Who else could you love besides me

Chapter 28

“Yes,” he said softly, “but don’t tell anyone, because not many people in the world know. I don’t want to be too famous, otherwise it will cause a lot of trouble.”

Xi Ri looked at him with a puzzled expression. He kept gazing up at the night sky, seemingly enjoying himself, and spoke to her softly, as if afraid of disturbing something. What was his true identity? People only knew him as the richest man in Suzhou, but she felt that his identity was more than that.

“You really enjoy looking at the stars,” Xi Ri said.

"I like looking at the night sky."

Why do you like it?

He seemed to have never thought about why he liked it, and after a long while he replied, "Perhaps it's because it looks far away, making me feel unattainable, or perhaps it looks dark, without any color." He slowly closed his eyes and sighed, "Or perhaps it will always be lonely, and looking at it, I won't feel lonely."

Xi Ri snorted coldly, saying with considerable disdain, "I never thought that the high and mighty, arrogant Young Master Long would actually feel lonely?!" She pointed at the night sky and sneered, "What's laughable is that you're so bored that you compare your loneliness with the night sky every night!"

He shook his head vigorously, "You don't understand, it's lonely at the top!"

Xi Ri scoffed, "You're the one who's lonely at the top, so send me down to the bottom first. I like being grounded, not drifting like a leaf in the wind!" At this moment, her hands and feet were numb. Sitting so high up in the tree, swaying up and down with the wind, she was constantly on edge.

"Drifting in the wind?" His eyes suddenly lit up, though he had a bad feeling about it all along.

Sure enough, the next moment, he pressed down hard on the tree trunk, causing it to bend downwards before springing back up with a thud. The speed and force were so great that Xi Ri's buttocks were thrown off the trunk and into the air. In a panic, Xi Ri couldn't help but scream while grabbing Long Ming beside her. Long Ming became even more smug. As the tree trunk slammed down, he exerted force again, and Xi Ri screamed, "Long Ming! Stop!"

But this seemed to provoke Long Ming even more. He laughed loudly and used the force to make the tree trunk sway up and down again and again.

Xi Ri kept shouting, "Let me down." But Long Ming wouldn't stop. The tree trunk rose and fell, making creaking and groaning sounds, accompanied by a scream that had already lost its voice.

The final rebound was too strong, and the tree trunk could not bear the weight. A cracking sound came from one end, as if it was about to break. Xi Ri was thrown high into the air, one of her hands tightly gripping Long Ming's arm. But this time, when it swayed downwards, the tree trunk snapped with a crash. In a panic, Xi Ri used the force of the pull in her hand to hug Long Ming beside her without any regard for anything else, and held him tightly.

At that moment, with a crack, the tree trunk broke completely, and the two of them fell downwards.

Long Ming had been laughing freely, but suddenly, caught off guard, he was embraced by Xi Ri. A feeling he had never experienced before instantly coursed through his body, and he tensed up abruptly. He had completely forgotten that they were falling, until the branches around him tore at his clothes. Only then did he snap back to reality, reach out and hug the woman in front of him, and use his feet to propel himself upwards. He landed steadily on another branch, this time sitting upright without the slightest sway, as if careful not to disturb anything.

At this moment, he held Xiri in his arms, not letting go, a strange tension spreading through him. He carefully held the panting woman in his arms, listening to her rapid breathing, feeling inexplicably nervous…

When Xi Ri finally realized she was sitting in his lap, her arms tightly wrapped around his neck, she was filled with shame and panic. Forgetting where she was, she abruptly pushed him away, but in that instant, she also plummeted downwards. Her body crashed through the branches, and pain shot through her. Her clothes were mercilessly torn by the branches. Before she could even scream, she was horrified to see him rushing towards her from above, the branches between them seemingly breaking through them with all his might. Finally, just before she hit the ground, he grabbed her arm, pulled her into his embrace, and carried her to a safe landing.

Once again, she was held in his arms. This time, instead of their breaths mingling, their eyes met. His eyes reflected another pair of eyes, his expression shifting from fear to astonishment. Her eyes reflected another pair of eyes, their expression changing from anxiety to mockery.

The two suddenly separated again, as if they had been stabbed by each other.

Long Ming subconsciously touched his cheek, and a trace of blood appeared on his hand. His face had been scratched by a tree branch when he hurriedly leaped down to save her.

When Xi Ri saw the bloodstains on his face, he frowned and muttered under his breath, "Serves you right!"

Long Ming took out a handkerchief and wiped his cheek. The wound wasn't deep, and the bleeding stopped quickly. He didn't care and just laughed, "I deserved it, but luckily it was me who was disfigured."

Unfortunately, Japan wanted to say something harsh, but suddenly didn't know what to say. His gaze shifted from Japan's face, only to see the machete lying quietly in the grass, gleaming brightly in the moonlight. He suddenly felt incredibly foolish for what he had done that night! With a deep sigh, he turned and walked back.

He followed closely behind her, and the two fell silent for a moment, each lost in thought.

Xi Ri suddenly remembered that he had said he wanted to stay at her house. She should have refused, but when she thought of the injury on his face, a complex emotion gradually grew in her heart and slowly spread. On this night, under this moonlight, just half a month ago they were like enemies, but now they were going home together. Thinking about it, she found it somewhat funny.

The next day, the streets and alleys of the capital, teahouses and theaters were all abuzz with a strange and interesting story about two candidates taking the imperial examinations.

If we're talking about something extraordinary, it's that yesterday at Cuifeng Tower, a scholar surnamed Long actually beat Li, who was famous throughout the land for his musical skills, with a whistle!

The amusing story is that last night, Li Juzi, who doesn't know any martial arts, actually chased after the highly skilled Long Juzi in the street with a large cleaver. Some speculate that Li Juzi might have done this crazy thing because he was unwilling to accept losing the competition that day. Others speculate that even if he was unwilling to accept it, he shouldn't have been so reckless as to try to fight a losing battle. Perhaps Li Juzi suffered such a severe blow that he went mad...

She was going crazy. Looking at Long Ming, who was elegantly eating breakfast and drinking hot milk in front of her, she was about to lose her mind.

*Thump!* A large bag of lotus-scented powder was placed on the table. Long Ming glanced at it and exclaimed in surprise, "You actually prepared so much!"

"That's what you call being prepared!"

"You haven't switched to lotus scented powder, have you?! Don't change it, I like the orchid scent on you."

"Aren't you afraid?!" Xi Ri pointed to the large bag of face powder on the table. It would last one person a year.

Long Ming said indifferently, "I've already cured my allergy to lotus fragrance, so it's useless now."

She didn't believe it. "Try it!"

He picked up the face powder with disdain, sniffed it from left to right, and said with feigned delight, "It smells so good." Surprisingly, he didn't sneeze at all.

Xi Ri frowned, and said coldly, "It's inconvenient for you to stay here!"

"I know, don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble," he said casually.

Xi Ri scoffed, "Yeah, you're trouble enough as it is, why add to it?"

He smiled smugly and muttered to himself, "It seems no woman has ever called me trouble."

"Yes, they all like you very much, so why don't you hurry up and throw yourself into their arms?"

"Sigh, it's really strange, why do I have to come here to look at your face?"

You're a slut!

"Cheap? I like that word!"

Sure enough, shameless!

"I'm finished eating." Long Ming gently wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.

Annoying, I can't be bothered with it!

At this moment, Tian Shuang entered the room and said, "Miss, Young Master Jin has arrived and is waiting in the front hall."

Is he alone?