Chapter 147: Heart's Intent

Lin Hao walked quickly toward Cheng Shu's residence, but once she reached the door, she hesitated.

The Prince of Jing's heir's actions yesterday had kept her tossing and turning for a long time; now that she had to face him, she felt an inexplicable sense of awkwardness.

It was Cheng Shu's manservant who noticed her first: "Second Miss is here."

Lin Hao gave a slight nod and stepped inside.

"Big Brother, Heir, are you drinking?"

Cheng Shu gripped his wine cup, somewhat surprised: "A-Hao, why are you here?"

His face was slightly flushed, looking as though he had already drunk quite a bit. Looking at Qi Shuo, however, his skin remained cold and pale, like congealed fat or white jade.

Lin Hao couldn't help but suspect this was a one-sided drinking session.

"Is Second Miss Lin feeling better?" Compared to Cheng Shu's surprise, Qi Shuo appeared much calmer.

This was the version of him Lin Hao saw most often; the urgent young man from yesterday seemed as if he had never existed.

She steadied herself and offered a smile: "Just some minor superficial wounds."

"I won't disturb Big Brother and the Heir's drinking, will I?"

"No," Cheng Shu blurted out, just as Lin Hao sat down.

He froze, looked down at the wine pot, then at his sister's spring-like smiling face, and began to hesitate.

Normally, when someone joins a drinking session, one should pour them a drink. But if he let A-Hao drink strong liquor, his aunt would surely come at him with a blade to settle the score.

To prevent her brother from agonizing further, Lin Hao stated her purpose: "I heard from Mother that you all just returned from the Jinlin Guard. Did something happen?"

Cheng Shu's first instinct was to hide it: "Nothing happened."

Though A-Hao was fiercer than he imagined, she was still a young girl after all; he shouldn't let her worry about outside affairs.

Lin Hao pursed her lips.

She knew her brother would be like this.

She turned her gaze toward Qi Shuo.

Compared to her brother, it was the Prince of Jing's heir who had witnessed her unconventional nature and did not treat her like an innocent, sheltered young girl.

Qi Shuo did not disappoint Lin Hao; he spoke very directly: "Two high-value fugitives are dead, died of poisoning. It is speculated that there was an internal issue within the Jinlin Guard. Brother Cheng recognized one of the fugitives, so he was summoned by the Jinlin Guard."

Cheng Shu opened his mouth, looking at Qi Shuo with a hint of resentment in his eyes.

Not only did he sell him out quickly, but he sold him out thoroughly. Were they even friends?

Qi Shuo's words were like a clap of thunder, leaving Lin Hao dazed for a moment before she regained her senses.

"Big Brother saw the person who kidnapped Eldest Sister?"

"Familiar, just familiar." Having answered similar questions too many times in a single day, Cheng Shu felt somewhat helpless; he picked up his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.

On one hand, he was frustrated by being entangled with the Jinlin Guard, but on the other, he was happy to have made a friend like Qi Shuo. He had drunk quite a bit before Lin Hao arrived; after this cup went down, his eyes quickly became misty and heavy.

"Big Brother, are you alright?"

"I'm... fine." Cheng Shu waved his hand, his tongue feeling heavy.

Lin Hao glanced at Qi Shuo.

"Brother Cheng has drunk too much. Let him rest properly."

Lin Hao nodded, called a manservant to look after the drunkard, and saw Qi Shuo out.

The golden crow had already fallen behind the western mountains. A stubborn patch of burnt-orange clouds illuminated the path on the ground, draping a faint glow over the pair of youths walking side by side.

Lin Hao originally had a belly full of questions, but with only the two of them left, the atmosphere suddenly turned quiet.

It was Qi Shuo who broke the silence: "Does your hand still hurt?"

Lin Hao lifted her hand; the cotton handkerchief used to wrap the wound yesterday had long since been replaced by soft gauze.

"I applied medicine; it stopped hurting long ago."

"In the future, Second Miss Lin should not put herself in danger again."

Lin Hao shook her head: "Some things, one must take risks for."

She couldn't just watch her eldest sister be kidnapped; that might not be dangerous, but it would leave her with lifelong regrets.

"The Heir should understand me. Aren't you the same?"

A man who was clearly so restrained and low-profile had killed Fang Chengji just to eliminate the potential danger to her family, based solely on a few pieces of unverified information she had provided.

"I understand." Qi Shuo took a few steps forward, the words pressing against the tip of his tongue finally coming out: "But I will worry."

Lin Hao's footsteps faltered.

While friends care for one another, they were, after all, a male and a female friend. To say it so bluntly... wasn't that a bit unusual?

She felt... the Prince of Jing's heir seemed to like her...

As soon as this thought arose, it was like a summer breeze brushing her face, making her cheeks burn.

Lin Hao averted her eyes, her gaze falling unconsciously upon the flowers and trees by the roadside.

Though the spring chill remained, the vegetation was beginning to revive; a magnolia had quietly bloomed.

Lin Hao's first impression was that it was quite beautiful.

She looked at Qi Shuo, and the lake of her heart, which had been suddenly stirred, returned to calm. She said grandly, "Thank you for your concern, Heir."

She couldn't panic. Setting aside whether she was being conceited, even if the Prince of Jing's heir truly had feelings for her, she couldn't sort out her own thoughts yet. What was the rush?

Lin Hao's composure made Qi Shuo's heart sink slightly.

If A-Hao had feelings for him, she should at least show some shyness, rather than this calm and composed manner.

Normally, a young man who had ingrained restraint into his very bones would silently tuck away his surging emotions, but unfortunately, he had been drinking—and quite a lot.

He opened his mouth, and those words, laced with a faint hint of alcohol, drifted into Lin Hao's ears on the wind: "I won't just worry; I will also feel heartache."

Lin Hao came to a sudden halt, staring intently into his eyes.

Those eyes were as bright as stars and the moon, containing a light she could not decipher.

The Prince of Jing's heir... really seemed to like her.

She had originally intended to ask about the urgent matters regarding the Jinlin Guard; how did the topic drift here?

"Second Miss Lin." Under Lin Hao's long silence, Qi Shuo spoke again.

Lin Hao looked at him with a chaotic mind, waiting for him to continue.

"May I have the standing to feel heartache?" Qi Shuo asked the question slowly.

At twenty years old, he possessed the sharp edges of a young man while retaining the unripeness of a youth. At this moment, he was like that magnolia by the roadside—quite beautiful.

Lin Hao's heart gave a violent thud, and she cursed inwardly at how beauty could lead one astray.

By now, even if she were extremely slow, she understood the other party's intentions.

She wasn't being conceited; the Prince of Jing's heir liked her.

So, did she like the Prince of Jing's heir?

Amidst the other party's restrained, quiet waiting, Lin Hao asked herself in secret.

It seemed... she didn't dislike this feeling.

Realizing this, Lin Hao suddenly felt her cheeks grow hot.

That must be love.

But the moment that thought surfaced, a pair of eyes abruptly appeared in her mind.

Those eyes, which seemed obscured by a veil of gauze, had because of a sword piercing through their hearts, inevitably left a mark in her soul.

Lin Hao was uncertain.

In her past life, she had died without the chance to experience what love was, so she had no reference.

To love someone should be to give one's whole heart, with nothing else in mind, right?

She couldn't give an answer immediately, nor did she want to deceive him: "I don't know... I'm uncertain... I might need to think about it."

Her answer sounded like a rejection, but the young man waiting for an answer slightly curled the corners of his lips.

The fact that her heart was in turmoil and she couldn't give an answer was, in itself, an answer.

He raised his eyes, glancing at the crescent moon on the horizon that was so faint it almost lacked presence.

The moonlight was indeed beautiful.

(End of Chapter)