting smelled a pleasant scent of sandalwood and was momentarily dazed.
She instinctively pushed Duan Ling away but suddenly remembered that the servants had seen her bringing him water.
If something happened to him, it would be troublesome.
She regretted not avoiding the servants when bringing the water.
What a nuisance.
Her motion to push him away turned into supporting him.
She pretended to panic and called out,
“Someone! Second Brother Duan has fainted!”
Moments later, the servants carried Duan Ling into his room and called for a doctor.
The incident alarmed Lady Feng, who rushed over.
After confirming that his life wasn’t in danger, she relaxed.
Hearing from the servants that Lin Ting had discovered his fainting and “saved” him, she was deeply grateful and sent her a gift.
Seeing that there were benefits, Lin Ting acted thoroughly, pretending to be very concerned about Duan Ling’s well-being and constantly asking about his condition, making everyone believe that this young girl was kind-hearted.
Lady Feng, seeing Lin Ting’s concern, asked her to wait in the outer room for a while until he woke up.
Lin Ting, who had overacted:She had no choice but to agree and wait obediently in the outer room for Duan Ling to wake up.
Not long after, she fell asleep on the table.
As dusk approached, Duan Ling woke up, but Lin Ting was still asleep.
When he lifted the curtain to the outer room, he saw her sleeping on the table.
Her long red silk ribbon hung over her shoulder, swaying slightly with her breathing.
A servant entered from the courtyard, delighted to see Duan Ling awake.
He turned to inform Lady Feng and then noticed Lin Ting sleeping while waiting in the outer room.
The servant whispered,
“Second Young Master, it was Miss Lin Qi who saved you. She was worried about your well-being and insisted on staying to wait for you to wake up.”
Duan Ling asked, “What did you say?”
The servant hurriedly repeated,
“It was Miss Lin Qi who saved you. She was worried about your well-being and insisted on staying to wait for you to wake up.”
She was worried about his well-being?
Duan Ling didn’t believe it.
Someone who had wanted to push him into the water when they were children couldn’t possibly be genuinely concerned about his well-being.
She must have had another reason for saving him today.
It certainly wasn’t out of concern for his safety.
Duan Ling walked over to Lin Ting, blocking the servant’s view with his body.
He had poison hidden in his fingers.
A single touch would ensure her death in three days, with no trace of the cause.
Just as he was about to act, she grabbed his wrist and mumbled,
“Tao Zhu, don’t disturb my sleep.”
Still half-asleep, she thought she was at home.
The servant, seeing this, tactfully spoke up,
“Miss Lin Qi, the Second Young Master is awake.”
She immediately let go of Duan Ling’s hand and stood up.
“Second Brother Duan, you’re awake.”
At that moment, Lin Ting’s eyes were overly bright.
Duan Ling’s fingertips twitched slightly, suddenly remembering the feeling of fainting earlier,
falling into an embrace filled with the scent of a young woman.
She hadn’t pushed him away but had instead supported him.
Seeing that he was awake, Lin Ting didn’t stay long and soon left.
She was tired from acting all day.
She returned to the Lin family and fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed.
***
The dream ended there, and the chirping of birds woke Lin Ting.
She opened her eyes but didn’t get up immediately.
Instead, she lay there, dazed, wondering why she had dreamed about those unbearable past events.
Lin Ting had always remembered these things but didn’t like to recall them because they were actions driven by her villainess persona.
She had done many bad things, and now her dreams wouldn’t let her forget.
But honestly, before she awakened, she had been quite cruel to Duan Ling.
Wait, how had she fallen asleep?
And why had she slept until the middle of the night?
Lin Ting remembered: Duan Ling had used her knockout powder to knock her out.
The effect lasted for an hour.
How infuriating.
Wait, where was he?
Lin Ting quickly got up to look for him and shouted.
“Duan Ling!”
She was very angry now, so she no longer called him “Lord Duan” and even wanted to punch him.
What had she done wrong to make him knock her out?
She leaned over the edge of the pool, peering inside.
Could Duan Ling still be in the water?
“Duan Ling,” she called again.
Lin Ting looked around the pool, puzzled.
Could Duan Ling have left the place alone?
Probably not.
He might have gone back to the cave, but would he really leave her unconscious here?
Actually, that was something Duan Ling would do.
Just as she decided to head back to the cave to look for him, there was a movement in the pool.
Sure enough, Duan Ling emerged.
“Why did you drug me?” she demanded.
“I know you didn’t want me to see you when you were ill, but I said I could turn away. If you didn’t want me to hear, you could have covered my ears.”
Duan Ling looked at her without saying a word.
During the hour Lin Ting had been unconscious, Duan Ling’s desires had been churning, and they hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
Now, seeing her expressive face, his cravings grew even stronger, like a hundred claws scratching at his heart.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Lin Ting had been talking nonstop, but seeing him silent, she felt like she was performing a monologue.
[Congratulations, Host, mission accomplished.]
Lin Ting:
“???”
What did I do? Is the system malfunctioning?
While Lin Ting was utterly confused, Duan Ling slightly straightened up, leaned in, and kissed her as she still lay by the pool.
His scorching breath and the scent of agarwood seeped into her mouth through their pressed lips.
Duan Ling actively kissed Lin Ting, mimicking her earlier gesture by catching her tongue with his.
Lin Ting’s eyes widened in shock.
Lin Ting forgot the most important rule: all men are beasts.