Chapter 60 I'm Willing

Once you start kissing, you'll want a deep kiss anytime, anywhere.

On this afternoon, deep in the bamboo forest, a cool breeze was blowing, a rare cool spot in the summer.

The bamboo leaves filtered through the sunlight, which danced on the ground covered with fallen leaves.

Tang Xiaoning grabbed Li Minghua's wrist and jogged away, hiding under the dense bamboo shadows, ostensibly to "escape the summer heat."

In reality, her bouncy steps and the glint in her eyes had already betrayed her true intentions.

She breathed softly, leaning against a thick, green bamboo, her cheeks flushed from running and secret anticipation.

She slightly raised her delicate chin, her fingers subtly alluring as she gently hooked her fingers around Li Minghua's impeccably tailored shirt. Her voice was soft and sweet, carrying an undisguised hint of coquetry: "Minghua, lower yourself a little..."

Li Minghua bowed slightly as instructed, her gaze like a gentle net, carefully tracing the person before her.

Her gaze slid from Tang Xiaoning's smooth forehead, over her long eyelashes that trembled slightly with shyness, and finally settled on her slightly parted lips that shone with a captivating, moist luster.

The color of her lips was like a rose petal glistening with dew, silently conveying an invitation.

Li Minghua's Adam's apple bobbed almost imperceptibly, and his breathing unconsciously slowed down.

The surroundings were so quiet that only the rhythmic rustling of the wind through the bamboo forest and the gradually accelerating and merging heartbeats in each other's chests could be heard.

Thump, thump, the sound echoed in the quiet afternoon.

"What's wrong?" Li Minghua's voice lowered, with a hint of hoarse laughter.

She stretched out her finger and gently rubbed the back of her finger against Tang Xiaoning's burning cheek. The delicate and soft touch made her fingertips tingle slightly.

Tang Xiaoning's face turned even redder, like a ripe peach.

She didn't answer, but instead stood on tiptoe and gripped Li Minghua's clothes even tighter, bringing the two of them even closer.

Her eyelashes fluttered rapidly, revealing her inner tension and longing, before she finally bravely met Li Minghua's deep eyes.

Li Minghua sighed softly, as if he had finally let go of the last bit of restraint.

She wrapped one arm around Tang Xiaoning's slender waist, pressing her closer to herself, and with the other hand, she supported the back of Tang's neck, lowered her head, and precisely seized that long-awaited sweetness.

"Mmm..." Tang Xiaoning let out a soft moan.

This kiss was deep and lingering, igniting a wildfire between the grinding of their lips.

Tang Xiaoning immediately went limp, like a handful of melting spring water, and obediently nestled in Li Minghua's arms.

Her initial awkwardness was quickly replaced by an instinctive courage. She responded tentatively, her tongue timidly touching him, her arms wrapping around Li Minghua's neck like vines, and she nestled deeper into his warm and firm embrace.

Feeling the gentleness and response of the person in his arms, Li Minghua tightened his arms around her waist, as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones.

The swaying bamboo shadows and dappled sunlight gently enveloped the two people embracing and kissing.

**

After that kiss, Li Minghua made up her mind about one thing: she needed to give Tang Xiaoning a legitimate and open "identity".

Not an employer and bodyguard, not a martial arts consultant, but... a wife.

Once the idea took root, it grew at an astonishing speed, occupying all her thoughts.

Let me explain: the term "husband and wife" refers to a wife or a wife.

She wants to officially become husband and wife with Tang Xiaoning!

But for Lady Li, achieving this goal was no less complex than deciphering a peerless sword technique.

The primary challenge was the betrothal gifts.

That day, she locked herself in her room with a small cloth bag spread out in front of her. Inside was all the salary she had received from the Tang family over the past few months. The silver ingots and loose silver added up to a considerable sum.

This is all her possessions.

She frowned, staring at the pile of silver.

"Proposing marriage... requires preparing six gifts..." she murmured to herself, recalling vague worldly customs she had heard from somewhere.

Betrothal, asking the name, accepting auspicious gifts, presenting betrothal gifts, setting the wedding date, and welcoming the bride... it seems that gifts are required at every step.

She took a deep breath. What should she buy?

Her first thought was of a sword.

A sword that can cut a hair in two with a single blow serves not only as a means of self-defense but also as a symbol of her identity and her role in protecting others.

But... Xiaoning can't even wield a bamboo broom properly, so offering a sword seems a bit too... hardcore?

Moreover, a good sword is very valuable, and with all her silver, she probably couldn't even afford a good sword tassel.

The second thought was military strategy or maps.

It's practical and can broaden your horizons.

But... she remembered Xiaoning's bright eyes when she read storybooks and how she kept her distance from those dry classics, and silently rejected this option.

She tried hard to recall what Tang Xiaoning liked.

Storybooks? But none of the ones she bought were as exquisite and ornate as Xiaoning's own collection.

Food? It's not easy to preserve and doesn't seem very formal.

Jewelry and hairpins? She had seen the dazzling array of jewels in Xiaoning's dressing case; what she could buy with her meager savings probably wouldn't even catch Xiaoning's eye...

Ms. Li was plunged into unprecedented anxiety.

She discovered that she knew nothing about worldly "gifts," and the world Xiaoning lived in was worlds apart from her austere sect and the martial arts world full of swords and shadows.

She paced around the room from dawn till dusk, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

That pile of silver suddenly seemed so insignificant to her.

Ultimately, she made her decision.

Since you don't understand, then just do the most "practical" thing!

She took all her savings and went out for the first time seriously for a "personal matter," her destination: the largest business and the most famous shop in the county.

She went to the cloth shop first.

The shopkeeper enthusiastically recommended all kinds of silks and satins, Suzhou embroidery and Hunan embroidery, describing them in glowing terms.

Li Minghua was completely confused, but he firmly remembered one thing: to make the best clothes for Xiaoning.

She pointed to the exquisite Yun brocade that the shopkeeper had described as "worth its weight in gold," as well as several other types of soft gauze and cicada-wing gauze that sounded very expensive, and said succinctly, "I want one bolt of each."

Although the price made her heart skip a beat, she paid without hesitation.

Then we went to a jewelry shop.

Faced with a dazzling array of jewelry, she felt even more helpless.

The shop assistant tried to sell her gold hairpins and jade bracelets, but she only glanced at them before shaking her head: "Too cumbersome, they hinder my movement."

Finally, her gaze was drawn to a white magnolia hairpin. The jade was warm and smooth, the design simple and elegant, and the delicate green at the stamen resembled the light in Xiaoning's eyes when she smiled.

“This,” she said, pointing to the jade hairpin.

The price was almost half of her remaining silver.

She hesitated for a moment, but still bought it.

Then we went to the pastry shop and bought the largest and most exquisite box of assorted candied fruits, because I remembered that Xiaoning had a sweet tooth.

I went to the bookstore and picked out a few newly published folk tales with the most gorgeous covers.

She even went to a perfume shop and, under the shopkeeper's strange gaze, bought a small box of rouge that was supposedly the latest model from the capital, with a sweet floral and fruity scent.

Finally, she stood on the street corner, looking at the pile of gifts in her hands, which she had acquired by spending almost all her savings.

The frivolous fabrics (in her opinion), the jade hairpins that were neither edible nor usable, the candied fruit that would soon be eaten up, the storybooks that would be forgotten after reading, and that small box of rouge whose purpose she had no idea what to do with.

She weighed the last few copper coins in her hand and suddenly felt a little uneasy.

Is this enough?

Can you express her feelings?

Xiaoning...would you like it?

She looked down at her faded old outfit and the wildflowers still pinned to her sword sheath, and for the first time clearly felt the gap between "rich and poor," and a kind of clumsy, all-consuming sincerity.

She took a deep breath, carefully packed all the gifts, held them in her hands, turned around, and took slightly trembling steps toward the Tang residence.

Regardless of the outcome, this is all that Li Minghua can offer at this point.