Qu Yue grabbed the door lock and gently pulled it open, revealing a crack. "Scholar Zhuangyuan Ning?"
"Miss Qu."
The other person softly called her name again, as if replying.
After Qu Yue confirmed the other person's identity, she was then relieved to unlock the door. The cold, tinkling sound of the chain colliding rippled a subtle wave in the silent night.
The dilapidated wooden door was pushed open, and the moonlight immediately poured into the courtyard, casting a cold, silver glow.
But colder than the moon was the person before her.
It was clearly the season of Lesser Summer, but just by looking at him, she seemed to be able to feel a cold chill.
Qu Yue put away the chain and rubbed her lotus arms. Her eyes, which sparkled with a faint layer of water, looked at him. "Scholar Zhuangyuan Ning, is there something urgent?"
Outside the door, Ning Yanzhi was currently wearing the scarlet robe of a fifth-rank official, but it did not seem ostentatious. Instead, it accentuated his quiet and introverted personality.
His eyes seemed to have a faint wisp of clouds lingering around his cold and solemn willow eyes, concealing his high nose bridge that looked like a snow peak. He was elegant and cold.
He stood by the side of the door. His tall figure cast a shadow, looking even more cold and solemn.
Even the hands he stretched out seemed to carry frost. "You have to wail tomorrow. Take this."
Qu Yue observed the small, square-shaped iron box in his palm and asked curiously. "Is it a plaster?"
Ning Yanzhi nodded. "Yes."
His sharp jawline folded out a cold and hard line. His eyes, which seemed to contain thousands of years of sinking water, showed no ripples.
Qu Yue did not take the thing he gave her. Instead, she cast her gaze on Ning Yanzhi once again.
The other person accepted her gaze calmly. There seemed to be frost hanging at the end of his willow eyes.
When he saw that Qu Yue did not move for a long time, he stretched his palm forward.
Qu Yue's cheeks, which had steamed slightly because of the clothes she wore, showed a hint of confusion. "Why did you give this to me?"
Ning Yanzhi shifted his gaze silently. His beautiful eyebrows showed a hint of shyness.
His cold voice was hoarse as he replied impatiently. "For your eyes and to reduce swelling."
Qu Yue pieced together the full sentence from his few words, and her lips could not help but stretch into a smile.
She leaned forward and took the box.
Her soft fingertips grazed the palm of Ning Yanzhi, and he could not help but gently purse his lips. There was a dryness in his lips.
Qu Yue did not notice his strangeness as she smiled happily. "Thank you."
Ning Yanzhi replied with another yes.
An awkward silence fell between the two.
Qu Yue clenched the iron box. Because of her guilty conscience, her gaze could only fall and focus on the book tube on Ning Yanzhi's waist.
Actually, among the five people, the person she did not want to suspect the most was Ning Yanzhi.
He came from a poor family and was the most hardworking. He also understood her difficulties.
In addition, he was an honest and upright official, and he had always had a good reputation among the people. Qu Yue really could not link him to the person from that night.
However, anything could happen.
After all, he hated her more than the other four for forcing Mu Yuan to marry her.
Although he had taken care of her many times in the past three years, it was all because of Mu Yuan's instructions.
She still had to test him.
Ning Yanzhi saw Qu Yue's beautiful face change five expressions and thought of the scene from last night. His throat rolled. "Then, I'll first..."
Qu Yue's originally tangled heart was immediately set when she heard that he was leaving.
Because of the nervousness, her voice trembled. "H-How do I use this thing?"
Ning Yanzhi was about to turn around, but his body froze when she called out to him.
He turned around and looked back. His broken hair caressed his eyebrows. "A three-year-old child next door would know how to use it."
"..." Qu Yue opened the courtyard door on her own initiative. "Even a genius would have a shortcoming. It's normal that I don't know how to put on a plaster."
She looked at him logically. "Can I trouble Scholar Zhuangyuan Ning to give me a demonstration?"
Ning Yanzhi's eyes deepened slightly, and he did not move for a long time. "There should be a distinction between men and women."
Qu Yue had a strange thought. "What if you were to guide me?"
She only wanted to find out what Ning Yanzhi did last night. She did not really want to learn how to put on a plaster.
"I'm not convenient to enter the girl's courtyard."
Although he sent people away from the servants in the side courtyard before coming, the moral ethics told him that he could not do this.
Qu Yue did not think that this was a problem. "It's good as long as it's outside the courtyard."
Ning Yanzhi: "..."
The woman's expectant gaze overlapped with the scene from last night.
The image of him fleeing in a mess was still imprinted in his mind.
When he met her expectations, Ning Yanzhi's ears could not hide the redness.
For some reason, he did not want to see disappointment in these eyes.
The words of rejection rolled in his mouth thousands of times, but he finally said coldly. "As you wish."
Qu Yue limped as she ran over to the honeysuckle tree and carried a stone bench before returning.
After two trips, her breathing was in a mess.
In the silent courtyard, every breath was being magnified, brushing against Ning Yanzhi's ears, like a feather scratching him.
The itch spread along his ear and reached the tip of his heart.
Ning Yanzhi stared at the moon in the sky. As expected of a woman from a brothel, her methods were really amazing.
Qu Yue steadied her breathing and sat on one of the stone benches. She passed the plaster box in her palm in front of Ning Yanzhi. "Please trouble Scholar Zhuangyuan Ning."
Ning Yanzhi took the plaster and twisted open the lid. He asked as if he did not care. "Foot?"
Qu Yue was surprised that he would ask such a question. She curled her palm. "I accidentally sprained it this afternoon."
Ning Yanzhi used his fingertips to wipe the plaster before spitting out two cold words from his lips. "Amazing."
Qu Yue placed her hands obediently on her thighs, looking like an innocent and well-behaved rabbit.
Hearing this, she looked at Ning Yanzhi in confusion. "Are you complimenting me?"
Ning Yanzhi placed a bit on the other stone bench. "You can even fall during the day."
"..."
Falling did not distinguish between time and place.
Qu Yue retorted loudly in her heart.
She only dared to sit stiffly on the surface. Her two hands were clenched together because of nervousness. The faint sandalwood scent on Ning Yanzhi made her heart beat faster.
When the man approached, a large shadow enveloped her. The end of the scarlet robe grazed her leg, and immediately, her entire back straightened.
Her panicked gaze fluttered around before landing on the rolled book tube on his waist.
Was the thing that pressed against her last night this?
Compared to Qu Yue, who already had a clear target, Ning Yanzhi seemed calm, but in fact, he was already in a mess.
He did not even... understand why he agreed just now.
He took a deep breath, and his long hand, which was as thin as a fan bone, gently lifted and neared her eye area.
The woman's long eyelashes were black and thick. At this moment, they were fluttering like a dragonfly's wings. The small, purple veins on her thin eyelids were faintly visible, looking like a piece of fine porcelain.
"The plaster is cold. Don't open your eyes."
Qu Yue was just tangled on how to start testing him when she suddenly heard the man's cold reminder.
"Okay." She nodded obediently.
When the man's slightly cold fingertips pressed on her skin, a feeling of numbness spread from her eyelids to her entire body. Qu Yue sat stiffly on the stone bench.
She slowed her breathing, wishing she could become a silent stone sculpture.
The strength of his massage was very light. Each time, he pressed on her brow bone accurately, avoiding her eyeballs. He was afraid that the cold plaster would stimulate her to shed tears.
The mischievous fireflies called out, almost covering Qu Yue's faint question. "If I cried last night, and I use it today, will it be effective?"