Yan Yan was furious, and by the time she arrived at Yan Qing’s courtyard after scolding four or five maids along the way, her cheeks were still puffed out with indignation.

“Seventh Miss, who has made you angry?” Jing Zhi asked with a smile.

“Those gossiping maids — they’ve infuriated me.” Yan Yan huffed. “Where is Sixth Sister?”

“Miss is inside reading.”

“At a time like this, how can Sixth Sister still be reading? Does she actually want to become Fifth Brother-in-law’s concubine?”

Jing Zhi was equally baffled. “I’ve urged Miss to think of something quickly as well, but Miss only gave us four words in response: wait and observe.”

When Yan Yan came in, Yan Qing was reading. Before she could get to an interesting part, her book was snatched away.

“Sixth Sister, how are you so calm?”

Yan Qing smiled. “Then tell me — what should I be doing?”

“Go beg Father not to give you to Fifth Sister’s husband as a concubine.”

“If that were so easily done, how would my marriage have been changed to Yan Qin’s in the first place?”

That single sentence left Yan Yan completely speechless.

Yan Qing took her hand. “Seventh Sister, I know you’re anxious on my behalf. But things have already come to this point — we can only take it one step at a time.”

“What if you really end up going to the Shi Family?”

“Then I can only say that this is a trial I was fated to face and cannot escape.”

Seeing that Yan Qing showed not the slightest urgency, Yan Yan could only stamp her foot. “Sixth Sister, you really are too easygoing. Fine, I wash my hands of it. Anyway, tomorrow the Shi Family is coming to deliver the betrothal gifts. Once that happens, whether you want to marry or not, you’ll have to.”

Watching Yan Yan leave, Yan Qing shook her head with a helpless smile.

In this vast household, the only people who truly cared for her were Master Yan and Yan Yan. Yan Yan was young and guileless — a simple, good-natured child. To grow up in a wealthy household and still preserve such a pure and gentle character was truly rare.

As night fell, Yan Qing read for a while longer, then prepared to turn off the lamp and rest.

Yan Yan was right — tomorrow would be the final day of Madam Shi’s three-day limit, and the day that would decide her fate.

She didn’t know what would be waiting for her when she woke — clear skies, or endless rain.

Yan Qing used the chair beside her to push herself up from the wheelchair, then slowly made her way step by step toward the bed, gripping the handrail that Murong had arranged for her in advance.

Ever since she had been able to stand and walk with the aid of support, she had stopped accepting help from Jing Zhi and Murong. Whether getting up in the morning or settling down for the night, she completed everything independently — even though the process often took half an hour or more. Still, she delighted in it.

She sometimes joked with Murong and the others that humanity’s ancestors had evolved from moving on all fours to walking upright, and that she was simply doing what her ancestors had once done all over again.

Yan Qing had just stood up when the window behind her was lightly tapped twice. In the stillness of the night, those two sounds were especially conspicuous.

“Who’s there?” Yan Qing was on guard immediately. She sat back into her wheelchair and turned the gun mounted on it toward the window.

“It’s me.” A familiar voice carried through the window, filling Yan Qing with a sudden rush of delight.

She steered her wheelchair over, and pushed the window open with one hand.

Moonlight poured down like water, falling upon the sharp, defined features of the figure outside. He was dressed in a black overcoat, as though steeped in the night itself, an aura of mystery emanating from his entire being.

After her initial joy, Yan Qing quickly leaned out to peer beyond the window. “How did you come to be here?”

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

“You’re planning to climb through the window?”

“Can I use the door?” Murong and Jing Zhi might not have gone to bed yet — they could easily be in the courtyard.

Yan Qing laughed and moved to the side to make room. “Come in.”

Shi Ting vaulted through the window with practiced ease, then turned and closed it behind him.

When he stood before Yan Qing, she still looked at him as though she could hardly believe her eyes.

“Have you missed me these past few days?” Shi Ting crouched down beside her and held her hand in both of his, gently running his thumb over it. His handsome face carried a trace of cool evening air, which only made him more striking.

It had been some days since they had last seen each other — the most recent time being at Shi Guang’s wedding.

Yan Qing’s face grew warm. “Why would I miss you?”

He crooked his finger and lightly trailed it down the bridge of her nose. “Your heart is saying one thing, your mouth another.”

“Director Shi, are you really so shameless? Am I not even permitted to not miss you?”

“Don’t forget what I do for a living.” Shi Ting smiled, his eyes bright as he regarded her. “You just touched your nose, and when you spoke, your eyes couldn’t meet mine directly. That means your conscience was uneasy — because you were lying.”

Yan Qing glared at him in exasperated fury.

“You clearly miss me very much in your heart, yet refuse to admit it with your lips. Miss Yan, isn’t it a bit improper to be so two-faced?”

“Scoundrel.” Yan Qing let out a soft, scornful breath. “An utter scoundrel.”

“Caught in the act, so now you’re embarrassed and lashing out?”

Yan Qing, unable to win a war of words with him, made as if to strike him — but her hand was caught firmly in his.

Her hand was fair as white jade, like something that might shatter at a touch. He could not help but lower his head, pressing a soft, gentle kiss upon the back of her hand.

Yan Qing’s face instantly bloomed with a flush of red, yet she did not pull her hand back — instead her lips formed a reproachful murmur: “Shi Ting, what are you doing?”

Shi Ting smiled. “Is there any water? I’m thirsty.”

“From all that window-climbing, I suppose.” Yan Qing pretended to needle him. “The Director of the Military Police Bureau sneaking through a window like a common thief — if word of this got out, it would surely go down in the history books.”

Saying this, she still quickly picked up the teapot and poured him a cup. “The tea has gone cold — make do for now.”

Shi Ting took a sip. The fragrance of the tea filled the air, and the dryness in his throat eased considerably.

“Is this where you live?” Shi Ting set down his teacup and took a careful look around the warm, intimate chamber before him.

“No looking.” Yan Qing blocked his line of sight with her hand. “Who does something like this — surveying a young lady’s room without permission?”

“All right, all right, I won’t look.” Shi Ting laughed. “Do you want me to close my eyes as well?”

“Drink your tea.” Yan Qing pressed the cup firmly back into his hands.

Watching him sip his tea in that unhurried, composed manner, Yan Qing wanted to ask about the matter of Madam Shi’s marriage proposal — but when the words reached the tip of her tongue, she quietly swallowed them back down.

Since she had already promised to trust him, there was no need to ask, no need to worry. She needed only to wait in peace.

“How did you find this courtyard?” Yan Qing was curious. The Yan estate was so vast, with courtyards large and small along with its Western-style buildings, and the paths wound every which way — new servants frequently got lost, let alone finding one’s way on a dark night.

“I have been to your room once before.” Shi Ting said. “Do you remember the time you were abducted to Mount Cang? I happened to be at the Yan estate then, and I came to your room to look for clues.”

“So you memorized the route here at that time?”

Shi Ting looked at her quietly, a glint of playfulness in his gaze. “You could say that.”

“So Director Shi had been harboring improper intentions from that time onward.”

“I wouldn’t dare claim credit for that, I wouldn’t dare.”

Yan Qing deliberately put on a stern face. “And you even feel rather proud of it, don’t you?”

Before she could finish speaking, Murong’s voice came from outside: “Miss, I saw that you hadn’t gone to sleep yet, so I had the kitchen prepare some snow fungus soup. Have some while it’s warm.”

She hadn’t expected Murong to knock at such a moment. Yan Qing’s composure immediately scattered, and she silently mouthed the words to Shi Ting in desperation: What do we do?

Shi Ting glanced toward the electric light.

Yan Qing understood at once and immediately reached out to switch off the lamp.

“Murong, I’m going to sleep. I don’t want any.” Yan Qing called out toward the door.

Seeing the lamp go dark, Murong retreated.

After a short while, both of their eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and little by little they could make out each other’s outlines.

Warmth touched Yan Qing’s cheek — his fingers had softly reached up to her face. His fingertips bore a faint layer of calluses, and as they glided over her delicate skin there was a tingling sensation. The touch was so real, so tangible, that she couldn’t help letting a shy smile spread across her lips.

“I should go.” Shi Ting’s voice was low and resonant in the darkness.

“Then take care on your way.” She hadn’t expected him to leave so soon.

“Are you reluctant to see me go?” A teasing lilt was in his voice.

“Director Shi, if you consider yourself second in shamelessness, no one would dare claim first.”

“Do you think the darkness gives you license to lie? Your facial muscles had a slight tremor — that means you were tense. Because you were not telling the truth.”

“Shi Ting, that’s enough.” Yan Qing was laughed to the end of her patience. “Are you ever going to stop?”

“I only want to hear one honest word.”

Yan Qing was overcome with shyness, and rather than continue she simply turned to the window, pushed it open, and said, “Director Shi, if you please — go back the way you came.”

“Truly so heartless?”

Yan Qing smiled. “Go quickly — there will be a security patrol soon.”

“Do you really think a few guards can spot me?”

“All right, all right — you’re the most capable person in the world. Are you satisfied?”

Shi Ting came to the window and looked out into the night. The high surrounding walls loomed in the pitch darkness like a crouching beast.

He vaulted out through the window. “I’ll be going then.”

“Yes. Take care.”

Watching Shi Ting’s figure disappear into the night, Yan Qing felt a sudden hollow open in her chest, and a sense of loss swiftly flooded in to fill it.

“You’ve barely seen me off and you’re already missing me?” A face suddenly appeared before her, giving Yan Qing a start.

“Why have you come back?” Yan Qing was astonished.

From the other side of the window, his arm reached out and drew her to him in one sweeping motion. His handsome face, in Yan Qing’s widened eyes, drew slowly closer — and then a warmth pressed against her lips. His scent instantly enveloped her breath.

From outside came the sound of insects calling, nameless in the dark. Even the towering high walls seemed somehow to have softened.

Yan Qing looked at the face so close before her in stunned disbelief, her mind a complete blank.

His lips rested gently against hers, and stayed there for a long moment — until the sound of dogs barking drifted in from beyond the courtyard. Only then did he softly release her.

Yan Qing’s face was flushed scarlet, as though she had lost the capacity to think. It wasn’t until he said the words “trust me” that she blinked twice, and watched his silhouette fade into the dark of night.

The window remained open. The autumn breeze carried a chill — yet Yan Qing did not feel the cold in the slightest.

Her fingers lightly brushed her own lips. Thinking of that fleeting, gossamer-light kiss, a smile of shy delight slowly spread across her face, warming the night, igniting the tender core of her heart.

That night, Yan Qing slept fitfully. The moment she closed her eyes, Shi Ting’s face filled her vision. Her mind replayed that intoxicating kiss over and over again. He must have possessed some kind of magic — for one soft, brief kiss had unlocked the strings of her heart, long sealed shut for years.

In the early morning, Murong’s urgent knock came at the door.

Yan Qing opened her eyes in a haze, and heard her anxious voice: “Miss, something has happened — the Shi Family has truly come to deliver the betrothal gifts.”

—