Was it really Ning Yan?
Bai Qingqing felt a little dazed. After all, that cold-faced, pretty, and fierce little boy had been a cherished memory of her childhood—a secret treasure she would occasionally recall even now.
And thinking about Lord Ning today… well, cold-faced, pretty, and fierce still seemed to apply.
For the first time, Bai Qingqing truly believed in fate. Her heart swelled with excitement. “So there was this connection between me, Brother Pei, and Lord Ning all along—how wonderful!”
Pei Lingshu smiled at her as well. In truth, he had recognized her the moment he saw her at the poetry gathering. One could still see traces of the little girl she used to be—soft and delicate, still as lovely as ever. “I didn’t expect it either.”
With this shared past between them, Bai Qingqing felt even closer to Pei Lingshu. Her tone became naturally warm and casual. Remembering the scent Pei had mentioned earlier, she hesitated slightly, looking a bit troubled. “Brother Pei, do you like that scent? It was made especially for him, though… He doesn’t like sharing things with others.”
Pei Lingshu shook his head with a smile. “I just remembered it and wanted to catch a whiff. The scent was cool and crisp, perfectly suited to him, but it’s not to my taste. I was just surprised—after knowing him for so many years, I’ve never seen him wear fragrance. Seeing him break his own rule this time, I figured perhaps it came from you.”
“Lord Ning did me a great favor. I only wanted to repay him somehow. I didn’t expect he would actually like it—just a stroke of luck.”
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As she spoke, a flicker of worry surfaced in Bai Qingqing’s eyes. “Since Brother Pei and Lord Ning are old friends… would you be willing to help me with something?”
“Go ahead,” he said.
These past few days, Bai Qingqing had been fretting over how to properly address Ning Yan. No matter how much she pondered, she couldn’t come up with anything that might please him. She hesitantly shared her dilemma with Pei Lingshu, her large, sincere eyes blinking earnestly. “Brother Pei, do you have any suggestions for me?”
Pei Lingshu: “…”
He was struggling not to burst into laughter. Call Ning Yan clever? He’d dug himself this pit with his own hands. Call him foolish? He always managed to twist things around and make himself stand out.
Bai Qingqing was anxious. “How could this possibly repay the favor he did for me? Was Lord Ning just teasing me, only joking?”
Pei Lingshu cleared his throat. “That’s unlikely. I know Ning Yan far too well—he never plays by the rules, but if he’s said something aloud, then it counts. He doesn’t go back on his word. If he said it, then he meant it. You don’t need to feel uneasy.”
“But still…”
“Rather than fretting, you might as well seriously think about what to call him instead. Ning Yan’s got a bad temper, sure, but he’s picky too—it’s no easy task to find something that satisfies him.”
Bai Qingqing’s thoughts were instantly whisked away again, and her expression grew more troubled. “Really? But I truly can’t think of anything suitable. Maybe… I should just keep calling him Lord Ning. As for Lord Ning Zhao, I could start calling him ‘Little Lord Ning.’ What do you think?”
Pei Lingshu froze for a second, then couldn’t help but laugh. What a clever little thing she was. But clearly, that wasn’t what Ning Yan wanted.
In order to prevent the last of his fine wine from being wasted again, Pei Lingshu decided to lend a helping hand.
“Actually, however you used to call him when you were little, you can still call him that now. He didn’t object back then, did he?”
Bai Qingqing was caught off guard, a soft blush blooming on her cheeks. “How could that be? I didn’t even know his name at the time—I just called him whatever came to mind…”