Chapter: 094 out of 513 – Ji Man’s previous romance (1)
However, he hadn’t known there would be such strange scenery here. With no one else around but them, Nie Sangyu, who had already changed into a dignified and virtuous woman, was just hanging over the railing without regard for appearances.
Ning Mingjie felt the situation was slightly humorous. Under normal circumstances, he would follow etiquette and directly walk away. But, for some reason, perhaps because the weather was exceptionally good, or maybe because he was in a very good mood, he felt very close to the person next to him. She looked very cute and lovable right now.
“Errong is with my older brother?” The corners of Ji Man’s mouth twitched. Why had she forgotten to tell Errong that she needed to play hard to get? If she always longingly ran to his side, he wouldn’t cherish her.
Nie Qingyun wasn’t fickle like Ning Yuxuan and treated people courteously. When he married Errong in the future, he would definitely treat her well. But, even though Nie Qingyun had a pretty good character, romance was a thing that required skill. Otherwise, as time went on, no one could guarantee that feelings wouldn’t fade.
“She really likes Qingyun.” Ning Mingjie looked at the sky’s somewhat pale clouds. The winter sun had already come out and its rays made people feel comfortably warm. He raised his hands and almost couldn’t resist taking off his mask.
But, thinking of how there was still a person next to him, he lightly sighed and put his hands down to grip the railing. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sunlight’s warmth.
After Ji Man thought for a while about the things she had to discuss with Errong tonight, she turned her head and saw Ning Mingjie’s shining silver mask. She couldn’t resist her curiosity and asked, “Do you bask in the sun during the summer?”
“En?” Ning Mingjie tilted his head. After a pause, he finally said, “I rarely go outside in Jingzhou.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Ji Man said as she looked at his mask. “If you go out and bask in the sun during summer, won’t the area around your eyes and chin turn black while the rest of your skin stays white when you take off your mask at home?”
Ning Mingjie froze in surprise. His mind pictured the image that Nie Sangyu had described and he suddenly felt the urge to laugh. He turned his back to her while his shoulders shook from trying to hold back his laughter.
Ji Man worriedly asked, “Are you okay?”
It had been okay when she hadn’t said anything. But once she asked, Ning Mingjie directly burst out in laugher and couldn’t stop himself. He held onto the railing for support and almost fell into the canal.
Ji Man looked at him in confusion. The sound of his laughter was too excessive. Although the sound of his laughter sounded nice, she had never seen people from this world laugh like this. After he had laugh for a while, even she started laughing along with him.
Ning Mingjie wiped away the tears that had come out while he was laughing. He looked around and saw that there was no one else around except them. He reached his hand behind his head and untied the strings for his mask. There was a trace of laughter in his voice as he said, “Look, is one part of my face black from being tanned and the other part white?”
Hearing his words, Ji Man turned to look. In that moment, her heart jumped.
The face in front of her was exquisite with facial features that were just perfect. It was indescribably beautiful. His eyes and brows were deep and his nose was straight. He had all of the features that a beautiful person would have.
This wasn’t the first time that Ji Man saw this face. Her first love, a high school classmate, had the same face. They ended up breaking up shortly after he started Beijing Academy of Film. This face was devastatingly beautiful, but it wasn’t too feminine. A single glance was enough to make a person feel attracted to him and unable to feel the slightest sense of loathing.
Attractive people could be divided into two types: ostentatious people and restrained and gentle people. There were people that like the former type and also people that dislike the former type. While there was less of the latter type, there was no one that would dislike them.
Ning Yuxuan was also attractive, but he clearly belonged in the first group of people. At the very least, she instinctively had a negative feeling towards him. As for Ning Mingjie… he looked almost exactly the same as her first love and his personality traits were superior. While feeling dazed, she felt as if that person, who had cheated on her, was right in front of her. She had caught him after he had rolled around in bed with another woman after she had taken the train for two days to see him.
Ning Mingjie had only wanted to tease her. He hadn’t expected that such a complicated expression would appear on her face. It seemed as if she was reminiscing, but there was also disgust and surprise. It almost seemed as if the person she was looking at wasn’t him.
His good mood immediately sunk. Ning Mingjie put his mask back on, straightened his body, and said, “I was presumptuous. Today’s sunlight was too nice and I temporarily forgot my manners. Madam Ning, please don’t be offended by my action.”
When Ji Man returned to her senses, she opened and closed her mouth as she tried to think of words to explain herself. It had also been very rude of her to stare at him for so long.
But, Ning Mingjie had already turned around and left. His back figure looked a bit gloomy and was completely different from his earlier happy and unrestraint appearance.
Seeing his face today, many unpleasant feelings had surged upwards. Ji Man felt as if her entire body had lost all of its energy. She went back to her room and lied down to sleep.
Around noon, they had travel a hundred miles away from the capital to Rongcheng district. Both of the boats stopped for a rest. The regional officials had prepared for this visit in advance. Their mouths said, “Welcome Old Master”, but they had prepared an extravagant welcome that was worthy of an emperor’s visit and invited the group of people to dine at a temporary imperial residence.
Ji Man couldn’t help sighing. Every resting spot had most likely arranged for a temporary imperial residence. What a waste of manpower and resources. This trip was truly a catastrophe for the common people.
But, she had no plans on doing the arduous and unrewarding task of going up to the emperor and saying this truth. Her days were going well, and she was only a woman. Weren’t there court officials present?
Translator Ramblings: I added a tiny spoiler about Ning Mingjie and Ji Man in the comments below related to this chapter.
