Fruits that didn’t keep well had been made into fruit candies, neatly sorted into separate compartments, and sent to the palace for Jiang Nong to sample first.
Though the flavors differed, the candies all looked the same—translucent, round, like little sugar beans.
Jiang Nong felt they should be made in different colors or shapes to avoid mixing them up.
When Yu Lingxin saw her return, he insisted on resting his head on her shoulder, clinging to her.
She was used to it by now. He kept such a close watch on her, as if the moment he wasn’t touching her, she might vanish. She shifted her shoulder slightly—and the weight suddenly lifted. She thought he’d moved away, but actually, he’d only lightened the pressure, changing from a heavy lean to a gentle one.
Yu Lingxin saw her gaze land on his head, his lips pressed flat, and grumbled quietly with some annoyance: “Can’t I even lean on you? I’m being light.”
Jiang Nong realized that her slight movement had made him think his weight was bothering her shoulder.
Though he complained, he moved his head away and started massaging her shoulder.
She found it amusing. Following his direction, she lay back onto his lap and tapped his stomach with her fist: “I want to lean on you instead.”
Firm as a board. Quite calculating—he’d deliberately tensed his abs. Who didn’t know that muscles were soft when relaxed? Jiang Nong wouldn’t let his scheming go to waste—she praised his physique.
Her compliment pleased him. Whether it was because she said she wanted to lean on him or because she praised him—perhaps both—his lips, which had been pouty enough to hang an oil jar, curled up as he leaned down to kiss her.
Yu Lingxin, no matter how he pretended, was still petty at heart. If she showed even a hint of not loving him enough, he’d get upset. But he was easy to soothe—just a wave of the hand and he’d come trotting back like a puppy.
She kissed him, and he took the opportunity to suck on her lips, licking and kissing until half her face was wet—then she pushed him away in mock anger.
Of course, he was still one of the more perceptive dogs, knowing when to read the room. He only kissed her like this when she wasn’t wearing powder—if he really ate away her makeup in patches, she’d take him apart piece by piece.
After kissing, he used his fingers to wipe the saliva from her face.
Jiang Nong wanted to tease him. She knew it wasn’t nice, that she was being wicked—but she hadn’t just started being wicked to him yesterday.
She removed all the dividers from the candy box, shook it to mix the sweets together, and asked: “Guess what flavors these all are?”
Another one of these questions. Jiang Nong always liked playing this game with him.
Even when the answers were laid out in front of him, he’d need a moment—let alone when they all looked the same and he had to guess the flavors blindly.
Yu Lingxin asked first: “Is there a penalty for guessing wrong?”
She’d only meant to play a simple little game. She hadn’t expected him to take it so seriously. After a moment’s thought, she said: “Then the one who guesses wrong has to answer a question, alright? And the one who guesses right can ask the other a question too.”
Yu Lingxin reached for a candy in the box—but she swatted his hand away.
He looked at her, puzzled. She casually picked up a candy, popped it into her mouth, and pointed at her lips.
“If you can guess just by looking, then you win—”
Before she could finish, he’d already leaned in close, his eyes gleaming.
“Wait, wait.” She pushed him back, rolled the candy under her tongue for a moment, then signaled that he could kiss her.
He kissed her for a while until her lips felt sore, then asked: “Can you taste it yet?”
Mumbling, he kept chasing her mouth for more: “Not clear enough—let me try again.”
She pushed him away: “The candy’s all gone. If you still can’t taste it, you should get your tongue checked.”
“Peach flavor,” he said with lingering satisfaction.
Jiang Nong smacked her lips—her tongue was sore from all the sucking. She wasn’t sure why she’d even started this game.
But one should keep one’s word. She lifted her chin at him: “You can ask me one question. I’ll answer honestly.”
Perhaps he had many questions ready—as if he’d been prepared for this, he asked: “In the first life—did it hurt? Were you scared?”
“Of course I was scared. Jumping from such a high city wall—but there was no other way. It didn’t hurt, though. It was over in an instant.” She tried to sound casual.
Maybe because she’d died twice and grown detached, looking back now, the fear didn’t seem so great.
Yu Lingxin pressed his cheek against hers, clinging: “I won’t ask anymore.”
Jiang Nong popped a candy into his mouth and kissed him: “Grape flavor. Now it’s my turn.”
“Did it hurt?”
He was displeased with how perfunctorily she’d let him taste the candy and insisted she try again before answering: “No. Thinking I’d see you again made it not hurt.”
What a silly little game—yet they both enjoyed it. Another round passed, and Yu Lingxin covered Jiang Nong’s eyes.
The hard candy clicked faintly against his teeth.
“Are you done yet?” Yu Lingxin still hadn’t let go, and Jiang Nong was growing impatient.
“Almost.” He lowered his head and kissed her as he spoke. His breath washed over her, the sweet and sour fragrance of fruit magnified. She tasted something she’d never tried before.
She frowned, pulled his face down, and tasted again—so strange. There was actually a fruit she hadn’t eaten before?
“Orange?”
Yu Lingxin smiled smugly and shook his head.
She pulled him down and tasted again.
“Grape?”
He shook his head again.
She had no choice but to keep kissing him, trying to identify the candy’s flavor.
“Apple?”
“Wrong.”
“Lychee?”
…
Her lips were going numb from all the kissing. She ran through every fruit she could think of—and still couldn’t guess what Yu Lingxin had eaten.
He looked even more triumphant. Jiang Nong could even see a hint of smugness on his face.
“I give up.” Frustrated, she reached for his mouth, trying to pry it open to see what flavor he’d actually eaten.
Yu Lingxin laughed, opened his mouth, and lifted his tongue. Under his jaw, she could see four half-melted candies…
“HAHAHA—” Still tilting his head back, he laughed so hard he choked on his own saliva and coughed—then received a slap from Jiang Nong.
He kept laughing and offered her the other cheek: “This side too.”
“You cheated! I’m not playing with you anymore.”
She struggled to get up, but he pinned her down, transferred all the candies into her mouth, and kissed her hard: “No one said you can only eat one at a time. Kiss me—don’t be mad.”
“You did that on purpose! Are you kissing me for your sake or mine? Don’t think I don’t know.”
“Both of us.”
She’d wanted to tease him, but this sneaky man had turned it around and fooled her instead.
“Forget it. Ask me. Actually, even if you don’t say it, I know what you want to ask.”
“You just want to know if I’ve liked anyone else, right? You jealous thing. Of course I have.”
He turned red-eyed with panic: “You can’t.”
“Jealous thing.” She rubbed his face. “I only like you, alright? It’s always only been you.”
Only then did he look satisfied, a smile curving his lips: “Then you can ask me too.”
“Ask you what?”
“The same thing, of course. Ask if I’ve ever liked anyone else.”
What a terrible question. Jiang Nong dismissed it: “Why would I ask something I already know the answer to?”
“So confident?”
She tugged at a lock of his hair, winding it around her finger: “Have you?”
If he dared say yes, she’d strangle him with that strand of hair right then and there.
But Yu Lingxin wouldn’t let it go—he insisted she ask.
“Fine, fine.” He was so clingy. She couldn’t do anything about it. She cleared her throat solemnly, cupped her hands into a tube shape, and asked: “Then, my most, most, most beloved Yu Lingxin—have you ever, for even a moment, liked anyone else?”
He answered with confidence and gravity: “In reply to my most, most, most, most beloved Jiang Nong—no. From the dawn of consciousness, I’ve been utterly bewitched by you. In life, I am yours; in death, I am your ghost.”
After saying it, he seemed satisfied with himself before she was—as if all this loyalty he’d been storing up finally had a chance to be expressed.
If he’d had a tail, it would have been wagging into a blur.
Jiang Nong’s heart felt warm. She praised him: “Since you’re being so good, I’ll forgive you for tricking me with those four candies. But I said ‘most, most, most love you’—why did you say ‘most, most, most, most’? Then I’ll have to say ‘most, most, most, most, most love Yu Lingxin.’”
“Then Yu Lingxin most, most, most, most, most, most loves Jiang Nong.”
“Do you have to love me just a little more?” She refused to lose. “Then Jiang Nong is the number one lover of Yu Lingxin in the world! Most, most, most, most, most, most, most love Yu Lingxin!”
She tilted her head up, chin raised, squinting at him fiercely—determined to win this battle of who loved who more. If he said a hundred “most”s, she’d say a hundred and one.
She thought he’d keep competing over such a silly thing—but instead, after hearing her, his ears turned bright red. He covered his face with both hands, buried his head in his palms for a long moment, then lifted his head, face flushed, eyes sparkling—even more like a puppy. He nodded: “Yu Lingxin understands. Jiang Nong is the number one lover of Yu Lingxin in the world.”
Only then did Jiang Nong realize—she’d been tricked again. He just wanted to hear her say she loved him most! How infuriating!
Yu Lingxin leaned in and kissed her forehead: “Then can Yu Lingxin also apply for the title of number one lover of Jiang Nong in the world? Most, most, most love Jiang Nong.”
“Fine. Approved.” After all, she wasn’t a petty person!
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