Protecting the person in his arms, he rolled over, finding himself on top of Tian Jing.
Li Zhengguo immediately hooked his legs around the person in his embrace, clinging tightly to Tian Jing like an octopus.
Tian Jing found Li Zhengguo's move amusing despite her anger. She angrily wiped her tears onto his new clothes.
If he didn't care about his new clothes, wouldn't he have fallen onto the dusty, muddy road? A few tears and snot were nothing.
"Fine, you won't admit it? Then tell me, did you fall in love with this body at first sight?"
This body again?
Li Zhengguo was a bit confused. Was Tian Tian separating the body from the soul? Or was the reborn Tian Tian not considering herself as this life's Tian Tian?
It seemed that if he didn't clarify things today, more misunderstandings would arise. "Tian Tian, you've also been reborn, haven't you?"
Huh? Tian Jing stopped struggling, her eyes widening in shock at Li Zhengguo's words. "You?"
"Yes, I have been reborn." Facing the sulking Tian Jing, Li Zhengguo dared not hide it any longer.
"I was reborn after our engagement was finalized by Minmin, the day before Ding Aihua came to ask for the date."
"I changed the date for this life. I wanted to change our ending. Tian Tian, I don't know how many lives you've been reborn through, because the Tian Tian I knew, in all her experiences, would not have possessed martial prowess."
"Did you misunderstand something? Don't you consider this body your own? I didn't fall in love with this body at first sight."
"In my past life, I did have a good impression of this body, but what truly made me fall for you was the pitiful soul who was betrayed by both her biological parents."
"Back then, my affection for you stemmed from pity. Now, I love you. It's a love where I can't breathe without you."
Tian Jing didn't believe him. "You're lying. You let her cause trouble in your home, making Li Min never return, causing your mother to die prematurely, and finally, you died with her."
Such obvious jealousy, such obvious coyness, filled Li Zhengguo's heart with boundless joy. Tian Tian was jealous, jealous of herself. Tian Tian liked him.
This realization softened his heart, and his voice grew even gentler, so gentle it could drip water.
"Tian Tian, this time I didn't deliberately hide it, and you've also felt it. You've given me quite a few things. I have a mission, and in my past life, I didn't know how long it would take to complete."
"So I felt the burden was extremely heavy. For the mission, sacrificing some family members was unavoidable. In your past life..."
Seeing Tian Jing's pouting lips grow even more pronounced, Li Zhengguo quickly corrected himself.
"No, it was *her*. Her troublemaking could effectively shield me. Minmin not returning was also exactly what I wanted. I was worried about my family being implicated if things went wrong."
"Minmin, being married off, could at least keep her life. As for my mother, she was poisoned secretly, specifically to test me."
Li Zhengguo's tone was tinged with sadness and pain. "On the surface, it seemed like her actions led to my mother's death, making me unable to stay in the village due to the villagers' gossip."
Tian Jing's eyes widened further. "Mother Li was murdered?" "What about Mother now?"
"It's been resolved." Li Zhengguo's eyes, filled with deep affection, were fixed on the expression on the face of the person in his arms.
"Oh." Tian Jing lowered her gaze. She dared not look into Li Zhengguo's eyes. The affection there was too intense; she was afraid she wouldn't be able to leave.
She finally understood her own heart.
She finally understood why sleeping beside Li Zhengguo felt so reassuring.
It was because of his composure, his presence that made one feel inexplicably secure.
It made her unconsciously let down her guard around him, causing her to fall for him without realizing it.
Now that she understood her misconception of him being 'cold and indifferent,' her heart ached deeply. She wasn't reborn multiple lives as Li Zhengguo believed; she was a thief who had taken over the original host's body.
She wished she were the original host who had been reborn multiple lives. This intense affection wasn't hers.
"Li Zhengguo, let me go."
"No, you haven't given me a definite answer yet."
"What answer?" Tian Jing looked up at the face before her, so ordinary that it would be lost in any crowd.
"I'll follow you to the ends of the earth. Will you take me with you? Don't dislike me for my lack of martial prowess, don't dislike me for not being handsome enough."
Would she dislike this face for not being handsome enough? In her past life, before the apocalypse, she was an ordinary person, only considered pretty. What right did she have to dislike him?
It was the original host who disliked him.
"Li Zhengguo, I am not her. You like her. You only elevated it to love based on liking. I, I don't... *sob*."
Tian Jing's words were silenced by a warm, soft touch. As she stood there stunned, a wet, slippery fish swam into her mouth.
Li Zhengguo sighed with satisfaction. He had finally kissed these lips, rosy and tempting, that had stolen all his reason. Tian Tian's helpless bewilderment brought a secret delight to his heart.
His foolish Tian Tian. He raised a large hand to cover her wide-open eyes. At this moment, shouldn't she be closing her eyes?
Finally released, Tian Jing, embarrassed and angry, lightly hit the person beneath her. "You big pervert, you didn't let me finish speaking."
"I'm sorry," Li Zhengguo looked at her dotingly and coaxed her softly, "I couldn't control myself. Tian Tian, don't be angry, okay?"
Tian Jing was also startled by her own娇气的撒娇 (delicately coquettish behavior). What was happening to her?
How had she, a powerful esper, transformed into this affected, pure (foolish) woman whom she had always looked down upon?
"Li Zhengguo, you've misunderstood. I'm not her. I, I am a soul from another world. My world was an apocalypse. The apocalypse is..."
"Li Zhengguo, you like her. You're willing to do anything for her, even sacrifice your life."
"I intended to wait a few years for her family to find me, and then I would avenge her, as payment for using this body."
"I know you like her, and I never intended to get involved with you. But you, you're reborn, and you've found a new way to capture her heart."
"But what you've captured is *my* heart. My heart, without my conscious knowledge, has been captured by you." Sudan Novel Network
"Whenever I think about how in your past life you indulged her every whim and seemed cold towards your mother and sister, I worry. I worry that if you knew I wasn't her, you'd treat me even worse than your own family. That's why I wanted to resist your affection for this body."
"I, I, I don't want to accept incomplete love. I want to leave... *sob*."
Tian Jing's words were again silenced. This kiss was incredibly passionate, filled with trembling fear and anxious longing.
When the kiss ended, Li Zhengguo held the person in his arms tightly. "Tian Tian, I don't care who you are. You are the Tian Tian who made me distinguish between liking and loving."
"You have all her memories, so you should know she is Jing Jing, and you are Tian Tian. The moment you called me and asked me to call you Tian Tian, you were different. You are you, my Tian Tian, the Tian of sweetness."
"Liking, I can sacrifice my life for. Loving, I am willing to offer my soul. Tian Tian, don't leave me. Take me with you, anywhere. If you have the means, take my soul and let me stay by your side forever, okay?"