Chapter 52 Shyly Holding Hands: Women and Men Should Not Touch Each Other
Jinshu offered words of comfort.
"How could that be? You are already very beautiful, young master. Overly flamboyant clothes would only detract from your beauty."
However, Yang Lingyi was still undecided. He gently touched the jade hairpin in his hair and turned his face to look in the mirror.
The man in the mirror had eyes as clear as water, almond-shaped eyes, eyelashes like butterfly wings, and beautiful lips.
Against the backdrop of her turquoise dress, her skin appeared radiant and fair, as delicate and beautiful as a flower glistening with dew.
"...Jinshu, take another look. Does this outfit match my jade hairpin?" Yang Lingyi finally asked the question that had been troubling her the most.
Upon hearing this, Jinshu looked into Yang Lingyi's hair and saw a lustrous and exquisite white jade hairpin.
"Young master, where did you get this hairpin? I've never seen it before."
Jinshu examined it carefully for a while, becoming more and more puzzled.
He was in charge of managing the young master's jewelry. He would prepare whatever hairpins or ornaments the young master needed, but this white jade hairpin was not among them.
Therefore, Jinshu was quite certain that this was not a hairpin from the mansion, and couldn't help but ask.
A few days ago, when Yang Lingyi invited Yuan Yan, she was worried that Jin Shu would tell the eldest prince, so she specially brought a quiet and honest male servant with her and went out without telling Jin Shu. Therefore, Jin Shu did not know about what happened that day, let alone that the jade hairpin was a gift from Yuan Yan, which is why she had this question.
Yang Lingyi was slightly taken aback, and immediately denied it, "Jinshu, you must be mistaken. This is the jade hairpin in the mansion."
Yang Lingyi was extremely naive and had never lied before.
Seeing her young master's confident expression, Jinshu felt uncertain and doubted herself. Could it be that he had really remembered it wrong?
Little did anyone know that Yang Lingyi, who appeared calm on the surface, was actually twisting his hands together in his sleeves, his heart pounding, afraid that Jinshu would see through his lie and discover the secret between him and Sister Yan.
"Really? Then it seems the little captive has misremembered."
Fortunately, Jinshu didn't think of this and was fooled by Yang Lingyi.
Yang Lingyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After Jinshu left, she quickly took the male servant from last time and lied that she had been invited out of the mansion by the young master of the Zhang family, and went to the place where she had agreed to meet Yuan Yan.
This time, the two agreed to meet at Baoweizhai.
"Sister Yan."
Led by the innkeeper, Yang Lingyi entered the top-floor private room, the "Tian" room. Upon entering, she found Yuan Yan already waiting for her at the table.
"Yi'er is here." Yuan Yan could tell at a glance that Yang Lingyi had dressed up specially today and was wearing the hairpin she had given him, so he couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without any artifice."
"Just as I thought, Yi'er is perfectly suited to this hairpin... It's so beautiful."
Under Yuan Yan's burning gaze, Yang Lingyi listened to her words, and her originally fair cheeks gradually turned red.
He lowered his head shyly, revealing his slender, fair neck. His long, butterfly-like eyelashes fluttered as he dared not look directly into Yuan Yan's burning gaze.
"Sister Yan is exaggerating. I'm not that good-looking."
Yang Lingyi's neck was flushed, and her voice was soft, unconsciously carrying a hint of coquettishness, "The door isn't closed yet, why are you saying this..."
Yuan Yan couldn't help but laugh, walked to his side, and gestured for him to look towards the door.
"Does Yi'er mean that we can say these things when the door is closed?" she teased Yang Lingyi.
Ah, when did the door close?
Yang Lingyi then realized that the shopkeeper who had brought him there earlier had already tactfully left and even closed the door for the two of them.
"I didn't say that... Sister Yan, don't tease me." Yang Lingyi quickly shook her head in denial.
Even his shy expression is so cute; he looks so soft and easy to bully.
How could there be a man in this world as perfect as Yang Lingyi? Yuan Yan subconsciously wanted to pinch his cheek, thinking to herself involuntarily.
At this moment, the two of them were alone in the enclosed room, and Yuan Yan was so close to him. If they lowered their heads, their breaths would intertwine, and the atmosphere gradually became hot.
Yang Lingyi seemed to realize that the two of them were standing too close, and Yuan Yan's gaze was so intense that it seemed as if he wanted to devour him whole.
Even if he was completely ignorant, he vaguely sensed that staying like this might be dangerous.
So Yang Lingyi blushed slightly and gently pushed Yuan Yan's chest.
"Sister Yan, it's too stuffy here, shall we go out?"
Looking at his innocent and naive appearance, Yuan Yan forcibly suppressed the restless urge to kiss him that was welling up inside him.
It's still too early... Yang Lingyi doesn't understand anything right now, so let's leave some things for later.
Yuan Yan thought to himself.
"Okay." She had already decided where to take Yang Lingyi, so she agreed upon hearing this.
"We didn't finish exploring the West Market last time, so today we'll go to another street there. I think Yi'er will definitely like it."
Yang Lingyi's curiosity was piqued by her description, and she couldn't help but ask, following Yuan Yan's words, "Sister Yan, what place is it?"
Yuan Yan feigned mystery, saying, "We'll find out when we get there."
...
The back streets of the West Market were a trading area where merchants from western Xinjiang gathered.
They often wore round felt hats, wide-collared and narrow-sleeved robes, with daggers, purses, and other items attached to their belts, and long trousers and black leather boots.
Speaking in broken Huangguo dialect, he hawked his wares in front of the stall.
Yang Lingyi looked around with curiosity, finding most of the things there unfamiliar and fascinating.
Yuan Yan explained to him, "This is where merchants from the Western Regions conduct business, selling utensils and food with Western Region characteristics."
Although Yang Lingyi had been to the West Market before, she did not know that such a place existed there. It was quite an achievement for Yuan Yan to find this place.
He looked to his left and right and spotted a brightly colored glass bottle on a shelf in front of a shop.
"What is this? It's so beautiful." Yang Lingyi picked it up.
Under the sunlight, the bottle refracts colorful light, and its surface is covered with various strange patterns, making it look even more mysterious and beautiful.
"This one, fifty taels." Seeing a customer coming in, the merchant from the Western Regions told Yuan Yan the price with gestures.
Yuan Yan saw Yang Lingyi's pleased expression and was about to buy it when he was pulled by her sleeve.
"Sister Yan, no." Yang Lingyi shook her head firmly.
Although he hadn't spent much of his own money on things, he had studied how to manage a household and knew the approximate value of things.
The glass bottle is beautiful, but its unusual appearance doesn't actually justify its price in terms of material and craftsmanship. This merchant from Western Xinjiang is clearly trying to rip him and Sister Yan off by asking for an exorbitant price.
Although Sister Yan's family were merchants and probably didn't lack money, Yang Lingyi didn't want to squander her family's wealth, so she immediately stopped Yuan Yan.
"What's wrong, Yi'er?"
Yuan Yan naturally noticed that the merchant's prices were inflated, but she felt that as long as Yang Lingyi liked it, spending a little money was nothing.
She opened her mouth slightly, preparing to say a few more words to the merchant.
To everyone's surprise, Yang Lingyi pulled her away the next second.
"Sister Yan, this person's price is too high. I don't want to buy here. Let's walk a little further; maybe we can find something similar."
Yang Lingyi was still talking, but Yuan Yan was no longer listening to him.
Her attention was now completely focused on Yang Lingyi's hand, which she was holding.
That soft hand held me without any obstruction, its warmth as smooth as jade, its fingers slender.
The two walked hand in hand through the market, appearing incredibly intimate.
“Yes, Yi’er is in charge, we won’t buy it.” Yuan Yan responded to his words, but his left hand, which was being held by Yang Lingyi, tightened its grip even more.
system:【……】
Hey, is this still its ruthless, cold-hearted host?
The system couldn't bear to watch the lovey-dovey scene between the young man and woman.
Meanwhile, thanks to his tireless efforts, Yang Lingyi actually found an identical glass bottle at the stall ahead, priced at only eight taels of silver, which made Yang Lingyi extremely happy.
"Sister Yan, see what I told you! There's more than one shop selling glass bottles here." Yang Lingyi held the bottle, smiled broadly, and her dimples appeared on her cheeks.
"Yes, Yi'er is clever and quick-witted; nothing can escape your eyes."
Seeing his overjoyed expression, Yuan Yan certainly wouldn't spoil the mood.
The point of going out is to have fun. She had no intention of telling Yang Lingyi that eight taels of silver was actually too expensive.
Yang Lingyi blushed again upon hearing this, "Sister Yan is always praising me..."
However, to Yuan Yan's surprise, after Yang Lingyi took the glass bottle, she naturally let go of Yuan Yan's hand, leaving her hand empty.
"Zhuiying, come and take this." Yuan Yan only hesitated for a few seconds before decisively summoning Zhuiying and taking the item from Yang Lingyi's hand.
Yang Lingyi was slightly surprised when she saw the suddenly appearing shadow. "Sister Yan, is this your guard? I didn't see him just now."
“We have been following behind the crowd to protect our master. It’s normal that you didn’t see us because there were so many people.”
After saying this, Zhuiying disappeared in the blink of an eye, just as he had come.
Yang Lingyi, however, had no time to ponder the guard's words before her attention was diverted.
It turned out that Yuan Yan had taken his hand, and the warmth of his palm continuously reminded Yang Lingyi of her presence.
This time, Yang Lingyi clearly felt her movements. After realizing what Yuan Yan was doing, his ears immediately turned bright red.
"Sister Yan, you..."
It's considered inappropriate for men and women to be so openly intimate.
Yang Lingyi wanted to let go, but for some reason his hand seemed to be under a spell, becoming limp and unresponsive, completely unwilling to leave Yuan Yan's hand.
Even his mouth seemed to be sealed shut, unable to utter any objections.
He obediently let Yuan Yan hold his hand, like a close husband and wife, snuggling together intimately.
The thought that this was the bustling West Market, where people could see him and Sister Yan holding hands, made Yang Lingyi's heart flutter.
A shy feeling welled up inside him, yet an indescribable sweetness spread through him, causing him to lower his head involuntarily.
Yuan Yan noticed Yang Lingyi's shyness, but instead of letting go, he slipped his fingers inside hers and clasped them tightly together.
Is Yi'er shy?
Yang Lingyi denied it: "No..."
"Does Yi'er know what I'm thinking right now?" Yuan Yan smiled slightly and asked him softly.
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