“Sister, come and try some.” Qiang Ning entered the room carrying a plate of lychees she had peeled herself. She offered them to Lin Dongruan with an eager, expectant look, saying, “They are very sweet.”
Lin Dongruan lowered her gaze and recognized the rare fruit. “Where did these come from?”
Qiang Ning had already prepared her excuse, just waiting for her to ask. “A local squire from the town gave them. The medicine he got from the clinic the other day was very effective, and to thank you, Sister, he sent these… though I’m not sure what they are called.”
In Wusang Town, lychees were a rarity. Naturally, Lin Dongruan knew what they were. Her eyes swept over the plate in Qiang Ning’s hand as she said, “This fruit is hard to come by. You and Ruoruo should eat them. I no longer have any desire for fine food; it makes no difference whether I eat them or not.”
Qiang Ning stood there with the lychees, waiting for her to grace them with a taste, only to find that the other woman intended to leave them all for her and Ruoruo because they were so rare. How can this person be like this!
“Oh, Dr. Lin, with your benevolent healer’s heart—this is someone’s sincere gratitude, after all. How can you not eat even a single bite?” Qiang Ning simply had no way to deal with her. She finally grabbed the other woman’s shoulders and forced her to sit down to taste them. “They really are sweet. I’ve already had some.”
Lin Dongruan remained stubborn, insisting that the good things be left for the two younger ones.
“No, you must eat.” Qiang Ning thought to herself that she had spent so much effort peeling these lychees; if the other woman didn’t eat them, wouldn’t her hard work be wasted?
There weren’t many people in the world qualified to eat lychees peeled by her own hands, but Lin Dongruan was one of them. This was what one might call a royal favor; if it wasn’t accepted with gratitude, it would be an affront to her dignity as the Eldest Princess.
Without allowing further argument, Qiang Ning personally fed her. Bringing the fruit to her lips, she said, “Taste it.”
Lin Dongruan was confined to the chair with nowhere to retreat. She could only part her lips—Qiang Ning had removed the pits, leaving only the luscious fruit. Before she could even savor it, she tasted the sweet, honey-like juice.
Standing behind Lin Dongruan and looking down at her, Qiang Ning smiled and said, “See, I told you it was sweet…”
Before she could finish, Qiang Ning’s smile froze on her face. Her hand had not yet been withdrawn, and she suddenly felt a moist, soft warmth against her fingertips. Lin Dongruan had not only eaten the fruit but had also tasted her fingertip.
“Yes, sweet,” Lin Dongruan said with a hint of a tease in her smile. “A-Ning is also very sweet.”
She had done that on purpose.
Realizing this, Qiang Ning was momentarily stunned. A wave of immense joy flooded her heart. She could reach out and touch the person before her; it was so delightful.
If there were a bronze mirror nearby, Qiang Ning would have realized how brilliantly she was smiling. she couldn’t suppress the curve of her lips at all. Her eyes were dark and bright, like sparks in the night, burning with overflowing emotion.
Qiang Ning leaned halfway down, hugging Lin Dongruan with irrepressible joy. “Sister, I love you so much.”
She couldn’t hide her happiness, saying whatever came to mind like a headstrong and frank young girl.
Lin Dongruan raised a hand to stroke her cheek. With her back to her, her pale gray eyes were gentle and calm, but the smile on her lips faded slightly, becoming cold and clear—like the lingering scent of incense in a temple that was about to dissipate.
Drunk on joy, Qiang Ning didn’t notice her expression. She simply clung to Lin Dongruan like a needy little animal.
Lin Dongruan let her have her way. Instead of scolding her, she even indulged her closeness.
Qiang Ning was one to take an inch if given a mile; as long as the other didn’t speak up to stop her, she naturally took another step forward. “Sister, can I kiss you?”
Lin Dongruan doted on her without reason. Even though she didn’t explicitly say yes, she didn’t refuse her either. Qiang Ning’s eyes lit up as she stared down at Lin Dongruan. “I know Sister has always been fond of me and indulges me in everything.”
Hearing this, Lin Dongruan still said nothing. Instead, she leaned back slightly against the chair and tilted her chin up, revealing the clear lines of her neck.
Qiang Ning cradled the other’s face with both hands, her heart racing like a trapped rabbit. She had seen many noble ladies in the world, but none were as ethereal as Lin Dongruan. Even though Lin Dongruan wore no makeup and lived in this tiny corner of the world, it couldn’t hide her grace and character. It wasn’t just superficial beauty; it was an indescribable aura. Qiang Ning felt she could never tire of looking at her, liking her more with every glance.
She wasn’t the type to be consumed by lust, nor would she lose her composure over a flicker of heartbeat. But this time, it was Lin Dongruan who had proactively softened her stance, her every movement suggesting she was yielding. Having read the hidden meaning in those details, how could Qiang Ning possibly hold back?
She couldn’t.
She really couldn’t stop herself from going a bit further.
Knowing the other had consented to her intimacy, Qiang Ning lowered her head and gently captured those cool, thin lips. There was still the sweet scent of lychee between their lips and tongues; she was so easy to kiss.
“A-Ning Sister…”
A child’s voice startled Qiang Ning. Panic-stricken, she let go of Lin Dongruan and took half a step back.
“What’s wrong?” Qiang Ning’s heart was pounding, and her voice was a bit shaky. “Why… why are you looking for me?”
Ruoruo stood there stunned and asked, “A-Ning Sister, what were you just doing to Sister Lin?”
“I was feeding your Sister Lin lychees.” Qiang Ning hadn’t recovered yet and blurted it out without thinking. The moment the words left her mouth, she realized she had slipped up.
According to the lie she had just concocted, she wasn’t supposed to know what this fruit was called. Now that she had said the name, she feared Lin Dongruan would become suspicious. Qiang Ning looked at Lin Dongruan cautiously, only to see her using a slender white finger to gently wipe the moisture from her lips, seemingly indifferent to the loophole in the words.
“Ly… Lychee? I think that’s what it’s called. I heard the squire’s wife say it. Sister, is that how you pronounce it?” Qiang Ning immediately tried to fix her lie, acting nonchalant and humbly asking Lin Dongruan, “I don’t even know how to write those two characters.”
” ‘Danli’, ‘Qinghong’, or Lychee. It originates from the Lingnan region. There is an ancient saying: ‘Beside the dragon wood grows the lychee’.” Lin Dongruan dipped her finger in water and wrote a few characters on the table. “Lychees are used for both food and medicine. They belong to the Spleen and Liver meridians. Though warm in nature, they should not be eaten in excess.”
What she said was a bit complex; the child didn’t understand, and Qiang Ning, who could understand, had no mind for it.
Qiang Ning’s head was still full of the kiss she had just stolen—so soft, so fragrant, so gentle. Lin Dongruan hadn’t struggled at all, yielding to her in every way…
Qiang Ning swallowed hard, feeling like she was about to faint from the sensation.
“By the way, A-Ning, are the pits still there?” Lin Dongruan suddenly remembered something and asked, “If they haven’t been thrown away, collect them. They might be useful for medicine later.”
Qiang Ning had forgotten. After peeling the lychees for Lin Dongruan, she had casually tossed the shells and pits aside. She didn’t know if Song Luo had sent someone to clean them up.
Lin Dongruan stood up. “Never mind, I’ll go take a look.”
“Alright.”
Qiang Ning stared longingly at her lips, but then another thought hit her—there were so many lychee shells in the clinic that hadn’t been disposed of yet. If Lin Dongruan went to pick up the pits and saw them, how would she explain it?
Even a generous squire wouldn’t send that many lychees.
When that time came, her lie would be exposed.