Chapter 690: Chapter 234 Medicine Man
The wind and snow outside the door continued unabated.
Her regained clarity, vexed at the revelation of her hidden secrets, caused Lu Tong to turn in fury, attempting to leave.
But she was yanked back in a grip.
Pei Yunmeng clutched her wrist, his previously smiling, gentle gaze instantly fading away, like an anger held in check, his expression growing progressively colder.
"Why push me away?" he asked.
He had discovered all her secrets, the hidden colorful ribbon and the wooden block, the deliberately distant attitude. He was always clever, and in their earlier scuffle, she had betrayed her hand.
She couldn’t hide from him.
A favored son of heaven, repeatedly pushed away by her—if the truth hadn’t been uncovered, excuses might suffice. However, once he realized it was intentional, his anger was natural.
He had every right to be angry.
In her heart, Lu Tong suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Then, the guilt turned to panic, the panic to confusion, and finally, to a bewilderment she didn’t know how to handle.
"Marshal," Lu Tong steadied her spirit and looked up at him, "There can never be anything between you and me."
Pei Yunmeng calmly said, "Why not?"
"I don’t like..."
"Excuses."
Lu Tong paused.
He was perceptive and sharp. It was her impersonation that used to be flawless, but now that her façade had been seen through, with his personality, he would only pursue the truth to the end.
Striving for calm, Lu Tong continued, "You and I are of different status; you are the noble and peerless Commander of the Palace Front Office, whereas I am but a lowly commoner Medical Officer. It could never..."
He scoffed, as if mocking the absurdity of her words, "Lies."
Lu Tong: "You..."
"Lu Tong," Pei Yunmeng interrupted her, staring into her eyes, "your lying skills have gotten worse."
His gaze was too intense, and Lu Tong, unable to defend herself, retreated to avoid it.
The next moment, she was caught by the wrist and unexpectedly pulled close to him,
The distance between them was very close, and perhaps due to extreme anger, a dangerous glint flickered in his dark long eyes. As their breaths mingled, Lu Tong saw his lowered long eyelashes, ambiguous and vivid in the lamplight.
"What exactly are you hiding?"
The cold wind outside howled over the mountain peaks, the flame on the table flickered, nearly extinguished. The silver embroidery on the young man’s clothes shone with a layer of splendid and icy radiance, but even more dazzling were his eyes, like the stars of Luomei Peak on a summer night, tender yet sharp, revealing her with nowhere to hide.
Lu Tong remained silent.
Pei Yunmeng kept a firm gaze on her, annoyance flickering in his eyes.
He knew that Lu Tong was always good at hiding.
From their first meeting, he had seen that Lu Tong was not as compliant as she appeared. After several encounters, with Lu Tong sitting in the Renxin Medical Hall, and him watching over her, she had always managed to cleverly cope. Truths and lies mixed, undistinguishable, she managed to slip away every time.
In the Hall of Judicial Review of the Palace Front Office, there were numerous ways of interrogation; he always knew how to coerce confessions and had seen countless criminals. Yet for this most formidable one, he found himself helpless; unable to beat or scold her, each time pressing her to the ultimate point, it was he who relented.
Time and time again, she had him figured out.
The elongated shadows of the oil lamp cast on the wall, intertwined and heart-wrenching.
Outside the cabin in the clear and desolate snowy moonlight, the anger in the young man’s eyes gradually solidified, only to be replaced by an even deeper tide, dark and inscrutable.
He stared at Lu Tong, then suddenly leaned down toward her.
Lu Tong’s eyes widened slightly.
The space between them was very close.
In the absolute silence, the other person was right before her eyes, within reach. The young man’s eyebrows and eyes were sharply defined, his bright eyes reflecting her image. She could feel his warm breath and the faint, cool fragrance coming from him, cold, warm, soft like a moist cloud.
She stood frozen in place.
Those red, beautiful, thin lips drew nearer, almost about to touch her own; the shadow of his thick eyelashes cast over her like butterfly wings, slowly lowering towards her, leaving only the finest breadth of space.
Pei Yunmeng’s gaze rested on Lu Tong.
She stared straight at him, seemingly a bit surprised, but surprisingly, she did not resist or draw back. In her usually calm and clear eyes, there was a faint ripple, as if enduring something.
It reminded him of the look she had given him under the fireworks in the courtyard on New Year’s night, stubborn and solitary brave.
A trace of reluctance crossed his heart. The man kept his eyes firmly on her, yet his action of kissing stopped.
After all, he couldn’t bear to press her.
Lu Tong was startled.
Suddenly, he released Lu Tong’s hand and stood up straight, his Adam’s apple moving slightly.
In the snowy hut under the green lamp, among the children of the mountains, the earlier intimacy and warmth gradually faded, and both of them regained their senses, each with a subtle feeling.
Lu Tong looked at him, and while her heart relaxed, a very light sense of loss swept through her.