Chapter 72: Shampoo (1/2)

Lin Ting didn’t dare to move recklessly.

She was uncertain whether Duan Ling’s previous movement was made in his sleep or if he had actually woken up.

If it was the former, any sudden movement from her would rouse him.

If it was the latter… well, there was nothing she could do about it.

She hoped it was the former, so she could take the opportunity to get dressed while Duan Ling was still asleep.

Last night, they had slept naked, and her clothes were placed outside the bed.

She couldn’t just put them on immediately; she would have to get past him to retrieve them.

Holding her breath, she glanced up.

They were lying face to face, and with just a slight lift of her eyes, she could see Duan Ling’s face.

His eyes were closed.

Fortunately, he was still asleep.

Lin Ting carefully extricated herself from Duan Ling’s embrace and was about to climb out when he moved again, even opening his eyes.

Startled, she quickly rolled back into the bed, pulling the long-discarded quilt over herself.

Duan Ling turned to look at her.

“Are you awake? You said sleeping naked might help with your insomnia. How did you sleep last night?”

It seemed he was unaware that she had rolled into his arms, and Lin Ting didn’t mention it either.

She wrapped herself tighter in the quilt, pretending to yawn as if she were very sleepy.

“Not well, not at all. This method didn’t work for me.”

“Didn’t work?”

She replied resolutely, “No, it didn’t. I didn’t sleep a wink all night. I’m exhausted.”

Even if she had slept well, she couldn’t say so.

She had to make it sound bad.

Duan Ling didn’t seem to doubt her at all.

“Then we’ll have to see a doctor.”

Lin Ting didn’t want to talk to Duan Ling while naked, nor did she want to crawl over him to get her clothes.

“Could you… bring my clothes in for me?”

Duan Ling looked at her, got out of bed, and picked up the clothes and skirts that were folded outside the bed.

“Sure.”

The bellyband was tucked deep inside the clothes, usually out of sight, but as Duan Ling picked them up, the folds loosened slightly, revealing a glimpse of the red fabric of the bellyband, with a corner peeking out and brushing against his hanging fingers.

Lin Ting’s face flushed.

It was partly because she saw Duan Ling touch her intimate garment, and partly because she saw that which had once been a pet in her palm, now standing erect in the morning.

Duan Ling approached with the clothes and skirts.

Lin Ting reached out from under the quilt to take them, but before her fingers could touch them, Duan Ling grasped her hand, sat beside her, and pulled the quilt over her, covering what he considered to be an ugly part.

“Do you dislike it? Do you think it’s too ugly?”

This was a difficult question to answer.

To say she liked it felt strange, but to say she didn’t like it was also impossible.

Lin Ting glanced at him subconsciously and chose a neutral response:

“It’s not ugly.”

Duan Ling looked at her.

“Not ugly?”

He had always thought it was an ugly thing, an uncontrollable and ugly thing.

Yet, this very thing always yearned for beauty, and he had indulged it.

Lin Ting nodded.

Perhaps it was because Duan Ling’s things took after him, able to subtly charm people into thinking it was innocent and harmless, lowering their guard.

She hesitated and said, “In my eyes, it’s not ugly.”

Duan Ling, noticing she didn’t answer his first question, rephrased it:

“Then do you detest it?”

There was no avoiding it now.

Lin Ting hung her head, not looking at him:

“I don’t detest it.”

It was the truth.

If she truly detested something, she probably wouldn’t even glance at it.

It just needed a little more time to fully accept it in reality.

Even keeping a pet required an adjustment period, and this was no different.

Lin Ting stole a glance at it, but saw nothing, as it was covered.

Duan Ling brushed away the stray hairs from Lin Ting’s face and observed her expression:

“Since you don’t think it’s ugly and you don’t detest it, why won’t you touch it?”

Lin Ting’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I haven’t touched it?”

What did he mean by her not wanting to touch it?

She had touched it before, hadn’t she?

He still held her hair, not letting go for a long while:

“You’re not willing to touch it now.”

Lin Ting: “You want me to touch it now?”

Duan Ling released her hair, his tone low: “Are you willing?”

Lin Ting realized something: Duan Ling seemed to trust her a great deal, not fearing that she would harm him in any way.

For someone as suspicious as he was, this level of trust was surprising.

Lin Ting’s fingers twitched, but in the end, she chose the same method she had used with it at Moonlight Pavilion—her hand.

Familiarity breeds comfort.

However, a strand of her hair accidentally got splashed with water, and Duan Ling used a handkerchief to dry it for her, his eyes lowered as if filled with remorse: “I’m sorry.”

She took the handkerchief and wiped herself dry.

Duan Ling looked at her long hair, still damp with water:

“I’ll wash your hair later.”

“Really? You’ll wash my hair?”

“Yes.” Duan Ling was a man of his word.

After tidying up and going out, he personally brought in a basin of water.

While he was fetching the water, Lin Ting had also tidied herself up and was still drying her hair with the handkerchief:

“You really are going to wash my hair?”

In modern times, Lin Ting had been to a hair salon to have her hair washed, but after coming to this ancient world through the book, she had only let maids and Li Jingqiu wash her hair.

Otherwise, she did it herself.

Duan Ling took hold of her long hair: “What’s wrong with me washing your hair?”

He was an ancient person, a nobleman who had been pampered since childhood, a high-ranking Imperial Guard.

Would he really wash someone else’s hair?

After all, washing one’s own hair was different from washing someone else’s.

Lin Ting forced a smile: “There’s nothing wrong with it.”

She was just a little worried that he might poke her eyes or get soap suds in them.

Duan Ling led Lin Ting to a reclining chair near the windowsill and had her lie down, then brought the water to the back of the chair.

The water was scented with crushed spices, and as soon as her long hair touched the water, it absorbed the fragrance, overpowering the smell of the stone nanhua.

Duan Ling picked up the soapberry and applied it to her hair, gently rubbing it between his fingers, watching as the foam formed and dripped from his fingertips.

As soon as Lin Ting lay down, she closed her eyes, fearing that they might get “hurt.”

But Duan Ling’s hair-washing was so gentle that neither foam nor water splashed into her eyes.

Lin Ting thought for a moment, then slowly opened her eyes, meeting his face above her.

Duan Ling’s expression was focused, as if he were doing something important.

She couldn’t help but look at him.

Duan Ling’s gaze shifted from Lin Ting’s long hair to her eyes, which were fixed on him.

He stopped washing her hair, the foam still dripping from his palm:

“Did I make you uncomfortable?”

Lin Ting averted her eyes: “I’m very comfortable.”

After speaking, she felt the conversation was ambiguous and added, “You’re washing my hair very comfortably.”

Duan Ling then resumed stroking her long hair, pressing his fingertips deep into the roots, close to the scalp.

It was inevitable that foam and water would flow over her ears as they were close to her hair.

As Duan Ling wiped away the foam and water from behind her ear, he also brushed past her ear, reminding Lin Ting of the times he had kissed her there.

They had been intimate quite a few times, and many things could trigger those memories.

Lin Ting’s body tensed.

Duan Ling seemed not to notice Lin Ting’s abnormality.

After wiping away the foam and water from behind her ear, he continued to wash her hair, rinsing it thoroughly three times with water.

When he touched the hair on her forehead, his fingers traced across it, leaving a few droplets of water.

Lin Ting raised her hand to wipe it away, but she touched Duan Ling’s hand, which was also reaching to dry it for her.

He gently held her hand before wiping away the few droplets of water.

“Done,” Duan Ling gathered Lin Ting’s wet hair and wrapped it in a piece of gauze.

Lin Ting sat up: “Thanks.”

Duan Ling didn’t dry his wet hands with a handkerchief and stood beside Lin Ting:

“It’s only right that I wash your hair since I’m the one who made it dirty.”

His “ugliness” had lost control in front of her.

Lin Ting fell silent and stood by the windowsill, letting the wind dry her hair.

Today was the day to return to her family home, and they needed to set off before the hour of Si.

Fortunately, they had woken up early; otherwise, who knows when they would have been able to leave.

Once her hair was dry, Lin Ting called Tao Zhu to come and help her with her makeup and dressing.

She knew Li Jingqiu wanted her to live well, so she couldn’t be too casual on her return visit.

She had to dress up to make Li Jingqiu happy.

Tao Zhu was quick and had her ready in no time.

At noon, the carriage stopped outside the main gate of the Lin residence.

Duan Ling got out first and then helped Lin Ting out.

Although Lin Ting didn’t really need help, with so many people from the Lin family watching, she took his hand and stepped down using the footstool.

The idea of the Duan family marrying into the Lin family was something Lin’s third uncle had never dreamed of.

The second son of the Duan family had actually become his son-in-law.

For the first time, Lin’s third uncle took an interest in Lin Ting’s affairs and remembered that today was her return visit.

He had left early with some people to wait.

Lin’s first uncle, second uncle, fourth uncle, and their wives and children were also there.

To exaggerate a bit, almost everyone from the Lin residence was present, except for the old matriarch who was ill and couldn’t be exposed to the wind.

They were aware that the Duan family wielded power in the court and hoped that the Duan family would help advance their own children.

Lin Ting glanced at them.

During festivals in the past, she might not have seen so many “relatives,” but today she did.

What’s more, they all pretended to be very familiar with her, calling her “Le Yun” one after another.

Indeed, whether in modern times or in ancient times, the allure of power and money was immense.

But this power and money were not hers; they belonged to Duan Ling.

The person they truly feared was not her either.

Lin Ting was also thinking about her mission reward package, wondering if she could choose her own rewards.

After they called out to her, they also called out to Duan Ling.

Duan Ling smiled but remained silent.

Lin’s third uncle pushed past the others and approached Duan Ling as a father-in-law: “Ziyu…”

However, before he could finish his sentence, he was bumped aside by Li Jingqiu.

If it weren’t for Aunt Shen holding him up, he would have been knocked flying.

She cheerfully took Lin Ting and Duan Ling by the hand and led them into the residence.

The Duan family’s servants, who had come with them, unloaded the return gifts from the carriage and brought them into the Lin residence.

The return gifts included food as well as gold and silver jewelry, even more than the dowry Li Jingqiu had prepared for Lin Ting, leaving everyone agape.

Li Jingqiu turned around and called for the Duan family’s servants to bring the gifts into her courtyard.

Lin’s third uncle, who had been about to step forward, stopped in his tracks and could only watch helplessly as the pile of gold and jewels was carried away.

As the “father-in-law,” Lin’s third uncle couldn’t get close to Lin Ting and Duan Ling, nor could anyone else.

Li Jingqiu’s fiery temper was well-known in the Lin family.

They didn’t like her, but they didn’t dare provoke her either.

Li Jingqiu didn’t care what they thought of her; she only cared about Lin Ting and Duan Ling in front of her.

After entering the residence, Li Jingqiu didn’t linger in the main hall but went straight to Tingling Courtyard, thinking that Lin Ting would be more comfortable in her own yard.

Duan Ling had never been to the courtyard where Lin Ting lived and couldn’t help but take a few extra looks.

Lin Ting’s courtyard was somewhat like her personality.

The decorations were all in bright colors, like a ray of sunshine piercing straight into one’s heart.

There was a swing on the right side of the courtyard.

Although no one was sitting on it now, Duan Ling could easily imagine Lin Ting sitting on it, laughing and swinging high.

Duan Ling walked into the house and soon saw a wooden rack filled with clay figurines.