Chapter Ninety-Six: You Are My First Man
Distracted for only a moment, Li Bao'er stopped looking at Xi Yuan's probing eyes, and suddenly waved her hand, her voice without the slightest hesitation:
"Take it down!"
Are you kidding me? Trying to threaten her?
The playful smile on Xiyuan's face finally froze, revealing obvious surprise and confusion.
He had no idea that after he threw out "Ling Jin" as bait, the other party not only didn't take the bait, but instead became even more determined to capture him!
Seeing the guards about to approach, Xi Yuan hurriedly spoke, his voice tinged with urgency: "Wait! Aren't you curious about my relationship with Ling Jin? Don't you want to know why I brought him up? It might be related to..."
"In no mood!"
Li Bao'er interrupted him directly, her tone cold and unwavering.
She raised her chin, her gaze sweeping over Xi Yuan as if looking at a clown, with an absolute confidence:
“I know better than you who Ling Jin is. He will never leave, much less betray you.”
"So, no matter who you are or what shady relationship you have with him, it has nothing to do with me and poses no threat to me."
These words were extremely domineering and extremely protective of their own.
Ling Jin is his and A Yu's family.
Li Bao'er didn't give Xi Yuan any chance to negotiate at all.
Xi Yuan was completely stunned. He opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment. This pretty boy didn't play by the rules!
In the brief moment he was stunned, Yuan Ting and Feng Li swiftly twisted his arms behind his back, firmly restraining him.
Li Bao'er looked at Xi Yuan, who was being held captive, and sneered, "Take him back! Keep a close watch on him! I want to see who sent you to cause trouble here!"
Mu Cenlin stood beside Li Bao'er, taking in her momentary loss of composure and subsequent assertive reaction. Looking at Bao'er's decisive and ruthless demeanor, a deep sense of admiration flashed in his eyes.
He lowered his head, bringing his breath close to Li Bao'er's ear, whose little face was still stern. His warm breath brushed against her earlobe, carrying a laugh that only the two of them could hear:
"Tsk, I've only just witnessed what it means to turn your back on someone." His voice was full of sarcasm. "Just now you were staring at someone's face in a daze, and then you turned around and ruthlessly tied them up and threw them in jail. Young master, you really have a heart of stone."
Li Bao'er was completely focused on dealing with the unexpected situation in Xiyuan when he suddenly teased her like that, especially bringing up her momentary lapse in composure. Her cheek flushed red again. She nudged him lightly with her elbow, and whispered:
"Shut up! It's all because you suddenly showed up and caused trouble!" She tried to maintain her authority as the "owner," but her flushed ears and forced calm tone betrayed her embarrassment. "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll take you down too!"
Mu Cenlin let out a very soft chuckle. Instead of letting go of her, he tightened his arms around her, almost encircling her in his embrace. He rubbed his chin against the top of her head, his tone lazy and irritating:
"Oh? You want to capture me? What does the Princess intend to do with me? Lock me up in the dungeon too? Or take me back to the manor for private 'torture'?"
He deliberately emphasized the words "severe torture," his tone so ambiguous that it left much to the imagination.
Li Bao'er: "..." She realized that when it came to shamelessness, she could never beat this madman!
Everyone watched as His Highness Prince Jing flirted with the young man in his arms as if no one else was around. The mastermind, who had been so domineering just moments before, now had a flushed face and looked completely helpless against the prince. The atmosphere, which had eased slightly after Xi Yuan's arrest, became strangely silent once again.
So... it's true that Prince Jing is homosexual? And judging from the looks of it, it's the one mentioned above? Everyone was screaming wildly in their hearts, but they dared not show it on their faces. They could only lower their heads and try their best to minimize their presence.
Linglong had completely given up hope. She silently turned around and began to study the patterns on the wall. She couldn't bear to look, she really couldn't bear to look.
The Qingluan, who had been quietly following behind and almost forgotten, had a hint of resentment and urgency flash in her eyes.
She had finally managed to see Mu Cenlin, how could she let him leave with Li Bao'er like that? Her eyes were glued to that woman the whole time!
Just as Mu Cenlin was about to turn around while protecting Li Bao'er, Qingluan steeled her heart, as if she had tripped over something, and let out a soft and melodious exclamation: "Ouch!"
The sound wasn't loud, but it was clear enough in the relatively quiet hall. She fell weakly and limply towards Mu Cenlin, calculating the angle so that it would appear unexpected yet land precisely in his arms.
However, Mu Cenlin's reaction was astonishingly fast. He didn't even turn around, but simply took a very light step to the side with Li Bao'er in his arms, precisely avoiding the soft, fragrant body that was falling over.
With a muffled thud, followed by a more genuine cry of pain, Qingluan crashed heavily onto the cold, hard ground. Her hair was slightly disheveled, her skirt was spread open, and she looked quite pathetic.
She raised her face, her eyes instantly reddening and brimming with pitiful tears. Looking at Mu Cenlin, her voice choked with sobs and grievance, she said, "Your Highness, I didn't mean to, I just slipped."
Her pitiful appearance would have moved any ordinary man to pity, and he would have rushed to help her up.
Mu Cenlin then slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping coldly over Qingluan who had fallen to the ground. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, his eyes showing no pity for her, only a hint of impatience at being disturbed.
Li Bao'er also stopped and looked at Qingluan on the ground, whose acting was clumsy but persistent. She was almost "moved" by her perseverance.
"Your Highness..." Qingluan was shocked to see that Mu Cenlin had no intention of paying attention to her at all. How could this be!
In the past, if she had been injured, Mu Cenlin would at least have asked about it. Didn't Xiao Yizhi say that she had always been Mu Cenlin's white moonlight?
But now, with such a cold demeanor, he no longer seems like a white moonlight figure, but rather like someone looking at a clown!
Before Mu Cenlin could speak, Li Bao'er laughed first. She gently tapped her palm with her folding fan, her tone carrying a hint of sudden realization and concern: "Oh dear, how could Miss Qingluan be so careless? You can fall even on flat ground? It seems that your body is indeed a bit weak. I'll have Mingyu send you some more tonics later so you can take good care of yourself and avoid being unable to stand steadily in the future."
"If all else fails, I'll have Yuan Ting train you properly to improve your physical fitness."
Qingluan choked, her face turning pale and then red, tears welling up in her eyes but not falling, making her look even more pitiful. She looked at Mu Cenlin pleadingly, "Your Highness..."
Mu Cenlin didn't even bother to glance at her, coldly tossing out a sentence: "Since you can't stand steadily, you should go out less in the future." After saying that, he put his arm around Li Bao'er, walked straight past her, and headed outside.
Yuan Ting and the others immediately followed, keeping their eyes straight ahead.
"Your Highness! Don't you want to know why I left without saying goodbye back then?!"
"Because that night, I couldn't face you bravely! I ran out of the city and was kidnapped again!"
"Your Highness! You can't be so cruel to me! You are my first man."
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