Chapter 55 Is It Me You Are Thinking Of?

The incandescent light shone down from the ceiling.

Shang Moting’s eyes seemed to flash with a cold, piercing light that struck straight to the heart.

Lin Ting met his gaze for a moment before looking away to the side. "If I told you that the thing I am looking for, once found here, will cost you your life, what would you do? Help me look for it? Or kill me first?"

Shang Moting looked at her profile. "I had no idea I possessed something so dangerous."

Lin Ting did not speak.

She wasn't sure if it was here.

She had only found out that it seemed to be connected to Shang Moting.

However, she couldn't be certain whether he was truly involved.

If he were involved, if it really turned out to be him, speaking the truth would make it extremely difficult for her to leave this place.

Seeing that she refused to say more, Shang Moting lowered his head and continued to disinfect the wound.

Lin Ting turned her head slightly, her fingers rubbing back and forth against the end-of-bed bench.

Silence spread through the room, oppressive enough to make it hard to breathe.

A burning sensation came from the wound.

Lin Ting flinched slightly.

Shang Moting paused with the cotton swab, then leaned closer and blew gently on the wound, trying to soothe the burning pain.

A cool breeze brushed across her skin like a feather lightly sweeping by.

Lin Ting’s body suddenly stiffened, while ripples stirred deep within her heart.

She looked at Shang Moting.

Shang Moting applied the medicine to the wound earnestly and carefully wrapped it up.

Then, he raised his head and looked at Lin Ting.

Lin Ting met his gaze, only to quickly look away again.

"Judging by this, you haven't found the thing?" Shang Moting asked.

Lin Ting remained silent.

There were simply too many things inside.

The item she needed to find was small, making it impossible to search through everything.

Shang Moting caught her hand, which was still pressing against her clothes.

The wound had already been bandaged, but Lin Ting had continued to press down on her clothes without letting go.

Her hand dropped.

Shang Moting pulled her up, took her hand, and led her back to the study.

They stood once more in front of the bookshelf.

Lin Ting looked at Shang Moting in confusion.

Shang Moting tapped his fingers against the bookshelf and said, "Look here."

Lin Ting watched his hands.

With just a few deft movements, Shang Moting opened the bookshelf.

Lin Ting: "............"

So what were all those times she had sneaked in five separate times, and stood in front of this bookshelf for hours today?

Was it just a test of her physical endurance?

"The way you tried to open it was by dismantling my mechanism," Shang Moting said. "You were studying its operating principles."

Lin Ting: "............"

Fine.

She would count it as mental stamina as well.

"Did you memorize it?" Shang Moting asked.

Lin Ting looked at him again.

Shang Moting pressed the top of her head, turning her face back toward the bookshelf.

He operated the mechanism once more.

Lin Ting blinked in a daze.

Shang Moting then led her over to the mechanical desk on the other side.

After another series of operations, he produced a set of keys.

"The keys are needed to open the several boxes inside the collection room within the bookshelf," Shang Moting said. "They are all right here."

Lin Ting did not take them.

Shang Moting placed them directly into her hand.

Lin Ting’s heartbeat quickened. As she looked at him, her mind became somewhat chaotic and tangled.

This tangled emotion made her immensely irritable, making it hard to control her feelings.

She stepped forward, grabbed his collar, and pulled him toward her. Staring directly into his eyes, she said harshly, "If you give me these things and tell me all this, once I find out it was you, I really will take your life. I won't show mercy just because you've been good to me."

Shang Moting looked straight into her eyes, which were filled with agitation and fierce hostility. A slight curve touched his lips as he said, "It's just a life."

Lin Ting frowned.

Shang Moting continued, "Living in boredom is far worse than dying an interesting death."

Lin Ting was shocked.

She had no idea how he could utter such words with such calm.

Right now, she felt he looked like an absolute madman.

Shang Moting held her hand, smiled slightly, and said, "Besides, I'm also quite curious about what reason could possibly make you want to kill me."

Lin Ting tightened her grip on his collar.

Shang Moting lowered his gaze to her hands for a moment, then looked back at her. "Lin Ting, searching for something takes a lot of thought and energy, doesn't it?"

Lin Ting didn't know why he suddenly asked this.

Shang Moting went on, "If you find it here with me, the matter is resolved, and you won't have to rack your brains over it anymore. Once it's over, you'll feel much more relieved."

Looking into his eyes, Lin Ting clearly felt his oppressive aura pressing down upon her.

She found herself agreeing with his words.

"But..." Shang Moting released her hand and stroked her cheek. "Deep down in your heart, do you really want to find what you're looking for from me?"

Lin Ting’s eyes suddenly widened slightly.

Her expression cleared up significantly.

Without needing her answer, Shang Moting had already obtained it.

Lin Ting let go of his collar.

Shang Moting straightened his posture.

Lin Ting said, "But if it really is you, I will definitely show no mercy."

With that, she turned and left the study.

The bunch of keys in her hand was left lying on his desk.

Shang Moting watched her retreating figure for a moment before letting out a soft laugh.

...

Lin Ting did not leave the house; instead, she returned to her bedroom.

Dinner was brought upstairs by the housekeeper.

After she finished eating, the housekeeper took the tray away.

She then sat on the bay window, gazing at the night view outside while pondering Shang Moting's words.

She hoped it wasn't him.

In just the span of a month, she had come to wish with all her heart that it wasn't Shang Moting.

Shang Moting had treated her far too well.

Even though his kindness might merely be a way to add a bit of amusement to his own life.

Yet, it seemed she had taken things a bit too seriously.

Lin Ting's mind was a mess, her rhythm thrown off by a heart beating wildly out of control.

It wasn't until the deep hours of the night that she finally calmed down.

Suddenly, Lin Ting sat up straight.

She arrived at a conclusion.

Was Shang Moting playing mind games with her?

Why was her train of thought constantly following his lead?

At this thought, Lin Ting’s fighting spirit suddenly flared up.

No!

She couldn't let him manipulate her!

She had to be the one to keep him in check!

With a goal to strive for, Lin Ting washed up and fell asleep in bed.

The next day, when Shang Moting saw her, he noticed her eyes were brimming with fighting spirit.

Shang Moting was baffled.

Did he say something last night that inspired her to strive so hard?

Last night, he had merely wanted to crack the shell of her closed-off heart.

He thought he had succeeded.

Yet the result was... not a single crack at all.

Shang Moting closed his eyes, refusing to accept reality.

...

Lin Ting told Shang Moting that she would stay until September.

On September 3rd, when Shang Moting returned home, he found that Lin Ting had genuinely left.

Nothing in the bedroom had been touched or taken away.

Everything in the room had been bought by Shang Moting.

However, Lin Ting had asked the housekeeper to hand a bank card over to Shang Moting.

It covered all the expenses Shang Moting had made for her setup, as well as her accommodation fees.

The password was written on the back of the card.

Holding the card in his hand, Shang Moting couldn't quite describe what he was feeling.

At any rate, it felt entirely like he had raised an ungrateful little wolf cub.

Meanwhile, Lin Ting was in her university dormitory, getting acquainted with her newly met roommates.

They were busy discussing the military training starting tomorrow.

Their ill-fitting military uniforms.

How to apply sunscreen properly.

And how to secure a spot in a shaded area.