A Maiden's Heart

Upstairs, Jiang Chengyue had stealthily crept to her niece's door and was currently pressing her ear against the panel.

It was quiet inside.

Just as she was about to lean in closer, a short, sharp gasp suddenly came from the room.

Jiang Chengyue stiffened, her face changing color instantly!

Her hand snapped onto the doorknob and shoved it open.

"What are you two doing?!"

Jiang Yunlu's room wasn't small, but it was cozy, with a faint, sweet fragrance lingering in the air.

The room's color scheme was a mix of various greens; the ceiling was parrot green, while the walls were Paris green.

The tones were on the brighter side.

On the desk sat a few small trinkets typical of a teenage girl, and next to them, a pen holder quietly held a few pens.

Everything here remained just as it had been during her middle school days.

Since going to Guangba for school, she only came back on weekends, so the traces of her middle school years were more pronounced.

Lin Mo's gaze fell on the pen holder, noticing a distinct pen.

"Oh, you have one of these?"

It was a pen spinning mod.

It was the kind of specialized pen with weighted ends for better balance, and it was longer than a normal pen.

It just wasn't very good for writing.

He pulled it out casually.

Jiang Yunlu leaned over to look, then realized what it was.

"Back then, all the boys in my class were doing it, so I bought one." She sounded a bit nostalgic.

"I'm actually really good at pen spinning, but I stopped doing it later."

There was a hint of unconcealed showing off in her voice.

Pen spinning was really just about finger dexterity. Doing it when bored made a person look pretty cool.

Of course, that mainly depended on how good-looking the person was to begin with.

Jiang Yunlu got excited. She took the pen from Lin Mo, wanting to show off her skills in front of him.

She struck a pose, her fingers moving clumsily a couple of times.

The next second, the pen acted like a disobedient loach, slipping through her fingers. It hit the floor with a clatter and rolled to Lin Mo's feet.

The air went silent for a moment.

Jiang Yunlu's cheeks felt a bit hot.

Lin Mo bent down to pick it up. He didn't laugh at her. Instead, he weighed the pen in his fingertips and said softly, "I can do it too."

Before his voice even faded, he flicked his wrist.

The pen seemed to be endowed with life, instantly waking up.

It skipped lightly between Lin Mo's index and middle fingers, then glided smoothly across the back of his hand. His pinky hooked it steadily, flicking it back in reverse, sending it leaping into mid-air.

As it fell, his pinky caught it with precision, starting the cycle anew.

The entire movement was smooth and flowing, without the slightest hesitation.

In his hand, the pen was sometimes like a fluttering butterfly, other times like a nimble fish.

Finger passes, palm spins, pinky stalls, and various aerial tricks were displayed one after another.

Jiang Yunlu stared straight at it.

She couldn't help but let out a soft gasp.

Her gaze was completely drawn to those hands. The knuckles were well-defined, the fingers slender and long. Under the light, his skin had a clean, translucent quality.

So a boy's hands can be this good-looking.

Just as this thought popped into her mind, and before she could voice a compliment—

Bang!

The door was shoved open from the outside, slamming heavily against the wall.

Jiang Chengyue rushed in like a gust of wind, her face full of vigilance and anxiety.

At a glance, she saw Lin Mo spinning a pen with complex tricks, while her niece was staring at him with shining eyes.

And there was still a desk separating them.

Both of them turned their heads in unison to look at the door, their expressions different.

"Auntie! What are you doing?!"

Jiang Yunlu was both ashamed and angry, her face flushing red.

She knew exactly what her aunt was thinking; she must have thought Lin Mo was doing something bad in her room.

This was both a misunderstanding of Lin Mo and a lack of trust in her.

Yelled at by her resentful niece, Jiang Chengyue was also a bit dazed. She subconsciously raised her hands, hurriedly explaining:

"I... I didn't mean to! I was coming upstairs to change clothes, and when I passed your door, I suddenly heard you scream. I got worried, so I..."

Lin Mo stopped his movements and gently placed the spinning pen on the desk, looking a bit helpless.

"I told you earlier, we didn't need to close the door."

Hearing this, Jiang Yunlu's face turned even redder. She whispered a defense to Jiang Chengyue, "Auntie, can you stop imagining things? It's almost time for dinner anyway. Besides, I just saw how amazing Lin Mo is at pen spinning, and I couldn't help but..."

Jiang Chengyue looked at Lin Mo with embarrassment and apologized repeatedly.

"Sorry about that. I'll go change my clothes now."

After speaking, Jiang Chengyue voluntarily closed the door and fled back to her own room.

Inside the room, it was instantly just Lin Mo and Jiang Yunlu again.

The atmosphere held a trace of indescribable awkwardness.

Jiang Yunlu pursed her lips and apologized softly, "Sorry about that. My aunt is just... just a bit protective of me."

Lin Mo leaned back in his chair and smiled with composure.

"It's fine, I understand. After all, when you've raised a fresh, watery cabbage, you have to guard it against the pigs."

"You're not a pig!"

"Then am I the cabbage?"

Jiang Yunlu's cheeks heated up at his teasing. She retorted subconsciously, but the awkwardness caused by her aunt dissipated.

Looking at Lin Mo's calm demeanor, she suddenly remembered something and blurted out:

"When you go to Xie Yuling and Chu Miaomiao's rooms, do you leave the door open too?"

As soon as she asked, she regretted it. It sounded so sour and jealous.

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow; he knew exactly what the girl before him was thinking.

"Yeah, it's always above board."

Assuming there's no one else in the room.

Hearing this, Jiang Yunlu's little heart skipped a beat. She subconsciously turned her head to look at the closed door.

Not closing the door meant it was above board.

So now... what about with the door closed?

Once this thought emerged, it grew wildly like vines, entangling her heart and making it hard to breathe.

Jiang Yunlu felt the temperature of her cheeks climbing steadily. Her heartbeat sounded like a drum in the quiet room.

She took a deep breath, as if she had made a decision.

The sound of a chair being gently moved broke the silence. She stood up, walked around the desk, and stepped closer to Lin Mo.

She looked down at him from above.

The air seemed to turn viscous. Her breathing grew heavier, and her lips felt dry, causing her to lick them lightly with the tip of her tongue.

Lin Mo didn't move. He just looked up, watching her approach step by step, watching a small flame ignite in her clear eyes.

Only when she stopped in front of him, bringing with her a unique, girlish fragrance, did he reach out.

He placed his hand on Jiang Yunlu's shoulder, neither too heavily nor too lightly, stopping her from coming any closer.

His palm was warm, the heat transmitting through her thin clothing, making Jiang Yunlu's body tremble slightly.

"Are you really ready?"

This sentence didn't calm her down. Instead, it was like a spark that thoroughly ignited the pride and stubbornness in her bones.

Am I being looked down on?

She grabbed Lin Mo's hand that was pressing on her shoulder, slid her hand down, and interlaced her fingers tightly with his.

"I want a taste right now!"

The girl leaned down.