Chapter 47 Jealous?
Ultimately, a strange sense of shame and the feeling that the question was incredibly bizarre forced him to suppress it.
Her Adam's apple bobbed, forcing herself to look away from the brocade box, and she simply shook her head: "It's nothing."
However, her tightly pursed lips and the lingering melancholy between her brows betrayed her true feelings.
Tang Xiaoning narrowed her eyes suspiciously, like a kitten that had caught a whiff of a secret, scrutinizing Li Minghua's obviously strange state.
Her subconscious stroking of the sword tassel, and her deliberate avoidance of the brocade box yet still an irresistible glance... In a flash, a bold idea that made her heart race suddenly shot into her mind!
Her eyes suddenly lit up, like two stars that had been suddenly lit.
The lingering competitive spirit of the game was instantly banished to the winds.
Tang Xiaoning simply put down the chess piece she was holding and leaned forward even closer, almost touching the railing of the pavilion.
She tilted her head, a sly smile playing on her lips, like a little fox that had finally caught its prey by the tail.
Her voice held a hint of mischievous amusement as she lowered her voice slightly and asked, "Hey, Minghua—"
She deliberately dragged out her words, her bright eyes locking onto Li Minghua's increasingly uncomfortable face: "You wouldn't be... feeling jealous, would you?"
"Jealous?" Li Minghua was taken aback by the unfamiliar word, his handsome brows furrowing even more, a clear look of confusion appearing in his eyes. "What do you mean?"
It seems that her understanding of the word was limited to its literal meaning, and she never connected it with her own emotions.
"It's just..." Tang Xiaoning was overjoyed to see her looking so bewildered yet trying to remain calm, and her eyes and brows were filled with an unconcealable smile.
She patiently "explained," her voice soft and gentle, with a hint of persuasion:
"It's just... I don't like seeing others being nice to me!"
A sour, melancholic feeling would well up inside me, like I'd drunk vinegar!
She paused, noticing Li Minghua's pupils suddenly contract, and decided to add fuel to the fire, using a simple, direct, yet absolutely effective analogy:
"It's exactly the same feeling I had when Liu Yiyi was always trying to pester you and get close to you!"
This analogy is simple, direct, and incredibly accurate, striking at the core of Li Minghua's vague and chaotic emotions that were causing her restlessness and unease!
She was completely stunned.
turn out to be……
This feeling of a tightness in my chest, the irritating sight of the objects in the brocade box, and the inexplicable anger that welled up whenever she mentioned "cousin"...
It's just "being jealous"?
It was the same emotion that Tang Xiaoning expressed whenever she saw Liu Yiyi fawning over her.
A sudden surge of clarity swept away the fog in my mind.
Those little emotions of Tang Xiaoning that had once puzzled her were now projected onto her with unparalleled clarity.
Without needing any further words, an unprecedented sense of enlightenment, like a bamboo shoot breaking through the soil, took root and grew clearly deep in her mind with a "clang".
So that's how it is...
She wasn't unaware of feelings, but she never imagined that this bittersweet and possessive feeling would one day entwine in her heart.
Looking at Tang Xiaoning, who was smiling radiantly at her with a sly and knowing look in her eyes, a blush crept up her ears.
Looking at Tang Xiaoning's sly and expectant smile so close to him, Li Minghua's heart suddenly skipped a beat, as if tiny drumsticks were pounding erratically in his chest.
A clarity I'd never felt before, like the light of dawn, instantly pierced through the fog.
She seemed to... understand a little better what that intense feeling of wanting to protect the person in front of her firmly under her wings and not allow anyone else to covet him was.
It wasn't just about protecting her safety; it was also a selfish desire to possess this brightness and warmth exclusively.
"……Um."
Under Tang Xiaoning's expectant gaze, which even carried a hint of schadenfreude, Li Minghua let out a low groan.
She didn't flinch or deny it at all; instead, she met the other person's gaze very frankly and nodded slightly.
Those usually calm eyes now clearly reflected Tang Xiaoning's slightly stunned expression. Her tone carried an almost self-analytical calmness as she added, "Perhaps... there is some."
She admitted that she harbored resentment about her cousin giving her a gift, a statement so simple and clear that it made the air freeze for a moment.
Bang!
Tang Xiaoning felt as if something had exploded in her mind, and her brain was filled with dazzling fireworks!
The sly smile on her face froze instantly, her eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly, forming an adorable "O" shape.
She was completely stunned, as if she had been frozen in place!
This piece of wood... this piece of wood that she thought would require a long time to hammer!
They actually admitted it so readily?!
Her candor caught her completely off guard...
The whole string of witty remarks she had prepared to tease the other person about "finally getting it?" suddenly seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible hand, completely stuck, and she couldn't utter a single word.
"You...you..." She opened and closed her lips in vain.
I felt as if my cheeks had been thrown into a scalding hot charcoal brazier, and they suddenly burned uncontrollably. The heat quickly spread to my ears and neck, and even my small earlobes turned so red that they looked like they were about to bleed.
A strong sense of shame made it almost impossible for her to look directly into Li Minghua's overly frank eyes.
She suddenly lowered her head, pretending to be engrossed in studying the crisscrossing squares on the chessboard.
Her slender fingers unconsciously fiddled with the white pieces in the chess basket, making a soft clattering sound.
But her bright red, even slightly trembling ears revealed the turmoil raging within her at that moment.
It seemed as if she herself was the one feeling jealous, rather than Li Minghua who was sitting there so seriously.
Looking at her transformation from a cunning little fox to a shy, blushing shrimp, Li Minghua's strange and bittersweet feelings stemming from his "cousin" and the brocade box completely dissipated.
Instead, there is an indescribable sense of satisfaction, like drinking a full cup of sweet spring water, filling every part of the body.
And a kind of... a secret, sweet pleasure I'd never experienced before.
She even subconsciously glanced again at the exquisite brocade box on the stone bench next to her. Strangely, when she looked at it again now, the box didn't seem so glaring or in the way anymore.
So what if the box contains the rouge and face powder that are popular in the capital, and expensive pearl earrings?
Nothing compares to the vivid, shy blush on the cheeks of the person before me, which is far more precious and dazzling.
"...Shall we continue?" Li Minghua turned her gaze back to the chessboard, her voice softening in a way she herself didn't even realize.
She picked up a black chess piece with her fingertips, unconsciously stroking its smooth, cool surface, trying to calm the still somewhat unfamiliar palpitations in her chest.
"Go! Of course I'll go!" Tang Xiaoning seemed to have grasped at a straw, immediately raising her head, trying to straighten her back, and adopting the serious and focused demeanor of a chess player.
She tried to regain her earlier confidence: "I'm definitely going to win this round! Don't even think about cheating or getting distracted!"
She mustered her courage to meet Li Minghua's gaze, trying to make her eyes appear "fierce".
However, her shifty, darting eyes, like those of a frightened bird, and the two blushes on her cheeks that wouldn't fade no matter what, completely betrayed her feigned composure.
She even accidentally knocked over a chess piece because she was nervous.
A faint smile flickered in Li Minghua's eyes. He didn't expose her bluster, but calmly replied, "Okay." He then placed a piece on the board.
The game continued in a strange and tranquil atmosphere.
Only the crisp sound of chess pieces gently falling onto the stone slab remained in the pavilion; the rhythmic sound of the pieces falling seemed to carry a soothing quality.
Tang Xiaoning's mind was no longer on the battle of chess.
She held the white pieces between her fingers, but her gaze kept drifting unconsciously to the opposite side.
Li Minghua remained calm and composed, his back straight, his expression focused on the chessboard.
It was as if the person who had just frankly admitted to feeling jealous and dropped a bombshell was not herself.
This calmness, in stark contrast to her earlier startling frankness, made Tang Xiaoning's heart race even faster.
The little deer in her chest was pounding so fast and so hard that she almost fainted!
Her blockhead... her heroine Li... seems to have finally seen the light!
Moreover, this breakthrough was earth-shattering; he immediately delivered a direct and devastating blow to her!
They beat her so badly she was completely disoriented and utterly defeated!
This kind of straightforward and frank admission...who could stand it!
Li Minghua, though outwardly calm, secretly felt a slight burning sensation in the fingertips holding the chess piece, where no one could see.
The cool, smooth touch of the chess pieces seemed unable to dispel the warmth that spread from the depths of my heart.
Each time a piece is placed with the fingertips, it seems to bring a thrill that is both unsettling and inexplicably sweet.
It seems she has just... stepped into a completely new realm.
It turns out that protecting someone and feeling jealous because of them are not contradictory.
The latter even makes the former seem more... natural and self-righteous, as if the vague barrier in one's heart has been completely broken, and the boundaries of protection have become clearer and firmer.
A ray of sunlight fell precisely on the corner of Li Minghua's lips, and the lines that were usually tightly pressed together seemed to have subtly curved upwards, making it impossible for him to let them fall.
Yes, Li Minghua silently confirmed in his heart.
This feeling... seems to be actually not bad.
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