A Lifetime Promise

Chapter 58

Watching Qiang Jingyi sitting still with his eyes closed, Lin Xinglan was getting anxious. Back at the palace, she thought he would reprimand her, yell at her and maybe even punish her but, after she told him that she wasn't actually hurt, he only took off her shackle and wiped off the blood on her face and neck. The very fact that he was acting silent about it made her feel anxious. He stopped asking questions, he only held her hand as they quietly began to go back to his estate. They were currently on the running carriage, and even if it was comfortable to sit inside, she wasn't a bit relaxed.

After a lot of thinking, she was even more certain that Qiang Jingyi was upset because whenever he was upset, or even angry, he would stay silent and refused to talk to her. However, Lin Xinglan was having an internal battle of struggles; should she tell him about the 2nd prince? Should she tell him everything? How would he react? What would happen after she told him? Lin Xinglan wasn't quite a decisive person.

As she kept staring at him, she gradually threw all of her previous thoughts in the back of her mind replacing them with old memories. Eyeing Qiang Jingyi's face, Lin Xinglan spontaneously thought of the times she had pinched his adorable cheeks and how he would always complain but eventually let her continue as his cheeks would become red.

Suddenly, she came up with an idea and seriously contemplated on whether she should do it or dismiss it. However, when she continued to stare at his cheeks, she had the sudden impulse to touch them as she wondered how they felt now that he had grew up. Furthermore, if she truly did it, it would catch his attention and he would had no choice but to talk to her. She didn't care if he was going to yell at her, as long as he didn't ignore her, she didn't mind. To dispel his cold attitude towards her, she had to do it.

It was too bad she didn't know that what was hiding in both of his sleeves was his hands that slightly trembled with mixed emotions.

Lin Xinglan felt a large amount of courage fuelling inside her, she got up and kneeled down in front of Qiang Jingyi so that her face would be in the same level as his. Face to face. Her movements didn't alert him, he seemed to still ignore her presence which only made her become more determined to do it.

Both of her soft, slender hands slowly moved towards his face and looking closer at it, she could spot his youthful features. When she almost reached to each of his cheeks, Lin Xinglan stopped her hands midway, she gulped and a small smile crept across her face. Swiftly, she grabbed his cheeks with each of her hands and pinched them. She was shocked at how unexpectedly soft they were, enjoying the feeling, she gradually pinched harder and stretched them more as she wore a foolish grin, not knowing that she had gotten ahead of herself.

"What are you doing."

Hearing the familiar deep voice, Lin Xinglan froze, her smile disappeared, she didn't know when Qiang Jingyi had opened his eyes and watched her pinch his cheeks. She looked at him, his face was stoic, his dark phoenix eyes narrowed and she could feel his jaw clenching.

With the aftereffect of getting frozen, Lin Xinglan stuttered, "Yo.. Your che-cheeks.. Are soft."

"...."

Not detecting any changes in his face, she bit her lips and said, "Say, how can you still have soft cheeks? Your skin is like that of a baby's. Is that even possible? How didn't I notice this before? Look, all women would die to have skin like yours... Not that I'm saying you're a woman, really, some men would want it too. Say, would it be a big deal if you told me how you take care of your skin? Even I-"

Lin Xinglan wasn't able to continue as her lips was being lightly pressed together by Qiang Jingyi's index finger and thumb, her body tensed and relaxed. Knowing that she wasn't going to continue to talk, Qiang Jingyi retracted his hand, ignoring the feeling of wanting to keep touching her red soft lips. He closed his eyes and continued to stay silent.