The last thing Yu Lingxi remembered was his pair of emotionless, pitch-black eyes, without a trace of desire.
…
When she awoke again, Yu Lingxi was lying on a soft bed.
Opening her eyes, she saw the familiar canopy of her bedroom. The candlelight on the table was dim, and outside the window was deep night.
As soon as she sat up, she saw Hutao excitedly break the cup in her hand and run out the door joyfully announcing: “General, Madam! Young General, Young Miss! The Young Miss is awake!”
Yu Lingxi pressed her dizzy head as she rose, then licked her lips, immediately tasting a lingering indefinable sweetness and metallic tang.
It tasted like… blood.
“Suisui!”
Yu Lingxi had never seen her mother so anxious, almost stumbling as she rushed to her bedside and grabbed her hand: “My child, you’re finally awake!”
“Mother, I’m fine.”
Yu Lingxi’s mind wasn’t very clear yet, and she instinctively showed an obedient smile to reassure her: “It was just a small accident, don’t cry.”
“You still dare call it a ‘small accident’? You’ve been unconscious for a day and a night!”
Yu Xinyi’s eyes were as red as if she hadn’t slept for three days. She sat on the edge of the bed and hugged her sister tightly: “Silly girl, do you know how scared I was!”
“I’m fine, thanks to…”
Looking around, Yu Lingxi asked, “Where is the young man who saved me?”
Yu Xinyi’s expression subtly changed.
She released Yu Lingxi and cleared her throat awkwardly, “It was Xue Cen who first found you stranded in the middle of the cliff; he didn’t discover any young man.”
“How is that possible?”
Yu Lingxi clearly remembered how Ning Yin had leaped down the cliff to grab her, how he had shielded her from wind and rain on the cliff face, and even…
She pressed her lips together, looking suspiciously at Yu Xinyi: “Elder Sister, tell me the truth. What exactly happened?”
Yu Xinyi was straightforward by nature and not skilled at lying. Seeing her sister’s suspicious questioning, she stamped her foot: “Ah! Yu Huanchen, you explain!”
Since his sister had come of age, Yu Huanchen couldn’t enter the inner chambers, so he stood behind the screen.
After a long silence, he answered: “Suisui, you’re a girl, and you stayed alone with a slave for a day and a night. If word got out, it would be detrimental to you.”
“So, you chose someone with a good reputation and high family status, Xue Er-lang, to cover up this matter?”
Yu Lingxi’s breath caught as she threw off the covers and got out of bed: “Where is he?”
“Suisui, you’re still ill…”
“Where is the young man who saved me?”
A moment of silence.
Madam Yu felt sympathy and gave her son a look.
Yu Huanchen finally sighed: “By reason, if a servant ruins his master’s reputation, only his complete disappearance from this world can stop the damage. But he did save you after all, so I generously rewarded him and politely sent him away from our household…”
Before he could finish speaking, Yu Lingxi rushed out of the room.