“What did you just say…”
I blinked blankly, unable to think for a moment. There was nothing else I could sense, except that Ian’s body, which was in contact with mine, felt unusually firm.
So, he wants to stay with me a little longer?
Gathering my thoughts, I leaned my cheek against Ian’s broad chest. Thump, the loud sound of a heartbeat echoed in my ears, and only then did a smile escape from me.
“Well then… Shall we stay a little longer before going inside?”
Reaching out, I embraced Ian’s broad back. In that moment, startled, Ian urgently called out to me.
“Senior.”
“Yeah?”
Leaning my chin against Ian’s solid chest, I raised my eyes to look at him. His deepened gaze was swirling right in front of me.
“…”
The words asking why he wasn’t saying anything couldn’t be formed. The sudden sound of something falling nearby prevented me from completing my sentence.
Startled by the sudden noise, I grabbed onto Ian’s cloak and sat down on the ground. He released me, looking into my eyes as if to assure me.
“I’ll check.”
Ian immediately got up and quickly looked around. Then, as if something was strange, he tilted his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“There doesn’t seem to be anyone around here.”
“Really? I’m sure I heard something.”
“I heard it too, but it wasn’t footsteps; it sounded more like…”
Ian’s voice trailed off momentarily, and then, as if exploring the surroundings, he looked around slowly.
“Look over there, senior.”
His long finger pointed to the spot under the tree behind me. Upon closer inspection, there were several fallen acorns.
“Aren’t those acorns?”
“It seems it was a squirrel.”
As Ian spoke, a squirrel that had descended from the tree picked up acorns and stashed them in its cheek pouch.
Did it drop something while moving?
“I was surprised.”
After wiping away the sense of relief, a disappointed laugh escaped me. It was embarrassing to be caught in the act. Though there was no fault in embracing each other, it could be awkward if others found out.
When Rosebelia first joined the White Knights, a senior female knight had given her several pieces of advice. One of them was that there was no rule against dating within the Order, but it was recommended to avoid public relationships. Most couldn’t endure the pressure of everyone’s attention and eventually broke up.
Of course, Rosebelia, who had no interest in men or relationships, listened indifferently. However, I took those words to heart.
“It’s probably better to go back to the dormitory now.”
With a tilted head, Ian looked at me and calmly suggested, “Isn’t it better to do that?”
“Should we?”
Rather than answering, I gave Ian a faint smile. He smiled back and turned his steps toward the dormitory. Following him, I suddenly stopped.
Is it okay for Ian to go back to the dormitory?
“Why are you doing that, senior?”
“If it’s tough, you can stay a little longer here with me.”
“Huh?”
Is it okay for Ian to go back to the dormitory?
“Why are you doing that, senior?”
“If it’s tough, you can stay a little longer here with me.”
“Really?”
“If we go to the dormitory, we have to be apart. Then, even if you don’t want to hear it, your inner thoughts will be revealed, and if your inner thoughts don’t come through, they say you might hear hallucinations.”
He smirked and approached me.
“Are you worrying about me?”
“Of course, I’m worried.”
His eyes, which seemed light and flowing, suddenly became quiet. In that moment, Ian’s hand gently landed on my cheek.
“Feeling cold? The warmth of my hand helps.”
“It’s a bit chilly, but…”
As his slightly warmer body temperature touched my cheek, my stiffened lips felt like they were softening.
Did I not realize it was a bit cold?
“I’m fine, so I think it’s better to go inside.”
I grabbed Ian’s cloak that he was about to turn around and go.
“Or… do you want to come to my room?”
Ian blinked his eyes as if he had heard a hallucination, then after a while, he opened his mouth.
“Really?”
“No, I just… I thought it might be tough for you to be away from me.”
Smiling with a slightly wrinkled forehead, Ian looked down at me. His bulging Adam’s apple moved slowly, and then he exhaled a short breath.
“For now… It seems more difficult to be close.”
“Huh?”
It’s more difficult to be close?
As I raised my gaze, Ian, who was smiling without saying anything, lightly grasped my hand. His firm knuckles intertwined in an instant. Now it felt like a very natural flow.
“When your inner thoughts don’t come through, you won’t hear hallucinations, so it should be okay.”
“Renard?”
“Brother, are you coming now?”
Renard, who entered the restaurant, answered with a bright smile.
“I came because I heard laughter. You were spending some private time with Daisy, Mother.”
“Daisy said she was a bit hungry, so we were eating dessert together. Would you like to join us?”
At Anes’s invitation, Renard nodded his head slightly. Seated in the empty chair, he glanced at Daisy’s complexion sitting opposite him as if it were a habit.
“Seeing that you’re in good condition, Rosebelia must have gone.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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