The Favored Heiress
Chapter 484: No One Else Can Hold You But Me

Chapter 484: Chapter 484: No One Else Can Hold You But Me

"Why did you let him hug you?"

Li Qiao was lying on Shang Yu’s chest, and when she heard this, she briefly froze for a second.

Then, thinking about how he hadn’t answered the phone earlier, nor returned her messages, she closed her eyes, tilted up the corners of her mouth, and tugged at his collar a bit, "You saw that?"

In truth, strictly speaking, what she and Su Lao Si had shared couldn’t even be considered a hug; their distance was even more proper and distant than some Western cheek-to-cheek greetings.

The man pressed down on his jaw, narrowed his eyes, and tightened his arms around her back, "Answer my question."

Li Qiao’s mouth curved into a smile, her fingers lingering on his contours. She couldn’t quite articulate the feeling in her heart, similar to sweetness, but not without a hint of slight helplessness.

Watching his expression grow increasingly stern, Li Qiao didn’t hesitate any longer. She poked his handsome face with her finger and said with a light smile, "He is Su Moshi, the fourth of the Border Seven Sons, and he also..."

"Why did you let him hug you?" Shang Yu’s fingers pinched her cheek, his voice growing more husky as he repeated the question.

Li Qiao raised her eyebrows, playfully tugging at the man’s shirt collar, "It’s just that I haven’t seen him in a long time..."

"You hadn’t seen Shen Qingye for a long time either," Shang Yu sat up from the sofa, bending one knee to hold Li Qiao in his arms, leaning down to press his handsome face closer, his tone becoming dangerous, "And Yun Lih, you never let him hug you either."

Not only had she not hugged him, but the day she met Yun Lih, she even gave him a punch.

As a man, as Li Qiao’s man, how attractive she was to others, Shang Yu was all too aware.

He later looked over that photo again and again carefully. Both their postures and manners kept to the etiquette, with no overstepping whatsoever.

But that didn’t mean he was not angry or jealous.

Although he hadn’t looked into Su Moshi’s background, he subconsciously knew that the man was probably one of the Border Seven Sons or an old friend from her past.

The issue was, she let him hug her.

Because whether it was Shen Qingye or Yun Lih, neither had received even a small response from her.

Only this Su Moshi, for her, must be different.

It was this difference in treatment that stirred up a thick displeasure in his heart.

He simply could not accept calmly and indifferently that there was someone special in her heart.

Apart from himself, no one else would do.

Only at this moment did Li Qiao finally understand the focus of his concern, which was not about Su Moshi the person but the act of them hugging.

Li Qiao was half embraced in the man’s arms, she struggled a little, trying to find a comfortable position, but this action was interpreted by Shang Yu as her not wanting his embrace.

"Don’t move," the man darkly warned, pulling her even tighter into his embrace.

Li Qiao stopped moving.

She buried her face in his chest, and after a short while, a light chuckle spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Shang Yu’s lips almost pressed into a straight line, and at the sound of her laughter, his eyes instantly darkened.

Soon, Li Qiao’s slender wrist wrapped around the man’s waist, her chin resting on his shoulder as she spoke in a soft voice, "He is indeed different from them.

I might not have told you before, but out of the seven of us, Su Lao Si and I had the best relationship.

"He once saved my life on the border, if not for him, I might not have been here five years ago.

And besides, it was just a polite hug..."

The man tilted his head slightly, his chin brushing past her ear, his deep voice becoming even lower and huskier, "Even if it was out of politeness, it was still a hug. If I hadn’t guessed he was related to you, do you think I would have let him leave the South Sea alive?"

He was jealous, angry, but not to the point of losing his reason.

That’s why he didn’t go to the hotel, nor did he inquire further, he simply returned to the Mansion alone, attempting to digest the impact that the photo had on him.

He trusted Li Qiao, yet this trust couldn’t make him unconditionally accept her intimate gestures with other men.

Even if that man had saved her.

At this moment, Li Qiao propped herself up on the man’s shoulders, leaning back from his embrace to create some distance, her eyes unwavering as they stared at his brooding, handsome face.

After a few seconds of silence, she caught on to the key point, her eyes flashing, "You mind... that hug?"

Shang Yu’s handsome face darkened slightly, his eyes narrowing, "Am I not allowed to mind?"

"You are, of course you are." Li Qiao lowered her head, her palm covering her forehead, chuckling to herself, "I thought you were suspecting me and him..."

The man watched her trying to suppress a laugh, his Adam’s apple bobbed, his warm fingers pinched her cheek, his thin lips curving into a wickedly cold arc, his tone low and slow, "And him what?"

Li Qiao lifted her eyelids, watching his tense lines soften, realizing he was jealous.

Her heart warmed, and she leaned forward to peck his thin lips, "It’s nothing much, is it worth your jealousy?"

Shang Yu’s eyebrows lifted slightly, the hand on her cheek applying a subtle strength, the temperature in his voice dropping continuously, "You think this is a trivial matter?"

"Of course it’s trivial, Su Lao Si is already married." Li Qiao gripped his wrist, glancing at him sideways, "You really have a big jealous streak."

For a moment, the living room was engulfed in limitless silence.

Shang Yu’s deep eyes harbored slight ripples, staring intently at Li Qiao’s eyes and brows, his gaze gradually becoming deep and dark.

Li Qiao didn’t know what he was thinking, but under the warm yellow light, she could clearly see the subtle changes in his expression.

This overly quiet atmosphere inexplicably made her feel oppressed.

Li Qiao held his hand, their fingers interlocked with relaxed knuckles, she turned her head to look at him, coaxing him, "I just gave him a symbolic hug, nothing more. If you’re upset over this, then from now on, I’ll only hug you."

She understood that Shang Yu’s attitude towards the matter was not about trust, but rather it was rooted in a man’s possessive and domineering desire for his woman, not excluding even the possibility of paranoid tendencies.

In a daze, she recalled the scene when she first met Charles and Huo Ming.

They wanted to shake hands with her, but this man wouldn’t even allow that; his possessiveness over her was such that he even resisted simple physical contact with others.

Just imagine, if she had seen a photo of Shang Yu hugging a woman on the street, well... without understanding the situation, she might not even be able to maintain the composure that he was showing now.

Li Qiao was soft-hearted to a fault, about to speak when the man’s palm had already gripped the back of her head, tilting his head to capture her lips in a kiss.

Without restraint, without moderation, he claimed her lips dominantly.

Li Qiao titled her head back to receive it, hooking his neck, responding as best she could.

The kiss that lasted for a minute added a touch of intimate charm to the living room.

He breathed heavily, his fingers caressing the skin on Li Qiao’s neck, but his words were anything but gentle, "Remember what you said, apart from me, nobody else can hug you."

Li Qiao was struck dumb and could only laugh: "..."

The man’s assertiveness dispelled the ambiguous atmosphere in the living room.