Chapter 11 Unbridled
The candlelight in the corridor outside the door was blazing. Lu Qian stood against the light and saw clearly the change from annoyance to astonishment in the girl's eyes.
"Why are you here?" Song Lingyi asked blankly, "Did your uncle ask you to come?"
Lu Qian said "hmm" indifferently, his jaw moving slightly, looking as usual out of tune.
The room was still bustling with people's colorful skirts fluttering. Everyone was a little drunk and didn't pay much attention to the movement at the door.
"The banquet is almost over. Wenxuan is in a bad mood today. It's not convenient for Ayu and I to leave early." Song Lingyi didn't know why, but she felt a little guilty.
Lu Qian remained silent, his expression cold, and looked at the girl with his eyelashes drooping.
She had dressed up tonight, probably for the banquet, in a lake-colored silk dress with a subtle plum, orchid, and bamboo pattern. The color was elegant yet luxurious, her hair was disheveled, and she wore a light layer of makeup. The candlelight danced in her bright, dark eyes, a bright and cold one that really struck Lu Qian.
The two stood awkwardly at the door for a long time, with the music and noise behind them never stopping.
At this moment, someone suddenly grabbed Song Lingyi's shoulders from behind, reeking of alcohol and with drunken eyes.
"Lingyi, what are you doing here? Come and drink with us..." Huo Wenxuan said as she brought a glass of wine to Song Lingyi's lips, "This wine is good, try it."
The wine glass was brought to her lips, and just after a little touch, Song Lingyi was choked by the strong smell of alcohol, her facial features wrinkled up, and her throat felt burning.
Before she finished drinking, the wine glass in Huo Wenxuan's hand was snatched away by a hand. She took a closer look and found that the person standing outside the door was Lu Qian.
"You?" Huo Wenxuan spoke slowly after getting drunk. "Why are you here?"
Lu Qian drank the wine with his head tilted back, then stuffed the empty glass back into Huo Wenxuan's hand, then took the dazed Song Lingyi's hand and left the elegant room without saying a word.
The backyard of Zuixianlou is full of flourishing flowers and trees, the long corridor is dimly lit with candles, and occasionally a few drunkards pass by, but overall it is quite quiet.
The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and the breeze blows away some of the smell of alcohol.
To keep up with Lu Qian's pace, Song Lingyi had to take two steps at a time, looking a bit awkward. The candlelight flickered, and there was no one around. She struggled to free herself from his hand that was shackled around her wrist.
"Why did you bring me here?"
Under the dim light, Lu Qian's eyes were gloomy, his tongue slid across his cheek, and his voice was cold: "If I don't look for you, are you going to keep this stalemate?"
"Ah?" Song Lingyi was a little confused.
Why are you suddenly saying this?
Lu Qian took a deep breath and said helplessly, "Okay, I admit that I spoke in a bad manner that day. What about you?"
"I was worried you hadn't returned home, so I wanted to go out and look for you, but where were you? You were with Pei Zhao, chatting and laughing. I just said something to him, and you gave me a cold look. When I asked if you liked him, you didn't even deny it."
"..." After listening to his complaining accusation, Song Lingyi felt like she had become a fickle and scumbag.
But she didn't respond to Lu Qian, not because she liked Pei Zhao, but because she didn't dare to respond.
She had a good impression of Pei Zhao at first, but Lu Qian's arrogance and dominance later shattered this good impression.
Dayuan's cousins agreed to get married, but she was still sad.
"Since you have so many complaints, why do you come to me?" Song Lingyi muttered with her head down, deliberately ignoring the burning gaze above her head.
"Because I'm afraid that if I don't look for you again, you will really forget me." Lu Qian's eyes were deep. When Song Lingyi raised her eyes and looked into his, a trace of guilt passed through her.
"I'm not an idiot. How could I forget someone after not seeing them for a few days?"
"That's hard to say." Lu Qian lowered his eyes to look at her, his lazy tone seemed to have a deep meaning, "Maybe if I don't keep an eye on you, you will marry someone else."
"……"baffling.
They looked at each other, and it was hard to tell whether the atmosphere at the moment was more ambiguous or confrontational. In any case, the two of them did not speak for a long time, and only the faint sound of the soft music in the building could be heard.
Until Song Lingyi's hand hanging by her side was gently touched by someone. She looked down and saw that the big hand with distinct joints slid down along her tiger's mouth until it wrapped around her entire palm, and then the ten fingers were interlocked. A numbness instantly rose under her skin.
Her gaze gradually shifted to Lu Qian's face, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and she whispered, "It seems we haven't reconciled yet."
After all, she didn't explain any of the issues he cared about.
"Forget it." Lu Qian sighed, his tone nonchalant. "After that night, I wanted to leave you alone for a while. Once you calm down, maybe my feelings for you won't be so strong anymore."
But he found that he couldn't do it at all. In the past, he could still find some fun in the drunken life, chatting and laughing in the Jinzun Tower, but ever since Song Lingyi came to the Duke's Mansion and experienced the despair of repeated loss in his dreams, all his thoughts and concerns were focused on her.
For more than half a month, even if I just repeated my previous life, I felt bored.
Song Lingyi pursed her lips, her eyes half closed. She tried to pull her hand free, but she couldn't.
"Honestly, Song Lingyi, I've been thinking about you every day for more than half a month. You're all on my mind." Lu Qian's Adam's apple rolled heavily, and he raised his eyebrows to suppress a smile. "Anyway, you won't explain to me, so I can only be generous and forgive you."
"Then should I thank you, Young Master Lu?" Song Lingyi rolled her eyes, speechless.
It was obviously he who was being unreasonable, but after disappearing for a while, he managed to calm himself down.
Her crow-feather eyelashes blinked innocently, and her voice carried a hint of joy, "You're welcome."
The summer night was hot, and their interlocked fingers were sweating. Song Lingyi struggled twice, but the man only tightened his grip.
"The banquet is almost over, I have to go find Ayu," she said.
"No rush."
Lu Qian suddenly took a step closer, and the youth's fragrance, like the wind, overwhelmed Song Lingyi's breath. His interlocked hands finally loosened, and he grasped her wrist instead.
Song Lingyi's heart started to panic, and she stepped back until her heels touched the pillar. The young man in front of her was still approaching her without giving her any room to refuse, with his long arms supporting her face, as if holding her in his arms, in a very intimate posture.
"Hiss~"
The originally charming atmosphere was broken by Lu Qian's painful noise, "You're pulling it again? Can you please change your ear? I pulled this one last time and it hurt for a long time."
Song Lingyi grabbed his ear fiercely and refused to let go. "Who told you to do such evil? Live—"
Before she could finish her words, Lu Qian kissed her from the side of her face.
He thrust forward, slid in and stirred. The hand that was supporting the wall gradually moved down, completely enveloping the person in his arms, suppressing the person's hands that kept pushing him away.
Song Lingyi's breathing was taken away, and her head became more and more dizzy. When she felt like she was about to suffocate, Lu Qian finally withdrew and buried his head in her shoulder, his warm breath spraying on her skin, which was extremely ambiguous.
Looking back to her previous life, Song Lingyi had been pursued by many boys, but no one had ever been so straightforward, reckless, and passionate to the point of making people's hearts beat fast.
Her chest heaved as she tried to push away the boy who was burying his head in her neck, but he hugged her even tighter.
"Lu Qian, could you please not—"
The warm lips pressed against his again, his jaw tilted slightly, and he kissed deeply with his teeth. After a long time, the suffocating feeling came again, and Song Lingyi couldn't help but bite him.
But the sharp pain did not make Lu Qian retreat. He took a deep breath and kissed her deeper and more unscrupulously.
After a long moment, Lu Qian retreated, panting slightly, their foreheads touching. He felt very satisfied and happy.
"Song Lingyi."
"Hmm?" The response was nasal.
"When will you marry me?"
This statement was neither straightforward nor euphemistic, and Song Lingyi was at a loss for words. This man would take advantage of any opportunity, and being slightly nice to him could be interpreted as a two-way relationship.
She really didn't dare to give an answer casually.
"...I'll think about it."
The answer that was not really an answer made Lu Qian feel very upset. The dim candlelight shining on his profile made him look even more lonely.
Walking out of the gate of Zuixianlou, the streets are brightly lit, people are coming and going, and the bustle is as lively as during the day.
On the return carriage, Lu Yu fell drunkenly into her cousin's arms and didn't even notice that there was an extra person in the carriage.
When the carriage stopped, Lu Qian naturally took Lu Yu and carried her back to his own courtyard. On the way, he met Wang Shi, who also "complained" about Lu Yu's drunkenness. As a brother, he went to pick her up.
So, when Lu Yu sobered up, what awaited her was her mother's anger and punishment. She was so angry that she ignored Lu Qian for several days and even dragged her cousin to stop her from paying attention to him.
Mid-Autumn Festival was just a few days away, and the city was hosting a lantern festival. After dinner, the Duke and his family rode in a carriage to the lantern fair. Lanterns hung from the buildings lining the street, their frames wrapped in sheepskin and painted with a dazzling array of designs.
The bright moon hangs high in the sky and the lantern market is bustling with people.
The Lu and Pei families went to the lantern festival together, but with Lu Qian there, Song Lingyi had no chance to talk to Pei Zhao.
Suddenly, a lion dance troupe came towards them from the front. The artists wearing Fuwa masks bowed and somersaulted all the way. The sound of ping-pong was getting closer and closer, making their eardrums bulge.
There were already many people on the street, and before she knew it, Song Lingyi and Lu Qian were separated.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
