“A-Ning, where is Ruoruo?”
Lin Dongruan walked into the courtyard and saw Qiang Ning sitting alone beneath the flowering tree; a sense of doubt inevitably rose in her heart.
Why was A-Ning the only one in the yard? Where had the young girl, Ruoruo, gone?
Had she gone home?
“Oh, Sister is asking about her? I just told Ruoruo the good news, and she went skipping and hopping back home.” Seeing that Lin Dongruan was willing to chase after her, Qiang Ning relaxed her tense shoulders and spoke with feigned ease, “Is Sister worried?”
Lin Dongruan looked at Qiang Ning’s somewhat abnormal demeanor and asked, “She went home alone?”
Qiang Ning smiled: “Yes, alone.”
“Wusang Town has been unstable lately. How could you feel at ease letting her go home by herself?” Lin Dongruan said. “So many people have been disappearing from the town one after another, and she is just a defenseless little girl. You—”
“Stop talking!” Qiang Ning’s fake smile finally crumbled. She raised her voice, interrupting Lin Dongruan, her eyes turning red as she looked at the other woman. “Since you aren’t willing to take her in for a lifetime, why bother saying these things now?”
Lin Dongruan furrowed her brows. “A-Ning, do you even hear what you are saying?”
Qiang Ning stood up and slowly pressed closer. “Don’t you feel that she is a burden to you? You want to live your own peaceful life and have no intention of keeping her… if that is the case, why suffer the worry over whether she lives or dies?”
She repeatedly used the word “she” to refer to Ruoruo, but it clearly sounded as though she was questioning Lin Dongruan about her own future.
“A-Ning, you are not calm right now. Go back to the house.” Lin Dongruan looked up at the approaching Qiang Ning, suddenly realizing that the other girl possessed such a forceful and biting temperament. Where were the past softness and obedience in those eyes? The shift in aura was as absurd as a child suddenly becoming an adult.
Qiang Ning did not speak, she only kept walking closer until they were staring at each other from mere inches away.
Lin Dongruan did not retreat either. She met her gaze with eyes that were cool and lonely. “Are you not going to be obedient?”
“Is being obedient useful?” Qiang Ning laughed mockingly, feeling the other woman’s breath. “You are always telling me to be obedient, but in the end, what did I get?”
The previously well-behaved girl seemed to have changed into a different person in an instant. Lin Dongruan furrowed her brows again, looking up at her. In truth, she had not observed closely enough—Qiang Ning’s eyes only took on a wide-eyed, docile appearance when she was happy. Usually, those eyes were filled with cynicism and arrogance; they were long, narrow, and vibrantly beautiful with slightly upturned corners. Her temperament was not soft or delicate at all.
Lin Dongruan raised her hand, lightly covering Qiang Ning’s eyes. If one only looked at the lower half of her face, the person before her had a delicate chin, a pert nose, and beautiful cherry lips; those small lips would often part slightly, making her look like an innocent young girl. But if one blocked the lower half and revealed those strong, sharp eyes, that impression vanished entirely.
Lin Dongruan lowered her eyes wearily. “A-Ning, I misjudged you.”
“A fine ‘misjudged.’ Good, very good.” Qiang Ning choked up and nodded slowly, fuming with rage. “I am the one who is sick. It is all my fault.”
Having said that, she turned to leave.
“Don’t go, A-Ning.” Lin Dongruan promptly grabbed her sleeve. The other girl didn’t use much strength to struggle and was easily stopped.
Qiang Ning kept her back turned and didn’t speak, her hand rising as if to stubbornly wipe away tears.
Behind her, Lin Dongruan gave a soft sigh. Helplessly, she stepped forward and embraced her, stroking her back as if soothing a large wolf cub. “Don’t be angry with Sister. It was my fault for not considering your feelings earlier; perhaps there were places where I couldn’t look after you in time. From now on… I will be more mindful.”
It would have been fine if she hadn’t tried to make her stay, but this lingering and consolation caused more tears to well up in Qiang Ning’s eyes.
“Don’t cry.” Lin Dongruan pulled away slightly, gently stroking her back with her palm. “Alright?”
That “alright?” was spoken almost in a gentle, airy whisper. Her fragrant breath was right by Qiang Ning’s ear, concentrating a lifetime of tenderness into those words. These three words alone were enough to make Qiang Ning let go of the resentment in her heart.
Qiang Ning thought to herself that she was indeed pathetic. Why could Lin Dongruan coax her into a better mood with just three words?
It wasn’t fair.
Qiang Ning turned her head slightly, still feeling a bit of anger in her heart.
But in the next instant, as Lin Dongruan’s breath drew closer, she was instantly stunned—
Lin Dongruan gently pinched her chin, turning her head, and then carefully kissed away her tears, nearly drowning her in this tender treatment.
Qiang Ning’s tear-stained eyelashes fluttered open. Her heart felt as if a tide had risen, surging and crashing, pinning her again and again against the shoreline named “Lin Dongruan.”
It was unbelievable.
Qiang Ning tilted her head at a subtle angle, seeking a bit of an advantage, and Lin Dongruan only paused for a moment before satisfying her.
A soft kiss fell upon the corner of her lips.
“Sister… what are you doing?” Qiang Ning spoke, her tone switching back to an inquisitive one. “Do you know what you are doing?”
Lin Dongruan did not face the question directly. Instead, she spoke to her in a calm and certain tone: “You should like this.”
Given their prior experiences, Qiang Ning always liked to use “biting” or “kissing” as a way to vent during her emotional highs and lows. She was like a little beast that was easily provoked; as long as the right method was used, soothing her was quite easy.
As it turned out, she was right.
Sure enough, Qiang Ning no longer had an ounce of temper left; she stood dazed in place, looking somewhat dejected.
Perhaps she herself was wondering why she had been coaxed so quickly.
Regardless, since she had already lost face, Qiang Ning decided to go all the way and speak plainly: “You cannot drive me away.”
Lin Dongruan asked softly, “Unless you choose to leave of your own accord, why would I drive you away?”
“But you sent Ruoruo home today.” As Qiang Ning spoke, she lowered her head and said dissatisfactory, “Who knows if I will be the next one. After all, in your eyes, we are both troublesome burdens.”
“That is because Ruoruo has her own home. I happened to see Sister-in-law Zhou at the market today. The look she gave me was clearly filled with longing; she misses her daughter. Wouldn’t Ruoruo want to see her as well? I truly could not bear to see mother and daughter separated, so I had the idea to let Ruoruo go home.” Lin Dongruan smiled. “And as for you, A-Ning—if I had thought you were a trouble back then, I would not have brought you into the house on that snowy night, nor would I have thought about seeking out charcoal the following day.”
Mentioning these past events finally gave the words she spoke some credibility in Qiang Ning’s heart. Back then, Lin Dongruan had indeed gone out to sell medicinal herbs to trade for charcoal for her. It seemed she truly intended for her to stay long-term.
The other woman had no intention of driving her away.
Not now,
And likely not in the future.
So the reason she sent Ruoruo away was because of Sister-in-law Zhou this morning…
Wait.
Lin Dongruan and Sister-in-law Zhou met this morning? If Sister-in-law Zhou were to die suddenly at this critical juncture, even a fool would know there was a problem. It wouldn’t take long for Lin Dongruan to suspect her.
Qiang Ning clenched her teeth, her head throbbing. She didn’t bother explaining further to Lin Dongruan and turned to run.
She had to quickly revoke the death order she had just issued. Otherwise, if Sister-in-law Zhou died, things would become truly troublesome.
“Where is A-Ning going?”
Lin Dongruan hurried to keep up with her.
Qiang Ning hurriedly left behind a sentence, “Going to protect Ruoruo on her way home,” and then vanished quickly.
Lin Dongruan was worried about her and followed immediately.
Qiang Ning’s head was spinning. For the first time, she broke her own rule and rescinded an order to kill. In the past, even if she knew she had killed by mistake, she was too lazy to revoke it. After all, she was not a good person and would not treat all the people under heaven equally like Lin Dongruan did.
She hoped—there was still time.
It was all because of Lin Dongruan’s enchanting consolation. If not for that, she wouldn’t have been so blinded by passion.