Ye Jingyu was also completely stunned. When she had first rescued Lanling, she had thought him an utterly crude commoner, and making him impersonate Suo Lun had seemed like forcing the issue. Yet who could have imagined he would turn out to be so outstanding, so… refined.
One must know that the harpsichord was an extremely expensive instrument, something only the uppermost echelons of high society could afford. For Lanling to be able to play such a moving piece clearly could not have been achieved in just a few days.
Moreover, when he played, he was so confident, so elegant.
As for the matrons and the children, they simply found it extraordinarily beautiful. Their ears could not bear to miss a single note.
…
A few minutes later, Lanling finished playing.
Yet everyone still felt as though the lingering echoes were swirling around their ears, refusing to fade.
It was quite some time before Niya finally opened her beautiful eyes. A faint flush still lingered on her exquisite face, as though she had just emerged from the afterglow of intimate passion.
When she looked at Lanling again, her gaze had completely changed. She asked, “Did you compose this piece yourself?”
“Have you ever heard anyone else play it?” Lanling asked in return.
“No,” Niya replied.
“Then yes, I composed it,” Lanling said. “How was it?”
How could it merely be excellent? It completely surpassed Niya’s imagination. It even exceeded her own artistic level. She could never have created such a moving and enchanting piece.
“Among all the new compositions in the past ten years, yours ranks first,” Niya said. “What is the name of the piece?”
“Adelina by the Water… no, Niya by the Water,” Lanling replied.
The moment these words left his lips, Niya’s delicate body trembled. Her beautiful eyes instantly became dazed, as though she had drunk fine wine.
A feeling of longing she had not experienced in years, even one she had thought long gone, surged up from the depths of her heart in an instant.
Perhaps it was the memories of their past affair, or perhaps it was the marvellous music just now. In any case, Niya felt the emotions she had once held towards Suo Lun, which had grown faint, suddenly blaze back to life in full force.
Niya by the Water. Yes, this could not be faked. Because one of the things she did most often at Wangcheng Academy was to stand by the water’s edge as dusk fell, lost in thought. Sometimes she was composing music, sometimes she was daydreaming, sometimes she was simply staring blankly.
In short, those were almost the happiest moments of her day. In reality, so many things bound her down, yet when she stood by the water and let her mind wander, her thoughts soared freely without restraint.
“You composed this piece for me?” Niya asked.
“Yes,” Lanling replied.
“Then what were you trying to express with this piece?” Niya asked nervously, her voice even trembling slightly. Because for a woman like her, what she cared about most was whether someone truly understood her, truly comprehended her inner world.
Lanling knew this was the most critical moment. For a noble, innocent, and artistic woman like the one before him, once she felt that someone truly understood her heart, she would give herself completely, body and soul. It would no longer be the vengeful, clandestine affair she had once shared with Suo Lun.
Lanling gazed at Niya and said slowly, “Whenever I saw you standing by the water, I felt as though you were like a sculpture. You had a beautiful outer form, yet on the surface there was no vitality at all. But inside that shell hid another life, one that was incomparably lively, incomparably romantic, incomparably free. At that moment, I thought… if only I could bring this sculpture to life, how wonderful that would be.”
Instantly, Niya’s eyes reddened.
In her heart, only one sentence echoed: So it turns out that only you truly understand me!
Then, with a voice choked by tears, she asked, “Was that the reason you came to seduce me?”
Lanling nodded.
Niya cried, “Then why, at the final moment, did you betray our feelings?”
Suo Lun had betrayed their feelings? Lanling had absolutely no idea what had happened, and he could not ask.
But this did not stump him. His face twitched slightly as he said, “Because I… was afraid!”
“Afraid of what?” Niya asked.
“Afraid of losing my freedom. Afraid that I could not bear the responsibility for such a beautiful life as yours,” Lanling replied. The words sounded profoundly deep, yet in truth conveyed almost nothing concrete.
Yet strangely, this was exactly what Niya most wanted to hear. She would never believe that Suo Lun had merely been toying with her, that once they were caught he had immediately drawn a clear line between them.
“Come with me…” Niya beckoned with her hand, then walked into one of the rooms inside the Benevolent Relief Society.
“Hurry up…” Several matrons quickly pushed him inside, their eyes filled with blessings.
The children began to cheer and tease.
Yet Lanling’s heart was pounding wildly. This… what was happening? Was this about rekindling an old flame? But… he was still a virgin.
…
Sure enough, the moment he entered the room, a wave of fragrance rushed towards him. Then a soft, supple body threw itself directly into his arms.
The next second, hot red lips pressed against his own.
Lanling trembled. Apart from the secret kiss he had stolen from his sister, this… should be his first real kiss.
Instantly, he froze completely. The lips kissing him felt impossibly soft, impossibly sweet, impossibly hot.
But he had lost all ability to react. His mind was blank.
By the time he came back to himself, Niya’s little fragrant tongue had already slipped into his mouth, entwining, teasing, sweeping.
And Lanling could only passively accept it. As a novice, some of his reactions were already turning almost savage.
They kissed for several full minutes until Niya finally pulled away, gasping as though she were about to suffocate. Her entire body felt as though it had been set ablaze, burning hot. And she could clearly feel Lanling’s reaction, fierce and almost devouring.
Instantly, memories of her intimate moments with Suo Lun two years ago flooded back. The wild weeds in her heart surged madly. Her beautiful eyes looking at Lanling were filled with heat.
“What are you still waiting for? In the past, every time we met in secret, weren’t you always like a wild beast rushing to devour me? Before you could not have me. Now I am letting you have me,” Niya said in a trembling voice.
Indeed, she was cold and aloof on the outside, yet inside she burned with incomparable fire.
Lanling’s heart thundered. He struggled intensely. Facing such an active mixed-blood beauty, it would be a lie to say he felt nothing.
Though his heart held only his sister, he still possessed the normal urges of a man. Confronted with such a peerless beauty, it was impossible to remain unmoved.
But this woman was not one to be trifled with lightly. Once he slept with her, the consequences would be extremely serious.
Before coming here, he had already guessed that Mentor Niya was a woman with a very passionate inner nature, yet he had still underestimated her.
“I cannot…” Lanling said, breathing heavily.
Niya let out a disappointed murmur. “Why? Have you not always wanted me?”
“Because of responsibility. I am now the only man left in the family. No matter what I do, I must bear responsibility,” Lanling replied.
These words sounded lofty and righteous, yet Niya believed them completely. In her mind, she even proactively filled in many additional meanings for Lanling’s words.
He must feel that he cannot give me a future, that he still cannot control his own destiny or mine, and so he dares not take me.
A man like this was truly worthy of trust.
Two years ago, when she and Suo Lun had been caught in the act during one of their secret meetings, she had bravely proposed divorce and declared she wanted to be with Suo Lun.
Yet at that time, Suo Lun had timidly refused and drawn a clear line between them. That had left her deeply disappointed and in immense pain. Although part of the reason she had been with Suo Lun was to take revenge on her husband.
But now, the boy who had once lacked responsibility had grown up. He had become responsible and dependable.
“Suo Lun, what exactly happened with your expulsion from Wangcheng Academy?” Niya asked.
Lanling breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Finally, she had asked the crucial question.