Chapter 721: Mingyue Enters the Lord’s Heart (54)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Looking at these gift boxes, Pan Mingyue’s breath caught in her throat.
She blinked. “How long have you been preparing these?”
Lu Zhaoying involuntarily touched a box of cigarettes and then said without daring to look at her, “Erm, not that long.”
He rarely smoked ever since going to the special training camp.
Pan Mingyue remained silent.
A little nervous, Lu Zhaoying leaned back and clutched the cigarette case in his hand. He took a cigarette out and put it in his mouth, smiling. “I just wanted to prepare it for my own eyes, but since you’ve already seen it, you can see if you like them.”
He thought that Pan Mingyue would pretend not to see the gift boxes. After all, she had deliberately avoided him before and had purposely avoided discussing this topic.
Cheng Juan had told him that Pan Mingyue was different from ordinary people, and her family had too much influence on her.
She was at the extreme point of fragility, balanced with strength.
Lu Zhaoying had seriously talked to the tramp on the roadside of the Inspection Inst.i.tute. He couldn’t personally understand Pan Mingyue’s feelings and hadn’t dared to mention a word in front of her.
Through the tramp’s calm words, and upon seeing his gentle smile when talking about his wife and kids, Lu Zhaoying realized that this was a scar that could never be removed from their lives.
The defense walls Pan Mingyue had built in her heart were too high.
Lu Zhaoying originally thought that he might never see her open her heart to him, so her reaction this time was completely beyond his expectation.
He suddenly returned to his senses and threw away the cigarette case. He directly grabbed Pan Mingyue’s arm and stared intently at her.
He didn’t know when he developed feelings for Pan Mingyue.
It could be the first time when she calmly entered the school doctor’s office to find him for medicine. Or it could be when he found her squatting on the ground, her head buried in her knees on a street corner…
The moment he realized his feelings, he had been stunned for a while before completely accepting it.
At that time, Qin Ran had asked him to take care of Pan Mingyue. He had tried to use the proximity to gain her favor, but she had rejected his Christmas present.
When he had gone to find her with the gift box, he had happened to see her with Feng Ci.
Timing also mattered in relations.h.i.+ps.
Lu Zhaoying knew Pan Mingyue’s character and knew that no one could shake her feelings once she was convinced.
At a long distance away, he had seen the rare smile on Pan Mingyue’s face. She was in love with Feng Ci.
The whole night, he had smoked cigarettes in the office. But the next day, he acted as usual.
In many people’s eyes, he was just a frivolous young master, heartless and cold. So many years of his protective mask had even fooled his parents, but he was his real self with Cheng Juan and the others.
His acting skills had deceived everyone, even himself. He had treated Pan Mingyue as a real sister.
He had tried hard to find joy in his sorrows. If he couldn’t have her, it would be good to be siblings too. He treated Pan Mingyue like he treated Qin Ran so that at least he could watch her from a distance, and she would trust him enough to call him “Big Brother Lu”.
When the Zhou family wanted to recognize Pan Mingyue as a G.o.ddaughter, he had even thought of letting his mother recognize her too.
Until later, when Pan Mingyue broke up with Feng Ci.
Once satisfied with watching her from a distance, Lu Zhaoying was greedy for more.
He knew he couldn’t compare to Feng Ci, but he was no longer playing the role of a frivolous young master. He had started to follow Cheng Juan to the first district and had returned to the special training camp.
Mother Lu was right. Lu Zhaoying couldn’t compare to Feng Ci and was nowhere worthy of the loyal Pan family.
But he wasn’t convinced.
Looking up, he stared intently at her. “Mingyue, what do you think of me compared to Feng Ci?”
It was summer, and the air conditioner in the collection room had just been turned on, so the temperature had yet to go down.
Through the thin layer of clothing, she could feel the warmth of Lu Zhaoying’s palm. She stared at him in a daze and was about to step back.
However, Lu Zhaoying refused to give her this opportunity and tightened his grip. He took the cigarette with his other hand, threw it into the corner, and licked the corners of his lips. “Am I worthy to be your boyfriend?”
In the past, Pan Mingyue would have turned away instantly before they even got near to this topic.
But this time, the atmosphere was different.
Thinking of this, his heartbeat quickened in pace, and his fingers holding Pan Mingyue’s arm moved up involuntarily.
Pan Mingyue was about to ask him if he knew that her mental health was sometimes abnormal, but her mind suddenly went blank. When she finally reacted, Lu Zhaoying’s lips had already fallen on her lips.
She froze in place and even lost her train of thoughts.
The room was very quiet, and outside the half-hidden door, servants were chattering outside. However, Pan Mingyue’s mind was buzzing, and she couldn’t even hear their chatter. Her whole mind was blank, and even her eyes were a little fuzzy.
Lu Zhaoying was a little nervous. He was usually such an imposing person that a group of second-generation young masters didn’t even dare to fart in front of him.
But he had his tail between his legs at this moment.
After the wave of courage of unknown origin washed over, he looked cautiously at her.
Instead of getting angry or fighting with him, Pan Mingyue looked at the gifts and said, “I’ll open them.”
“Go on.” Lu Zhaoying couldn’t tell what she meant and just squatted silently beside her, helping her open the presents.
One by one, each of them had been carefully selected by him, personally handmade.
**
At the same time.
Feng Ci was sent back to the Feng family’s house by Lin Jinxuan, drunk.
Feng Loucheng wasn’t home and was discussing the divorce agreement with Madam Feng.
Madam Feng refused to divorce, but Feng Loucheng never returned home afterward, making her very uneasy.
Upon seeing him drunk, she quickly stepped forward and asked the servant to pour him a cup of tea. “Xiao Ci, are you okay? Didn’t you go to see Mingyue today? What did she say?”
She had seen how fond of Feng Ci Pan Mingyue was.
When Feng Ci went to find her with his head bowed, Madam Feng had felt hopeful, until now. “There are lots of girls other than Mingyue. I will find another girl for you.”
Feng Ci went to the bathroom and vomited, still not sober. “I’m not getting married, what’s the point?”
Hearing how serious he was, Madam Feng froze and then cried out, “Xiao Ci, it’s all my fault! Why is Mingyue so cold-hearted? I shouldn’t have forced her to leave you and the Feng family back then! But she was mentally ill, had been in the mental hospital for a year, and was almost raped by someone. How could I be willing to let you be together with a mentally ill person? I’ll go apologize to her. I’ll kneel down and ask her to forgive you, okay?”
“What are you saying?”