Feng Zhiwei collapsed mentally…
Did this child appear just to drive people insane?
Her face turned red then white then red then white again, experiencing countless cycles… Watching him just drip and apply and lick and taste bit by bit like this, seeming to feel this was the most flavorful way to drink wine. Half his face beneath the half-lifted veil was also moon-like and dizzying in the darkness, and those completely unaware tempting movements born of nature, along with the repeated replays of associated thoughts caused by these movements being repeated again and again, possessed very destructive lethality that directly demolished Feng Zhiwei’s calm and rationality.
Finally Feng Zhiwei could bear it no longer. With a forward lunge, not fearing death, she snatched back that wine jug from Young Master Gu’s hands. Before Young Master Gu could explode, she said loudly: “Wine is drunk like this!”
Then she tilted her head back and gulped down half the jug, thinking drink, oh drink, better to die drunk—how can these days be endured…
Gu Nanyi made an “oh” sound, seeming very pleased to have discovered the true method of drinking wine. He had long been impatient—today he had tasted this wine for so long, how come it didn’t have that rather special flavor from that day?
He sat there, tilted his head back, vaguely remembering this was wine, and also recalling that someone seemed to have said he could only taste a little wine. However, it didn’t matter—he was himself, others were others.
Twenty-one years, his world, bizarre yet frozen like an abyss—this was a fresh flavor. He wanted to know it.
Reaching out with a beckoning motion, copying the example, he drank the other half of the jug with satisfaction.
Half the jug in his belly, the wine fragrance on all sides grew more intense—rich yet cool, that faint taste of floating duckweed in flowing water became even more vivid. Mixing together with the wine fragrance, it made one want to get drunk.
Feng Zhiwei shook her head, feeling somewhat dizzy. Surprised in her heart—she had a massive capacity for alcohol. Though she appeared refined and cultured when drinking, in truth she became clearer-minded and sharper-eyed the more she drank. What was wrong today?
Vaguely she heard Chunyu Meng muttering from inside the hole: “…one cup per person, any more and you’ll be dead drunk for at least three days, give me back the rest…”
“…”
Feng Zhiwei’s anger rose to her heart—damn Chunyu Meng, why didn’t you say so earlier!
She sneered, picked at the mud and dust on the wall and shook it into the jug, stuffed it back into the hole, blocked the hole opening with a stool, and no longer paid attention to Chunyu Meng’s ghostly wailing on the other side.
Having completed several movements, the wine’s potency surged up. Before her eyes, gold stars increasingly shot forth. Supporting her head as she turned around, she only felt the hot current inside her body suddenly surge, then from somewhere also flowed out a penetratingly cool breath. Circling around the hot current for one revolution, her body temperature immediately dropped. Yet she also felt her body go soft and limp. Then her feet went soft and with a bang she crashed into something.
Beneath her face was icy silk, smooth and cool, with a faint grass fragrance—it seemed to be Young Master Gu’s pillow.
Feng Zhiwei struggled to get up. She didn’t want to share a bed and pillow with anyone. While struggling, she hazily thought—Gu Nanyi’s alcohol tolerance is really good. The half jug he drank seemed even more than hers, yet he’s so composed, refined, and immovable as a mountain…
Suddenly her eyes felt brightened, such a brilliant flash of light. Then she realized it wasn’t that there was light, but that Gu Nanyi had raised his hand and thrown off his eternal gauze hat.
The moonlight had already passed the high window. On all sides remained only such deep, heavy darkness. Yet that person only lifted the gauze curtain and like a meteor brilliantly radiated light, capturing the eye.
Those absolutely gorgeous, devastatingly beautiful eyes—just how bright should they be? Were they the ten-thousand-year accumulated snow atop Mount Huzogotamu melting, pouring out a pool of clear spring water where snow lotuses floated? Or were they from three thousand li of golden sand ocean depths, treasure-gathering pearls nurtured with life by thousand-year pearl oysters?
The extreme brilliance so close at hand, because it was too dazzling, made one forget all origins.
Feng Zhiwei didn’t actually see what those eyes looked like, much less see Gu Nanyi’s face clearly, because the next moment, that face had already approached without limit, murmuring in a low voice with scorching breath: “Hot…”
He seemed truly very hot. From breath to body temperature, all rolled and burned like molten lava. Unconsciously approaching everything with a lower temperature than himself, thus the slightly cool cheek of the woman lying by the pillow became an ice spring sufficient for redemption.
He approached her. The slightly astringent, clean breath of floating duckweed grew increasingly intense. Then reaching out a hand, he grasped her face.
He firmly cupped her face, dissatisfied with the unnatural feel of the human skin mask beneath his hands. His fingers flicked and the mask flew away. The woman’s fine, tender, white-as-jade, white-as-ice cheeks gleamed faintly in the darkness.
He was satisfied with this jade-like, cool-water-like clear feeling. Immediately bringing his burning hot face over…
Feng Zhiwei completely stopped moving.
Everything before her eyes truly exceeded her mental preparation too much.
That person’s clear, dense scent was close at hand. Long, thick eyelashes swept across her cheeks. He treated her face as the most useful ice pack, holding it in his hands, rubbing and rubbing, kneading and kneading. When finished, still not enough, using his own face to nuzzle this side then nuzzle that side.
Dark chamber, temples touching intimately…
Yet completely without romantic charm, making her want to cry…
At any rate, she was born to a great family, could also be considered taught from youth to carefully observe propriety and education. Though now forced to fall into circumstances where for survival’s sake she had to compromise on everything, she still couldn’t fall so low as to become a human-shaped ice pack…
It’s just that my face is comparatively cool, isn’t it?
Feng Zhiwei’s mind stirred. That penetratingly cool breath that neutralized the hot current inside her body immediately began to slowly retract. Her body temperature slowly rose, a faint blush floating onto her face.
Gu Nanyi very quickly sensed that the soft, slightly cool thing he was rubbing against wasn’t cool anymore. Immediately disappointed, he released his hands. However, that burning heat forcing into his blood vessels still made him difficult to endure. He thought for a moment, raised his hand, and unbuttoned.
Unbuttoning his long robe that he always wrapped tightly around himself.
Though drunk to that degree, his movements were still extremely fast and steady. As his fingers flew, with a swoosh, before Feng Zhiwei’s eyes appeared a jade-like neck, a line of collarbones exquisite and straight, such an exquisite yet flowing arc—the hands of celestial gods could not draw the beauty of its lines.
Feng Zhiwei exploded with a boom.
Ancestor, why do you always have countless ways to torment me?
She lunged forward with tears in her eyes, desperately mobilizing that cold energy inside her body that suppressed the hot current, frantically offering up her flower-like jade-like face before the other person, begging: “Don’t take it off, don’t take it off—you touch, you touch—”
She lunged too quickly, knocking over that person who was taking off his clothes. Then as the wine’s effect surged, her brain went dizzy, and she knew nothing more…
The dark chamber, the presser and the pressed floating in the wine country, silent and soundless.
Next door, Chunyu Meng held up the wine jug and poured downward. What poured out was mud and dust all over his head. He touched his head and said in astonishment: “Finished drinking? It’s over…”
“Wake up, wake up—”
“Wake up!”
“Damn it! Still not awake!”
Not knowing where the voices came from, so distant as if originating from beyond mountains and seas, drifting and swaying as they invaded her eardrums, disturbing dreamless sleep. Feng Zhiwei unwillingly shook her head, hugging the quilt in her arms even tighter.
“Smack!”
Something struck her face with sharp pain. The burning sensation startled her half-awake self into instantly opening both eyes. Just opening them, she only felt darkness rushing toward her face. After quite a while she recognized she was still on the chamber bed. At the chamber window overhead protruded a snow-white face.
Feng Zhiwei blinked her eyes and touched her face. Reacting very swiftly, she sensed the mask wasn’t on her face. Immediately reaching to grope for the mask, she put it on, very relieved that the light above wasn’t good and probably couldn’t see her movements clearly.
This groping touched undulating “bedding,” warm skin, smooth…
Feng Zhiwei immediately withdrew her hand as if bitten by a snake.
It couldn’t be…
Then she gathered courage to turn around. Sure enough, she sadly saw that a certain young master drunk unconscious was being slept upon by her…
Half his face was concealed in shadow. His sleeping posture was tranquil and peaceful, yet different from usual days’ complete lack of movement and expression like stagnant water. Rather there was a slight unease, his palm covering his long eyebrows that were lightly furrowed.
Somehow, just looking at this person’s sleeping posture, one felt the surrounding aura was harmonious and settled—in midnight a jade tree quietly blooming with jade flowers.
Feng Zhiwei’s gaze swiftly passed over that small half face. After slight hesitation, she took the gauze hat and gently covered his face.
She didn’t want to see, was unwilling to see.
Some things—not touching them was more fortunate than touching them.
Having done these things, only then did she look up, recognizing that the one who threw stones to wake her was that domineering, strange Lin Shao.
Wasn’t he also confined? How did he get up there?
“Hey, listen, dawn has broken—it’s the academy examination today!” Lin Shao’s temperament was impatient, going straight to the point. “That damn Xin Ziyan, confining us for seven days—deliberately making us miss the grand event? No good! No good!”
“Wait.” Feng Zhiwei’s head was still dizzy. Listening in confusion, she stopped him. “Wasn’t the examination three days away?”
“You slept for three days!” Lin Shao sneered at her. “Like a pig—couldn’t be woken no matter how we called. Hey, I came over with great difficulty. Coming or not? I still need to defeat you in the examination!”
“How could I be your opponent?” Feng Zhiwei held her head. “Spare me, Young Master.”
“No way!” Lin Shao was greatly angered. “Admitting defeat before fighting—what kind of thing is this! Today whether you go or not, you must go!”
He swooshed and disappeared from the small window opening. After a while, he lowered down a rope.
“I thought you could open the door and let me walk out properly.” Feng Zhiwei smiled bitterly at the rope.
“Come on, matters arranged by Xin Ziyan—how could they be so easily resolved?” Lin Shao was impatient. “Only with great difficulty did I manage to divert people for half a double-hour. If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late.”
Feng Zhiwei looked back at Gu Nanyi. Forget it—Young Master’s wine still hasn’t worn off. Staying any longer, who knows what new tricks would emerge. Better to leave.
Climbing up the rope to the rooftop, she unsurprisingly saw that indeed everyone had come out. Chunyu Meng saw her and grinned, saying: “Wine God!”
Feng Zhiwei gave him a white-eyed look, thinking this servant girl’s sacrifice was truly heinous and unspeakable…
“Hurry and go, go. First go to my place to change clothes.” Lin Shao was triumphant. “Today we must cause great chaos in the examination hall… I heard the Fath… the Emperor and Crown Prince, plus the princes are all coming!”
Feng Zhiwei stood with hands clasped behind her back on the eaves. On all sides, dawn’s first light appeared. In an instant, morning glow traversed thousands of mountains and ten thousand waters rushing to her feet. In the ten-thousand-zhang rosy clouds, her garments fluttered. Her eyes reflected thousands of li of rushing water and inextinguishable distant mountains.
She squinted her eyes, sighing slightly.
“The wind is rising…”