Li Ying was just feeling embarrassed when Lu Xunguang, as if he had anticipated this situation, gave a faint smile.
He took out a rather delicate pair of sheepskin wrist guards from his bosom. The edges of the leather were cut and polished extremely smoothly and roundly, without a single ragged burr. Moreover, a layer of wax oil had been evenly applied, making them shiny and brightly red, looking very smooth and warm.
Just by taking a look at the ingenious leather carving patterns on the wrist guards, Li Ying immediately fell in love with them.
"Is this for me?"
Lu Xunguang smiled but didn't answer. Instead, he slowly untied the ropes on the wrist guards and tied them firmly on her wrists. Then he said softly, "A Ying has a free - spirited nature and has always liked the heroic spirit of a young man in fine clothes and on a fiery horse. When I was polishing these wrist guards, I thought that the maroon color would suit you very well. Now it seems that I was right."
Li Ying was stunned—how many ingenious handicrafts did this man still hide that she didn't know about!
Before she could even let out a coquettish complaint, she heard Lu Xunguang curl a finger and put it to his lips. Immediately, a sharp whistle rang out.
"A Ying, be careful."
As soon as the words were out, she heard the fluttering sound of feathers in the distance. Li Ying felt a sudden weight on her arm, and Lu Xunguang steadied her.
An eagle was standing majestically on her wrist guard.
"A Ying, isn't this the messenger you wanted?" Lu Xunguang asked her softly.
Looking at the size of this eagle, Li Ying thought it seemed a bit smaller than the one they had rescued outside the swiftlet nest that day. It seemed to be a young female eagle.
Judging from human aesthetics, this eagle had sharp claws, its beak glinted with a faint iron - blue cold light, and its pair of eagle eyes were vivid and full of spirit. The patterns on its feathers were clearly visible, and there was still a faint, oily luster. It was truly a very beautiful raptor.
"With this female eagle going to the fishing village to deliver the message, even though the fishing village is remote, we can truly achieve 'A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near'. It won't be long before the swiftlet house can welcome a new batch of little bodyguards."
Raptors like eagles are naturally wild and untamable. Now, it was because this eagle was quite spiritual and grateful to Li Ying for saving its life that it stayed to guard the swiftlet house. But they had been away from the fishing village for many days, and there was no guarantee that nothing would go wrong.
Since Li Ying came to the capital, she had been busy opening a branch of the Li Ji Restaurant and had been extremely busy. However, she was really worried in her heart.
She never mentioned it, but Lu Xunguang knew it well. That was why he had personally trained another female eagle to relieve her worries.
With a mate and offspring, the eagles in the swiftlet house would surely settle down and stay on the swiftlet island for a long time without any more unrest.
These considerations were understood by both of them without the need for much explanation.
Li Ying stroked the feathers of the female eagle lovingly. She picked up a pen and wrote down all the details about imitating the handwriting and asked Yan Lianzhi for advice. The female eagle waited obediently by her side, even raising one foot to let her tie the silk fabric on it. Then it gently pecked her finger before taking off gracefully.
Looking at its back, Li Ying suddenly remembered the line "A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near". It seemed that many days ago, when she told Lu Xunguang that she was not the real "Li Ying", he had quietly asked her what new and strange things there were in her hometown.
Li Ying had told him everything in detail, from mobile phones, high - speed trains to airplanes. At that time, Lu Xunguang didn't show any obvious reaction and just listened silently.
She thought he didn't take these "crazy words" to heart, so she never mentioned them again.
She never expected that this man had remembered every single thing firmly in his heart. He had even been so concerned that he had secretly trained an eagle just to try to narrow the distance between her and the fishing village, allowing her to feel that "a distant land is near".
Li Ying felt a warmth in her heart and softly called out, "Lu Lang..."
Lu Xunguang hugged her tightly and sighed, "A Ying really has a heart as delicate as a seven - orifice exquisite heart. I can't hide any of my thoughts from you."
He lowered his head, burying his chin deeply in Li Ying's shoulder. He tightly wrapped his arms around her body. His deep voice, with a warm breath, was like the evening breeze in summer, blowing in her ear.
"A Ying, the world you came from before is really wonderful, too strange. It's colorful and more mysterious than the operas and strange - tale novels."
"I always thought that as long as I became the head of the Lu family and as long as the Ping An Bank made a comeback, I could keep you by my side. But... I'm really, really afraid."
He was afraid that she was like the moon in the water, shattering if he tried to hold her in his hands. He was also afraid that she was like the snow on his eyebrows, only briefly gracing him.
"Since Master Ge separated from Aunt Lan, he has walked alone. The joys, sorrows, and emotions in the world seem to have nothing to do with him anymore. A Ying, I can't even imagine what a desolate state I would be in if you left. I only know that I would never dare to look up at the moon again."
Li Ying never expected that this man, who was so unrestrained in showing his love and possessiveness, actually had such deep and hidden sorrow in his heart. She felt as if the softest part of her heart had been tightly wrung.
She remembered hearing someone say that love was involuntary heartache and always feeling indebted.
And she probably loved him deeply.
Li Ying stood on tiptoe and carefully traced the outline of his eyebrows, eyes, and lips. She murmured, "Where is the way back in life? The place where my heart finds peace is my hometown."
What came next was his overwhelming, passionate kiss, which made her sink into it.
It took Lu Xunguang a long time to finally let her go with red eyes.
He felt a fire burning in his abdomen recklessly, as if it was going to burn both him and Li Ying to ashes.
Li Ying looked at him with her bright, star - like eyes.
"Lu Lang, I'm willing."
These words were like the most poisonous love potion in the world, seeping into every part of his body. Lu Xunguang wished he could deeply knead every inch of this delicate beauty in his arms into his own flesh and blood. He wanted to use all his strength to passionately, deeply, and gently plant his own flag on the city named her.
But he let go of his hands. After a long time, he finally took a deep breath. With red eyes, he said in a deep voice, "A Ying, I'm really hungry. Could you prepare something for me to eat?"
Li Ying couldn't help but burst out laughing.
This man really loved her to the extreme.
Even though she had voluntarily agreed, he would never let her suffer the slightest bit of grievance.
He was so stubborn that he was almost pedantic, but somehow, she just liked his natural stubbornness.
"Look, there's plenty of Taiji tea soup that Aunt Lan hasn't touched. It's just cooled down, which is perfect for reducing internal heat."
She didn't expose Lu Xunguang's careful consideration for her. Instead, she deliberately teased him.
Lu Xunguang frowned. Looking at the triumphant smile on her face, like that of a cunning little beast, he couldn't help but be speechless.