Hesitated

After another moment, when she was finally certain that no other presence lingered nearby, the light returned to Luo Zhao's eyes.

She slammed her fist onto the long table, startling the inkstone, brush, and paper.

Ink splashed from the inkstone onto the spread rice paper, staining a large patch.

"Bastard!"

Luo Zhao cursed through gritted teeth, about to unleash a torrent of abuse to vent her pent-up rage.

Then the air before her began to ripple like the surface of a lake, spreading outward from a single point.

The next instant, a figure she knew all too well materialized.

Lin Qingyan.

She appeared before Luo Zhao as if from nowhere, robes fluttering, expression icy, and a faint, ethereal aura of frost and snow surrounding her.

Luo Zhao blinked, her fury momentarily stalled.

She spoke instinctively, surprise coloring her voice:

"Aunt? When did you get here?"

Lin Qingyan’s expression remained unchanged, but her eyes locked onto Luo Zhao’s.

Her gaze was sharp as a blade, as if she wanted to pierce through Luo Zhao’s pupils and see straight into the depths of her soul.

After a long pause, she asked softly, "Zhao'er, were you also hypnotized by Gu Chengyin?"

Luo Zhao froze for a moment, then acutely caught the crux of Lin Qingyan’s words.

"Also?"

She stared into Lin Qingyan’s eyes, disbelief lacing her voice:

"Are you saying, Aunt... you..."

Lin Qingyan’s expression remained calm as she replied, "Gu Chengyin hypnotized my heart demon."

Luo Zhao wasn’t surprised by this answer.

Earlier, when Gu Chengyin had released Shangguan Yunying from hypnosis, it was clearly because Lin Qingyan’s heart demon had threatened him.

But now, hearing Lin Qingyan say it herself, Luo Zhao felt something was off.

Her instincts told her that Gu Chengyin’s hypnosis probably went deeper than just Lin Qingyan’s heart demon.

For one thing, the timing of Lin Qingyan’s appearance was strange.

Gu Chengyin had just left with Shangguan Yunying, and now Lin Qingyan had come to find her instead.

No matter how Luo Zhao thought about it, something seemed wrong.

But Lin Qingyan offered no explanation.

Instead, she continued, "Now I understand where your hatred for Gu Chengyin comes from."

She paused, her gaze fixed on Luo Zhao’s face, probing:

"When did he hypnotize you?"

Luo Zhao didn’t answer immediately.

She stared intently at Lin Qingyan standing before her, as if trying to discern something, as if confirming something else.

In those eyes, so much like her own, the flickering candlelight from the hall was reflected, deep and unfathomable.

Lin Qingyan didn’t press her; she simply waited in silence.

The hall grew so quiet that they could hear the faint crackling of the candle flames and the rustling of wind through leaves outside the window.

After a while, Luo Zhao answered frankly: "From the moment he first appeared by my side."

This answer made Lin Qingyan raise an eyebrow.

She nodded thoughtfully before asking again, "So you were hypnotized back then? But I remember after you returned to the divine capital..."

Lin Qingyan didn’t finish her sentence, but Luo Zhao understood what she meant.

At that time, even though she was under Gu Chengyin’s control, she hadn’t completely lost herself.

Later, after returning to the divine capital, she had matched wits with Gu Chengyin, testing each other back and forth.

Though she was at a disadvantage, she had always maintained a clear will.

Her behavior then had hardly resembled that of someone fully controlled.

Luo Zhao shook her head and explained, "When Gu Chengyin hypnotized me, my soul was protected by the jade bracelet my mother left me, so my consciousness remained clear."

Lin Qingyan nodded thoughtfully again upon hearing this.

She knew about the jade bracelet Luo Zhao mentioned.

It had been left by Empress Lin; on the surface, it looked ordinary, but it was actually a celestial artifact.

However, since its celestial power could not be replenished, it could only be used once.

Luo Zhao had always worn it on her wrist, never taking it off, not only as a keepsake but also for protection.

For this very reason, Lin Qingyan hadn’t immediately considered the possibility of mind control back then.

But now it seemed that Gu Chengyin’s hypnosis was indeed formidable.

Even a celestial artifact could only preserve Luo Zhao’s soul but could not completely resist his control.

What kind of power was this?

Ordinary control techniques could never possess such potency.

At the same time, an even more critical question arose.

It was the one Lin Qingyan cared about most and most wanted to ask.

"Gu Chengyin... did he ever mistreat you?"

"After he hypnotized you."

Luo Zhao blinked.

As if worried she hadn’t been clear enough, Lin Qingyan added, "If he took advantage of your inability to resist, tell your aunt. I’ll go and teach him a lesson."

Lin Qingyan’s voice was calm, so calm that it betrayed no emotion.

But it was precisely this calmness that carried an unsettling undertone.

As if, should Luo Zhao utter a single word of confirmation, she would immediately do something earth-shattering.

Luo Zhao opened her mouth but didn’t answer right away.

She could certainly let Lin Qingyan vent her anger on her behalf and have Gu Chengyin punished.

Given Lin Qingyan’s status and strength, if it came to blows, even if she couldn’t truly harm Gu Chengyin, she could definitely make his life miserable.

But...

For some reason, Luo Zhao hesitated.

The moment this thought surfaced in her mind, even she was startled.

Was she actually hesitating for Gu Chengyin?

This man who had stolen her first kiss, this bastard who had her tightly in his grip—was she really hesitating at the threshold of whether to have Lin Qingyan teach him a lesson?

Yes, Gu Chengyin had taken her first kiss.

She still vividly remembered that day. Just as she was about to descend the stairs, Gu Chengyin had suddenly pulled her back.

In the roughest manner, he had stolen her first kiss.

Luo Zhao remembered her heart pounding like a drum, remembered the heat of his breath brushing her cheek, and the sensation on her lips.

Fortunately, she had been hidden behind an avatar of her will at the time, but she could still feel everything clearly.

It was her first kiss, casually taken by Gu Chengyin like it meant nothing.

Gu Chengyin had also bullied her, and right in front of Shangguan Yunying.

Every detail was etched into Luo Zhao’s memory, not just her first kiss but even that very kiss being taken from her.

Every humiliation, every suppression, felt like a knife carved into her heart.

Painful, but not fatal—just enough to make her remember the shame.

But...

Luo Zhao lowered her gaze, her long lashes casting a shadow in the candlelight.

But she had to admit that these excessive actions were nothing more than tests.

He had kissed her to test her reaction, to see if she was truly under his control.

He had bullied her to test her limits, to see how much she could endure.

And if she obediently acted like a puppet, Gu Chengyin wouldn’t even spare her a second glance.

Luo Zhao realized this once again.

A faint pang struck her heart, like something had lightly pricked it.