Those three scoops of finely ground pepper powder were intensely spicy; even Hutao, standing to the side, swallowed nervously just from looking at it, feeling apprehensive.
But Ning Yin didn’t hesitate at all, accepting the cup and draining it in one gulp.
Even Yu Lingxi was somewhat shocked by this.
In her memory, she recalled that Ning Yin couldn’t tolerate spicy food at all.
She had given him this cup of wine partly to test whether his temperament was truly different from his previous life, and partly because she noticed his knuckles were red from the cold, thinking a small drink would help ward off the chill.
But unexpectedly, the young Ning Yin was so earnest.
“Thank you, Young Miss…”
Before he could finish speaking, Ning Yin felt the intense spiciness burning his throat. He hurriedly turned his head aside, raising a fist to his nose. The corners of his eyes visibly reddened, and his thin lips, glistening with wine, added a touch of color to his otherwise pale, handsome face.
He looked as if he had just been bullied, giving him a sense of vulnerability.
As Ning Yin was about to drink more, Yu Lingxi quickly covered his cup with her hand.
Her jade-like hand was extraordinarily white, with fingernails showing a slight pink tint, like plum blossoms fallen on snow.
She said: “The tusu wine contains Sichuan peppercorns. If you can’t handle spicy food, drink less.”
“I can drink it,” Ning Yin said, his thin lips reddened, looking at Yu Lingxi, “Young Miss treats me well. I cannot disappoint your kindness.”
She withdrew her hand, softly contradicting: “Who’s treating you well?”
“Young Miss took me in to recover, gave me new clothes to wear, and even personally poured wine for me.”
Ning Yin enumerated each item as if counting treasures, earnestly saying, “Young Miss is the person who has treated me the best in this world.”
Fine snow curled in from beneath the bamboo blinds, coated with a warm yellow glow from the gauze lanterns, melting in the boiling steam of the small stove.
Yu Lingxi had always felt that Ning Yin’s deep voice was pleasant to hear and that if he were to speak words of love, surely no one could resist. Unfortunately, what came from those lips in the past had always been nothing but cold-blooded killing intent.
She never expected that the sweet words she’d never heard in her previous life would be made up for in this one.
Yu Lingxi shifted her gaze from Ning Yin’s face, feeling inexplicably self-conscious.
She was kind by nature, reluctant to kill or harm others, but she still harbored misgivings about what Ning Yin had done in his previous life. Anyone who died inexplicably in his bed, whose corpse was abandoned without care and became a wandering ghost, would find it difficult to let go.
She knew Ning Yin liked bright colors, yet the new clothes she gave him were inconspicuous dark blue; she also remembered Ning Yin couldn’t eat spicy food, yet she still shared the pepper-laced tusu wine with him…
Yu Lingxi couldn’t be as ruthless as Ning Yin, but no matter how spineless she might be, she knew that in this life she shouldn’t live according to Ning Yin’s preferences.
When he said she was the person who treated him best in this world, it might be a lie, but Yu Lingxi still softened her gaze.
She rested her chin on her hand, her almond eyes animated and clear, pointing her finger at Ning Yin’s mouth from a distance, mimicking his tone from the previous life: “Smile.”
Ning Yin was momentarily stunned, then obediently lifted the corners of his mouth, revealing a harmless smile.
That smile was like spring wind melting vast expanses of snow, passing through Yu Lingxi’s eyes like gentle ripples.
Yu Lingxi had never seen Ning Yin show such a clean smile, without schemes or bloodthirsty aura, only the youthful nature that could warm one’s heart.
Docile and temperate like a flour figure, Yu Lingxi suddenly felt deflated—playing little games with him seemed pointless.
The wariness and reservations in her heart gradually wavered and faded with that smile.
So she smiled too, for the first time showing a relaxed, uninhibited smile to Ning Yin.
Ning Yin didn’t understand why she was smiling, but seeing her happy, he made an even greater effort to lift the corners of his mouth, his deep black eyes firmly fixed on the lantern-lit beauty whose smile was like flowers.
“I’ve changed my mind,” Yu Lingxi said, bathed in warm light, smiling at the young man before her.
In her previous life, the oppressive and tragic pressure Ning Yin had exerted on her was so strong that her first reaction upon seeing him in this life was to settle accounts and draw clear boundaries, staying as far away from him as possible…
Perhaps there was a second path they could take?
Yu Lingxi’s cheeks flushed with the redness of wine, but her eyes had never been clearer.
“After you finish this wine and food, go back to your room and rest early,” Yu Lingxi said. “Don’t bother sweeping the snow in the courtyard.”
Ning Yin thought she was going to send him away again and quickly looked up, a hint of something like panic flashing through his dark eyes.
Yu Lingxi stood up, gazing at the fading traces of fireworks in the distant night sky, laughing lightly: “There will be plenty of time in the future. Who knows, I might still have use for you?”
Hearing her implication, the panic in Ning Yin’s eyes dispersed. He stood up, his Adam’s apple bobbing: “Does Young Miss mean…”
“Yes, I can keep you here,” Yu Lingxi answered, looking into his eyes. “I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
Ning Yin immediately replied: “I’m willing to do anything for Young Miss.”
Yu Lingxi parted her lips, with much she wanted to say, but ultimately said nothing. She simply picked up the lantern resting on the bluestone steps and walked directly toward her quarters.
In the corridor, the young man bowed and stood for a long time.
Only after watching her lantern disappear beyond the moon gate did he straighten up, lift his robe, and sit down, picking up a cup of still-warm tusu wine from the table and pouring himself a drink.
Ning Yin raised the wine cup but didn’t drink. The shadows cast by the bamboo blinds obscured his expression.
The wind rose, the bamboo blinds rolled, and in the rippling wine, the young man’s coolly curved lips, like those of a hunter, were reflected.
“Just staying here isn’t enough, is it?”
Next, he needed to gain her trust, get close to her, and openly set a trap that had been lying dormant for a long time.
…