I had not been drinking, so I could clearly feel the heat of his lips. Lin Chongtan’s fingers, which had been on my face, moved behind my ear at some point. As his fingertips brushed against me, that patch of skin felt as if it were catching fire.
Why was Lin Chongtan kissing me?
Was he drunk?
I snapped out of my daze and immediately tried to push him away. However, I didn’t have much strength right now. I tried several times but couldn’t budge him; instead, he pressed against my lips, and one of his hands gripped my waist as if to prevent me from escaping.
Lin Chongtan’s behavior caused my last bit of logic to snap. Instinctively, I bit down hard on his invading tongue to defend myself. When Lin Chongtan pulled back in pain, I was still caught in a state of terror. I raised my hand and slapped the face that so many people in the world praised.
Slap—
A crisp sound rang out.
Although Lin Chongtan’s head didn’t turn from the blow, the loudness of the sound made both of us freeze at the same time. The hand I used to hit him curled up slightly, and my brain was still a mess. Seeing him look over, I shrank back even more, unable to say a single word.
After giving me a deep look, Lin Chongtan said nothing; he simply turned around and left.
At that moment, I didn’t notice that after I slapped him, his eyes didn’t hold anger or hurt, but rather disgust.
Once I regained a bit of strength and my limbs weren’t so numb, I immediately changed my clothes and hurriedly left Lin Chongtan’s dormitory. When Baichi and Qiongqiu saw me, they called out to me, but I didn’t respond and walked away without looking back.
Back in my own dormitory, I crawled straight under the covers. Liangji was startled by the way I looked when I returned and hurried to the bedside. “Young Master Chun, why is your hair wet? Your head will ache if you sleep without drying it.”
He busied himself getting a towel to dry my hair.
I huddled under the quilt, my body still shaking. After Liangji spent fifteen minutes muttering to himself beside me, I couldn’t help but interrupt him. “Liangji, I’m tired.”
“Almost done, Young Master Chun, your hair is nearly dry.” As he helped me, he asked, “Young Master, didn’t you go to the Second Young Master’s place for dinner? Why did you take a bath? Didn’t you already wash up after class?”
I didn’t want to answer.
A moment later, Liangji spoke again. “Young Master Chun, did you eat longevity noodles tonight?”
“I didn’t.”
Hearing my answer, Liangji cried out immediately, “How can that be? You must eat longevity noodles on your birthday.”
I was truly exhausted. I pressed down on his hand that was still drying my hair. “Liangji, I am really tired. Please let me sleep. It doesn’t matter if I skip longevity noodles once.”
“But…” Liangji wanted to say more, but he seemed to see the exhaustion in my expression. “Alright, then please rest, Young Master.”
After he left, I closed my eyes, but the images of Lin Chongtan kissing me kept flashing in my mind. Even though a long time had passed, his breath seemed to linger on my lips.
It was warm, with a faint scent of medicine.
Because of this incident, I didn’t dare go to see Lin Chongtan again, and I didn’t want to guess why he did such a thing that night. Of course, I couldn’t tell anyone what the Crown Prince had done to me either; he was the heir to the throne. If others knew he hated me, my life at the Academy would likely be even harder.
Two days after my birthday was the Mid-Autumn Festival. Since it is a day for family reunions and the Academy was on break, I had to return to Third Uncle’s house. On the day of the break, I intentionally avoided leaving with Lin Chongtan to escape embarrassment. It wasn’t until dinner that evening that I realized Lin Chongtan hadn’t returned at all.
Third Uncle had gone to the palace for the royal banquet. Only Third Aunt, my cousins, and I were at the dinner table. When my younger cousin asked why Lin Chongtan wasn’t back, Third Aunt said with a smile, “The Crown Prince is hosting the palace banquet this time, and Tansheng went to the palace to help out.”
Hearing this news, I felt relieved, but I also felt other emotions stirring in my heart.
After the break ended, I didn’t go to see Lin Chongtan for a whole month, until I unexpectedly ran into him one day.
Autumn had arrived in the capital, and the weather was turning cool. Because I failed to write a text from memory, the instructor punished me by making me sweep the Sweet Osmanthus Garden.
I entered with my broom, and halfway through, I noticed someone was at the gazebo in the garden. I was about to avoid them, but I suddenly heard a soft, sweet voice say, “Brother Tansheng.”
I paused and turned to look at the gazebo.
Two people were there, one standing and one sitting. A shorter youth was sitting with his fingers on a zither, while a tall, slender youth stood beside him, seemingly teaching him how to play.
The tall youth was Lin Chongtan.
I hadn’t seen him for many days. He seemed to have grown taller, and now he truly looked elegant and handsome, as fair as Song Yu.
I had never seen the other youth playing the zither before. He was looking up at Lin Chongtan while talking. His voice drifted over in snatches; he was acting spoiled with Lin Chongtan. “Brother Tansheng, I just can’t play it well. Look, my fingers are all red.”
I couldn’t hear Lin Chongtan’s voice clearly, but he seemed to be comforting the youth. After a moment, he leaned down himself to demonstrate how to play that section.
I always knew Lin Chongtan’s zither skills were top-tier, but I had never heard him play. The sound, like flowing water from high mountains, came from his fingers. Even standing far away, I was moved by it, let alone the youth standing close to him.
The youth kept his head turned, staring at Lin Chongtan. When Lin Chongtan finished playing, the youth reached out and hugged Lin Chongtan’s waist, looking up with a very coy expression. “Brother Tansheng, you play so beautifully. I was completely enchanted. Please teach me.”
A gentleman should not look at what is improper, so I wanted to walk away quickly. But in the next moment, I saw Lin Chongtan reach out his hand and pat the youth’s head.