Chapter 125 Killing the Grand Duke (Thirteen) The tassels sway and sway.
Candy sticks.
These days, it's all the rage to use to soothe children.
Take a wooden skewer, dip it in sugar syrup, and stir it into a ball. The ball is crystal clear and has an amber luster in the sunlight. It is sticky and chewy, and it takes a bit of chewing to eat. But the more you chew, the more it sticks to your tongue and won't let go.
If you bring it close, you can smell a faint aroma of glutinous rice.
"Last night I saw that my senior brother was craving something, though I don't know what he was craving, but," Gu Lianzhou said in a light tone, as if stating a very ordinary fact, "it must be a sweet treat."
Song Qiling's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, unsure whether to accept it or not.
What sweet foods?
She's just...
The beautiful scenes from last night flashed through my mind.
It seems that she had made some outrageous remarks before biting her junior brother's lips...
Before she could think it through, the candy in front of her was neatly and decisively handed to her. The wooden stick was pressed against her knuckles, and he gently pulled her fingers together, leaving a dry, warm residue where his fingertips had passed.
Song Qiling stared blankly at the skewer, looked up at her junior brother, and was about to speak when she saw him step over the threshold.
With a gentle sway of their clothes, the distance between them had already shortened.
The young man's tall figure almost blocked out most of the sun. He looked down at his senior brother, whose face was flushed, and casually turned the door away.
The vermilion wooden door slowly closed.
The courtyard was isolated from the outside world.
The fingers gripping the wooden skewer tightened suddenly, and with a "snap," the candy ball, like a garlic clove lying flat on the ground, clung tightly to the back of Song Qiling's hand.
But right now, she doesn't care about the candy or not.
As the man strode closer, almost enveloping her in his shadow, her feet seemed to have a mind of their own and wouldn't move an inch.
Song Qiling realized that the person she had humiliated had come to her door demanding an explanation.
Sure enough, those slightly upturned lips slowly opened and closed, and he said slowly and deliberately, "Senior brother, now that you have tasted mine, you cannot taste anyone else's."
"Try...try what?" Song Qiling's eyes flickered slightly, and she almost bit her tongue as she spoke.
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed his junior brother frowning, looking quite troubled, and asked, "Senior brother, do you not remember?"
"I remember!" she blurted out without thinking.
Only after he finished speaking did she realize the deeper meaning in his words, and her heart suddenly started pounding wildly in her chest like a drum.
"My senior brother was so enthusiastic last night, I thought he just wanted to be close to me..." The man lowered his eyelashes, his free hand twirling the tassel at his waist, swaying it unconsciously.
The lake-blue tassels swayed back and forth.
The shaking made her heart race and her breathing become erratic.
"It kept me up all night, my mind was filled with thoughts of my senior brother." He loosened the tassel, letting it droop quietly to his side, his voice low as a sigh, "Doesn't my senior brother have me in his heart?"
"Buzz—"
The taut string in my mind snapped instantly.
What is my junior brother doing?
Is it pouring out its heart to itself?
The thought had barely formed when I felt my ears burning.
My heart felt like it was pounding with a rabbit, each jump making my fingertips tremble and my eardrums rumble.
The sugar syrup at the tip of the skewer melted from the body heat, and the sticky syrup dripped down between the fingers, sticking to the skin and making one feel uneasy.
“I…” she opened her mouth, her voice so soft it was almost blown away by the wind, “Of course, I am willing to take responsibility.”
The moment she finished speaking, she clearly saw a hint of surprise flash across her junior brother's eyes, as if he hadn't expected her to answer so decisively.
The courtyard suddenly fell silent, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Gu Lianzhou had prepared himself to be rejected and given the runaround, but she was stunned by her words.
After a long pause, he hesitated before asking, "How can I take responsibility?"
Song Qiling took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
Her voice was still trembling, but it carried a resolute determination: "Alcohol is not enough to make a person lose their senses. What I did last night was simply... my body followed my heart, and my heart yearned for it."
Gu Lianzhou stared at her silently, his dark eyes swirling with unfathomable emotions.
He looked at her flushed cheeks, her slightly trembling lips, and her eyes that, though trying to remain calm, betrayed her panic.
Suddenly, he chuckled very softly.
“Senior brother,” he called out, his voice much softer than before, “Do I look scary… why are you trembling?”
At a time like this, why is he still making fun of himself?
Song Qiling, driven by a wicked impulse, reached out and grabbed the hem of his clothes, gritting his teeth as he said, "I'm expressing my feelings to you, be serious."
Gu Lianzhou wondered if there was something wrong with his ears. A look of doubt appeared on his face. He took half a step forward until the toes of his shoes touched, leaving no gap. "Senior brother, can you explain it more clearly? I don't understand."
Song Qiling: "..."
She was now absolutely certain that beneath her junior brother's glamorous exterior lay a belly full of wicked schemes.
“If you’re going to take responsibility, it has to be mutual. If only I’m willing, it’s just a forced marriage,” she said, her knuckles slightly clenched, making her junior brother’s clothes wrinkle. Her voice trembled, but her eyes were fixed on Gu Lianzhou. “It won’t be sweet.”
After thinking for a moment, she continued, "I have always felt guilty for keeping this from you for so long, so I don't expect your forgiveness. Besides, you were so clingy when I was still a 'man', which made me mistakenly think that you had homosexual tendencies. As a result, I became more and more afraid to reveal my true feelings."
"It was only last night... after the absurdity, that I understood your feelings, and I... I was very happy."
After she finished speaking, she was met with a long silence.
After a long while, Song Qiling lowered his eyes in embarrassment, repeatedly pondering his words, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that he might have said something wrong.
Just as I was feeling annoyed, a soft sound came from above my head.
Someone seemed unable to hold back and burst out laughing.
"Senior brother... This is the first time I've heard you say sweet words, I'm really not used to it."
Inappropriate ridicule
In return, I received a glare.
"You're really... so annoying." Song Qiling angrily tugged at his clothes, pulling him forward. "And these two worthless candies of yours, they melted before I even had a taste, and they're all over my hands."
Gu Lianzhou looked at her hand holding the candy as instructed, raising his eyebrows slightly, "How can you hold it like that? The syrup will just drip down between your fingers."
As he spoke, he reached down and pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve, pinched his senior brother's knuckles, and carefully wiped away the sticky residue. "It's a pity to just throw it away like that. I wonder if the syrup that the peddler made was sweet."
"But you don't like sweets..."
The conversation abruptly ended in a moment of astonishment.
Song Qiling felt a damp heat on her fingertips.
The junior brother lowered his head and brazenly took her syrup-covered fingertip into his mouth, his tongue lightly brushing against the sticky syrup.
The warm sensation traveled up my fingertips.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she froze on the spot, watching helplessly as Gu Lianzhou released her fingertips.
The person still had a bit of glistening sugar stain on their lips, and their eyes were full of laughter. "It really is sweet."
"Are you a dog?" She abruptly pulled her hand back, stammering, "Why do you lick everything you see?"
But I felt a tingling sensation in my fingertips, and the lingering damp heat lingered.
"That's so unreasonable." Gu Lianzhou clenched her handkerchief, complaining, "Last night, my senior brother clearly treated me like a snack, licking and nibbling at me, and now he's scolding me..."
Why bring this up again out of the blue?
Song Qiling was truly afraid of this junior brother, wishing she could reach out and shut him up, but everything he said was something she had done herself.
She was speechless.
For a moment, guilt took over.
"Yes, yes, yes, it was my lust that got the better of me." She had no choice but to accept her fate. "I was drunk and bewitched, so I took advantage of you. Ancestor, stop being sarcastic and please forgive me."
Such a self-destructive confession is truly unprecedented and will likely never be repeated.
Gu Lianzhou chuckled at her appearance, took her hand again, and carefully wiped her fingers. "Senior brother, this matter was consensual, a natural progression of mutual affection. How can you take all the blame on one person?"
"Heh." Song Qiling snorted coldly, "Shut up already, or I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back."
Upon hearing this, Gu Lianzhou indeed pursed his lips and remained silent.
But the syrup was partially melted by body heat, and the more you rubbed it, the stickier it became, with fine silver threads being pulled between the handkerchief and your skin, tangled and inextricably intertwined.
The two men frowned simultaneously as they watched the situation worsen despite their efforts to clean it.
Finally, Gu Lianzhou sighed helplessly, took the sticky hand, and turned to lead her toward the water vat in the corner of the courtyard.
Watching the water wash away the golden syrup, Song Qiling sighed softly, "What a waste of two candies."
It didn't feel like food to her; it felt more like a spell that had been cast on her. Not only could she not eat it, but it was also sticky and bothersome.
Gu Lianzhou was in a very good mood, and rubbed her fingers together, saying with a smile, "If you want to eat it, we can buy it next time."
"I dare not eat any more," she repeatedly declined, "I'm afraid that if my fingers get on them, some madman will lick them."
Gu Lianzhou: "..."
This matter is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke up, "Senior brother, shall I still call you senior brother from now on?"
"What, you've finally realized it?" Song Qiling raised an eyebrow, shook her washed hands, stood up, and looked down at the man beside the water vat.
"From now on, you should call me 'Senior Sister' instead." Song Qiling's lips curled up slightly, feeling incredibly pleased.
Ultimately, according to seniority, she should be higher than Gu Lianzhou.
After being called "senior brother" for so long, I can finally change this incorrect title.
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Lianzhou was still squatting by the water vat, his fingertips unconsciously stirring the water's surface, creating ripples that reflected his slightly furrowed brows.
“I’ve been calling you ‘senior brother’ for so long…” He looked up, his eyes filled with a rare hint of unease. “Changing how I address you now just feels awkward.”
Moreover, according to age, he is clearly two years older than her.
“That makes sense.” Song Qiling squatted down next to him again, staring at the finger that was stirring the water, a look of confusion on her face.
If Gu Lianzhou really called her "Senior Sister"...
Alas.
Just thinking about it gave her goosebumps.
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