Zheng Yun looked at Ling Ai’s current state. If she stayed in a room by herself, he couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t wander out in the middle of the night. Not to mention the security in this area was only average — a young woman staying alone was never entirely safe.

“Do you have a single room with two beds?”

“Yes, yes we do.” The innkeeper’s wife was exceedingly warm. “It’s on the second floor. Register and I’ll take you right up.”

Zheng Yun steadied Ling Ai with one hand and signed his name in the ledger the innkeeper’s wife held out to him.

“I’ll give you a window-side room — the view is absolutely wonderful.” The innkeeper’s wife led the way. Zheng Yun followed behind, carrying Ling Ai.

“This is the room. Great light, great view, and most importantly — great soundproofing.” As she said it, the innkeeper’s wife gave Zheng Yun a couple of winks.

Zheng Yun looked at her with an expressionless face and gave a slight nod: “Thank you.”

The innkeeper’s wife pursed her lips. This young man was handsome, she thought, but about as romantic as a block of wood.

After entering the room, Zheng Yun quickly scanned it. It was a small space with two single beds and a table with two chairs. Nothing else.

Once he had set Ling Ai down, he took off her shoes for her.

The moment Ling Ai touched the bed, she curled up obediently into a ball and slept soundly and sweetly.

Even drunk, she was neither weepy nor restless nor sick — perfectly well-behaved.

Zheng Yun sat down on the other bed, gave her one glance, and then lay down fully clothed.

The moment he closed his eyes, the image of Ling Ai drinking that cup on his behalf appeared before him. She was small and slight; one look at her and it was obvious she couldn’t handle much alcohol. Where had she found the courage to drain that cup at the time?

As Zheng Yun mulled this over, he couldn’t help but open his eyes again and glance over toward Ling Ai’s bed. What he saw there made him sit bolt upright in alarm — at some point, Ling Ai had rolled to the very edge of the bed, and was mere inches away from tumbling to the floor.

Zheng Yun lunged over, catching her in a moment of absolute emergency.

Because it happened so suddenly, his forehead collided with Ling Ai’s. He hissed in pain, then immediately looked down at Ling Ai with concern. She had furrowed her brows and was making soft whimpering sounds.

Zheng Yun pushed the pain in his forehead aside and lifted her back onto the bed.

But no sooner had Ling Ai lain back down than she rolled again. Zheng Yun hastily braced her to stop her from tumbling to the floor a second time.

What Zheng Yun didn’t know was that Ling Ai normally slept on a tatami mat, which wasn’t easy to roll off of. Suddenly switching to this kind of narrow bed, she naturally kept sliding toward the edge.

“Ling Ai.” Zheng Yun tried to wake her. “Ling Ai.”

Ling Ai seemed to hear someone calling her name. She only furrowed her brow, her eyes shut tight, completely unwilling to open them.

Helpless, Zheng Yun had no choice but to sit beside her in order to keep her from rolling off the edge. Every time she began to roll to one side, he would reach out and pull her back.

He kept this up all through the night, barely sleeping a wink. It was only when dawn was nearly breaking that he finally left.

Ling Ai slept deeply the entire night. In her dreams, it seemed like a voice had been speaking to her the whole time — a voice that felt very familiar, one that sounded like Zheng Yun.

When she opened her eyes, the unfamiliar surroundings gave her a fright. She shot straight up from the bed.

This room looked like an inn. How had she ended up in an inn?

At that moment, a knock sounded at the door from outside, followed by a woman’s voice: “Miss, miss, are you awake?”

Ling Ai quickly slipped on her shoes and ran to the door. When she opened it, a middle-aged woman stood outside with a warm smile.

“Miss, here is your breakfast.” She set a tray down on the table inside. “Take your time.”

“Ma’am, where is this?”

“This is an inn.” The woman read the confusion on her face and immediately understood. “Last night, a young man brought you here. He left before dawn, and as he left he asked me to prepare breakfast and bring it to you. He also said to make it light and mild.”

Hearing that it was a man who had brought her here, Ling Ai immediately felt a pang of anxiety. “A m-man? What did he look like?”

“That young man was truly handsome — a high, straight nose, very sharp looking. Oh, and he was dressed all in black.” The innkeeper’s wife cast her mind back. “His face was a little cold, though. Not someone who smiles easily.”

When Ling Ai matched the description the innkeeper’s wife had just given with the image of Zheng Yun in her mind, they fit together perfectly.

Hearing that it was Zheng Yun who had brought her here, the anxiety she had felt just moments before suddenly transformed into a secret delight.

“Thank you so much, ma’am.”

“Not at all.” The innkeeper’s wife looked Ling Ai up and down. Seeing that she was still wearing the same clothes, with even her hair undone in the same way, she could tell that nothing had happened between these two the previous night.

The innkeeper’s wife shrugged, a touch of disappointment in the gesture.

Ling Ai washed her face and ate her breakfast. The innkeeper’s wife told her that the room and meals had already been paid for in advance, and her heart felt a renewed warmth at that.

After leaving the inn, Ling Ai didn’t hurry home. Instead, she went to a coffee shop.

There weren’t many people in the coffee shop at that hour. She walked to a window-side seat and sat down in excellent spirits, ordering herself a cup of coffee.

Ling Ai held her warm cup of coffee in both hands. Thinking back on how Zheng Yun had kept her company the whole night, she found that the smile on her face simply refused to fade — a joy that reached from the corners of her eyes all the way down to the tip of her heart, a feeling she had never experienced before.

She didn’t know what liking someone was supposed to feel like. Surely it was something like this.

She admitted it to herself: she liked Zheng Yun. From the moment she had drunk that cup on his behalf, she had finally understood her own heart.

But after the rush of joy, she began to feel quietly melancholy. She liked Zheng Yun — but what about him? Did he like her?

He had brought her here last night and had even kept her company the whole night. Surely that was simply a matter of fulfilling his duties as a host.

As that thought took hold, the happiness from moments before dissolved away by more than half.

Just as the corners of Ling Ai’s mouth began to fall, a familiar figure outside on the street caught her eye. She exclaimed in surprise: “Nagase, brother!”

Nagase turned a corner and disappeared into a narrow alley not far away.

“How strange — what is Nagase doing here so early in the morning?” Ling Ai wondered, then quickly rose to her feet and hurried out after him.

It was a fairly narrow alley with a few small shops along it. By the time Ling Ai followed him inside, Nagase had just stepped into one of the shops.

Ling Ai came to the doorway and peered in. Nagase was talking with someone — the person was seated in a chair, and Nagase’s figure was blocking him from view, with only the edge of his collar visible.

Ling Ai was very curious, but she couldn’t very well barge in. So she pressed herself against the side of the doorway and peeked in carefully.

Nagase stood there for a while, then sat down in a chair to the side. As he did, the person he had been blocking came into full view.

“How is it him?” Ling Ai was faintly startled. She couldn’t imagine why Nagase would be meeting with this particular person.

Just as she was racking her brain without arriving at any answer, the man seated inside suddenly turned a pair of hawk-like eyes in her direction: “Who’s there?”

Ling Ai got a fright and hastily stepped back. When no one came after her, she spun around and ran.

Nagase strode out through the door and saw a flash of white disappearing around the corner of the alley. Even in that brief glimpse, he recognized the owner of that silhouette.

Ling Ai? What was she doing here? Had she followed him intentionally, or was it a coincidence?

“Who was it?” the man inside asked.

Nagase thought for a moment, then shook his head at him: “A girl. Probably just passing by and looked in out of curiosity.”

The man seemed not entirely convinced by his words and studied him carefully for a moment before making a sound of acknowledgment: “Be more careful next time.”

After Nagase returned home, he asked the servant at the gate: “Where is the young miss?”

“The young miss? I haven’t seen her.”

“She hasn’t gone out?”

“No.”

Nagase frowned and went inside, heading directly to Ling Ai’s room.

“Ling Ai.” He walked up and knocked.

After quite some time, a drowsy voice came from within: “Nagase, what is it?”

A flicker of suspicion crossed Nagase’s eyes: “I brought you breakfast. Open the door.”

“Oh.” Ling Ai opened the door, looking at him with sleepy, half-open eyes. “Nagase, what made you think to bring breakfast? Did the kitchen not prepare anything?”

As she spoke, she lightly patted her mouth and let out a yawn.

Nagase saw that she was wearing a sleeping gown, her hair disheveled, the very picture of someone who had just woken up.

He couldn’t help but begin to wonder whether he had simply been mistaken.

“Did you just wake up?”

“You woke me. I was in the middle of a dream.” Ling Ai pouted a little. “Nagase, you’re so neatly dressed — did you go out?”

“Yes.”

“To buy breakfast?” Ling Ai held out her hand. “Where’s the breakfast?”

Nagase was momentarily lost for words. Buying breakfast had only been his excuse — he hadn’t actually bought anything.

“Go wash up first. I’ll bring it over in a moment.”

“Thank you in advance then.”

Nagase smiled slightly, turned, and left. He supposed he really had been mistaken earlier. How could Ling Ai possibly show up in a place like that so early in the morning — it simply wasn’t plausible.

After Ling Ai saw that Nagase had left, she let out a long, slow breath.

She had rushed back just now and hadn’t dared use the front gate. Fortunately, her skill at climbing walls was decent enough, and she had scaled the back courtyard wall without trouble. By the time Nagase knocked at the door, she had only just finished changing into her sleeping gown and messing up her hair. If she had been even a step slower, Nagase would have found her out.

Ling Ai sat back down on her bed and let out a quiet sigh. She couldn’t make sense of it — why would Nagase be meeting with that person? How could those two possibly have any connection?

But Nagase worked for Hui Cun, and his every move was made on Hui Cun’s orders. What if Hui Cun had sent him to meet with that person?

Ling Ai knocked herself lightly on the head and decided to stop speculating. At a time like this, she would rather think about Zheng Yun.

What did all of those dark and swirling undercurrents have to do with her anyway?

—