Chapter 24

Shi Changyuan pulled Lin Ling into his arms, stroking the corner of his eyes as he kept asking softly, "Why can't you bear to leave me? Is it because I treat you well, or because..."

You like me.

Held in Shi Changyuan's embrace, Lin Ling could feel that pounding heartbeat too, and his own heart began to race along with it.

"Thump, thump, thump—"

"I..." Lin Ling's throat was dry, and he was so nervous he could barely speak.

He tried to trace it back and find the reason, but what other reason could there be?

Whenever he encountered something novel, happy, sad, or troubling, he simply wanted to share it with the other person right away. He had grown accustomed to having him by his side.

Whenever he tossed and turned in bed, he simply wished to fall into a warm embrace.

He simply felt happy whenever he saw him.

It was simply—

Liking him.

Lin Ling suddenly understood and reached an immensely significant conclusion: he liked Shi Changyuan.

It seemed to have started long ago, but he had never noticed. When they had been separated, that feeling had suddenly erupted.

Mushroom had figured it out.

Lin Ling's eyes lit up. Just as he abruptly lifted his head to announce this news to Shi Changyuan, he looked into those deep, dark eyes again.

Those eyes held exactly the same feelings as his own, already spilling out beyond concealment.

"You knew?"

Mushroom had never been this clever before. He felt that when it came to falling in love, he was practically a natural talent.

He had only just understood love, yet he had instinctively figured out three things.

First, he liked Shi Changyuan.

Second, Shi Changyuan definitely liked him too.

Third, Shi Changyuan seemed to have discovered long ago that he liked him.

He had done it on purpose.

Including this step-by-step pressure now, as well as all those things before—when he had made Lin Ling think his spores were leaking—it had all been part of his plan!

This human was practically playing Mushroom in the palm of his hand!!!

Shi Changyuan watched the emotions in Lin Ling's eyes shift again and again. He had thought Lin Ling had finally caught on, but the person before him seemed to have gotten lost in some other train of thought, with a faintly gritted-teeth look on his face.

He sighed and pulled Lin Ling out of his arms. Just as he was about to give up and tell himself to take things slowly—

The other person suddenly said, "I know why I can't bear to leave you."

Lin Ling blinked, his face utterly innocent, without the slightest hint of whatever mischief he was plotting.

"Hm?" Shi Changyuan turned his head in astonishment to look at Lin Ling.

Lin Ling crooked a finger, signaling for Shi Changyuan to come closer.

Shi Changyuan bent down. Then he suddenly felt a bite on the side of his neck—not too hard, not enough to draw blood, but enough to definitely leave a mark.

"Why I can't bear to leave you? It's the answer you're thinking of. The answer you want most."

Lin Ling ground his completely blunt teeth together. This soft, floppy mushroom was rebellious to the bone. "But I don't want to say it now."

While Shi Changyuan was still stunned, Lin Ling shoved himself some distance away and bolted for the door.

He skipped all the way to the entrance of the Imperial Study and pushed open the doors. The spring breeze and sunlight were both just right, streaming into the Imperial Study through the open doors.

Leaning against the door, Lin Ling looked back at Shi Changyuan and gave a little huff.

"You really made me angry!"

Chapter 24

Lin Ling ran out of the Imperial Study and basked in the early spring sun for a while. Taking advantage of the fact that Shi Changyuan would not find him anytime soon, he pondered a mushroom-life matter of great importance.

The storybooks he had read before all said that when two people were in love, whoever was passive in the relationship, whoever was slow to catch on, would be easily bullied and thoroughly controlled!

He had to keep the initiative in his own hands.

Miss Liu had previously brought him quite a few storybooks. Some of the protagonists caught in love triangles were still foolishly clueless, not even realizing when others took advantage of them. But he was a smart mushroom. That absolutely could not happen to him.

With a resolute expression, Lin Ling ran back to his room.

Although he had already taken over Shi Changyuan's nest and slept in his bedchamber for quite some time, his own room had not been abandoned. Many storybooks Liu Xiangyu had secretly sent into the palace had all been hidden away by Lin Ling in his room.

Mushroom had gone into hibernation before, so Lin Ling had not yet had time to read most of the storybooks.

Miss Liu had sent word early on through someone else that she had carefully selected every one of them. Even if he did not like them, he absolutely should not throw them away. They might come in handy someday.

Half believing her, Lin Ling returned to his room and pulled out all the storybooks hidden beneath his bed. At the same time, he swiftly sent a carrier pigeon to the seemingly experienced Miss Liu, asking what humans generally did when they were in love.

He had to rehearse in advance so he would not lose all sense of proportion when the time came!

Lin Ling sat cross-legged on his bed, taking stock of the pile of booklets. He first looked over the titles one by one, trying to pick out the storybooks he urgently needed just by their names.

But some titles were too profound for Mushroom to infer their contents from the title alone. For instance, something like "Secret Spring" sounded like the title of a poetry collection.

Perhaps Miss Liu had accidentally mixed it up when sending the books over.

Lin Ling did not like poetry collections, so he tossed it aside.

Fortunately, he had already finished many of the books before, and could draw some experience from them.

Mushroom spread out the storybooks he had read before. Almost every cover bore four large words: "Peerless Tragic Love."

They were all romances where people loved each other to death and stabbed each other with knives.

Lin Ling: ...There did not seem to be anything worth using as a reference.

Mushroom had only just worked hard to compile quite a few negative examples when he heard the sound of palace servants outside paying their respects to Shi Changyuan.

Lin Ling hurriedly put the storybooks back into the wooden chest and tried to shove it beneath the bed again, but before he could, Shi Changyuan caught him red-handed.