Chapter 234 - 232: Lu Ying, Your Heartbeat is So Fast

Words : 1376 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

Lu Ying personally tucked it into her collar: "I asked for this with sincerity. You’re not allowed to take it off, nor damage it." His face was stern, without a hint of humor. Shen Yinning’s voice carried a coquettish hint of probing: "This amulet, is it just for me, or do Shen Yunxi and the others have one too?" "Only you." Shen Yinning’s lips curled slightly, pushing her luck as she asked, "Lu Ying, do you like me?" Her gaze was unwavering, as if she needed the answer to this question tonight. Lu Ying fell silent, unsure how to respond. Shen Yinning analyzed earnestly, "At breakfast, there was only a small amount of tender Chinese toon, but you shared half of it with me. During the day in Huaguang Hall, Shen Yunxi cried so pitifully, yet you were unmoved. But if you really liked someone, could you truly remain indifferent to her tears? And now, you’ve gone out of your way to request an amulet just for me... Lu Ying, if you don’t like me, these actions are hard to explain." Lu Ying looked at her. This little fox spirit—cunning beyond words. Probing hearts, testing intentions. She insisted on proving that the heart beating in his chest belonged to her. "Lu Ying, I want to know..." Shen Yinning stood on tiptoe and kissed his thin lips, "I really, really want to know..." Lu Ying pushed her away, frowning as he said, "Zhaozhao, in front of the Bodhisattva, you mustn’t act wantonly." After speaking, he clasped his hands together before the Bodhisattva, bowing his head and closing his eyes, as though apologizing. The night wind gusted in, extinguishing the lotus lamps in the Buddhist hall, one by one. Shen Yinning stood bathed in the serene moonlight, gazing at Lu Ying’s tall, straight back. After a long moment, she began removing her garments, one piece at a time. The gauzy lotus-green shawl was lifted by the mountain wind and happened to veil the Bodhisattva’s eyes. Shen Yinning embraced Lu Ying’s waist from behind, her delicate face obstinate and cool: "Lu Ying, why don’t you dare to look at me?" Lu Ying’s entire body stiffened. The little fox spirit had already circled to face him, tipping her head back to kiss his chin and lips: "Lu Ying, please, look at me... just look at me..." A faint fragrance wafted over. Shen Yinning placed one hand on Lu Ying’s shoulder, her orchid-like breath brushing against his ear: "Lu Ying, open your eyes. Look at me—do I not look beautiful?" Lu Ying slowly opened his eyes. The girl’s hibiscus-like face shone, her hairpins removed at some point. Her cascading, ink-black hair contrasted sharply against her snowy skin. Her slender, graceful figure exuded an almost otherworldly beauty that was mesmerizing, yet in this Buddhist hall, carried an inexplicable holiness that suppressed unholy thoughts. Shen Yinning asked seriously, "Lu Ying, am I beautiful?" Heat beaded in the palm of Lu Ying’s hand. He admitted softly, "Beautiful." Shen Yinning leaned into his chest: "Lu Ying, your heartbeat is so fast..." Lu Ying took a deep breath, then slowly closed his eyes. The poisonous insects fed into his bones and blood over the past days seemed useless after all. Utterly ineffective. He suppressed the storm of emotions crashing within him, maintaining a stoic and composed demeanor as he bent to retrieve the garments on the ground, draping them over her shoulders once more: "This is a Buddhist Pure Land—" "It’s your Buddhist Pure Land." Shen Yinning pressed his hand against the amulet on her chest. "Lu Ying, the statues of Shengguo Temple are your Buddha, but you are mine." The moment she fell from the Lamp Sea Bodhisattva, it was Lu Ying, riding a white horse, who came to save her. He arrived faster than Buddha or Bodhisattva. The amulet lay tightly against the girl’s chest. Lu Ying’s hand rested there too, separated by the amulet, yet he could still feel her warm and strong heartbeat. Facing such an audacious woman—one who was also the only girl he’d ever loved as a youth—his throat went dry, his blood boiling and surging uncontrollably. His Adam’s apple bobbed as his entire body tensed like a drawn bowstring, trying his best to control his impulses: "Shen Zhaozhao—" Shen Yinning extended her index finger, placing it against his lips. Her gaze lingered intently on his lips, her voice low and filled with deep emotion: "In this world, some people take refuge in Buddha, some in Dharma, some in the Sangha. But I—only take refuge in you, Lu Ying. Shen Zhaozhao only wishes to take refuge in Lu Ying..." Lu Ying’s every bone and sinew trembled. The girl he’d loved in his youth now stood bare before him in this Buddhist hall, back turned to the Bodhisattva, earnestly declaring that she took refuge not in Buddha, but in him. As if out of all the countless beings in the vast world, she alone belonged entirely to him. He wasn’t the Buddha for all, but he was hers. As Shen Yinning uttered the last word, the blazing fire of desire engulfed Lu Ying’s reason completely, ripping apart all his restraint and composure. He tightened his arms around her slender waist, pulling her firmly into his embrace. Tilting his head, he fervently claimed her lips. Lips and teeth clashed. Her raven-black hair spilled across the floor tiles, the youthful, radiant girl glowing like a pearl under the golden candlelight, trembling as she welcomed Lu Ying. The golden bell tied to her ankle chimed crisply, mingling with the faint sound of wooden fish striking in the distance—a blend of abstinence and allure. The veiled Bodhisattva smiled serenely, forever displaying compassion and leniency toward all sentient beings below. "Lu Ying... Lu Ying..." Shen Yinning kissed the man’s thin lips passionately. At this moment, she believed that Lu Ying liked her. And she—she was also willing to be with him, truly and deeply. Willing to spend every holiday by his side, to light incense, pray devoutly, and honor the gods and Buddha at temples. She would no longer rebel by eating rice cakes during the Dragon Boat Festival nor plan malicious schemes during Lantern Festival nights. She was willing, after avenging her greatest grudge, to grow old with him, to live out their days surrounded by grandchildren. She... She liked Lu Ying. The man’s large hands roamed the girl’s delicate body. Lu Ying left countless ambiguous kiss marks along her shoulders and chest. His long, rough fingers grazed her slender waist and thighs, leaving behind splotchy crimson imprints akin to peach blossoms blooming on snowy skin. He thought to himself, he was far from being any noble and ascetic Crown Prince. He was on the verge of being incinerated by desire, transforming into a devil consumed by lust. Greedily, he sought to leave his mark upon Shen Zhaozhao, maliciously hoping that Lu Shiyan would feel unbearable pain upon seeing these imprints, constantly reminded that Shen Zhaozhao’s first man was Lu Ying. She had dragged him down from his lofty pedestal, turning him from a dignified, upright, and rule-abiding Crown Prince into a petty man filled with jealousy and greed, seizing another’s wife. Love, hatred, desire, greed—the full spectrum of human vices. Lu Ying embodied them all. Shen Zhaozhao... Shen Zhaozhao... The heavens had brought this woman into his life as if purposefully delivering calamity, throwing his well-ordered existence into disarray, turning him into someone unrecognizable to himself. He could not resolve the calamity itself, but he could resolve Shen Zhaozhao. Lu Ying pinned Shen Yinning beneath him, muscles taut like a lion’s, hot sweat slipping from his well-defined waist, more forceful than ever before, like a final banquet before a long night. Shen Yinning’s flushed face glistened with sweat as she quivered, biting his lip until it bled. Breathless, she leaned against his chest, tasting the metallic tang of blood between their lips. The frenzied emotion in her eyes gradually subsided, leaving only tender, entwined sentiments in the moonlight. She tilted her head, her fingertips tracing his jaw and brow: "Lu Ying, why have you always believed that the person I liked was Lu Shiyan? Was it something I did that made you misunderstand?"

Chapter 234 - 232: Lu Ying, Your Heartbeat is So Fast

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