Chapter 5

Chapter 5

This Begonia Demon was even harder to deal with than my boss.

Liking him was wrong. Not liking him was wrong too.

I had no idea where he heard the news that I was engaged.

His face went livid on the spot.

He flung the door open and snapped, “I’m going to His Highness right now to expose you. I’ll tell him you’ve corrupted the inner courtyard and carried on an affair with me. Your crime deserves death!”

I was so frightened that I hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth and hissed, “Keep your voice down! Is this something to be proud of?”

I dragged him back into the room and coaxed him, telling him that Qiaomei and I were only a fake couple.

“So what if I like you? You’re still a man with the same parts as me. You can’t carry on the Lin Family line. I’m already this old, and there’s no one in my room who cares whether I’m warm or cold. People point at my back and gossip about me all day long. Do you think that feels good?”

Seeing that the Begonia Demon had finally calmed down, I kept selling my misery.

“You belong to His Highness. You’re the moon in the sky, the snow above the clouds. No matter how much I like you, I can only think about you in my dreams.”

I lowered myself as far as I could, playing the part of a humble, honest man to perfection.

In the end, he did take my words to heart and stopped talking about exposing me.

I secretly let out a breath of relief.

I should listen to Wang Hu and slowly cut things off with him.

Otherwise, if His Highness really found out, my little life would be over.

After a long while, I heard him say resentfully, “You keep saying you like me, but I’ve never seen anyone like someone the way you do. You never asked my name, never inquired about what I enjoy. Every day you’re like a sealed gourd, coming in to apply my medicine and then leaving. If I hadn’t transferred you to serve by my side, I doubt I would have seen you even once all year.”

Who said I hadn’t asked? I had Xiao Tao sound him out ages ago.

I lowered my head, stared at the red mole on his wrist, and said softly, “Your name is Xiao Ling. You’re from Jiangnan. You like light dishes and delicate incense. After your afternoon nap, you like strolling by the lotus pond and teasing the fat fish in the water. At night, you often can’t sleep, so you carry around a wine jug and drink in the cold wind.”

Some of that, I had gotten from Xiao Tao.

The rest, I had memorized after sneaking into Lotus Garden to watch him in secret.

Xiao Ling pinched his fan and tapped the back of my hand with it.

I turned my hand over and gripped the fan, then slowly slid along the handle until I caught hold of his wrist.

He glanced at me with a frown.

Seeing that he didn’t pull away, I grew a little bolder and took his hand in mine.

After doing all that, my heart was pounding wildly.

Out of nowhere, Xiao Ling said, “Aren’t you best at painting portraits? You painted so many for Lin Qingyan before. Why haven’t you painted even one or two for me?”