LWDC Chapter 146

Chapter 146 – The First One

Chapter 146 – The First One

Chapter 146 – The First One

After their parting at the gathering, Duan Yunhong didn’t appear before Ning Fei for nearly three months.

Ning Fei wasn’t sure if it was his “light magic” taking effect, or if Duan Yunhong, having fallen for his trick, was simply acting out of embarrassment and wounded pride, preventing him from taking any further action.

Duan Yunhong had been hit by Ning Fei’s “Oracle” in a state of no magical resistance and complete defenselessness.

“Oracle” didn’t cause amnesia, nor did it erase romantic feelings, but it cleared away impulsiveness, inducing a state of calm, temporarily turning the target into a “holy disciple.” Ning Fei figured that even if Duan Yunhong truly had feelings for him, this would be enough to extinguish his passion. Duan Yunhong would remember, but the physical sensations would be lacking. This mismatch between memory and reality would force him to re-evaluate his feelings, prompting him to use reason to consider whether it was worth pursuing.

Afterward, even if the magic wore off, Duan Yunhong’s emotions would be difficult to reignite due to the added layer of rationality.

As for having him help Mier, it was a sudden thought that flashed through Ning Fei’s mind. Ning Fei felt that, in some ways, Mier was a bit like him back then. Since Duan Yunhong wanted to investigate his past, let him go and interact with Mier and that group of pseudo-holy sons. When he understood their narrow-mindedness, self-righteousness, and foolish ambition, when he realized what Ning Fei’s roots were like, let’s see if he would still have a filter for Ning Fei.

Ning Fei didn’t know how long this magic would last on Duan Yunhong. The instructions he gave weren’t commands, but more like “hypnotic suggestions.” Duan Yunhong would subconsciously lean towards acting on his instructions, just like a follower of a religion would instinctively act according to doctrine within a religious atmosphere.

But once removed from that atmosphere, under constant external interference, the extent to which the follower adheres to the doctrine would decrease. Duan Yunhong was the same. As time passed, he would gradually break free from this feeling of “being unable to help himself.” The only question was how long it would take, and what Duan Yunhong would think after breaking free.

“…Ning Fei, you’re daydreaming again.”

A glass of red wine waved in front of Ning Fei, pulling him back to reality. The others around him were noisy, and a golden-haired young noble was almost touching him, his hand on the second-floor railing brushing Ning Fei’s arm: “These are the latest fireworks brought back from the outer provinces. No one in the capital has seen them yet. You’re seeing them even before the king. And yet, you’re still distracted?”

Ning Fei recalled the fireworks he had just seen. They were only two colors and sparse, really nothing to write home about. Of course, it was enough for this world.

“I saw them, Mr. Cyrus. I’m just a little tired, so I’m a bit unfocused.” Ning Fei smiled, subtly shifting away as he raised his glass to clink with his, “Since His Majesty the King hasn’t seen them, it seems these fireworks will appear at the Queen’s birthday banquet later?”

“Smart.” Cyrus took a sip of red wine and leaned closer to Ning Fei, whispering, “Do you want to go to the Queen’s birthday banquet?”

“…Is that a question of whether I want to?” Ning Fei replied, “I’m just a commoner. I shouldn’t aspire to such a high-level noble gathering, should I?”

“But nobles can bring a companion.” Cyrus chuckled, “I haven’t decided who to bring yet.”

Faced with this obvious hint, Ning Fei raised an eyebrow slightly.

Cyrus was the Duke’s youngest son, and he certainly had the qualifications to go and to bring someone. The problem was that if Ning Fei nodded at this moment, it wouldn’t be just about going to the Queen’s birthday banquet. A noble’s “companion” was actually a lover.

It was all Duan Yunhong’s fault. Originally, Ning Fei had been unapproachable. Even if some people – like the church, like the baron before – had thoughts about him, they didn’t make any serious moves because of his cold attitude. But since the baron saw Ning Fei’s interaction with Duan Yunhong, he thought Ning Fei was willing to be a noble’s lover. The baron told others about this as a romantic affair, and once this “opening” was made, people who were interested in Ning Fei didn’t hide it anymore.

Like Cyrus, who had met Ning Fei at the baron’s banquet.

Then he heard about Ning Fei from the baron – a commoner doctor, skilled in treating “that aspect” of diseases, not very interested in the flirtatious overtures of other nobles and the church, but seemingly the (former?) lover of Earl Andrew.

Cyrus immediately got excited. Among the nobles trying to get Ning Fei, he was the most aggressive.

Oh right, these nobles didn’t really have the concept of “you can’t touch someone else’s person.” Even those who were married still played around everywhere, let alone a lover whose relationship wasn’t even formally established. Especially a “commoner lover” who didn’t even have a noble identity. To the nobles, that was essentially just a “toy”. Some nobles even tacitly accepted that these “toys” could be shared, with everyone taking a turn with each other’s, considering it a kind of fun.

So even though Ning Fei seemed to have Earl Andrew’s “mark” on him, Cyrus didn’t care at all. You could even say that precisely because Ning Fei was the lover of Andrew, this mysterious noble, Cyrus was even more interested.

He immediately made an appointment with Ning Fei for a medical consultation, of course, for a disease of “that aspect.”

Ning Fei did go to help him not long after. Cyrus did have symptoms, but they weren’t serious. However, as Ning Fei observed and diagnosed, Cyrus actually got an erection.

Ning Fei was speechless. While it was true that men were the kind of creatures that could react anytime, anywhere, Cyrus’s “not ashamed, but proud” attitude was already blatant sexual harassment, making Ning Fei really want to pick up scissors and cut off those two ounces of flesh. Cyrus even asked Ning Fei very directly “if he wanted to stay overnight” when Ning Fei calmly finished the diagnosis and left.

After Ning Fei explicitly refused, Cyrus immediately called a maid into the room. As he brushed past that maid, Ning Fei felt neither sorrow nor joy, neither anger nor grief, only a sense of being accustomed to it.

And it was after this consultation that Cyrus started flirting with Ning Fei in various ways. Even when he couldn’t see Ning Fei, he would send all kinds of gifts to Ning Fei’s house from time to time. Sometimes it was jewelry accessories, sometimes famous wines and snacks, sometimes interesting ornaments, trinkets, and even flowers, basically the whole set for wooing socialites. Ning Fei was too lazy to even meet the servants who came to deliver the gifts, leaving it entirely to Shalei to accept.

At first, Shalei would bring Ning Fei the letters mixed in with the gifts, but Ning Fei only looked at one, then burned it. After Shalei saw that, he didn’t hand him any more of Cyrus’s letters. As for whether Shalei didn’t pass them on, or there simply weren’t any letters, Ning Fei was too lazy to investigate.

Anyway, he accepted all the gifts, but he wouldn’t even dream of sleeping with him.

Two months passed like this, and Cyrus’s enthusiasm hadn’t faded yet. Ning Fei thought that this was probably just the inferiority of men, the more they couldn’t get something, the more they wanted it. Once they really got it, they would probably discard it like a worn-out shoe. But Ning Fei wasn’t willing to endure the disgust – mainly those disease symptoms were disgusting to look at – to sleep with Cyrus once. So his response was to “remain unmoved,” neither accepting nor strongly resisting to the point of enraging this noble. He would just wait for Cyrus’s attention to shift to someone else.

Until today, Cyrus still invited Ning Fei to the parties he organized. Ning Fei wouldn’t completely refuse. For example, this party would obviously attract many guests to visit, Cyrus’s attention wouldn’t be focused solely on Ning Fei, so Ning Fei would come and take a look.

Sure enough, Cyrus, as the party’s host, was flitting among the guests like a butterfly, not having much time to pay attention to Ning Fei at first. It wasn’t until he started preparing to watch the fireworks that Cyrus made a special trip to find Ning Fei, asking him to go to the balcony to watch the fireworks together. He was quite prescient. If he hadn’t come to call, Ning Fei would have been too lazy to join that crowded mess.

Then came Cyrus’s invitation after watching the fireworks.

Honestly, Ning Fei was quite curious to see what the royal family was like these days. But if he went through Cyrus’s route, he would have to deal with the man’s advances afterward, which was annoying.

“…If you’re worried about not having an outfit to wear to the banquet, I’ll have someone take your measurements tomorrow and tailor a banquet dress for you.”

Seeing Ning Fei’s silence, Cyrus continued to encourage him, “If you want, you can also have a few more sets made. I would be honored to present new clothes to someone as beautiful as you.”

The tone was like giving a toy a new packaging. Ning Fei directly refused, “There’s no need. You’ve given me too many gifts already. I’m flattered. But aside from some insignificant medical skills, I really have nothing to repay you with.”

“You’re really good at playing dumb, dear Doctor Ning. You know very well what I want most.” Cyrus chuckled softly, “Since you’re willing to give yourself to Earl Andrew, why not try it with me? Just some fun and games. I think the Earl would understand. If he has any requirements for you, we can meet privately, without anyone noticing, how about it?”

–Absolutely not, you’re thinking too highly of yourself, wanting me to play something exciting with you.

Ning Fei scoffed inwardly, responding calmly, “I’m afraid I can’t.”

“You’re not still trying to remain chaste for Earl Andrew, are you?” Cyrus teased, “You’re still thinking about him, but he’s not thinking about you. He’s been getting very close to that holy son candidate, Mier, lately. Didn’t you know?”

Ning Fei really didn’t know that clearly. The holy disciples he came into contact with were of low status, so he couldn’t get close to Mier, only hearing rumors occasionally. So he put on a dazed look, chiming in, “I… I’m not too sure…”

“He’s already become Mier’s bedfellow, one of Mier’s newest and strongest supporters. I’ve even heard that he pulled Mier off Prince Ashe’s bed and took him away, not giving Ashe any face at all. So, if you want to say who Earl Andrew’s most beloved lover is right now, it’s definitely Mier.” Cyrus clicked his tongue in admiration, “I even guess that Earl Andrew wants to support Mier as the next holy son. If that’s the case, then Mier is beneficial to Earl Andrew in both his career and his life. It’s going to be a bit difficult for others to surpass him.”

–Duan Yunhong is going to support Mier? So, Mier’s idea is to become a holy son…

If he has this wish, then there will be many beds for him to climb into. Even if Duan Yunhong takes him away from Prince Ashe, he will definitely take the initiative to return…

Cyrus didn’t notice that Ning Fei had already begun to let his thoughts wander, still saying things like “Andrew must have forgotten about you a long time ago.” Just then, Cyrus’s butler hurried to his side, saying, “Mr. Bartley, the Duke has arrived.”

“What?” Cyrus straightened up and looked back, “Father is here? What is he doing at my castle? He wouldn’t have come to see the fireworks, would he? They’ve already finished…”

Before he could finish wondering, a noble had already walked over, surrounded by several attendants.

About fifty years old, his age added to his majesty and aura, but he carried himself with grace. Even though he was getting on in years, you could tell from his posture and eyebrows that he must have been a dashing and handsome young man in his day.

Ning Fei blinked slowly.

The Duke Bartley was the one he had chosen as his true “first” when he was still a candidate for holy son…