While demons and monsters were filthy and sordid on one side, Fenghe Courtyard presented quite a different scene.

Inside Huaijin Courtyard, the lamps were bright, and white mist swirled in the bathroom where Shen Xiling was bathing alone.

In the steamy atmosphere, she leaned against the wooden tub, lost in thought, still… in a daze.

…He had kissed her.

Just a short while ago, he had kissed her.

Qi Ying had kissed her.

Shen Xiling’s thoughts were all jumbled, and she even forgot to blush, just sitting there in the bathtub in a daze.

…Could this be real?

She had indeed always liked him, but she truly hadn’t thought… that they could be so intimate. She hadn’t even imagined seeing Qi Ying like that… both extremely gentle and extremely dominating. He had almost completely controlled her—her body, her breath, even her thoughts were all under his command, unable to escape his control by even the slightest bit.

And she seemed to be controlling him in the same way… even becoming his entire cause and effect at that moment.

The invisible barrier that had always stood between them seemed to suddenly disappear. They had both become transgressive, especially him—he had even kissed her wrist, her neck, he…

Shen Xiling finally remembered to blush.

She was so embarrassed that not only did her face turn red, even her neck became pink. She covered her face with her hands, her fingertips also turning red.

How could he be like that…

Shen Xiling curled up in the bathtub blowing bubbles, feeling that everything had come too suddenly for her to come to her senses. In her daze, she heard sounds from outside the bathroom—he was telling the servants to change the bedding.

Earlier, both of them had been caught in the rain and had gotten the quilt wet. Just now he had let her bathe first while he had the servants tidy up the room outside.

Though Shen Xiling couldn’t see him now, just hearing his voice made her too shy to lift her head. Only after hearing him dealing with daily matters did she gradually feel a sense of reality, and then those delayed joy and sweetness seemed to suddenly boil over, overflowing from her heart.

She seemed to… have gotten what she wished for.

It seemed to be real.

She blew bubbles even more happily.

Just as Shen Xiling was secretly rejoicing, she heard footsteps approaching from far to near. Startled, she quickly hid her whole body underwater, then heard the footsteps stop outside the door and his voice came through: “Wenwen?”

He was just a door away from her, and she was… bathing in his room. This realization made Shen Xiling extremely shy, and for a moment she even forgot to respond.

He probably thought something had happened to her inside. His tone became tense as he called her name again. Only then did Shen Xiling come to her senses and respond. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said through the door: “Don’t stay in there too long, or you might get dizzy.”

Shen Xiling responded hesitantly, then heard him ask: “Is the water still hot? Should I call one of your maids in?”

Of course the water was still hot.

When they had just returned, he had immediately had hot water brought to the room. But after they had talked for a long time, the water had cooled, so he had fresh water brought again and had personally tested the temperature before letting her bathe.

He had always been very attentive in caring for her.

The sweetness in Shen Xiling’s heart intensified, and she actually began to miss him, longing to see him immediately and return to his arms. She pressed her lips together and said through the door: “It’s still hot—you don’t need to call them, I’m coming out now.”

As she spoke, she stood up, completely unaware of how the sound of water in the bathroom might affect the man outside. She only heard him cough once, not noticing the hidden awkwardness in that sound that he was trying to conceal. She heard him hum in acknowledgment, then the sound of footsteps moved away.

Shen Xiling really missed him.

How long had they been apart? Not even the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, yet she already missed him terribly, missed him so much her heart was pounding restlessly. She quickly changed clothes, but didn’t have the patience to properly dry her still-wet hair. Unable to contain herself, she quietly pushed open the bathroom door and ran out.

The inner room was still brightly lit. His bed had been freshly made with new bedding, the servants had all left, and he stood alone by a low table in the inner room, looking through letters and such.

Shen Xiling quickly ran toward him. As soon as Qi Ying heard her footsteps, he put down what he was holding. Just as he turned around, the little girl hugged him.

He was still wearing the rain-soaked wet clothes, while she had just bathed and was clean and fragrant. Qi Ying was afraid of passing the cold to her, so he didn’t hug her back. But the little girl clung to him tightly, constantly nestling into his embrace, holding his waist and refusing to let go, softly cuddling against him.

She completely melted his heart.

Qi Ying showed a somewhat helpless smile and gently held her, coaxing in a low voice: “I’m not clean right now. I’ll hold you properly in a moment, alright?”

Hearing this, the little girl nodded obediently in his arms, but showed no intention of letting him go. After a while, she said in a very small voice: “Just a little while longer…”

Even Xue Tuan’er wasn’t this good at acting spoiled.

If it had been before tonight, no matter how much Shen Xiling acted spoiled, once Qi Ying had made up his mind about something, it wouldn’t have much effect. He could always steel himself to adopt an elder’s authority and scold her. But tonight’s kiss had invisibly changed the relationship between them. He was no longer her elder and could no longer deceive himself into seeing her as a child. Instead, he now saw her as a woman who needed his love and indulgence. As a result, he felt he could no longer bring himself to scold her, and for a moment truly didn’t know what to do with her.

But Shen Xiling didn’t know she had suddenly acquired such privileges, only assuming many things remained the same as before. After clinging to him for a while, estimating he was about to scold her, she voluntarily and obediently let go of him, only holding onto his cold, wet sleeve, saying softly: “Then come back quickly…”

Qi Ying really couldn’t withstand her like this. They had just pledged their feelings, and he actually didn’t want to be apart from her for even a moment, especially since they still had much left unsaid.

He couldn’t hold back. He left a kiss on her forehead and gently pinched her small face, saying: “Mm, you get under the covers and wait. Dry your hair and don’t catch cold.”

His intimate gestures made Shen Xiling’s heart race and face burn. Her whole being seemed to come alive again, and for a moment she couldn’t even speak a complete sentence, only able to nod lightly. This endearing appearance made Qi Ying look at her several more times before steeling himself to turn toward the bathroom.

Only after he left did Shen Xiling begin to feel cold, so she quickly took a long towel from the rack to dry her hair while slipping into his bed.

This bedding was newly changed—fluffy and clean with the scent of being dried in warm sunlight, very comfortable. But actually Shen Xiling preferred the previous quilt that had carried his scent…

Shen Xiling pressed her lips together and still wrapped herself tightly in the new quilt. While slowly drying her wet hair, she began to carefully examine Qi Ying’s room.

She had lived in Fenghe Courtyard for three years, but this was her first time entering Qi Ying’s room.

Huaijin Courtyard and Woyu Courtyard were symmetrically built and quite similar in structure. The only difference was the interior furnishings and arrangement.

Her own room was covered everywhere with thick, soft carpets, and the tables were filled with many flowers and small ornaments, everywhere showing a young lady’s refinement. His room was much simpler—only the necessary furniture, with only books and some letters on the tables, nothing else.

Even so, Shen Xiling still found it fresh and attractive. As she looked around, she suddenly noticed a painting hanging behind the standing wardrobe in the inner room. The position was somewhat hidden—she hadn’t seen it at first. Now that she noticed it, she couldn’t see the full painting from where she was. She was afraid of the cold and comfortable in the covers, really not wanting to get out of bed specifically to look, so she sat on the bed and leaned out to take a glance.

With this look, she discovered the painting was a birthday gift she had given him years ago—an original work by Master Baopu.

Though Master Baopu’s calligraphy and painting were considered fine works, among Qi Ying’s collection were many pieces more precious and skillful than this one. He liked them all, yet he had hung this one alone in his bedroom, which inevitably made Shen Xiling think more of it, feeling he gave this painting special treatment because of her.

She blushed at her own presumption, while simultaneously feeling an even stronger wave of sweetness surge through her heart: so he had always carefully kept the things she gave him.

Even though he hadn’t shown much happiness at the time and had even scolded her lightly, afterward he still kept it well.

Sigh, this person…

She seemed to understand him a little bit better than before.

Shen Xiling’s mood improved further. She continued looking around, and her hair was mostly dry. Then she heard sounds from the bathroom area, knowing Qi Ying was coming out. Sure enough, before long she heard his footsteps approaching from far to near, turning into the inner room.

As soon as she saw him, she climbed up from the bed to hug him, nestling in his embrace and refusing to come out. He stroked her hair and quietly held her for a while, seeming to also treasure this moment.

For a time both were speechless, quietly tender in the silence.

Later it was Shen Xiling who first broke this silence.

It wasn’t entirely voluntary—she suddenly felt a faint coolness on her cheek. Looking up, she saw his hair was still wet. Fearing he would catch cold and fall ill, she didn’t dare delay him any longer and said she wanted to help him dry his hair.

Speaking of which, this was truly the first time Shen Xiling had seen Qi Ying with his hair down. When she saw him before, he always had it bound up with a formal cap, appearing very proper and solemn. Now with his hair loose, there was a different charm—he appeared more languid and handsome, with the renowned scholarly style popular in Jiangzuo.

She blushed again.

Hearing that she wanted to dry his hair, Qi Ying merely raised an eyebrow, not immediately saying yes or no. He first felt her hair and only relaxed after confirming it was dry.

He smiled at her, took the long towel from her hands, and casually wrapped her in the quilt, saying: “I’ll do it myself. You just take care of yourself.”

As he spoke, he went outside while drying his own hair. When he returned after a while, he carried a small cup of hot water which he handed to her.

Shen Xiling took the warm cup from his hands and felt that her heart was warmer than the hot water in the cup.

Qi Ying sat down by the bed and watched the little girl slowly drink the hot water. He took the empty teacup from her hands and leaned over to place it on the small table beside the bed. Before he could turn back, he felt a weight on his knee. Looking back, he saw Shen Xiling had gently pillowed her head on his lap.

She seemed to really like resting on his knee. Half a year ago when they ate crabs at Watching Garden, it was the same—lying on his knee looking very content. Now it was even more so: wrapped in the quilt, curled up in a ball, head pillowed on his lap lying on her side, she truly looked like a little cat that had just been bathed, absolutely adorable.

It made the observer feel peaceful inside.

Qi Ying slightly adjusted his sitting position to let her lie more comfortably, extending his hand to gently stroke her silky long hair with tender care and love.

Shen Xiling silently let him caress her for a while, then began touching his hand, lightly hooking his fingertips, gently tapping on both sides of his slender fingers.

Both were silent, while love grew wildly in this silence, making them both emotionally stirred.

No one knew how they ended up kissing again. He lifted her up, and she softly leaned against his embrace to kiss him. Their kiss was somewhat restrained at first, then became passionate again. Perhaps they had both been suppressed too long, so much so that now they were both somewhat carried away—even someone like Qi Ying, who had always been good at restraint, seemed somewhat unable to control himself at that moment.