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Chapter 42: Paper Kite
Ning Yin lightly pursed her lips, holding the pill as if it were a fruit awaiting plucking. Raising her eyelashes slowly, she looked at him surprised, the meaning clear without a word.
Yesterday’s medicine-taking went smoothly; when she wrinkled her brows and coughed from the bitterness of the medicine, Ning Yin patiently patted her back to soothe her…
But what happened today?
Yue Lingxi blinked, reaching for the pill he held between his lips, but Ning Yin caught her wrist. Before she could touch it, Ning Yin pressed his lips together, biting the pill between his teeth.
The more she tried to take it, the deeper it went.
Her wrist firmly held, at such a close distance, Yue Lingxi could clearly see herself reflected in Ning Yin’s eyes. Worried that he might really swallow the pill, she decided to press her lips against his, gently biting them.
Ning Yin maintained his posture, unchanged for a moment, lowering his eyelashes and savoring the soft fragrance that brushed past.
Lips pressed together, a tight seal.
As their tongues entwined, she “snatched” the pill back into her own mouth. About to withdraw, Ning Yin, dissatisfied, opened his eyes, raising his hand to cup the back of her head.
With the pill still in her mouth, Yue Lingxi couldn’t retreat. The intense bitterness spread in her mouth, making her unable to suppress a wave of nausea.
“Is it bitter?” Ning Yin’s thumb stroked her tightly furrowed brows.
Yue Lingxi nodded honestly, not just bitter, but extremely bitter.
She didn’t know what the medicine was made of, but it felt like torture in her mouth. Yesterday, she had to drink a whole bowl of honey water to successfully erase the taste from her mouth.
Ning Yin’s expression didn’t reveal joy or anger. He exerted a bit more force on her wrist, tilting her head forward, physically assisting her in swallowing the pill until her lips and tongue were numb, and she couldn’t distinguish whether it was bitter or sweet.
The window served as the perfect frame for their intertwined figures.
When their lips parted, the warm and bright light leaked through the gap between their noses, illuminating the tiny dust particles floating in the air. Ning Yin remained composed, while Yue Lingxi was still catching her breath, hands resting on the table to steady her breathing.
She always believed that as long as Ning Yin was willing to put in effort, he could quickly learn anything, including the art of asserting with his mouth. However, he was too used to doing things his own way, unwilling to put effort into this aspect.
The night before, she wasn’t very clear-headed due to the medicine. She didn’t carefully experience it, and now, Yue Lingxi felt enlightened. She leaned on the table, the small white porcelain bottle in front of her, containing the antidote for her to recuperate.
Yue Lingxi’s eyes flickered. Taking advantage of Ning Yin’s absent-mindednss, she smoothly swept the white jade bottle on the table into her sleeve and then turned away.
Ning Yin raised an eyebrow.
Holding the medicine bottle, Yue Lingxi’s almond-shaped eyes had a watery gleam, and her breath was unsteady as she said, “I’ll take the medicine myself tomorrow. No need to bother Wei Qi. If every dose is given like this, I won’t be able to endure it.”
Ning Yin remained unperturbed, lifting his finger to touch the moisture on his lips. He smirked and said, “Missy is making calculations again, but did you check if there’s any medicine in the bottle?”
The smile on Yue Lingxi’s lips froze, and she shook the bottle.
No sound, it was empty.
She looked at Ning Yin and saw him lift the hand resting on his knee, magically producing a pill between his fingers.
Innocently, Ning Yin blinked slowly. “Missy, always be cautious even when crossing a bridge.”
“You…” Yue Lingxi forcefully swallowed the word “vile” and reluctantly placed the empty bottle back in its original position, dejectedly leaning on the table.
Ning Yin chuckled, leisurely placing the last pill into the bottle and tucking it into his bosom.
The light from the window fell on his flawless and handsome profile, faint and unable to reveal much warmth. His eyes were like a silent well, revealing no emotions, leaving others guessing about his intentions.
Yue Lingxi sat down with folded skirts, observing his expression for a long time.
Ning Yin pressed his temple and looked at her. Indifferently, he said, “Missy has already obtained what she wanted, why linger here?”
Yue Lingxi slightly widened her eyes. This was the Yu Mansion; the entire estate was her home. How could he say she was “lingering”?
“That doesn’t make sense,” Yue Lingxi retorted. “Should I only come to you when there’s something to gain?”
Ning Yin calmly asked, “Otherwise?”
Yue Lingxi snorted and decided to ignore him.
After a moment of silence in the room, Yue Lingxi swallowed the lingering bitterness in her mouth, involuntarily recalling his solitary figure by the window just now.
Inside the room, it was quiet. Yue Lingxi’s gaze shifted, and somehow she blurted out, tilting her head, “Wei Qi, should we go fly a paper kite?”
…
Ning Yin had never seriously flown a paper kite.
He remembered when he was very young, around seven or eight years old, a tattered paper kite flew over the palace walls and got stuck on a crooked-neck jujube tree in the courtyard. Treating it like a precious find, he, dressed in cumbersome clothing, exerted great effort to climb the jujube tree and retrieve the paper kite.
He locked himself in the dim and cramped “bedroom,” spending the whole night repairing it with paste.
On the second day, under clear skies and a gentle breeze, he discreetly arrived in the courtyard, cradling the ridiculous paper kite. He ran freely, the wind brushing his face, lifting his robe and strands of hair. The paper kite swayed and soared, yet before it could fly over the palace walls, it was harshly yanked down, trampled into a skeletal shape in the muddy ground.
That woman didn’t allow him to leave the palace gate, didn’t allow him to run faster than others, didn’t allow him to display even a bit of talent more significant than others… The whip fell on his tender back relentlessly, but he laughed, his dark eyes etched with the woman’s astonished and crazed expression.
As Ning Yin recalled these memories, Yue Lingxi had already prepared the paper kite.
It was an exquisitely painted blue phoenix, with a delicate bamboo whistle at the bird’s head. A gentle breeze would produce a melodious sound akin to the cry of a phoenix.
There was a large flower garden by the waterside pavilion, ample space to fly the paper kite.
“It is said that paper kites can carry away bad moods and misfortune to the sky.”
Yue Lingxi handed the paper kite to Ning Yin, asking him to hold it higher. As if seeing through his half-day of gloom, she softly said, “Why not give it a try?”
Ning Yin’s eyes flickered slightly.
Clearly uninterested in such a frivolous game, he still lifted the paper kite as suggested. As the wind picked up, Yue Lingxi ran with a smile, and the paper kite slipped from Ning Yin’s hands, swaying and flying against the wind.
Soaring over the walls, ascending until it became a palm-sized shadow.
“You succeeded on your first attempt. It seems that even the heavens are helping you, blessing you with carefree and smooth days.”
Yue Lingxi ran with flushed cheeks, radiating a hint of charm. She pulled the taut kite string and handed the reel to Ning Yin, signaling him, “Hold it.”
Ning Yin instinctively took it, and the paper kite ascended with the wind, pulling on the reel.
“Pull quickly, don’t let the line break!” Yue Lingxi reminded him, reaching over to help him with the line.
Ning Yin hesitated but imitated her actions, pulling the thin line.
Side by side, the two stood, their clothes rustling. Yue Lingxi glanced at him and let go, asking with a smile, “Feeling better now?”
This was her true purpose.
With a clear sound from the bamboo whistle, Ning Yin squinted his eyes at the paper kite soaring in the sky. His pale face took on a warmer tone as he casually said, “If Miss can make the troublesome people disappear, my mood might indeed improve.”
Yue Lingxi, puzzled, asked, “Who is troubling you?”
Ning Yin remained silent, his gaze shifting to the two figures slowly approaching on the corridor bridge. His eyes, dark and chilly, curved into a mocking smile.
“Miss doesn’t allow me to kill, so she might as well figure it out herself.”
Without flying the kite any longer, he handed the reel back to Yue Lingxi. With no one controlling the kite string, swaying in the wind for a moment, it eventually snapped with a sharp sound.
Yue Lingxi paid no attention to where the expensive paper kite fell; she only held the broken reel, contemplating, “Who provoked Ning Yin today? He’s exceptionally difficult and always so cold.”
…
Under the corridor bridge, Yu Huanchen and Xue Cen stood shoulder to shoulder, looking in the direction of Yue Lingxi.
The beautiful and noble girl and the handsome and upright “guard,” harmoniously resembling a painting.
Yu Huanchen and Xue Cen harbored their own thoughts, but their eyes conveyed the same concern.
“Ah Cen, let’s go.”
Yu Huanchen broke the silence first, calling back Xue Cen’s drifting thoughts.
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