Ning Qing raised an eyebrow, leaned close to his ear, and whispered a question.

"So what if you saw it? What, are you scared? Hmm..."

Garan deliberately ignored the scorching breaths spraying against his ears.

“This is not good for your reputation. After all, we are both men. It is improper for us to hug and cuddle in broad daylight.”

Ning Qing smiled and continued to whisper in his ear.

"Oh... so you can't hug and cuddle in broad daylight? Then is it okay to do so on a dark and stormy night?"

Jialan lifted her eyelids, her naturally affectionate phoenix eyes glaring at Ning Qing.

Her naturally expressive phoenix eyes, when she glares at someone, seem more alluring than when she's being coquettish or angry.

Ning Qing couldn't resist the temptation and lowered her head to peck Jia Lan's lips.

Garan's eyes widened in disbelief.

He never expected Ning Qing to launch a sneak attack on him.

So much so that he stood there, stunned.

Ning Qing smiled and whispered in his ear again.

"So, now you believe me when I say I love you?"

Jialan snapped out of her daze and abruptly pushed Ningqing away.

With a complex look in his eyes, he gave Ning Qing a deep look before turning and walking away quickly.

Ning Qing watched his wife's departing figure, his fingertips lightly tracing his lips, where his warmth still seemed to linger.

Lin Zilan ran back to her room, becoming increasingly angry as she thought about it.

Looking at the furnishings in the room, the more I looked, the more irritating they became.

He pulled out the whip wrapped around his waist and lashed it forcefully at all the furnishings in the room.

A series of crackling sounds suddenly filled the room.

Seeing this, her maid could only shrink into a corner, trying to minimize her presence.

By the time Lin Zilan stopped wielding her whip, the room was already a complete mess.

She sat angrily in the room, on the only chair that hadn't been affected.

He shouted at the maid in the corner.

"What are you standing there for? Come here."

The maidservant approached slowly and hesitantly.

"Miss, is there anything you need?"

Lin Zilan saw that the maid was acting weak and submissive.

He glanced at her with considerable displeasure.

"I'm asking you, has anything happened in the manor these past two days?"

The maid racked her brains for a while.

He looked up and replied under Lin Zilan's impatient gaze.

"Replying to Miss, nothing unusual has happened in the manor these past two days."

Lin Zilan couldn't understand why her senior brother, who had always been so obedient to her, had suddenly changed his attitude.

There must be some reason for this.

She asked again.

"Is there anything different about your presence, Senior Brother?"

The maid recalled the events again, and suddenly her eyes lit up.

"Yes, the Grand Preceptor brought back a pair of brothers a couple of days ago. One of them was dressed in red and people say he is incredibly beautiful, even prettier than a young girl. He... seems to often serve the Grand Preceptor."

His voice trailed off at this point.

His eyes cautiously observed Lin Zilan's expression, afraid that his words might displease her.

Lin Zilan heard that someone was wearing red and thought about it carefully.

There seemed to be a figure dressed in red next to my senior brother just now.

At the time, I was so focused on being angry that I didn't notice his presence.

Looking back now, I can't clearly remember his face, I only vaguely remember a red figure.

Lin Zilan rested her chin on her hand, pondering whether her senior brother's sudden change in attitude towards her was related to that person's appearance.