Seeing that Ning Yan remained silent for a long time, Bai Qingqing's patience began to wear thin. "If you’re unwilling, that’s fine. Just leave quickly—I need to rest."

  "In such a hurry to drive me away? My favor is quite valuable. Aren't you going to fight for it a little more?"

  Bai Qingqing pursed her lips and gred at him. Ning Yan chuckled. "Oh well, now that I think about it, I’ve never owed anyone a favor before. Quite rare. Fine, I’ll agree."

  Bai Qingqing felt a spark of joy in her heart. She took half a step forward but then stopped. "Could you leave me some kind of token? It’s not that I doubt your integrity, but I tend to overthink… and, well, I can be quite calcutive. Having a token would put my mind at ease. But really, it’s not that I don’t trust you! Please don’t take it the wrong way."

  Ning Yan: …She really should’ve just kept quiet.

  Without a word, he pulled a jade token, about half the size of a palm, from his waist and tossed it over. Bai Qingqing was startled and scrambled to catch it. Seeing that it was jade, she couldn't help but raise her voice. "What if it broke when it hit the ground?!"

  Ning Yan pyfully pced a finger to his lips. "Shh. If someone hears us and discovers me, that wouldn’t be good."

  Bai Qingqing couldn't help but gre at him fiercely. Her bck and white eyes were full of indignation—not intimidating at all, but strangely captivating.

  But Ning Yan didn’t tease her further. Only after she carefully stored away the token did he zily ask, "Now will you help me?"

  Having received such a favor, Bai Qingqing’s attitude softened significantly. "Where is the incense?"

  She had barely finished speaking when she saw Ning Yan tug at his own colr and reply nonchantly, "On me. I was covered in it. You should still be able to smell it."

  Bai Qingqing: "?"

  She stared at him bnkly, her expression shifting. Her fingers twitched as if she was itching to grab the candlestick again.

  "I'm serious," Ning Yan said. "By the time I saw it, the incense had already burned out, leaving only ashes. But I stayed in that room for a long time, and the scent was strong. It might have lingered on me."

  "Are you toying with me, Lord Ning?"

  Ning Yan shook his head solemnly. "No."

  That rare look of seriousness on his face was such a stark contrast to his usual pyful demeanor that Bai Qingqing was momentarily taken aback. Could this be the real Ning Yan, the side her brother had mentioned?

  Since she had already accepted the token, she didn’t want to waste the favor. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly stepped forward and sat beside Ning Yan. Her slender, fair fingers delicately pinched his sleeve, bringing it close to her nose for a sniff.

  Ning Yan turned his head to watch her. After a while, he looked away and took a deep breath of "You, Calm Down," holding it close to his nose.

  Just as he steadied himself, Bai Qingqing’s compint reached his ears. "Keep that incense away from me. It's interfering with my sense of smell."

  The moment she was in her element, Bai Qingqing’s demeanor became much more natural. And naturally, she began to voice her compints. However, her voice was soft and delicate—so much so that, at first gnce, it sounded almost like she was acting spoiled.

  The muscles in Ning Yan’s cheek tensed for a brief moment, but he did indeed move the incense away.

  Sure enough, Bai Qingqing caught a faint trace of scent on his sleeve. However, it was too subtle for her to immediately distinguish its components. Yet as she followed the trail upward along his sleeve, the fragrance gradually intensified.

  Her mind was entirely consumed by thoughts of incense, solely focused on identifying the scent. She failed to realize that she had traced it all the way up to Ning Yan’s shoulder.

  There was a rich floral fragrance. As Bai Qingqing mentally sorted through the possible ingredients that could create such an aroma, a sense of doubt slowly crept in. For some reason, she had the nagging feeling that she had smelled this scent somewhere before.

  Ning Yan shut his eyes for a moment, the veins on his neck threatening to surface once again.