Chapter 81 The Person I'm Tempted To

He then reached out and gently lifted her chin with his right hand, slowly turning her face towards him, and then slowly said, "This is the first time you've come to the city with me."

He paused, his eyes seemingly filled with reproach, yet also concealing an indescribable emotion.

Shouldn't I accompany you for a walk?

This action made Qiao Wanyin freeze instantly, and she even stopped breathing for a moment.

"It's precisely because this is your first time in the city that I thought I'd go out and have a look around with Xiaohe!"

Qiao Wanyin quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly offered an explanation.

What she said wasn't entirely her true thought.

In fact, their purpose in going out today was not to have fun.

Instead, he went to find someone to seek justice for Lin Li'an.

Last night, she stayed up all night, organizing a huge amount of relevant documents and writing a petition letter of several thousand words.

Early in the morning, he hurriedly dragged Lin Maihe to the provincial military district to submit materials.

That's why she's even more afraid to tell him the truth now.

The most fundamental reason was that he was worried he wouldn't be able to handle the blow if he found out that the person who framed him was one of his most trusted comrades.

"You are my girlfriend."

Qiao Wanyin trembled slightly before responding.

"I know you're my boyfriend. But because of that, isn't it perfectly normal and reasonable for me to get along well with your sister?"

Otherwise, who would be willing to go through all the trouble to overturn your case?

Just as Qiao Wanyin was still in shock, Lin Li'an suddenly took a step forward, closing in on her again.

His gaze was intense.

The sudden closeness startled her.

Who would have thought that Lin Li'an, who usually has a cold and serious demeanor, would act so forcefully at a time like this?

"Lin Li'an, you wouldn't be..."

Seeing the other person's slightly strange expression, a hint of suspicion flashed through her mind, so she simply slowed down her speech and deliberately drew out her tone.

Are you jealous?

Faced with the sudden questioning, Lin Li'an was stunned for a moment.

"How is that possible!"

"That's clearly it!"

Qiao Wanyin chuckled softly as she playfully tapped his chest with her finger.

"You get jealous way too easily! You're even jealous of your sister."

Lin Li'an remained silent, but suddenly grabbed her fingers that were randomly tapping on her chest and held them firmly.

His gaze grew increasingly profound.

"Qiao Wanyin."

"Um?"

She paused slightly, then looked up at him.

"Let's not talk about anything else."

His voice was low and deep.

"Those jokes don't sound funny anymore. Tell me, why have you been quietly keeping your distance from me lately?"

In fact, he had noticed this change long ago.

It started several days ago, or even earlier.

In front of outsiders, Qiao Wanyin always acted very attached to him, like a spoiled little girl.

But as soon as the two of them are alone, that intimacy cools down quickly.

Instead, she became indifferent and perfunctory.

It felt like she had withdrawn her true feelings when no one else could see her.

All the intimacy was just a pretense.

At first, he was aware of this, but he didn't care, thinking it was just a girl being stubborn.

But with each interaction, that aloof attitude became increasingly apparent.

He could no longer turn a blind eye, and a sense of unease began to creep into his heart.

"I...I didn't keep my distance from you!"

Qiao Wanyin blurted it out.

She knew as soon as the words left her mouth that they didn't sound natural.

Lin Li'an was not convinced by her denial.

Instead, he lowered his head and gently lifted her chin with his fingertips.

He kept staring into her eyes.

"You have."

"And it wasn't just once. Whenever it was just the two of us, you would always find an excuse to leave or create distance between us. That means you were avoiding me, right?"

Lin Li'an's breath was right in front of his nose.

The refreshing scent of soap enveloped her completely.

The tip of his nose was almost touching his collar.

"I, I just..."

Qiao Wanyin was speechless, unable to utter a single sentence.

My face turned so red that my ears felt hot, and I didn't even know where to put my hands.

Who told me to be a lifelong single?

I have never had a deep relationship with a member of the opposite sex.

Whenever I encounter such close proximity, my heart inexplicably races.

If I had any romantic experience in my past life, even just holding someone else's hand would be great!

It's not like I'm so nervous every time that I want to run away!

"Qiao Wanyin, if you don't want to be with me and are afraid of me, why did you approach me in the first place?"

Lin Li'an spoke in a gentle tone, yet his words left no room for evasion.

There was a hint of sadness in his eyes as he looked at her.

Those thoughts that I had previously been unwilling to delve into resurfaced in my mind.

He didn't want to believe that she had approached him with ulterior motives.

The thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly suppressed it.

He knew he couldn't easily deny everything that had happened between them.

But she's always so unpredictable, sometimes hot, sometimes cold.

After a moment of silence, Lin Li'an suddenly uttered a sentence that surprised even himself.

"Will you never fall in love with me?"

Qiao Wanyin was stunned for a moment.

Her throat was so dry that she couldn't speak.

But she couldn't help but shout back, "How could I not like you!"

The words came out without any thought or consideration.

"With your looks, I can secretly dream about you a few times over!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the air froze.

Even their breathing slowed down.

The two of them froze, as if struck by an electric shock!

Qiao Wanyin's eyes widened, her face burning red, wishing she could dig a hole in the ground and bury herself inside.

Good heavens, what nonsense did she just say?

This isn't blatantly telling him...

Is she after him?

Lin Li'an's gaze grew increasingly dark, but his Adam's apple involuntarily bobbed slightly.

His expression was complex yet restrained.

"You thought about it several times?"

"no……"

Qiao Wanyin hurriedly defended herself, taking a half step back, "What I meant was that you are indeed handsome."

The more she explained, the softer her voice became, but her face turned so red it was almost bleeding.

"Which girl wouldn't be smitten when she sees you? Of course, that's not what I meant. I mean, I... I didn't mean to touch you or anything!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she wanted to slap herself.

As expected, the more they tried to explain, the worse it got!

Lin Li'an suddenly lowered his head and chuckled softly, his laughter low and gentle.

"Alright, looks like I do have some appeal."

The laughter came from his chest, low and hoarse.

There was a hint of seductive charm in that smile.

What do you mean?

Qiao Wanyin glared at him angrily, her cheeks slightly flushed with irritation.

"Lin Li'an, are you pretending to be stupid? Do you really think I can't see that you're flirting with me?"

"I don't know."

He still smiled calmly, his clear eyes fixed on her without blinking, his expression completely harmless.