152: Chapter 152 When the Plums Ripen: Childhood Sweetheart Male Lead 30

After dinner, until the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

"Did Courtesy Name Brother have something to say to me by walking me back to Tingyu Pavilion?"

It wasn't very far to begin with, and Nan Li immediately had a guess.

"Mm, there is a gift I want to give to Zhaoyu."

A gift?

Nan Li walked ahead without thinking too much about it.

Meng Zhu had given her countless gifts.

However, today wasn't any special holiday, so what would Meng Zhu give her?

Out of curiosity, when they reached the rockery path, Nan Li finally couldn't help it anymore.

She stopped in her tracks, turned her head, and blinked her large eyes.

"Courtesy Name Brother, what kind of gift is it?"

Seeing her cute and charming look, Meng Zhu knew he probably wouldn't be able to wait until they reached the entrance of Tingyu Pavilion to give it to her.

So he wore a faint smile, pulled a long box out of his pocket, and handed it to Nan Li.

Nan Li took it cautiously and gently opened it.

The moment the box opened, even Nan Li, who had seen plenty of treasures, felt a flash of awe in her eyes.

It was an outrageously gorgeous gold and jade hairpin.

The shaft of the hairpin was slender and warm, and its head was not carved with elaborate flowers, but only engraved with two intertwined branches and vines.

Warm red gold was forged into the bones of the branches, winding and turning, and white jade was inlaid along the veins of the gold branches, gold and jade intertwining with each other without distinguishing primary from secondary.

The hairpin stem was neat and clean, and the hairpin head shimmered with a faint light, elegant yet unostentatious.

"So pretty!"

Nan Li couldn't help but sigh softly, her fingertips lightly brushing over it as she fondled it admiringly.

"Is this very expensive?"

Nan Li roughly knew that this item should be of considerable value.

But precisely because it was precious, Nan Li wanted to know the reason even more.

Why would he suddenly give her this?

She was just about to ask when Meng Zhu, as if knowing what she wanted to say, interrupted her.

"It's not expensive; just like it as you wish."

He reached out his hand with a natural tone.

"Would you like me to help you put it on and try?"

Nan Li subconsciously nodded again.

"Okay."

Meng Zhu gently took out the hairpin from the box.

To make the movement easier, he took a slight step forward, closing the distance between the two of them.

As he drew closer, his uniquely fresh and crisp scent enveloped Nan Li once more.

He slightly lowered his head, his slightly cool fingertips passing through her soft, long hair as he carefully inserted the hairpin diagonally into her hair.

The two of them were too close.

So close that Nan Li only needed to lift her eyes to see his resolute jaw right up close, and could even feel his light and shallow breath brushing against her bangs.

Her heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.

Nan Li could feel that her cheeks must be burning.

"All done."

Meng Zhu stepped back half a step and looked at her for a moment.

Nan Li let out a breath as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

After easing up for a moment, she subconsciously spun around in place, her slender waist causing her skirt hem to flutter slightly.

Then she raised her hand to touch the hairpin in her hair, tilted her head up to look at Meng Zhu, her pair of peach blossom eyes sparkling.

"Does it look good?"

The moonlight was hazy, the young girl's smile was bright and charming, and the gold and jade in her hair radiated brilliant colors.

But the hairpin was pretty, and the person was even prettier.

So Meng Zhu softly spoke.

"A hairpin of gold and jade, yet it cannot rival the brilliance of your eyes."

This praise instantly made Nan Li's already burning cheeks even redder.

She abruptly turned around, turning her back to him, and muttered softly.

"Courtesy Name Brother, you only know how to say these nice things, not objective at all."

Looking at her back, Meng Zhu gave a faint smile and didn't refute, simply taking long strides to follow.

The journey wasn't long to begin with, and in the blink of an eye, the two walked to the entrance of Tingyu Pavilion.

Just as Nan Li stepped onto the stairs and reached out to push the door open, Meng Zhu suddenly called out to her from behind.

"Zhaoyu."

Nan Li turned her head back.

"Hm? What is it, Courtesy Name Brother?"

Meng Zhu looked at her with a calm tone.

"From now on until the ancestral worship, you should use this hairpin. Also tomorrow, you don't need to go worship Grandfather; come out with me instead."

"Go out?"

"Right, I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

"Okay!"

Meng Zhu didn't explain too much, and Nan Li agreed crisply.

Since it was Meng Zhu's arrangement, naturally he had his reasons; Nan Li had no reason to refuse.

But after such a diversion, an unresolved matter from the previous night suddenly flashed across Nan Li's mind.

Thus, a bold thought suddenly popped up.

She stopped the motion of opening the door and, on an impulse, called out.

"Courtesy Name Brother!"

Meng Zhu stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at her quizzically.

Nan Li took a deep breath, her hands nervously clenched into fists at her sides, and tentatively asked:

"Can I... can I give you a hug?"

Meng Zhu was visibly stunned.

In those usually calm eyes, a trace of astonishment flashed across, but he quickly reacted, the corners of his mouth curving into an indulgent arc.

Then he gently opened his arms.

"Of course you can."

Getting permission, Nan Li hurried down the steps and cautiously threw herself into his embrace.

Her arms wrapped around his slender waist, pressing her ear against his broad left chest.

Thump, thump.

That was Meng Zhu's heartbeat.

At first, the heartbeat was steady and powerful.

But after just two seconds, Nan Li clearly felt that the originally steady rhythm of his heartbeat was accelerating at an incredible speed.

Thump, thump, thump —

It wasn't her imagination!

His heartbeat was actually beating this fast, even more intensely than her own heartbeat at this moment!

Heartbeats don't lie.

Huddled in his embrace, Nan Li's eyes were astonishingly bright.

Inside her heart, it felt like a firework had burst.

Courtesy Name Brother definitely had romantic feelings for her too! He liked her as well!

Even though it was just corroboration, she was utterly convinced.

On the other hand, Meng Zhu hadn't thought about all that; Nan Li's sudden embrace left him somewhat bewildered.

"What's wrong?"

When Meng Zhu asked this, there was still a hint of worry in his tone.

Nan Li shook her head and stepped back half a step.

"Nothing, just suddenly thought that I haven't hugged Courtesy Name Brother in a long time."

With that, without waiting for Meng Zhu to react, she turned around and pushed open the door to Tingyu Pavilion.

"Goodnight, Courtesy Name Brother!"

"Goodnight."

[Did you guys see that? That hairpin]

[Is that Nan Jin's hairpin from the previous movie?]

[No, I remember very clearly, the style is different, though both are gold and jade hairpins]

[I remember that box; that's the thing Meng Zhu's mom said she asked Auntie Hua to bring to Meng Zhu earlier]

[So why did Meng Zhu's mom give this hairpin to Meng Zhu, and Meng Zhu gave it to Nan Li?]

[Feels a bit weird, but I can't quite figure it out]

[Then just keep watching, anyway this hairpin looks unusual, feels like foreshadowing]

[Foreshadowing monster has arrived, who it is I won't say]

Most barrage comments thought this was just an ordinary gift.

But unexpectedly, the next day, they were slapped in the face.

Early the next morning.

Warm sunlight filtered through the carved wooden window.

When she was at Qinghe Garden, Nan Li mostly liked to wear cheongsams.

Hairpins might not necessarily go with other clothes, but with a cheongsam, it was just right.

She gently coiled up her long, black, silky hair, remembering what Meng Zhu had said yesterday.

She then took out that gold and jade hairpin from her jewelry box.

This hairpin was obviously luxuriously gorgeous, yet it set off a person's gentle and clever nature without looking tacky.

After tidying herself up, Nan Li walked briskly out of Tingyu Pavilion and headed to the main courtyard.

At the rosewood table, Old Madam, Father Meng, and Mengs Mother had already taken their seats, preparing to have breakfast.

"Grandmother, Uncle Meng, Aunt Liang, good morning."

Nan Li walked forward with a smile, greeting them obediently.

However, the exact moment she stepped into the dining room.

The gazes of the three elders at the table almost simultaneously focused instantly on the gold and jade hairpin.

There was a brief stagnation in the air.

Father Meng's hand holding the purple clay teacup paused slightly.

Mengs Mother subconsciously glanced at the mother-in-law beside her.

The one with the biggest reaction was undoubtedly Old Madam.

Looking at the hairpin, her gaze was extremely strange, interwoven with sudden realization, gratification, nostalgia, and emotion.

Almost instantly, Old Madam understood Meng Zhu's intention.

But the deadly part was that the little girl was smiling brightly and completely at ease, clearly having no idea of the hairpin's significance.

Father Meng and Mengs Mother exchanged a glance, then looked at Old Madam, who had regained her composure.

In a brief instant, the three of them contained their emotions with extreme tacit understanding.

"Zhaoyu, come sit over here, sit by Grandmother's side."

The kindness on Old Madam's face was a bit heavier than usual.

Right at this moment, Auntie Hua walked in carrying the millet porridge.

As soon as she raised her eyes, she saw the hairpin on Nan Li's head.

With just a glance, her pupils constricted, her hands trembled, and she almost knocked over the tray in her hands.

Looking again at the calm demeanor of Old Madam and the other two, the waves in Auntie Hua's heart churned over and over.

"Auntie Hua, what delicious food is there today?"

Nan Li looked curiously at the tray, completely unaware of Auntie Hua's strange expression.

Auntie Hua was pulled back to her thoughts by these words.

"L... Miss Zhaoyu, this morning's porridge, see if it suits your appetite; if not, I'll go make something else."

Nan Li tilted her head, feeling a bit strange inside, yet unable to put her finger on it.

How could that be, the porridge Auntie Hua makes is the most delicious.

"Ah... as long as Miss likes it."

Auntie Hua hurried inside and placed the bowls of porridge on the table one by one.

Nan Li eagerly began to taste it, while Auntie Hua stood aside, staring blankly at the hairpin on her head.