Who Am I to You 03

Shangguan Yunying's fingertips lingered on Gu Chengyin's lips for a moment. The touch was warm and soft, carrying a delicate tenderness unique to a woman.

"After all, I know your relationship with Her Highness better than anyone else."

She withdrew her hand and lowered her eyelashes, a hint of helplessness entering her voice. "In comparison, I actually think you should go and explain things to Her Highness."

"After all, Her Highness hasn't been in a very good mood since the morning court session ended."

She said this casually, but it seemed to hint at something more.

Gu Chengyin nodded slightly. "Is that so."

His tone was calm, as if he were genuinely considering whether to go and explain himself to Luo Zhao.

But the next moment...

Gu Chengyin suddenly moved.

Without any warning, he took a step forward, instantly closing the distance between them.

The movement was so sudden that Shangguan Yunying was caught completely off guard. She let out a soft gasp of surprise and instinctively leaned back.

But behind her was the wall.

This left Shangguan Yunying with nowhere to retreat.

And Gu Chengyin was already close at hand—so close that she could clearly smell the distinct, refreshing aura of his cultivation.

So close that she could feel the warm breath escaping his lips brushing against her cheek.

This distance was both dangerous and intimate.

Shangguan Yunying's heart pounded wildly in her chest.

She wasn't faking it; she was genuinely startled.

"Gu, Gu Chengyin..."

Her voice trembled slightly, and her hands instinctively came up to press against his chest, yet she didn't actually push him away.

Gu Chengyin didn't speak.

He simply looked down at Shangguan Yunying with a calm, quiet gaze.

The candlelight danced behind him, casting his silhouette over her and enveloping Shangguan Yunying entirely within his shadow.

Then, Gu Chengyin slowly opened his mouth, every word seeming to pluck at her heartstrings:

"Yunying."

Shangguan Yunying instinctively looked up.

She crashed directly into a pair of bottomless, profound eyes.

Deep within his pupils, starlight seemed to be slowly swirling—an anomaly naturally manifested by the true qi in his eyes.

And right now, those pupils were gazing at her with such intense focus that she felt as if she had been locked in place by some invisible force.

Shangguan Yunying could even hear her own heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump...

Each beat louder and more frantic than the last.

She could feel her cheeks burning, her ears burning, even her neck burning.

The hands pressed against Gu Chengyin's chest were trembling slightly.

Is he going to kiss me?

This thought flashed through her mind, causing her thoughts to instantly go blank.

Reason told her she should push him away, that she should keep her distance, maintain her modesty, and uphold the proper boundaries.

But her body refused to listen. She froze there, as if struck by an immobilization spell, able only to watch helplessly as Gu Chengyin's face slowly drew nearer.

Closer and closer.

Shangguan Yunying could see the curve of his eyelashes, the outline of his nose, and the slight purse of his thin lips.

Their breaths intertwined.

A faint, refreshing fragrance, mixed with a unique masculine warmth, eroded her rationality bit by bit.

Shangguan Yunying felt like she was going to suffocate.

She didn't dare to look, yet she couldn't tear her gaze away.

She could only stare unblinkingly into his eyes, feeling the distance between them shrink.

So close that her eyelashes practically brushed his cheek, so close that her lips could almost feel the temperature of his breath.

It's happening...

Shangguan Yunying instinctively wanted to close her eyes.

It was a human's natural reflex when faced with intimate contact.

But just as her eyelashes fluttered.

Gu Chengyin's voice rang out again.

"Yunying, look into my eyes."

The words acted like a command.

Shangguan Yunying's closing eyelids abruptly stopped, and then, she opened her eyes wide again.

Their eyes met.

Deep within Gu Chengyin's pupils, the slowly swirling starlight suddenly accelerated, spinning faster and faster, growing brighter and brighter, until it transformed into two profound vortexes.

Bit by bit, they sucked the light from Shangguan Yunying's eyes, dragging her consciousness into endless darkness.

Time seemed to stand still in that moment.

The candlelight stopped dancing, and even the rustling of the night wind blowing through the magnolia leaves outside the window faded into silence.

In Shangguan Yunying's entire world, only these eyes remained.

She felt her consciousness sinking as if into warm water, submerging bit by bit, relaxing bit by bit.

All her guard, all her schemes, all her rationality melted and dissipated in this instant.

She forgot who she was.

Forgot where she was.

She even forgot who the man in front of her was.

She only knew that she had to look at these eyes.

Keep looking, keep looking...

And then...

[Hypnosis Successful]

At the same time, Gu Chengyin stopped his movements.

At this moment, he was only a hair's breadth away from Shangguan Yunying. If he moved forward even half an inch, his lips would press against hers.

But Gu Chengyin didn't.

He stopped at this absolute limit, his gaze coldly examining the state of the woman before him.

[Shangguan Yunying] remained leaning against the wall, maintaining her previous posture.

But the light in her eyes had completely changed, transforming into a pure, vacant obedience.

Her pupils were slightly dilated, reflecting his face, but devoid of any focus.

Gu Chengyin slowly backed away.

One step, two steps.

As the distance widened, air rushed back into the space between them.

The candlelight resumed its dancing, and the night wind once again brushed past the window lattice.

Everything returned to normal.

Except for [Shangguan Yunying].

Gu Chengyin stood still, quietly looking at her.

Looking at this face that had once smiled so brightly and cleverly, now left with only a defenseless blankness.

Then, Gu Chengyin spoke slowly:

"Who are you?"

[Shangguan Yunying] did not answer immediately.

She stared unblinkingly at Gu Chengyin, the vacancy deep within her pupils seeming to try and confirm the identity of the person in front of her.

This process lasted for about three breaths.

Then, she finally spoke. Her voice was flat, lacking any emotional fluctuation:

"I am Shangguan Yunying."

Gu Chengyin's eyes narrowed slightly.

Answers given under hypnosis were often more fundamental than those given while awake.

The fact that [Shangguan Yunying] stated her true name meant that the hypnosis had reached her core self-awareness.

He continued to ask:

"Who am I."

This time, [Shangguan Yunying] answered much faster, responding the instant his voice faded:

"You are Gu Chengyin."

Still his true name, without any official titles or emotional embellishments.

There was one final question.

And it was the most crucial one.

Gu Chengyin took a deep breath, looked straight into [Shangguan Yunying]'s eyes, and asked word by word:

"Who am I to you?"

The side hall fell into a brief silence.

[Shangguan Yunying]'s eyes remained vacant, but deep within her pupils, some kind of emotion was slowly churning.

As if this question had touched something deep within her.

Then, she spoke.

But this answer didn't sound like it came from her mouth; rather, it seemed to flow from the depths of her soul:

"You are my..."

[Shangguan Yunying] paused for a moment.

In those vacant eyes, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared, like a spark flashing briefly in an abyss.

Then, she uttered the second half of the sentence:

"Favorite person."

Gu Chengyin froze.