Shen Ling'er took a forceful step back, striking the table's edge with her lower back.
A teacup jumped on the tabletop, spilling a few drops of tea.
Her face reddened from her ears down to her neck, and her mouth hung open for a long moment.
"Y-you! Why did you pinch my ear?"
Gu Moran chuckled, with neither teasing nor smugness in his laughter. It was a relaxed sort of laugh.
"Ling'er."
"Don't call me that!"
"If you want to leave, the door is behind you."
The tip of Shen Ling'er's shoe touched a chair leg.
She didn't leave.
With her head lowered, her fingers clenched and unclenched inside her sleeve, then clenched again.
Scenes from the past few days flooded chaotically into her mind-he had exposed the osmanthus cake on the spot and blown the incense back at her. Every time she laid a trap, he had turned over her hidden cards.
But he had never punished her.
He hadn't even said a harsh word to her.
After a long while.
"I... don't want to leave."
Her voice was so faint that even the chirping insects outside the window could drown it out.
"What did you say?"
"I said I don't want to leave! Are you deaf?"
When she raised her head, a film of moisture covered her eyes, but not a single tear fell. She held them all back.
She took a step forward.
Gu Moran didn't move.
Another step.
Only the width of a teacup remained between them.
She reached out and grabbed him by the collar.
"Gu Moran."
"Mm."
"I changed outfits three times before I came here today."
"The first was too red, the second was too formal, and in the end I chose this white one."
"It looks good."
"You weren't even looking!"
"Moon-white, a plain silver hairpin, no dangling ornaments, half your hair down, and the lock on the right an inch longer than the one on the left."
Shen Ling'er's mouth closed.
The fingers clutching his collar loosened a little, then tightened again.
After two breaths of silence, she let go, took half a step back, and lowered her head.
"Husband."
"Mm."
"Mother Consort said today that you live a tiring life. I came back and thought about it all afternoon."
She raised her head, her round eyes looking straight at him.
"Is there anyone around you that you don't have to guard against?"
When those words stabbed into him, it wasn't Shen Ling'er's face that flashed through Gu Moran's mind.
It was the twelve golden pillars on the system panel, and the gray line at the very bottom, pressed against the ground.
Every day when he woke and opened his eyes, the first thing he did was calculate-what he should say to whom, what expression he should wear, and what move he should make.
"There wasn't before."
"What about now?"
He didn't answer.
He reached out and tucked the lock of Shen Ling'er's hair that was an inch longer than the one on the left behind her right ear.
His fingers brushed the curve of her ear.
Shen Ling'er's breath stopped for a beat.
"Husband, don't treat me like a chess piece."
"Who's treating you like a chess piece?"
"I'm serious."
"I know."
Gu Moran withdrew his hand and set it on the table.
"Ling'er, if you stay here tonight, the entire prince's residence will know tomorrow."
"I know."
"Su Yao will know, Lin Qingdai will know, and Murong Xue will know too."
"I'm not afraid."
"Have you thought it through?"
Shen Ling'er sniffed.
"If I hadn't, I would have changed those three outfits for nothing."
She rose on tiptoe and touched a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
It wasn't an accident. She had done it on purpose.
Afterward, she was the first to blush, her whole face burning hot enough to fry an egg.
Gu Moran stood where he was, a trace of warmth lingering at the corner of his mouth.
He reached out and dimmed the candle on the table a little.
The light in the study turned a dusky yellow.
Shen Ling'er's voice was muffled.
"Gu Moran, what exactly do you feel for me?"
There was a moment of silence.
"Do you like me?"
The system panel flickered in the corner of his vision, and a line of gray text appeared.
[The beauty's core emotional threshold is approaching its breakthrough point. Host is advised to give a positive emotional response to maximize affection gains-]
Gu Moran dismissed the line in his mind.
Not because of the system's advice.
"Of course I like you."
"You answered too quickly. I don't believe you."
"Then what would make you believe me?"
Shen Ling'er stared into his eyes for two seconds.
"Kiss me."
Gu Moran's eyebrow twitched.
"I said, kiss me once, and I'll believe you."
Her voice trembled as she spoke, but she stared at him without blinking, a tiny flame reflected in her round pupils.
Gu Moran looked down at her for two breaths.
Then he bent down.
His lips landed between her brows and lingered for a moment.
They slid down to the tip of her nose.
Finally, they landed on her lips.
It wasn't the kind of kiss that ended at a touch. He stayed there, with a hint of tentativeness, unlike the way he usually did anything.
Shen Ling'er's fingers gripped the front of his robe tightly.
She closed her eyes.
When Gu Moran drew back, her eyes were still closed.
"Ling'er."
She said nothing.
"Open your eyes."
She didn't.
"If you still won't open them, I'll take it to mean you want another kiss."
Shen Ling'er's eyes flew open.
"Y-you're giving yourself an inch and taking a mile."
"You're the one who told me to kiss you."
"I only said once. You kissed me three times."
"The ones on your forehead and nose don't count."
"How do they not count?"
"Because I wanted to kiss you."
Shen Ling'er was speechless.
Gu Moran took her hand and stepped toward the inner room.
Shen Ling'er hesitated.
But she didn't pull her hand free.
She followed him.
The door to the inner room closed behind them.
He was still holding her hand, and her palm was slick with sweat.
Gu Moran went to adjust the wick of the bronze lamp in the corner. The light flickered twice, illuminating the twin lotus blossoms embroidered on the bed curtains.
Shen Ling'er's gaze traveled around the room before settling on the made bed.
Two pillows lay side by side.
"Who made this bed?"
"The steward."
"How did he know to put out two pillows?"
"Because I told him to."
Shen Ling'er's ears burned, but she refused to back down.
"So you had this planned long ago."
"You changed outfits three times before coming to see me. Who made plans earlier?"
She was stumped. She simply turned her back to him and stared at the landscape painting on the wall.
Soft footsteps sounded behind her.
Gu Moran stopped behind her, close enough for her to smell the pine-ink scent on his clothes.
"Scared?"
"Who's scared?"
"Your back is trembling."
"I'm cold."
His hand came to rest lightly on her shoulder, the warmth of his palm passing through the thin fabric.
"Turn around."
She didn't move.
His hand slid from her shoulder to her wrist, his thumb pressing against her pulse.
"Your heart is beating so fast."
"Stop touching me-"
"Do you want me to let go?"
Shen Ling'er bit her lip and didn't answer.
Two breaths passed.
"No."
Gu Moran chuckled, his breath brushing her ear.
"Then turn around."
She slowly turned halfway, keeping her eyes lowered and refusing to look up.
He raised his other hand, pressed the pad of his finger against her chin, and gently lifted her face.
Their eyes met.
Shen Ling'er saw clearly what was in his eyes. It wasn't the aloofness of someone who had calculated everything during the day. It was a different kind of warmth, the kind that had been suppressed for a long time.
"Your eyes are red." Her voice was faint.
"It's the lamplight."
"The lamplight is warm yellow. What I see in your eyes isn't."
His thumb slid from her chin to the corner of her mouth, brushing that small patch of soft flesh. It lingered for a moment before he drew it back.
Shen Ling'er rubbed her nose against his chest, her voice soft and delicate.
"Gu Moran."
"Mm."
"You're not allowed to go around smiling at other people anymore."
"All right."
He drew his arms together, pulling her into his embrace, and rested his chin on top of her head.
"Then take your time believing me tonight."
Shen Ling'er clutched the fabric over his chest.
"Does this count as coaxing me?"
"It does."
"Then will you coax me like this from now on?"
"That depends on whether you behave."
"When have I ever misbehaved?"
"Right now. I told you to let go, and you wouldn't. I told you to move away, and you wouldn't."
"That's because you were holding me and wouldn't let me go."
"I was holding you, but did you struggle?"
Shen Ling'er clamped her mouth shut.
The answer was all too obvious. She hadn't struggled even once.
When his lips came down, it was as though something had been set alight in Shen Ling'er's mind, burning from between her brows all the way down her back.