Rebirth: Inheriting Millions In The Eighties
Chapter 823 - 821: Smiled at Her

Chapter 823: Chapter 821: Smiled at Her

Lu Tingli walked towards the bedroom while asking, "Has the Queen gone to sleep?"

The maid glanced at the extinguished candle and replied respectfully, "Replying to the Prince, the Queen has likely gone to sleep."

"I’ll go take a look." Lu Tingli quickened his pace, his steps breezing as if he couldn’t wait any longer.

Upon entering the room, Lu Tingli saw Xia Ningxing leaning on the bed, her eyes misty as if she had just awoken.

The dim candlelight shone on her stunning face, her ink-black hair cascading down, covering half of her face, and those luminous eyes gazing at him with a slight unusual emotion.

She had heard everything he said to the maid just now.

His concern was earnest and sincere, making her feel that he truly cared about her, not just because it evoked an indescribable feeling in her heart.

It felt warm, tender, almost like love.

"Weren’t you asleep?" Lu Tingli saw her eyes were not fully open yet and approached her, frowning and asking, "Or did I wake you just now?"

For some reason, he no longer referred to himself as "this Prince" in her presence.

"I was woken up," Xia Ningxing yawned.

If it wasn’t for the situation last night, just a slight rustle outside would habitually wake her up.

"Sorry..." Lu Tingli apologized with a frustrated face, wishing he had been quieter.

Xia Ningxing was stunned, not expecting him to apologize to her.

And it was a sincere apology, without any pretense.

Even though he is a son of a palace maid, he is of royal blood, yet he’s willing to apologize to her, which shows that he regards her as an equal, not as a mere accessory.

This realization made Xia Ningxing’s heart flutter.

"I will be quieter from now on," he added.

Xia Ningxing genuinely smiled and shook her head at him, "It’s alright."

After that little tumult, Xia Ningxing was no longer sleepy. Remembering that he was summoned by the Emperor today, she decided to discuss the matter at hand, "Has the Emperor set a date for you to escort the supplies?"

Lu Tingli nodded, "Yes, the suppression of the bandits is set for five days from now. The supplies will advance ahead of the troops, so I will have to join the supply team the day after tomorrow and head to the front lines."

Watching her closely, the intense gaze sticking to her carried an almost indiscernible reluctance.

For some reason, just the thought of leaving her made his heart feel empty, as if something was missing.

"So soon?" Xia Ningxing was startled, she knew this was imminent but didn’t expect it to be this soon.

She furrowed her brow and bit her lip, not understanding why her heart felt somewhat displeased.

Xia Ningxing tried to suppress these strange thoughts and once again lifted her face, looking at him worriedly, "Then you must be very careful. Though you are only in charge of escorting the supplies, when armies clash, it’s common to target the adversary’s supplies. Those bandits will certainly try to ruin the supplies; you must be careful not to let any mishap occur!"

Perhaps because they empathized with each other’s plight, or maybe it was the past few days of his attentive care that moved her, regardless of the reason, Xia Ningxing did not want him to get hurt.

Her caring words resonated in his ears, Lu Tingli, facing her worried expression, felt as if his heart was immersed in warm water, his resolute and handsome face softened with tenderness.

He walked over to her, extending his hand gently to arrange her dangling locks: "If I don’t get into trouble, how could the third and fourth contend?"

Xia Ningxing’s voice was somewhat urgent: "You know, I mean don’t really get into trouble!"

She was worried about him!

The man suddenly smiled, his handsome face like the moonlight outside the window, bright and clear.

"Don’t worry, I promise I will come back safe and sound." He leaned closer to her, his thin lips only a few centimeters away from her small and fair earlobe, the hot breath he exhaled slightly burning her.

His words sounded like a promise but carried a hint of lingering affection.

Because of the man’s closeness, Xia Ningxing’s tender face turned red uncontrollably, as if brushed with rouge. She found it somewhat hard to breathe and slightly distanced herself from him: "Just remember that, it’s getting late; Prince, you should rest early."

She didn’t know what it was, but whenever she was close to this man, she felt all uncomfortable, her heart would begin to race, and her face would turn red.

As if she was ill.

Lu Tingli didn’t leave but instead moved closer to her. His perfectly sculpted nose almost touched her cheek, his deep voice carried a hint of unexplained intent: "May I ask you to call me by my name?"

"Why?" Xia Ningxing instinctively retorted.

Lu Tingli paused for a moment.

Actually, this suggestion was just a whim of his, even he didn’t understand why he said it, he just didn’t want to be too distant from her.

But it was truly hard to express this reason, so he had to forcefully find an excuse: "Are we friends now?"

Xia Ningxing couldn’t quite define it, only echoing: "Probably...yes!"

That was exactly the response Lu Tingli was waiting for, and he immediately followed up with: "Since we are friends, why use an honorific?"

Xia Ningxing thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Alright then, from now on I’ll call you Lu Tingli. No, calling your full name might not seem much to you, but outsiders will certainly think it’s rude of me. Maybe I’ll just call you Lu."

Lu.

These two words, as they murmured from the girl’s throat, made Lu Tingli’s heart uncontrollably race faster,

Yet, amidst the turmoil within, his surface remained completely calm: "As you wish."

Seeing he had no objections, Xia Ningxing bent her brows and called out again: "Lu."

"...Hmm." After a long while, the man responded in a low voice.

His throat revealed a trace of joy.

...

On the subsequent day, Lu Tingli was set to depart.

Xia Ningxing along with other officials came to the city tower to see him off.

The city tower was several tens of meters high, looking down the people below seemed as small as ants.

Carriages aligned like a long river were filled with sacks of grain and hay, soldiers stood straight and orderly, and the spears in their hands gleamed cold under the dazzling sunlight.

Lu Tingli was at the forefront, dressed in iron blood military gear, his mount’s coat shiny, he held the reins, raised his armored forehead, turned and stared at the city tower not far away, his narrow eyes seemingly searching for something.

Upon spotting a certain figure, despite his hard exterior, he softened, his eyes and brows instantly warmed.

He pursed his thin lips and smiled at her.

Even from afar, Xia Ningxing clearly saw the smile on his face, she knew, he was definitely smiling at her.

Yet, she did not know why she was so certain.