Chapter 50 You'd better explain yourself clearly.
Li Minghua straightened up and looked down at Tang Xiaoning, whose cheeks had turned bright red in an instant, even her small earlobes were tinged with crimson.
The corners of his mouth, which were usually tightly pursed, couldn't help but turn up slightly.
"Ugh!" Tang Xiaoning felt a surge of heat rush to the top of her head, and her whole body felt like it was on fire.
She let out a short, muffled moan, then buried her burning cheeks and the kissed spots on her forehead in the soft blankets like a startled ostrich, leaving behind only a trembling ball wrapped in the blankets.
Her wooden female warrior... not only confessed her love... but actually... she even knows how to flirt!
This sudden contrast, this overwhelmingly tender blow—who could withstand it!
Looking at the shy little bundle curled up in the blanket, Li Minghua's eyes were almost overflowing with laughter.
Li Minghua stopped teasing her, turned around and strode towards the door to prepare the bowl of ginger soup, her steps light and quick, unlike anything she had done in a long time.
Outside the window, the rain had completely stopped.
As the dark clouds dispersed, a magnificent seven-colored rainbow quietly rose and stretched across the clear blue sky.
Inside the house, amidst a kiss on the forehead and a room full of shy sweetness, its dazzling prelude officially began.
Her duties remain unchanged, but the meaning of "protecting you" has quietly changed.
**
The next day, as dawn broke, the light, like a diluted pale blue veil, gently drifted across the windowpane.
Li Minghua's precise biological clock, as if etched into her bones, would wake her from her sleep on time.
The slight headache from the hangover was easily ignored by her robust constitution.
In addition, there was a feeling of fullness that made her feel light as a feather, as if she were floating on a cloud, warm and cozy, with no solid ground to stand on.
Then, she clearly felt the heavy weight in her left arm and the warmth that kept coming from it.
She held her breath and slowly lowered her head.
What came into view was Tang Xiaoning's peaceful sleeping face.
She was like a kitten seeking shelter, curled up beside her, her cheek resting on her arm, fast asleep.
Soft, silky hair lay scattered on the plain-colored pillow, with a few strands particularly playful, seemingly entwining themselves around Li Minghua's arm skin with her light breathing, bringing a slight tickle.
The morning light filtered through the window curtains, casting a soft glow that gently outlined the beautiful silhouette of the person in my arms.
Long, thick eyelashes rested quietly on her lower eyelids, like folded butterfly wings. Beneath her delicate nose, the corners of her pink lips were naturally upturned, as if she were immersed in an incredibly sweet dream.
Li Minghua's body instantly stiffened like a stone sculpture, and even his breathing subconsciously froze, becoming extremely light and slow.
The crazy confession in the rain last night, the gentle yet burning kiss on her forehead, and later... the scene of holding her as she fell asleep, swept over her mind like a surging tide.
The fragments of memory, burning with intense heat, caused her cheeks and sensitive ears, which had finally regained their clarity, to suddenly heat up and become hot again at a visible speed.
She...she actually held Xiaoning like this all night...slept like this all night?
Although reason immediately intervened and was firmly accepted by her heart: this action was purely to prevent her from catching a cold after being caught in the rain, and she had absolutely no ulterior motives!
But at this moment, the overly intimate and intimate embrace, like mandarin ducks with their necks intertwined, still made Li Minghua's heart pound like a drum, pounding against her chest, making her hands and feet feel superfluous, stiff and unsure of where to place them.
She tried, with the smallest amplitude and the lightest force, to slowly pull her arm, which had been pressed numb, out from under Tang Xiaoning's neck.
However, the moment she moved even slightly, the soft warmth in her arms snuggled against her, letting out a soft, muffled murmur: "...Mmm...Don't move..."
That sleepy, coquettish tone brushed against my heart like a feather.
Immediately afterward, Tang Xiaoning's arm around her waist didn't loosen; instead, it instinctively tightened, pulling her closer. His warm breath sprayed onto her neck, and he mumbled indistinctly, "...Cold..."
Li Minghua's muscles tensed instantly, and he dared not move an inch. He froze in place as if his pressure points had been struck, and could only let Tang Xiaoning cling to him like an octopus seeking warmth.
Feeling the soft, fragrant weight in my arms, and hearing the even, shallow breaths beside my ear, a strong sense of satisfaction and a surging protective instinct quietly spread through me, silently diluting and melting away the embarrassment and shyness.
She remained in this "confined" position, her eyes open, gazing at the simple patterns on the top of the green gauze curtain, listening to the birdsong rising outside the window, and feeling the passage of time.
Until the dawn completely faded, the bright sunlight filled the entire room.
Tang Xiaoning finally woke up slowly.
Her thick eyelashes trembled slightly before slowly parting.
An unfamiliar tent top and... a chin so close.
She stretched comfortably, her body curled up all night, and lazily raised her hand to rub her sleepy eyes. She groggily looked up.
Without warning, she bumped into a pair of eyes that were quietly gazing at her.
Those eyes lost their usual coldness and were filled with tension and tenderness.
"Good morning, Minghua..." She subconsciously raised her eyebrows and smiled sweetly, her voice slightly hoarse from the early morning.
The next second...
"boom!"
Tang Xiaoning's cheeks instantly turned bright red, almost as if they were about to bleed. She cried out in surprise, like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on, and abruptly released her grip on Li Minghua's waist.
She scrambled to the innermost corner of the bed, frantically pulling the blanket over herself from head to toe.
She could only barely peek out with her large, watery eyes, filled with shyness and surprise, as she looked at Li Minghua, who was sitting up by the bedside, in a panic.
"I...we...last night...I...you..." She stammered incoherently, her tongue seemingly tied in knots, unable to form complete sentences, feeling as if her whole body was steaming.
Seeing her so embarrassed and anxious, as if she wanted to bury herself, Li Minghua's heart, which had been pounding like a drum, calmed down a bit.
She sat up straight, stiffly straightening the collar of her white undergarment, which was slightly disheveled from a night of embracing, and tried to maintain her usual calm expression.
“You were caught in the rain last night and are feeling quite chilly,” she cleared her throat, her voice softer than usual, but her gaze drifted somewhat to the carvings at the foot of the bed. “I was worried you might catch a cold and get a fever at night, so… I stayed with you.”
"I know!" Tang Xiaoning answered quickly, her voice barely audible. She nodded her little head, which was wrapped in the blanket, and her big eyes, which were exposed, were glistening with tears.
"Thank you... for taking care of me." The last word was almost stuck in his throat.
A subtle silence fell over the room.
The air seemed to be filled with invisible, sweet threads, entangling the two of them, carrying the thrill of first love and the shy embarrassment.
The birdsong outside the window only served to accentuate the stillness inside.
The two silently got up and went to wash and groom themselves.
The splashing water in the copper basin and the subtle rubbing sound of a towel wiping one's cheeks were clearly audible.
Throughout the entire process, the two carefully avoided eye contact, as if their gazes themselves carried a scorching heat.
Occasionally, in the instant of picking up a comb or handing over a handkerchief, their eyes would inadvertently meet briefly in the mirror or in the air before quickly looking away.
A blush rose on their faces, and their hearts skipped a beat.
The awkward, silent sweetness only eased slightly when they had breakfast together in the side room.
The delicate porcelain bowl is filled with soft, glutinous rice porridge, garnished with a few refreshing side dishes.
Tang Xiaoning sipped the warm porridge slowly, her eyes secretly glancing again and again at Li Minghua, who sat upright across from her, seemingly embodying the phrase "I'm eating seriously."
Seeing her trying to maintain a serious expression but unable to hide the slight blush on her ears, Tang Xiaoning's little flame of desire suddenly flared up again.
She quietly stretched out her foot, clad in a soft satin embroidered shoe, from under the table and tentatively touched Li Minghua's ankle, which was resting on the footstool.
The touch made Li Minghua's hand, which was holding the ivory chopsticks, suddenly pause, and the pickled cucumber he was picking up almost fell back into the dish.
She suddenly looked up at the instigator opposite her, her eyes filled with questions and a momentary sense of being disturbed.
Tang Xiaoning immediately winked at her quickly, a smile playing on her lips, like a kitten that had successfully stolen some cream. She deliberately dragged out her question, "Miss Li, are you going to the sword training ground again today?"
Her voice carried the languidness of early morning and a deliberate coquettishness.
“…Yes, practice.” Li Minghua lowered her eyelashes, her thick lashes concealing the turbulent emotions in her eyes.
She tried to ignore the persistent, tingling, itchy feeling in her ankle and forced herself to focus on the bowl of porridge in front of her.
"Then..." Tang Xiaoning's tone dragged out, carrying a hint of mischief.
Her bright, watery eyes stared intently at Li Minghua's slightly reddened earlobes as she deliberately asked, "Are you going to give me 'personal' guidance today, like before?"
She deliberately emphasized the word "intimate," with an obvious flirtatious tone.
"Pfft—cough cough!" Xiao Cui, who was standing by with a teapot, couldn't help but burst out laughing and hurriedly covered her mouth.
Her shoulders trembled as she tried to suppress her laughter, her little face flushed red, and her eyes darted back and forth between her two masters, radiating a gossipy "I understand, I understand" light.
Li Minghua felt a "boom" and a surge of heat rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head!
The ears, which had just lost some of their redness, instantly turned as red as blood-red agate.
She slammed down her chopsticks, tried to put on a stern face, and attempted to project the imposing authority she usually displayed when teaching martial arts, trying to conceal the turmoil within her: "...We'll see!"
"Oh?" Tang Xiaoning was not about to let her off so easily; the smile in her eyes was almost overflowing.
She mimicked Li Minghua's feigned serious tone from that day, tilting her head slightly as she relentlessly pressed on with her question:
"In what situations is 'personal' guidance necessary?"
In what situations would you not need it?
Instructor Li, you'd better explain yourself clearly!
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