Ling Long’s kiss had been light and fleeting, their lips barely brushing before they parted.

But that dragonfly-like kiss stirred up a raging storm in Yin Yin’s heart.

Woooo!!! Her crush kissed her again! Her crush kissed her again!

As a self-proclaimed tough girl, being kissed twice in a row was simply too shameful!

Not kissing back was even more shameful!

So Yin Yin shouted “Lingling!” and, taking advantage of his dazed state, she desperately rose on tiptoe and launched herself at him with a full-blown, chaotic kiss.

Ling Long clearly hadn’t expected things to escalate this way. Startled by Yin Yin’s enthusiasm, he completely lost his composure for a moment.

Meanwhile, Yin Yin, who was currently struggling to kiss her crush, was frustrated. How on earth was she supposed to get her tongue in? Ahh! Why was he clenching his teeth so tightly?!

Her frustration didn’t last long. Ling Long pushed her away entirely.

She…… she actually got pushed away by the crush!

Yin Yin suddenly felt like crying.

Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at Ling Long in grievance.

Seeing Yin Yin’s pitiful expression, like a little puppy abandoned by its owner, Ling Long suddenly felt a strange sensation in his chest. “What are you doing?” He asked.

“Kissing you.” Yin Yin answered boldly and confidently.

Ling Long: “……”

Still gazing dumbly at Ling Long, Yin Yin was secretly wallowing in sorrow when she suddenly saw him smile. The next moment, a strong force pulled her forward, and she fell straight into Ling Long’s arms.

“Let me teach you how to kiss properly.” Ling Long said, looking down at Yin Yin in his embrace before lowering his head and kissing her again.

This time, Ling Long’s tongue pried open her teeth and slipped into her mouth. Though Yin Yin had read plenty about this kind of thing in theory, she had never had a boyfriend. Her real-world experience was exactly zero.

So when Ling Long’s slick tongue entangled with hers, she turned completely to stone.

After a while, Ling Long pulled back slightly, sounding displeased, “Are you dead?”

Yin Yin: “……”

As expected, she got disliked.

“I-I don’t have experience. Let’s try again, I swear I’ll do better than last time.” Yin Yin said, her face blazing red as she looked at Ling Long.

Ling Long looked at her, his heart suddenly stirring. He let out a silent sigh and released her. “Forget it.” If they kept kissing, something was bound to happen.

But Yin Yin’s heart instantly sank. “I really just don’t have experience, believe me!”

What if her crush never lets her kiss him again from now on?

Yin Yin was really worried.

“Let’s just do it one more time! Just once!” She whined shamelessly, tugging at Ling Long’s sleeve and unleashing her ultimate move— relentless pestering.

“Let go! You’re going to tear my sleeve off!” Ling Long struggled to save his sleeve.

“I won’t let go! Unless you kiss me again, I won’t let go even if I die!” Yin Yin continued pulling on Ling Long’s sleeve with all her might.

And then……

The sound of fabric tearing echoed in the night.

On the pitch-dark street, only one or two shadows passed by occasionally. The moonlight stretched a very long shadow of the two figures.

“Yinyin.” A low and dangerously quiet voice came from one of the shadows.

“Ah! I just remembered I have something urgent to do! I’ll be going now!” The other shadow bolted like lightning.

“This piece of clothing is going on your tab!”

“……”

Wuuwuuwuu…… Yin Yin cried as she ran. Why does her tab just keep getting longer? What should she do?  TAT

It’s fine. She’d just pay with her body.

……

When Yin Yin returned to Zhuwang with Ling Long, Du Qianqian was still waiting there.

Seeing Ling Long, Du Qianqian’s eyes lit up, and she immediately approached. “Young Master Ling Long, how did it go?”

“Bu Wei already went to find Bu Xing. They should be back soon.” Ling Long replied.

Du Qianqian nodded in relief, then noticed Ling Long’s torn sleeve. “Young Master Ling Long, what happened to your sleeve?”

Ling Long raised his left arm. A glint of amusement flashed through his eyes. “It got bitten by a dog.”

Yin Yin: “……”

“Bitten by a dog?” Du Qianqian looked puzzled. “But this looks more like it was torn.” The corners of her eyes curved into a smile. “Why don’t I sew it up for you?”

“No need.” Ling Long lowered his arm and placed both hands behind his back. “Princess, it’s getting late. If you don’t return soon, Prince Luo may start to worry.”

Du Qianqian’s eyes dimmed slightly at his words. “Mm, I’ll return now.”

Even though she had gone from a firewood girl to a young princess, Du Qianqian remained just as gentle and obedient in front of Ling Long. But as she passed by Yin Yin, her meaningful glance sent chills down Yin Yin’s spine.

She had a strong feeling that Du Qianqian was scheming something.

Even when she reached the door to her room, Yin Yin was still thinking about it.

“Eldest Miss.” Someone suddenly called from behind. Yin Yin turned and saw Li Li. He had secretly followed her from Yin Manor and hadn’t returned with Madam Yin, choosing instead to stay in the capital to assist Yin Yin.

To this day, Yin Yin still didn’t understand why Li Li had insisted on following her. But from her recent observations, he didn’t seem to have any ill intentions. In 《All Splendor Fades》, he had always been Yin Yin’s capable right-hand man, an excellent enabler of evil.

In just a few seconds, Yin Yin’s thoughts turned over a few times. She blinked at him and asked, “What is it?”

Li Li’s face looked especially grim under the night sky. He hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and whispering, “Eldest Miss, you’d best stay away from Du Qianqian.”

That caught Yin Yin off guard. She frowned. “Why?”

Seeing her frown, Li Li frowned even harder. He opened his mouth but didn’t say a word.

“Why did you follow me from Yin Manor in the first place?”

“I-I’ve already told you. I came to protect your safety, Eldest Miss.”

Yin Yin’s brows furrowed even tighter. “What do you really know?”

Li Li stayed silent for a long time, then finally said, “Just…… avoid Du Qianqian as much as you can.”

With that, he left the doorway. Yin Yin watched his retreating figure in the darkness and couldn’t shake off the heavy feeling. It was as if he were carrying some invisible burden, one that made his whole body seem weary.

What’s going on? Yin Yin opened the door and walked in. She lit the oil lamp as she sat by the bed and fell into thought. Li Li had been with her this whole time, and she had never once thought of him as someone with secrets. To her, Li Li was the very picture of carefreeness. So, when had he started becoming so preoccupied?

Maybe it was because the day of Du Qianqian’s cliff-jumping incident was getting closer, but Yin Yin had been feeling uneasy too. Thinking about the outcome of Bu Wei’s meeting with Bu Xing, she couldn’t sleep at all. She just hoped nothing would go wrong.

However, something had gone wrong.

For instance, Du Qianqian was now standing with a group of subordinates in front of Bu Wei and Bu Xing.

“Well done.” Du Qianqian said to Bu Xing. “Yin Yin has taken the bait.”

Bu Wei frowned. “What do you mean?”

Bu Xing clapped Bu Wei on the shoulder. “That Miss Chen was kidnapped at the request of this little princess here. It was just a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Yeah. I kidnapped Miss Chen to lure Yin Yin in. In return, she promised me a hefty reward and ten beautiful women.” Bu Xing laughed obscenely.

Du Qianqian sneered inwardly. Reward? Beauties? I’ll be sending you straight to hell for your reward. Go ask the King of Hell for your prize.

She still remembered what this beast had done to her in her previous life. If it weren’t for her desire to make Yin Yin taste the same humiliation she had suffered, she would’ve killed Bu Xing on the spot.

She hadn’t expected Yin Yin to suggest another plan that disrupted her original scheme. But it didn’t matter. She already had a backup strategy.

She looked at Bu Wei. “As long as you keep quiet about this, I’ll give you the same reward I promised Bu Xing.”

Bu Wei thought it over, but didn’t agree or refuse right away.

“Hey, what’s there to consider?” Bu Xing nudged Bu Wei. “Weren’t you just here to ask me to release the girls? I’ll release them now. This deal has nothing but upside for you.”

Bu Wei clenched his teeth. “Fine! I didn’t see any princess tonight.”

Du Qianqian smiled. “Very good. A wise man adapts to circumstances. I won’t treat you two poorly.” She turned to Bu Xing. “Did you say what I told you to say to Chen Caiwei?”

“Relax, I told her word for word.”

“Good.” Du Qianqian nodded in satisfaction. “Yin Yin is a great beauty. Once you catch her, you can do whatever you want with her. I won’t report you.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear.” Bu Xing rubbed his hands and laughed lewdly. Then he looked at Du Qianqian. “But seriously, what did she ever do to you? Why do you hate her so much?”

Du Qianqian frowned. “Don’t ask so many pointless questions. Just do as I said, and you’ll get your share.”

With that, she left impatiently with her subordinates.

Bu Wei and Bu Xing exchanged a glance, then entered a secret passage to release the kidnapped girls.

────ρя

This translation is by Pocketrobbin at S h a n g h a i f a n t a s y . c o m

The sky was still dim when Yin Yin started tossing and turning in bed. On her fifty-ninth flip, a rapid knock came at the door.

Yin Yin sat up with a start, jumped out of bed, and ran to open the door.

Standing outside was Bai Wenwu. Yin Yin blinked at her in confusion. “You? What are you doing here?”

Bai Wenwu caught her breath. “I was just at Chen Manor. Miss Chen has returned.”

“That’s great!” Yin Yin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But Bai Wenwu frowned. “She brought back a message.”

Yin Yin’s heart sank. She knew it. There’s always a ‘but’ at moments like this.

“What message?” She tensed unconsciously.

“Du Qianqian was taken by Buwei Buxing.”

“What?!”

Yin Yin wanted to scream. What the hell was happening?! Why had Du Qianqian still gotten captured?! Could it be that even if she tried to rewrite the cliff-jumping ending, the system would still find some way to ‘correct’ the plot?

This can’t be happening!

She grabbed Bai Wenwu and asked urgently, “Why did Buwei Buxing capture Du Qianqian? Where is she now?”

She had to act fast. Any slower, and she’d be collecting Du Qianqian’s corpse.

She absolutely didn’t want to be trapped in this endless loop of a plot!

“Chen Caiwei said Du Qianqian traded herself for her, that’s why Buwei Buxing let her go.”

“What?! Didn’t Bu Wei go to save her? Why did Du Qianqian jump in too?!”

Bai Wenwu frowned. “Maybe Bu Wei switched sides at the last minute. Chen Caiwei isn’t sure either. She only heard from Bu Xing that he’s taking Du Qianqian to Yundai Valley.”

If Yin Yin had taken a moment to calm down, she would’ve realized the story had plenty of holes. But right now, her mind was entirely fixed on those two words— Yundai Valley.

That was the very place where Du Qianqian jumped off the cliff in the end.

Without another word, she rushed toward Yundai Valley.