To be more precise, it wasn't that she had seen it before — she had heard it.
The voice that echoed through the valley at Cuijue Slope last night was exactly the same as Ningguang's voice right now.
Even the name being called was the same.
Wait — why was Ningguang calling Lu Lin's name? What did he have to do with this?
Hearing his name in such a situation made Keqing instinctively recall the awkward scene from that morning. A blush rose to her cheeks.
After that intense peak, Ningguang had completely lost her strength and leaned weakly against the bed, breathing heavily.
"Ningguang, you…" Keqing didn't know how to begin.
"Don't… don't call anyone. And you… don't leave…" Ningguang had completely lost her usual cold and noble composure. Her expression was filled with an alluring softness.
"Alright. I'll stay. I won't leave." No matter how awkward it was, Keqing couldn't abandon her close friend at a moment like this.
"But you have to tell me what's going on. Why did this suddenly happen? And you called Lu Lin's name — what does he have to do with it?"
Keqing's mind was full of questions.
Why would Ningguang cry out Lu Lin's name at the height of pleasure? Could she have fallen for him just from hearing about him?
That didn't seem like Ningguang at all.
In truth, both of them were hiding things.
Keqing had only shared Lu Lin's political insights, omitting her own embarrassing incident of listening outside the valley and… acting on impulse.
Meanwhile, when Keqing first mentioned Lu Lin's name, Ningguang had pretended not to recognize it, never revealing they already knew each other.
So when Ningguang reached her peak and called his name, Keqing was utterly confused.
Why did she call him?
It wasn't because she had fallen for him.
Rather, at that overwhelming moment, a flash of clarity struck Ningguang.
This must be Lu Lin's doing.
It had to be connected to the strange methods he used when threatening her with those photographs and forcing her to move into the Serenitea Pot.
The day after she moved in, he went to Cuijue Slope with Xiangling. Now that he had returned to Liyue Harbor, this happened.
Who else could it be?
That shameless scoundrel.
She had been so cautious — yet she still underestimated him.
She had known he had ulterior motives when forcing her into the Serenitea Pot.
But when faced with Keqing's questioning, Ningguang didn't know where to begin.
It was already humiliating enough to lose control in front of her friend. If Keqing found out about the photos…
Absolutely not.
Lu Lin's methods were too unpredictable. Keqing despised injustice — if she learned Ningguang had been manipulated, she would certainly confront him.
And that would only put Keqing in danger.
Ningguang didn't believe Keqing could handle Lu Lin. His abilities were too strange. His personality too dangerous.
If Keqing angered him, she might fall into his grasp as well.
"I… I was just a little excited…" Ningguang forced herself to speak.
"I have high standards. Ordinary men don't interest me. But I have… needs. Sometimes I take care of them myself. You understand, right? Hearing you talk got me a little stirred up, so…
Calling Lu Lin's name was just subconscious. It has nothing to do with him. Nothing at all."
She went that far just to protect Keqing from getting involved.
Could Keqing understand?
Of course she could.
She had done the same thing last night.
But she wasn't foolish.
There was no way Ningguang would get carried away and lose control just from chatting.
And besides…
Ningguang, I saw the marks.
Ningguang wore a loose silk nightrobe. Beneath it, she wore nothing. When she lost control earlier, several buttons had come undone, revealing her chest.
And there, clearly visible, were the two faint marks.
They hadn't faded yet.
Such marks usually lasted three to seven days. These had only been there three days.
Surely Ningguang didn't leave those herself?
No matter how flexible she was, that wasn't possible.
Even though Ningguang denied everything, Keqing filled in the blanks herself.
Lu Lin and Ningguang definitely knew each other — and intimately.
The marks proved it.
Given Lu Lin's behavior with Xiangling in the wilderness, he was clearly no gentleman.
Keqing respected his intellect, but that didn't mean she didn't think he was a lecher.
And Ningguang must have already fallen for him.
When she heard that the man she loved shared her ideals and possessed such sharp insights, emotions must have overwhelmed her.
That would explain why she cried his name at the peak.
Convinced she had grasped the truth, Keqing chose not to press further.
But then she noticed Ningguang's face flushing red again.
Wait — again?
Ningguang herself hadn't expected it either.
This time, the pleasure built faster and stronger than before. It felt as if something exploded inside her mind, wiping away all rational thought.
"I… mm—Lu Lin!!!"
Her cry was so intense that Keqing's eyes widened.
It was no quieter than Xiangling's last night.
Fortunately, the Jade Chamber's soundproofing was excellent.
"Keqing… I…" Ningguang's voice was unbearably soft and seductive.
The repeated waves of pleasure struck as if Keqing herself were experiencing them.
It was eerily similar to last night.
Except this time, there was more than just sound.
Ningguang lay there, robe completely open, blanket kicked aside, utterly lost in sensation.
Her voice carried the mature charm of a grown woman — deeper and more intoxicating than Xiangling's.
Under that sound, Keqing's consciousness began to blur.
It felt like she had returned to that moonlit valley.
One hand slipped beneath her skirt.
The other beneath her collar.
Even her movements mirrored last night's exactly.
As damp warmth met her fingertips—
Keqing once again repeated yesterday's mistake.