Over the next two or three days, Jiang Ning noticed that Liu Ming'an's behavior seemed somewhat strange.
The most obvious change was that Liu Ming'an would often unconsciously stare at her, usually when she was reading. He thought she hadn't noticed, so he would gaze at her face in what he believed was a discreet manner.
But Jiang Ning, being as perceptive as she was, always knew the moment Liu Ming'an looked her way. At first, she thought he had something to say to her, so she would look back, but the instant she raised her eyes, Liu Ming'an would quickly lower his head to his book, pretending nothing had happened.
In the past, many people had stared at Jiang Ning. When she was still "N," carrying out assassination missions, she inevitably had to fabricate various identities and mingle in different social settings. Some men would look at her as if appraising an object, their eyes filled with lecherous desire, their faces showing undisguised covetousness. Jiang Ning would always blind their eyes with her knife before taking their lives.
But Liu Ming'an was different. When he looked at Jiang Ning, his gaze held the clarity and purity of youth, along with some emotions she couldn't quite understand. So later, Jiang Ning decided to ignore it and let him look all he wanted.
If Liu Ming'an had only enjoyed looking at her, Jiang Ning wouldn't have thought much of it. But his strange behavior didn't stop there. Sometimes, while they were talking normally, Liu Ming'an would suddenly blush, turn his head away, and avoid looking at her.
At night, when it was time to sleep, Liu Ming'an behaved as if it were the first time they had shared a bed. He would lie far away from her, his entire body stiff as a statue, even deliberately controlling his breathing, the very picture of caution.
Jiang Ning pondered the reasons for Liu Ming'an's change, and after much thought, she guessed it must have been something that happened during his solo trip to Lingshan Town. But what exactly had occurred, Jiang Ning wasn't omniscient enough to know.
Until one evening, after dinner, Liu Ming'an was studying by lamplight, and Jiang Ning was reading under the lamp. In the dim yellow light, they each focused on their own tasks, not disturbing one another.
A wind arose outside, blowing into the room. The weak candlelight flickered gently. Jiang Ning, feeling her eyes strain after reading for a while, got up and walked to the window to close it.
From the moment Jiang Ning stood up, she knew Liu Ming'an's gaze had been fixed on her, not moving for even a moment. After closing the window and turning back, she found Liu Ming'an still looking at her. Their eyes met unexpectedly.
Jiang Ning had no reaction, but Liu Ming'an, as if caught red-handed, suddenly turned his head to the other side, avoiding her gaze.
Such a strong reaction? Jiang Ning thought as she returned to the table, resting her chin on her hand and staring steadily at Liu Ming'an.
"Liu Ming'an, what's so interesting about the wall?" Seeing that Liu Ming'an still hadn't turned his head, Jiang Ning asked.
Hearing this, Liu Ming'an quickly lowered his head, staring at the open book on the table, and made an excuse: "Nothing, I just got a stiff neck from reading too long and wanted to stretch a bit."
Jiang Ning narrowed her eyes. Previously, she wouldn't have had such a strong urge to investigate, and no matter how absurd Liu Ming'an's excuses were, she wouldn't have bothered. But for some reason, now she wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Liu Ming'an was pretending to read, trying to calm his emotions as before. Unable to control his feelings, he always found himself wanting to look at Jiang Ning, to pay attention to her every move. But he was afraid she would notice, afraid she would be disgusted, so he could only carefully guard his secret feelings, truly embodying the phrase "entering the door of lovesickness, knowing the pain of longing."
"Liu Ming'an."
Jiang Ning's voice suddenly sounded in his ear, and Liu Ming'an's heart tightened. The next moment, a cool hand gripped his chin, forcing him to raise his head and meet Jiang Ning's eyes.
"What's wrong with you? You've been acting strange these past few days," Liu Ming'an heard Jiang Ning ask.
Jiang Ning was standing right next to Liu Ming'an, one sitting and one standing, one slightly bending down and the other forced to look up. They were very close, and Liu Ming'an felt he could hear his own wildly beating heart.
Liu Ming'an lowered his eyes, not looking at her, and replied, "It's nothing, you're imagining things."
"Then why do you keep looking at me?" Jiang Ning asked again.
Liu Ming'an suddenly felt his face burning up, but still stubbornly denied it: "I'm not, don't overthink it."
"Hah!" Liu Ming'an heard a cold laugh, followed by Jiang Ning saying in a commanding tone: "Liu Ming'an, look at me."
Liu Ming'an raised his eyes in panic and saw Jiang Ning leaning towards him. In the blink of an eye, they were only inches apart, their breaths intertwining.
The night was dim, and Jiang Ning didn't want to miss even the slightest expression on Liu Ming'an's face. She hadn't realized that this action had left Liu Ming'an barely able to breathe.
"What exactly happened the day you went to Lingshan Town? Did you encounter some difficulty? Tell me, and perhaps I can help you," Jiang Ning said, changing her stern attitude to a gentler tone that could almost be called tender.
Liu Ming'an stared blankly at Jiang Ning, his heart a mixture of emotions he couldn't begin to express. The struggle in his eyes was clear for Jiang Ning to see.
But in the end, Liu Ming'an only answered, "Jiang Ning, I'm fine."
"Liu Ming'an, you're lying," Jiang Ning said with certainty.
Liu Ming'an closed his eyes briefly, then took hold of Jiang Ning's hand that was gripping his chin, and said earnestly, "Jiang Ning, thank you."
Thank you for coming into my life.
Thank you for caring about me.
Jiang Ning looked at Liu Ming'an in surprise, noticing his eyes were full of emotions she couldn't understand. Her hand was held tightly by him, and Liu Ming'an's warm body temperature transmitted through the back of her hand. Suddenly, Jiang Ning no longer wanted to pressure him.
"Forget it," Jiang Ning said softly, withdrawing her hand and sitting down on the other side of the table, continuing to read the book she had before.
Liu Ming'an's gaze followed Jiang Ning as she sat back down to continue reading. He tugged at the corners of his mouth, his smile tinged with bitterness.
When the night grew deep and quiet, Jiang Ning, who had been lying still, opened her eyes in the darkness.
Liu Ming'an was already asleep beside her, hugging her arm. Jiang Ning very gently pulled out her arm and got out of bed.
The room was pitch black, impossible to see anything. Jiang Ning felt her way to the box by the wall.
"Click!"
A soft sound echoed in the silent room. Jiang Ning tried to open her eyes wide to see what was in the box, but it was too dark. All her efforts were in vain. She could only reach in and feel around blindly, remembering that the piece of paper Liu Ming'an had secretly put in there should be at the bottom.
Found it!
Jiang Ning felt the thin piece of paper at the very bottom of the box and gently pulled it out. Then, with a thought, she appeared in the bamboo house within her spatial dimension, where it was always bright.
Eager to see what was written, Jiang Ning unfolded the paper, only to find a single line of poetry: "Water is the ripple of her eyes, mountains are the gathering of her brows."
It was unmistakably Liu Ming'an's handwriting.
Jiang Ning knew the meaning of this poem. It was nothing more than a description of a woman's eyebrows like distant mountains and eyes like autumn waves. But why had Liu Ming'an written this?
Had he fallen in love with some girl?
Memories of Liu Ming'an's words and actions over the past few days flashed through her mind, and Jiang Ning suddenly had a certain suspicion. Her usually calm heart began to beat uncontrollably.
Jiang Ning slowly exhaled, clinging to a shred of hope as she pulled out the paper underneath.
On the snow-white rice paper, "Jiang Ning" leaned against the door, looking at Jiang Ning, shattering her last illusion.
Liu Ming'an was in love with her!
No wonder.
Everything made sense now.
Jiang Ning stood there holding the two pieces of paper, feeling at a loss for the first time in her life.
When Jiang Ning emerged from her spatial dimension, returned the two pieces of paper to their original place, and lay back down on the bed, the oblivious Liu Ming'an moved closer in his sleep, hugging her arm as he slept sweetly.
"Why would you fall in love with me?" Jiang Ning turned her head to look at Liu Ming'an's sleeping profile, her voice barely audible.
After a long while, Jiang Ning's low voice sounded again in the darkness, sounding like a resigned sigh.
"You shouldn't have developed these feelings for me."