Chapter 80

The wind rustled outside the window, and the shadows of the trees swayed in front of the window. Tang Jing stared at Zhou Li blankly, his voice hoarse: "I dare not..."

Zhou Li still had her hand on Tang Jing's chest, pushing her. She took a deep breath and said, "Tang Jing, do you know that you are the one who keeps pushing me forward? We are moving too fast. We don't understand each other. We don't know what the other likes or dislikes. Forcing me like this will only make me afraid of you, afraid of me, and even hate you."

"Besides, you don't trust me, and I don't trust you either. We both have our own secrets. Do you think we can still love each other? Even if I say I like you now, will you believe it? Do you really believe that I love you?"

Tang Jing's eyes were dim. She knew that what Zhou Li said was right. Even if she got Zhou Li's love, she would verify Zhou Li's love for her.

The nature of her career prevents her from trusting anyone, but her emotions are swaying between her rationality.

Tang Jing grabbed Zhou Li's hand and pressed it against her heart. She said, "Can you feel my heartbeat?"

The sound of his heartbeat was transmitted through Zhou Li's hand to his mind. Tang Jing said, "I like you. Maybe not love you, but I long for you to love me."

When saying this, Zhou Li's subordinates' heartbeats slightly quickened.

Zhou Li looked at Tang Jing in a daze. Tang Jing smiled at her and said, "What I said is true. A person's heartbeat never lies."

At this moment, Zhou Li's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. At that moment, she seemed to have fallen in love with this sincere Tang Jing. But reason finally returned. Zhou Li licked her dry lips and said, "I believe you."

Tang Jing was still waiting for her response. Zhou Li broke free from Tang Jing's hand and turned her back to her.

"But please give me some time."

Zhou Li was nervous and didn't know how Tang Jing would answer her.

The truth is that the troupe still needs Tang Jing's help, but Zhou Li is unwilling to lie to Tang Jing. She knows how good Tang Jing is to her, so she wants to figure out her own heart and then truly respond to Tang Jing.

"Okay." Tang Jing said from behind Zhou Li, "I won't force you now, but I hope that after giving you some time, the answer you give me will satisfy me."

Zhou Li relaxed and nodded.

The rescue plan does not require Zhou Li to go, and if she goes, it will make things worse. After all, she disappeared too early and had already aroused other people's suspicion. She is now on the wanted list.

At Tang Jing's command, the people in the Anbu found a death row prisoner to replace the troupe members. Her original identity in the old prince's mansion was also explained away by saying that she had caught a cold at home and died.

She's just a concubine, no one will pay attention to her.

When Dapeng and the others reunited with Zhou Li, before they had time to be happy, Tang Jing said, "You can't stay in the north any longer."

After all, they were all dead. If someone reported this, Tang Jing would not be able to protect so many people. Everyone had to go to Guanshi County, Zhang Mei's territory.

Zhou Li had no time to think as he traveled at night and slept during the day. When he returned to the familiar place and slept for a day, he suddenly sat up from the bed.

Great! We're back to square one!

It is hard not to think that this is also part of Tang Jing's plan. After all, it is not easy for her to run away in her territory. Otherwise, why did Tang Jing agree so readily at the time?

Zhou Li was suspicious.

Tang Jing couldn't possibly be so cunning, could he? But once the seeds of doubt were planted, they weren't so easy to remove.

I slept until noon when someone knocked on the door.

"Zhou Li, are you awake?" It was Xu Ziyi.

Zhou Li's clothes were wrinkled. He fell asleep as soon as he arrived at Guanshi County yesterday. It was Tang Jing who found the yard for him. After all, it was not convenient for so many of them to stay in the city lord's mansion.

Zhou Li rubbed his eyes and went to open the door.

"Why haven't you left yet?" she yawned.

Xu Ziyi stood at the door gracefully, "Waiting for you, the elder is here."

Zhou Li immediately took his hand away and asked in surprise with a haggard look on his face, "Did you guys make it?"

Xu Ziyi shook his head and held a folding fan in his hand to pretend to be polite.

"No, no."

Zhou Li grabbed it, opened it and fanned himself. It was still a bit hot at noon.

"Why did the elder come here?"

Xu Ziyi raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhou Li, then shook his head helplessly. He put his hands behind his back and said, "The intention to merge has been reached, but there are still some conditions that have not been negotiated. I can't make the decision, so I have to invite the elders to discuss it in detail."

"Oh." Zhou Li blinked. He didn't expect it to happen so quickly. He thought the Ranger Hall would not get involved in anything. It seems that the elders are still quite clear-headed.

"As for you," Xu Ziyi said with a smile, "I heard that you were captured."

Zhou Li's face darkened. She slammed her folding fan shut and patted Xu Ziyi on the chest, saying, "If you don't know how to speak, then don't speak. Listen to what you say, are you talking like a human being?"

"Who is the one who wants to run away and come back after going around in a circle?" Xu Ziyi was not angry. He opened his folding fan and fanned himself to feel cool.

"I'm not alone like you!" Zhou Li crossed his arms. "I have a troupe to support. I can't just abandon my brothers and leave them alone."

Xu Ziyi snapped his folding fan shut and clapped his hands, "That's right."

"Are Dapeng and the others okay? I heard they suffered a lot this time."

Zhou Li sighed, "Fortunately, someone took care of me. I was just locked up for a few days, but luckily I was rescued in time and it wasn't a false alarm."

"That's good." Xu Ziyi nodded, then looked Zhou Li up and down, saying disdainfully, "Pick up your things. I've prepared a welcoming banquet for you. Let's have a good time together."

Zhou Li snorted coldly: "You have a conscience."

After they finished talking, she slammed the door shut. Xu Ziyi touched his nose, shook his head and smiled.

Everyone in the courtyard woke up one after another. Dapeng was extremely happy to see Xu Ziyi, who was a star figure in the Ranger Hall. Dapeng and his friends were considered peripheral figures in the Ranger Hall. Zhou Li had a slightly higher status, but she didn't interfere much in the affairs of the Ranger Hall. Xu Ziyi was a well-known ranger. No one knew how many evil people he had eliminated. In the northwest, almost every household enshrined Xu Ziyi's longevity tablet, praying for his longevity and protection of the people.

Xu Ziyi was also very happy to see Dapeng. He remembered that when he first met Dapeng, he was still a skinny boy, but now he has grown so strong. It turned out that Zhou Li was really good at taking care of people. Patting Dapeng on the shoulder with his fan, Xu Ziyi said, "Let everyone clean up, wash your faces, and change clothes. I will welcome you."

"Okay!" Dapeng was extremely happy.

The others were also very happy to know that Xu Ziyi was there. But when Zhou Li came out and saw that Xu Ziyi was more popular than her, she became quite jealous.

Dapeng was tongue-tied and consoled him, "Boss, it's not that we don't like you, it's just that we've seen you too many times. You're not as fresh as Brother Xu. In fact, we still love you the most."

Isn’t this a new version of “only hearing the laughter of the new people, but not seeing the tears of the old people”?

Zhou Li couldn't pretend to be angry anymore, so he waved his hand and said, "Go away, don't block the way. Am I such a stingy person?"

Dapeng scratched his head and smiled foolishly.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they found that there were other people there besides them.

Zhang Zixin, Zhang Man, and Tang Jing were all sitting on the second floor. When they saw them coming up, they stood up together. Zhou Li looked over the others and looked at Tang Jing. She was smiling lightly, and when she met Zhou Li's gaze, she nodded slightly at her, and her smile deepened.

When they sat down, everyone pushed and jogged, and somehow Zhou Li and Tang Jing sat together.

The tables on the second floor were small, and Zhou Li and the other five almost filled up the entire table. The others consciously sat at the tables in the back and didn't squeeze with them.

As soon as Xu Ziyi sat down at the table, he naturally asked for wine. He put his arm around Zhang Zixin's arm like a brother and said that he would not leave until he was drunk. Zhang Zixin was obviously numbed by Xu Ziyi these days. His expression was numb and he accepted everything that was offered to him.

Zhang Man and Tang Jing sat together and looked at Zhou Li curiously.

Zhou Li noticed her gaze and smiled at her. Zhang Man's face turned red, and she looked like she had something on her mind but couldn't say it.

Zhou Li was calm and composed, and Tang Jing's eyes kept falling on her. Since they arrived in Guanshi County, they had not spoken much.

There would never be a dull moment at the table with Xu Ziyi around. He would offer a lot of little speeches, and everyone would raise their glasses a few times before he would start to embarrass Zhang Zixin.

Zhou Li drank a few sips of wine and ate the food by herself. Since she couldn't reach the dishes on the opposite table, she took the ones in front of her. She didn't say much. She hadn't recovered from the fatigue of the journey yet, and the haggardness was faintly visible between her eyebrows.

Tang Jing called the waiter, whispered a few instructions, and silently picked up a few dishes for Zhou Li.

Zhang Man's face turned red with excitement when she saw it, and she could hardly hide what was on her face.

Someone called out to Tang Jing, so she left her seat temporarily to deal with the problem.

Xu Ziyi was drinking with Zhang Zixin, Zhou Li was eating, and Zhang Man hesitated for a moment before sitting over. She whispered, "Mr. Zhou."

Zhou Li looked up and smiled at her, with a hint of alcohol on his face, and two pink eyes, which only highlighted her beauty. Her facial features were like mountains, bright and pretty. When you looked closely, her eyes were moist and bright, as if the stars in the sky had fallen into her eyes, twinkling, which made Zhang Man's face blush even redder.

She lowered her voice and asked quietly, "Are you and my eldest sister a couple?"

Zhou Li fell silent.

The smile on her face remained frozen in place, and she felt like dried vegetables that had been dried out, exposed nowhere under the scorching sun.

Zhang Man looked at her expectantly, without any expression of disgust.

Yes, after all, he had open-minded parents like Zhang Mei and Ji Qingshu.

Zhou Li was thinking about how to answer her, but before he could answer, Tang Jing came back. This time she sat directly next to Zhou Li, and she also brought a pot of old hen soup made with medicinal herbs.

Tang Jing scooped a bowl with a spoon and handed it to Zhou Li, saying, "Drink more, it's good for your health."

Zhang Man looked at her elder sister, then at Zhou Li, and smiled with her hands covering her mouth, as if she understood. Zhou Li sighed, but a spoonful of chicken soup was stuffed in his mouth.

It turned out that Tang Jing saw that she didn't take it, so he fed it directly to her mouth.

This is unacceptable, with so many people here, Zhou Li quickly took it and lowered his head to drink the soup.

Tang Jingcai looked at her and smiled.

Zhang Zixin was drunk by Xu Ziyi and was in a daze. Occasionally he looked up and saw Tang Jing's smile. He looked out the window in surprise.

It must be raining red from the sky, otherwise how could he see Poison Rose smiling so lovingly?

Zhang Zixin was horrified. The last time Tang Jing smiled so sweetly, it was because someone had offended his father. Overnight, all ten members of that person's family were killed without a burial place.

Zhang Man didn't know that this was also the reason why his elder brother and he didn't want his sister to get in touch with Tang Jing. It was not because they were jealous of Tang Jing, but because they were afraid of Tang Jing's ruthlessness!