The Double-Chapter 654 - 200 Like_3

Jiang Li secretly wanted to pull her sleeve from his grasp, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t succeed. Her movements were too abrupt, causing her to wobble and nearly trip, but Jih Heng steadied her.

"Be careful when you walk," he said with a smile in his voice.

Jiang Li had no choice but to give up.

As they walked along the streets outside Huangzhou City, not many people dared to stride so openly during such tumultuous times. Especially since Jih Heng’s appearance was so striking, it immediately caught the attention of many. People hid behind windows and doors, stealing glances at them. Young girls in particular, seeing Jih Heng’s extraordinary demeanor, had already been sizing him up covertly. And naturally, they didn’t stop staring at Jiang Li, whom Jih Heng was holding onto.

Jiang Li really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; she truly disliked being gawked at as if she were a rare spectacle.

Jiang Li said, "Duke, I think we should go back. Or perhaps you could continue on your own, and I’ll head back first."

"When you were Xue Fangfei, you must have been quite used to this," Jih Heng reminded her leisurely.

Jiang Li choked on her words. That was true; when she first married into Yanjing City, she had been the epitome of beauty and had always been the subject of people’s gazes. At first, she felt uncomfortable, but later she grew accustomed to it. But now, she no longer looked like Xue Fangfei. Jiang Li said, "The past is the past, and the present is the present. I am no longer Xue Fangfei."

Jih Heng said, "Then you should be even more accustomed to it."

Jiang Li asked, "Why?"

"I don’t like being around grey mice," he replied matter-of-factly, "If you’re not pleasing to look at, don’t stand before me."

Jiang Li remembered, that’s right, he was someone who cherished beauty and despised ugliness. She suddenly seized upon a flaw in Jih Heng’s previous statement, a rare mischievous urge surging within her. She lifted her head and asked Jih Heng, "Does that mean, Duke, that you think I still look very nice?"

Her voice couldn’t hide the chirpiness and pride, and Jih Heng couldn’t help but turn to look at her. The woman tilted her head back, her eyes clear and brimming with laughter, the vivacity and bravery unique to a young girl reflecting in them, making her resemble a freshly bloomed pear blossom, pure and endearing, inspiring smiles in others as well.

A stir went through Jih Heng’s heart.

From the initially gentle yet indifferent, cunning, and lonely girl to now, she had always loved to laugh. But compared to the Jiang Li he first met, she seemed like a completely different person. Perhaps this was her true self, her form during the years before encountering Shen Yurong, when she was still the girl Xue Fangfei.

It was hard to imagine how she later turned into a mundane housewife, preoccupied with trivialities all day. Her vivacity and intelligence tucked away, she was no different from the beautiful Madams of the House in Yanjing City. Shen Yurong had transformed a tender and endearing, sprightly, and moving pear blossom into a man-eating flower, constantly fighting for survival in a gloomy garden, a sheer waste of natural beauty.

He was never one for sentimentality; he had seen plenty of beautiful women in the world. He had been cursed for being heartless and pitiless, but at this moment, he too felt the sunlight soft and gentle, her smile charming, and he only wished for such a smile to last forever. He hoped this Jiang Li would always be a brave young girl with bold courage and favored by great fortune.

He drew closer to Jiang Li and said softly, "Hmm."

Jiang Li was stunned.

All the retorts she had prepared, ready to tease him, abruptly ceased. The young man’s smile was warm, his amber eyes void of the usual insincerity and fickleness, as warm and bright as the sunshine at that moment.

She suddenly found herself at a loss for words, her cheeks slowly reddening.

The once silent deer in her heart began to stand once more, cautiously stepping, then prancing and frolicking, running wild in her heart, leaving it in complete disarray. freewebnøvel.com

Jiang Li could almost hear her own heartbeat.

She had actually forgotten what it felt like to be in love with Shen Yurong, as that was a long time ago. But now, at this moment, she knew she might have developed a slight, a very faint, fondness for the man before her.

This was not a good sign, and Jiang Li stood helplessly bewildered. Meanwhile, the instigator seemed unaware as he straightened and walked on.

The sunlight bathed his tall figure, gilding him in a golden hue.

Jiang Li knew, trouble was brewing.