The kiss was light, like a fallen leaf touching the surface of the water, sending ripples spreading outward, one ring after another.
Her fingers still clutched the front of Gu Moran's robe, her knuckles aching faintly from the strain, yet she couldn't bring herself to let go.
Gu Moran pulled back an inch, his nose brushing hers, his breath spilling over the corner of her lips.
"Scared?"
Shen Ling'er said nothing, her chest heaving as though she had just surfaced from underwater to catch a breath.
"If you won't answer, I'll take that as a no."
"You... you're pushing your luck."
"You were the one who stopped struggling first."
Gu Moran's voice was low, like the night breeze squeezing through a crack in the window, carrying a languor that made her legs go weak.
He put out the lamp.
Shen Ling'er bit her lower lip. Her heart was beating too fast.
"Gu Moran, light the lamp."
"What for?"
"I can't see a thing."
"That's better."
His hand slid from her jaw to the side of her neck, his palm against the thin layer of skin there. He could feel her pulse beating fast and erratically beneath it.
"Your pulse is more honest than your mouth."
Shen Ling'er turned her head to dodge him, but his palm cupped the back of her neck. His grip was gentle, as though he were holding a frightened little animal, keeping her from escaping without hurting her.
"Don't hide."
"Let go."
"Answer a question first."
"What question?"
He didn't speak immediately. His thumb slowly stroked the hairline at the back of her neck. Her skin was as delicate as an early-spring peach petal, and the feel of it made his fingertips tighten slightly.
"Will you stay here tonight?"
Shen Ling'er's breath stopped for an instant. In the darkness, she couldn't see his expression, but she could feel his gaze resting on her face, weighty and carrying a seriousness he had never shown before.
"I... I'm already here, aren't I?"
"That's not what I meant."
Of course she knew that wasn't what he meant.
"You're bullying me."
"I haven't even started."
The words set Shen Ling'er's ears burning. She raised a hand to push against his chest, but the moment her palm touched the fabric, he caught her wrist with his other hand.
His fingers circled her wrist, neither tight nor loose, like a warm bracelet.
"Your hand is so cold. Are you nervous?"
"Of course not."
"Then you're trembling."
"I'm cold."
"Cold?"
He gave a low chuckle, nearly soundless, just a slight vibration in his chest that traveled through her palm and into her bones.
"Then I'll warm you."
He pulled her hand closer, laid his palm over its back, and laced their fingers together before tucking them under the quilt.
He drew Shen Ling'er over onto her side, enclosing her between the crook of his arm and his chest. Her back pressed so tightly against him that even the folds in their clothes were flattened.
She could feel his body heat seeping through two layers of clothing, so warm that it was like being immersed in a pool of heated water.
"You're too close."
"I can get closer."
His chin rested in the hollow of her shoulder, his lips brushing her earlobe. Every word he spoke seemed to linger in his mouth before he let it out.
"You smell lovely."
"I used scented balm."
"It's not the scent of balm."
"Then what is it?"
He didn't answer. He merely buried his face against the skin of her neck, his nose gliding from behind her ear to her shoulder, as though searching for the most fragrant part of a flower.
Shen Ling'er's shoulders flinched. A ticklish, tingling sensation crept up her spine, and she bit her lip, afraid to make a sound.
"Don't bite your lip."
"How do you know I'm biting it?"
"I heard it."
"Heard what?"
"Your breathing changes when you bite your lip. You take short breaths, as if you're holding something back."
Shen Ling'er's eyes suddenly grew warm. It wasn't grievance; an emotion she couldn't name swelled in her chest, tightening her throat.
Gu Moran's fingertips touched the tie at her waist. The thin cord's knot lay beneath his fingers like a tiny barrier.
"May I?"
Shen Ling'er buried her face in the pillow, her voice muffled, as though squeezed out through cotton.
"How am I supposed to answer that?"
"If you don't answer, I won't move."
"...You know perfectly well I can't say it."
"Then nod."
She buried her face deeper, her forehead pressed against the pillow. A long time passed, so long that he thought she wouldn't respond, before he felt her head move ever so slightly against it.
The movement was as small as half a beat of a butterfly's wing.
Gu Moran's breathing grew heavier for a beat. His fingers slowly pulled the tie open, and the silken fabric loosened an inch, revealing a stretch of skin on her shoulder, so white it was nearly translucent.
"Your shoulders are trembling."
"I'm scared."
"Of me?"
"I'm afraid you'll laugh at me."
He pressed his lips to her shoulder. It wasn't a kiss, just a gentle touch, as though he were using their warmth to seal away the chill on her exposed skin.
"From the first day you came to me, I haven't laughed at you."
Shen Ling'er turned over and reached out in the darkness. Her fingers touched his face, found his brow, then slid down to his eyelashes.
Their breaths mingled in that small space, impossible to tell apart.
Her outer robe fell onto the edge of the bed, and her inner garment slipped down to her elbows. His fingers hooked the collar of the last thin layer of underclothing and stopped at her collarbone.
"One last time: do you want me to stop?"
Shen Ling'er's hand climbed to his neck, her fingers threading into the long hair that spilled over his shoulders. She summoned all the courage she had ever possessed.
"If you stop now, I won't know you tomorrow."
Gu Moran laughed, truly laughed. The sound fell against her collarbone, sending a tingle through her whole body.
"Then I won't stop."
Moonlight spilled through the gaps in the window lattice, laying a thin veil of silver-white over their overlapping shadows.
The bed curtains fell, shutting out all the light and the words that could no longer be spoken.
At some point, the insects outside the window fell silent, and even the night breeze held its breath. Between heaven and earth, it seemed only the heartbeats of the two people inside the curtains remained.
Each beat grew heavier, each closer, until at last they joined in the same rhythm.
That rhythm continued all night, until the first fish-belly white appeared in the east, when it slowly, slowly settled into stillness.
Cui'er waited all night at the Green Vine Courtyard.
She waited from the hour of the dog to the hour of the pig, from the hour of the pig to the hour of the rat, and from the hour of the rat to the hour of the tiger.
She swept the fallen leaves in the courtyard twice, wiped down the bottles on the medicine shelf, and folded the quilt, spread it out, then folded it again.
Three quarters into the hour of the tiger, she leaned against the window and looked toward the study.
The light was still on.
"What on earth is Miss doing?"
She had asked herself that question all night, never once daring to let her thoughts stray in that direction.
As dawn approached, the door to the Green Vine Courtyard was pushed open from outside.
Cui'er sprang from her chair.
Shen Ling'er walked in, her steps much slower than usual. She had a man's outer robe draped over her shoulders, dark blue-green with the subtle patterns of Prince Yi's Residence embroidered on the collar.
Her own moon-white dress was underneath. Half her hair had come loose, and her hairpin tilted to one side.
Cui'er's mouth fell as wide open as it could.
"Madam, you-"
"Don't ask."
Shen Ling'er walked past her to the bed and burrowed under the quilt, pulling it above the tip of her nose so that only her eyes showed.
Cui'er hurried after her.
"Madam, would you like some water?"
"No."
"Would you like to wash up?"
"No."
"Then would you like-"
"Cui'er, go out."
Cui'er backed toward the door, resting a hand on the frame.
She took one last look at the pair of eyes peeking out from the quilt.
The whites were streaked with red, but their curved shape could not be suppressed.
After the door closed, Shen Ling'er buried her face in the pillow.
Her fingers clutched the corner of the quilt, her knuckles tightening.
The pillow muffled a sound; it was impossible to tell whether it was laughter or something else.
After a long while, she stretched a hand out from under the quilt and touched her earlobe.
It was no longer hot.
But her heartbeat was still pounding in her ears.
In the study.
Gu Moran sat at the table, the teacup in front of him already empty.
Two cup marks remained on the tabletop.
He no longer had his outer robe on-he had given it to Ling'er to wear.
A string of data popped up on the system panel in the upper right corner.
[Shen Ling'er's affection: +48 (↑40), source of fluctuation: non-strategic emotional interaction triggered a breakthrough of the deep trust threshold. Core evaluation upgraded from "interesting opponent" to "someone worth getting close to."]
Forty points.
In one night, he had gained more than all the previous increases combined.
He stared at the number for two seconds.
The panel scrolled down.
There was a line of red text at the bottom.
[Warning: the consummation event will cause emotional fluctuations among the other five beauties. Affection is expected to decrease across the board.]
He looked at the line, leaned back in his chair, and picked up his cup for a sip.
The cup was empty.
"So moist. That was worth it."
He got up and found a clean set of clothes to change into.
When he reached the doorway, he paused.
Beyond the crack in the door, the sound of a door opening came from the direction of the Clear Frost Courtyard.
Su Yao's maid Biyu emerged from the entrance to the Clear Frost Courtyard, carrying a bowl of morning tea.
The path she took happened to pass right by the study door.