Chapter 59 What is our relationship now?

Deep in the night.

Shang Moting kissed Lin Ting all the way from the hallway to the bedroom, and onto the bed.

Lin Ting wrapped her arms around Shang Moting's neck.

Shang Moting knelt with one knee between her legs, supporting himself with one arm beside her ear, while his other arm rested on her waist.

He pressed her closer and closer to his body.

The temperature was rising bit by bit.

They exchanged each other's warmth.

After some unknown amount of time, Lin Ting felt as though all the air had been squeezed out of her, leaving her completely unable to breathe.

She pushed against his shoulder.

Instead of letting her go, Shang Moting deepened the kiss.

Lin Ting pushed him harder.

Shang Moting caught her hands and pinned them above her head, eliciting a soft, rebellious murmur of protest from Lin Ting.

Only then did Shang Moting pull back to look at her.

His slender, sharp eyes lacked their usual detachment and sternness, replaced instead by a boundless desire.

An aggressive desire.

Lin Ting lay on the bed, her face and lips flushed even more crimson.

Her mouth was slightly open as she took shallow, quick breaths.

Her pretty eyes were swimming with moisture, veiled in a fine layer of mist.

Her chest heaved, and her unfocused gaze fixed upon Shang Moting.

Shang Moting watched her for a moment, then lowered his head to kiss her lips, her cheeks, the side of her neck, her collarbone...

With one hand still pinned by his, Lin Ting placed her other hand on the back of his neck. Staring blankly at the ceiling, driven by some inexplicable impulse, she mumbled vaguely, "Brother."

The voice was very soft.

Yet Shang Moting heard it.

His movements paused. He lifted his head and looked at her, asking, "Do you know who I am?"

Lin Ting's hand slowly slid up to Shang Moting's face, stroking his cheek as she said, "Shang Moting."

"Who were you calling 'Brother'?" Shang Moting's gaze carried a compelling, pressing intensity.

Causing his face, Lin Ting looked at him in a daze. "What brother?"

Shang Moting tilted his head and pressed a kiss to her palm.

His lips were somewhat warm, yet remarkably soft.

"I kissed you, and yet I somehow wasn't poisoned to death by your sharp tongue," Lin Ting said slowly.

Shang Moting looked at her, feeling unsure whether she was fully conscious or not.

"I drank alcohol," Lin Ting stated.

"Mhm," Shang Moting acknowledged.

"I think I might be a little out of it right now, my brain doesn't seem to be working very well." Lin Ting spoke slowly and softly, as if her brain was unable to keep up or issue commands properly.

"So? Are you planning to shirk responsibility?" Shang Moting's hand rested on her lower back.

Lin Ting closed her eyes, frowned, and said, "I, I think I'm a bit sleepy. Can we leave the rest for next time?"

Hearing her words, Shang Moting raised an eyebrow.

Not hearing his reply, Lin Ting felt somewhat dissatisfied and gave his shoulder a light pat. "Can we?"

Shang Moting chuckled, lowered his head to kiss the space between her eyebrows, and without answering her question, simply said, "Sleep."

As for whether you can—by the time you wake up tomorrow, you probably won't want to talk about whether you can or not anymore.

Lin Ting's brow smoothed out, as if she had received permission, and she closed her eyes and fell right asleep.

Hearing her steady breathing, Shang Moting let out a soft sigh.

He stood up, pulled back one side of the blanket, picked Lin Ting up to lay her comfortably, tucked her in, pressed a final kiss to her lips, and then left the room.

...

Shang Moting returned to his own room and took a shower first.

After calming down, he went to the study to handle some more work.

It was well past two in the morning when Shang Moting finally returned to the bedroom.

However, not long after he fell asleep, he heard the sound of the bedroom door being opened.

He opened his eyes, looked toward the doorway, and listened to the footsteps slowly approaching step by step.

These footsteps...

gave off a feeling that was both stealthy and nonchalant.

Shang Moting stayed still.

Soon, he saw a familiar figure appear in the room.

He closed his eyes.

Lin Ting quietly walked to the foot of the bed, paused, and saw that the person on the bed was motionless.

She continued forward, reached his bedside, and squatted down beside the bed.

Shang Moting was somewhat curious about what she had come to do.

Yet after waiting for quite a while, she didn't do anything at all.

She merely squatted by the bedside, watching him.

Shang Moting opened his eyes.

At the same time, Lin Ting's fingertips gently poked his face.

The curtains in the room were not drawn, and the windows were covered only by a layer of sheer gauze.

With the full moon approaching, the moonlight was very bright.

Streaming into the room, it made it possible to see one another clearly.

Lin Ting and Shang Moting locked eyes for two seconds.

She withdrew her finger.

"You were faking sleep," Lin Ting said.

"Didn't you guess?" Shang Moting replied.

Lin Ting said nothing.

Shang Moting propped himself up against the headboard and said, "Did you come to assassinate me in the middle of the night?"

"With this?" Lin Ting raised her index finger.

Shang Moting looked at her finger and smiled. "I don't think there's anything particularly important hidden in this room."

"Can't I simply come to see you?" Lin Ting asked.

Shang Moting glanced at the time on the bedside table. "Come to see me at three in the morning? Does this young lady enjoy looking at people at night?"

Lin Ting was momentarily at a loss for words.

She had woken up and wanted to see him.

So she had come.

The timing indeed wasn't very appropriate.

"Then I won't look anymore." Lin Ting stood up to leave.

However, Shang Moting caught her hand and pulled her onto the bed.

Lin Ting sat on the bed and glared at him. "What are you doing?"

"Why so fierce?" Shang Moting asked.

"What about it?" Lin Ting turned even fiercer.

Yet it carried not the slightest bit of intimidation.

Shang Moting flicked her forehead lightly, pulled her closer onto the bed so that she too leaned against the headboard, and asked, "How did you wake up?"

Lin Ting settled into a comfortable position against the headboard. "I finished sleeping, so I woke up."

"Is the alcohol worn off?" Shang Moting inquired.

"What kind of talk is that," Lin Ting retorted. "I was never drunk to begin with."

Shang Moting raised an eyebrow.

"My alcohol tolerance is invincible under the heavens," Lin Ting stated with absolute certainty.

Shang Moting looked at her, wondering how she could say such words with so much confidence.

"So you remember everything that happened before you went to sleep?" Shang Moting asked.

The aggressive little cat instantly pulled back her claws and wanted to curl up and hide herself.

From this reaction, Shang Moting knew she still remembered.

Lin Ting glanced at him. Seeing him watching her, she immediately averted her gaze toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, fell silent for a moment, and asked, "Can you forget it?"

"Oh," Shang Moting said. "So coming over so late was actually to deal with me."

"Can it be forgotten, then?" Lin Ting asked.

"No," Shang Moting answered.

Lin Ting fell silent once more.

Shang Moting shared the silence with her for a moment, seeing that she continued to keep quiet.

His hand pressed on her head, turning her to face him.

"Lin Ting..." Shang Moting began.

"Can you really not forget?" Lin Ting asked.

The two of them spoke at the exact same time.

Shang Moting looked at her. "Can *you* forget?"

Lin Ting opened her mouth, but failed to find an answer.

How could she possibly forget.

"But if neither of us forgets," Lin Ting said, "what are we to each other now?"