The Favored Heiress
Chapter 416: Qiaoqiao, not angry anymore, okay?

Chapter 416: Chapter 416: Qiaoqiao, not angry anymore, okay?

Bo Tingsu cleared his throat and glanced nonchalantly toward a villa in the distance, "He has always believed that the death of the Big Brother of the Seven was due to his misjudgment of the terrain."

"Otherwise, you wouldn’t have suddenly left the border and not even gone back to take a look for so many years."

"What’s it to him." Li Qiao lifted her eyelids, looking at his serious expression, and said with a curved lip, "The incident back then was an accident, and I haven’t gone back simply because I don’t want to. Are you asking me this because he came?"

Bo Tingsu shook his head expressionlessly, but said in a way that carried an ambiguous meaning, "If Big Brother came, he would’ve given you the stuff himself, he wouldn’t need me to bring it to you."

Li Qiao cast a lingering glance back towards the seaside villa complex, "Then what were you looking at just now?"

Bo Tingsu raised his eyebrows in surprise, "You noticed my action even when you were looking down?"

"Otherwise?"

Hearing Li Qiao’s retort, Bo Tingsu smiled and touched his eyebrow, "My girlfriend is over there."

Li Qiao did seem a bit surprised, "You got a girlfriend?"

Bo Tingsu’s face turned stern, his voice deepening, "Why does everyone make that face when they hear I’ve got a girlfriend?"

"Oh, it’s just a bit unexpected." Li Qiao glanced at him, her voice teasing, "After all... you said it yourself, you’d rather marry a gun than deal with women because they’re too much trouble, right?"

Bo Tingsu was momentarily speechless, awkwardly pulling at the corner of his mouth. Who hadn’t said some foolish things when they were young?

After sitting for another half an hour, Bo Tingsu snubbed out his cigarette and asked, "Shall I take you back?"

"Yeah, let’s go." Li Qiao finished her cocktail on the table, picked up the brocade box, and their silhouettes faded into the distance, accompanied by the sound of the waves.

Half an hour later, the black sedan arrived at the guesthouse.

Watching Li Qiao unbuckle her seat belt, Bo Tingsu pursed his lips, "If you have the chance, will you go back to the border in the future?"

"I will." Li Qiao answered without hesitation.

Bo Tingsu tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, smiling, "Well then, we’ll wait for you."

Li Qiao smiled faintly and said goodbye to him, standing by the roadside watching the car drive away, a hint of nostalgia gleaming in her eyes.

Perhaps, it was indeed time to go back for a visit.

...

The time was approaching ten o’clock at night, and Li Qiao walked into the guesthouse lobby at a leisurely pace.

Everything seemed normal, yet it was unusually different.

The silence of late night probably always stirred up some hidden emotions.

Li Qiao’s fingers glided over the empty screen, her demeanor calm, neither joyous nor sad.

A full day and night without contact, this must be the cold war of romance.

She walked to the door of her room, swiped the card, opened the door, and the light seeping through the corridor illuminated a small patch of the world, adding an abrupt sense of cold solitude.

Li Qiao disliked this inexplicable mood, and at the moment of closing the door behind her, a certain presence made her instantly alert.

There was someone in the room.

Li Qiao moved swiftly, intending to insert her room card into the power switch, but the other person was even quicker, their warm palm suddenly gripping her wrist and in a blink, pinning her against the door.

The familiar scent cascaded down from above, making Li Qiao freeze for several seconds.

He came to Chong City?

The man leaned over her, his fingers lifting her chin, and in a hoarse voice, he asked her, "Where have you been tonight?"

Li Qiao remained silent.

In the unlit room, they could only see the vague outlines of each other through the light from the window outside.

He had an injury on his shoulder, so Li Qiao didn’t make any move; her arms just hung by her side, still holding the brocade box, as she looked up into his eyes.

Their breaths intertwined, and it seemed like other subtle emotions were mingling as well.

After a long while, Li Qiao lifted her hand and brushed aside his fingers from her chin, asking in an even tone, "What brings Master Yan here?"

The address "Master Yan" seemed to erect an invisible wall between them.

Shang Yu’s breath sunk, his Adam’s apple bobbing uncontrollably, "Are you still angry with me?"

His voice was very hoarse, revealing the intense restraint he was struggling with.

Li Qiao lowered her gaze, her curled lips hanging with a hint of a cold smile, "According to Master Yan, shouldn’t I be angry?"

The man cupped her face with one hand, bowing his head to meet hers, "You should."

Li Qiao: "..."

His attitude was, at least, very proper.

She was silent for a moment, then spoke bluntly, "Then there’s no problem. Master Yan, go back and heal. I’m tired."

Having said that, Li Qiao stepped to the side, but before she could walk away, she was again enveloped by the man’s arms around her waist, confining her within his embrace, "Qiaoqiao, tell me, what do I have to do to make you not angry?"

His grip was so strong that even the pain-tolerant Li Qiao felt her waist and abdomen ache from the pressure.

A heart-trembling silence spread around them.

Shang Yu’s grip was somewhat out of control; he disliked Li Qiao’s overly indifferent attitude.

The man held her tight, his breathing growing heavier. After a long silence, he barely managed to whisper, "Not telling you about the South Sea was because..."

A slender and cool forefinger was placed against his lips, and Li Qiao let out a deep sigh, speaking in a tone of utter helplessness, "So Master Yan still doesn’t know why I am angry."

The repeated calls of "Master Yan" continually jabbed at the man’s nerves.

So much so that, in his loss of control while encircling Li Qiao, he re-aggravated the gunshot wound on his shoulder, yet it was as if he felt nothing.

"Then you tell me, why, huh?" Shang Yu’s tone was rigid, apparently extremely frustrated by his inability to pinpoint the crux of the problem.

Li Qiao didn’t like the state they were in either. Licking her lips gently, she spoke softly, "Should I, from now on, every time we argue, explicitly tell you, ’I’m not happy, I’m angry,’ lay out the reasons, and then let you find a remedy?

"Have you completely lost even the slightest intent to maintain this relationship?"

"Li Qiao!" Shang Yu called her name sharply, his fingers climbing back to her jaw and tightening, as if forcing the words from the depths of his throat, "You can throw a tantrum, you can get angry, but why do you keep questioning my intentions for you?"

"What are your intentions for me?" Li Qiao clenched his fingers, her eyes pitch black, showing no hint of color, but her voice remained even, "Having the people around you, around me, all unite to deceive me.

Making everyone aware that you were injured, everyone but me.

If you think this is normal, then in the future, no matter what injuries I suffer, I can also make every effort to keep you from knowing."

These words were probably the genuine feelings Li Qiao had been suppressing deep inside for a day and a night.

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a relief as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

She pushed Shang Yu’s shoulders away and turned to walk towards the door.

Li Qiao reached for the doorknob, but just as she pulled the door open, a wave of warmth enveloped her from behind.

The position of an embrace from behind was too easily able to breach the defenses of the heart.

The man held her wrist and pressed his body against her back, his left arm wrapping around her waist and abdomen, pulling her back into his embrace.

After a long while, a hoarse murmur of concession spilled from the corner of his mouth, "I’m sorry..."

Filled with so many turns and an indescribable complexity.

Li Qiao had never heard him apologize before, and she knew this was incredibly rare for him.

Because he was accustomed to being on top, he had never had to ’stoop’ so low.

Li Qiao didn’t move, simply allowing him to hold her.

She thought, perhaps he still had more to say.

At that moment, the man pulled her wrist back, and the door automatically closed once more.

Cradling her from behind, he buried his handsome face in the nape of her neck and kissed her there, tightening his arm around her, locking her even more securely in his embrace.

Pressing his cheek against hers, his deep, husky voice tried to console her, "I didn’t tell you about the injury because I didn’t want you to worry.

The South Sea has been turbulent lately, so I had the convention arranged in Chong City. If you’re angry about these things, I apologize.

From now on, whatever you want to know, I will tell you. Qiaoqiao, aren’t you angry anymore...okay?"