Chapter 40 When Did It Start
Mu Li lay on his side in bed, with one hand supporting his head on the temple and the other touching Lin Qing’s chin.

He thought she should wake up after a while since she saw him back. Unexpectedly, three hours had passed, she still slept deeply.

He would use one phrase to describe this: she slept like a log.

Lin Qing felt itchy at her chin. She narrowed her eyes and gently pushed Mu Li’s hand away.

“What are you doing…” she grunted. He could tell that it was hard for her to even open her eyes.

“The sun is about to set, aren’t you getting up?” Mu Li looked at her sleepy face and found it more adorable, so he couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.

“Sunset?” Lin Qing was very sensitive to this word.

She suddenly sat up and looked outside uneasily.

Come on, obviously it was only eight or nine o’clock.

Lin Qing was relieved, then pouted angrily. “You lied to me again.”

However, Mu Li cosily flipped over to lean against the bedside, turning pages of a book by it, and he said, “It feels pretty good to lie to you.”

Lin Qing glanced at him then went over to snatch the book away in his hand. It was written French on the spine of the book that she did not understand.

“Stop reading your book. Get up quickly.” Lin Qing urged Mu Li and pushed his arm that was resting on his abdomen.

“Didn’t you sleep very well? Why are you getting anxious right now?” Mu Li was shaken by her on the arm, but he didn’t move. Instead, he looked at her teasingly.

Lin Qing still pouted and said somewhat reluctantly, “I seem to have forgotten something…”

“What is it?”

Mu Li smiled. Lin Qing was more embarrassed. “I intended to…cook something to eat before you came back.”

Lin Qing’s words reminded Mu Li of what he saw in the study. There were piles of recipes on the table. He was very clear about Lin Qing’s culinary skills. Normally, she would not read those books. Now that she had read them, she must want to give him a surprise.

Mu Li saw through Lin Qing’s attempts at a glance. He smiled and said, “Something to eat? Then it’s not too late to cook it now.”

Lin Qing shook her head. “Since it’s already this late in the morning, I will just make a brunch.”

Mu Li flicked her forehead with his slender fingers. “What a silly baby sloth.”

“I’m not silly.” Lin Qing’s cheeks flushed slightly as she lowered her head and denied it.

Mu Li felt that she was very cute in this way.

So he couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows again and stroked her cheek.

Lin Qing seemed startled, she flinched and glanced at Mu Li.

“Are you still gonna dodge?” Mu Li seemed to have become immune to her such actions and got closer to her.

“I didn’t dodge, I’m just scared.” Lin Qing was very honest.

Mu Li looked at her, probably was wondering if she was telling the truth. Then, he teased her and said, “Since you didn’t dodge, yesterday when I asked have you missed me, why didn’t you dare to say a word?”

Lin Qing opened her eyes wide. “I said something.”

“Oh?” Mu Li pretended to be deep in thought. “What did you say? Why don’t I remember anything?”

Normally, in such a situation, Lin Qing would definitely repeat what she had said immediately, then act like she very calm.

However, she hesitated at this time.

This also surprised Mu Li.

“Anyway…” Lin Qing bit her lips as if she was organizing words in her mind. “I’ve said all I have to say.”

Mu Li was impressed. He didn’t see her just for a few days, and Lin Qing seemed to have become smart.

“Furthermore,” Lin Qing immediately added, “since you came back on time, you must have heard it.”

Not bad, not bad. The girl was worth teaching.

To Lin Qing, these few days were probably the longest and dullest time she felt. She never knew that she could miss someone.

Wait, did she say “miss”?

Lin Qing’s heart clicked with a pause.

When did it start?

It probably started from early the next morning after Mu Li left. When she woke up from the double bed covered with new sheets and she found that there was no one on her side, when she cooked breakfast and finished it alone, and when she turned on the TV and found it was the military channel, she began to miss him.

Lin Qing carefully thought about these in her heart.

She had to be careful and cautious.

Thinking of that, she couldn’t help but wear a look of melancholy.

“What are you thinking?” Mu Li knew very consciously that he had been ignored again.

“No, I didn’t think of anything!”

Lin Qing’s reaction was a little abnormal.

This answer aroused Mu Li’s curiosity, so he grabbed Lin Qing in front of him and stared straight into her eyes.

Her eyes were still as clear as water as usual, but there were—subtle extra waves in her eyes.

Such subtle waves could be easily overlooked, but they were caught by Mu Li.

“You—” Mu Li opened his mouth, but before he could finish speaking, his phone rang.

Lin Qing was relieved and blinked her eyes. She even offered to help him find his phone and get it through.

She did not say anything into the microphone, instead, she handed the phone to in front of Mu Li and said, “Here you are!”

It was easy to associate her such proactive look with that she might hold some intentions.

As shrewd as Mu Li, he immediately figured it out without spending time thinking.

He didn’t intend to answer the phone, but pulled Lin Qing into his arms and looked at her carefully.

This woman had a faint fragrance all over her, as if she was born with it, but also as if she was born with it for him.

He never thought that he would think of a woman in this way.

“Lin Qing…” Mu Li whispered while a warm breath came out of his mouth.

Lin Qing’s heart trembled.

‘”Mu Li, you’re too close to me…” Lin Qing clenched her small hands tightly.

“You’re trembling.” Mu Li smiled faintly.

Like this, Lin Qing stared blankly at Mu Li’s handsome face. Her eyes were filled with his face.

If time could stop at this moment forever…

Could it be that their fate wouldn’t be changed?

Could they no longer have to endure those pains and… sufferings.

But at that moment, time flowed like water slowly and silently.

“Ahem. Ahem.”

A few coughs came from somewhere and it sounded like someone was reminding them of the existence of a third person.

“Hey.” The person’s voice felt near and far from time to time and was not very clear. “Can you two flirt with each other some other time? There’s an innocent good guy here.”

An innocent…good guy?

Hearing that voice, Lin Qing suddenly remembered something.

Mu Li looked at his phone like he was looking at a monster. He felt that Shan Rong was…

He was too clever.

Next time he saw him, he would definitely seal his mouth.

There was a silence for a while on this end of the phone, and no one made a sound. Shan Rong said leisurely from the other end, “Tsk tsk tsk, are you shy and afraid to speak?”

“I’d say that there’s no need to be shy. It’s natural for people to fall in love.”

“But let me make it clear first, it’s not my fault for interrupting you. You guys picked up the phone yourselves.”

Shan Rong said a lot in succession and did not feel thirsty. Instead, the more he spoke, the more he wanted to continue.

Mu Li picked up his phone and stopped Shan Rong who was about to speak again. “If you have something to say, hurry up and say it.”

Shan Rong seemed to laugh at the other end. Lin Qing could not hear him clearly. She only saw Mu Li said something to him in a few moments and hung up the phone soon.

Lin Qing could imagine Shan Rong’s grin on his face when Mu Li hung up the phone.

“What…did he say?” Lin Qing was a little curious.

“Some trivial things. Never mind.” Mu Li said without blinking and he decisively regarded Shan Rong as trivial things.

Perhaps at this moment, Shan Rong happened to be sneezing loudly on the sofa in his living.

“Then…” Lin Qing put out her tongue at him. “Will you leave again?”

Actually, she cared about this matter very much.

Mu Li rubbed her hair and said, “I won’t leave.”

Lin Qing was relieved.

“Are you very happy?”

Mu Li smiled evilly and asked. “Mm…” Lin Qing said with a straight face. “I’m moderately happy.”

“Let’s go. I’ll take you out.” Mu Li thought the weather was perfect, so he brought Lin Qing out.

City A was deserved to be a metropolis since its downtown was bustling, and the suburb was also crowded with people and vehicles.

The place that Mu Li had taken Lin Qing to used to be a paddy field. After it was purchased, villas and manors were built up here.

Walking further, they could see several families’ gardens.

Of course, there were many trees here, so naturally the air was very good.

Lin Qing hadn’t gotten such fresh air for a long time. She was very bright and clear as she stood by the side of the road and was taking a few deep breaths in the wind.

That was comfortable.

This place was quiet and peaceful. Actually, she thought it would be a good choice to live here in the future.

Lin Qing soon rested her line of sight on a villa in the distance.

Mu Li held her in his arms from behind. This time, Lin Qing felt good and did not get startled. She leaned against Mu Li’s chest and heard the beating of his heart—

Pat, pat.

It was strong and steady.

“Do you like that villa?” Mu Li looked into the distance. It turned out that he had already seen through Lin Qing.

Lin Qing nodded.

“If you like it, I’ll buy it for you.” The way Mu Li talked about it sounded like he was going to buy a bag of rice, and he held Lin Qing tighter.

Lin Qing should have refused it because his words were too ridiculous.

However, she agreed unreasonably. “Okay.”

Her eyes were as calm as water again.

As if she had seen through everything.

They went westward for a short walk and arrived at the edge of the villas. Just as Mu Li was about to bring Lin Qing back, he saw her standing still on the spot.

“What’s the matter?” Mu Li stepped forward and asked.

Lin Qing pointed to a building in the distance and asked, “Is that…a church?”

Church?

Mu Li looked where Lin Qing was pointing. There was a large cross at the top of the building. That might be the place that Lin Qing was pointing.

He thought for a minute, and suddenly remembered that someone had mentioned before that there was a very beautiful church in this area.

Many lovers had celebrated their weddings there to sign contracts of love.

Lin Qing… Did she also like that?

This was something that Mu Li had never thought of.

However, Lin Qing only looked from afar and had no intention of going there. Mu Li held her hand tightly with his broad palm wrapped around hers.

“Do you want to go take a look?” He had already seen through Lin Qing again.

“Yes.” A word came out of Lin Qing’s red mouth as she nodded gently.

Ten minutes later, after they walked across the villa area and passed through two or three small gardens, they finally stood at the entrance of the church.

This church was truly beautiful.

Standing in front of the church, she looked up piously.

The cross looked as if it were telling a story of someone, giving a sense of holiness and serenity.

Then she looked inside through the corridor—

Some people seemed to be praying.