Chapter 273: The Gift from Li Beijue Cannot Be Accepted

Jiang Baobao was stunned at these words, her eyes instantly lighting up, and she asked subconsciously, "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is." Li Beijue nodded, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings calmly.

Jiang Baobao also looked at the crowd around them, then said in a low voice, "Everyone is here; wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate for me to run off to the beach alone?"

"It would indeed be inappropriate for you to go alone," Li Beijue replied softly, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.

"Huh?" Jiang Baobao didn't react for a moment, feeling that the man before her seemed to have some deeper meaning behind that last sentence.

Immediately after, she heard Li Beijue continue unhurriedly, "But if the two of us go, no one will be able to say anything. Wilson and Anna won't come to disturb us... while we're flirting."

Li Beijue's tone was uncharacteristically teasing, but Jiang Baobao choked suddenly, looking at Li Beijue with an expression as if she had seen a ghost.

Damn...

Hasn't this guy been "saying shocking things" a bit too often lately?

If she hadn't heard it with her own ears, who would believe that there would come a day when the words "flirting" would come out of Li Beijue's mouth!

Jiang Baobao's gaze flickered for a moment. Thinking that the two of them were still pretending to be a loving couple, she had to suppress the sense of strangeness in her heart and asked in a low voice, "Then... should we sneak out through another door?"

Seeing her look as if she were ready to bolt at any moment, Li Beijue couldn't help but find it amusing.

The next second, he grabbed her wrist directly.

"Sneak? Of course we're going to walk out openly."

As he spoke, Li Beijue walked toward the castle exit with Jiang Baobao in a natural, composed manner.

In the distance, Anna suddenly tugged at Wilson's arm, leaning into his ear excitedly.

"Darling, look over there! Jue has left with his little sweetheart. What do you guess the two of them are going to do?"

"Oh?" Wilson raised an eyebrow and looked in their direction as well, a kind smile appearing on his face.

"Whatever they're going to do, they both look like they're in a good state right now, don't they? Perhaps after they return, Jue will really be able to win over his sweetheart as he wishes..."

Upon hearing this, Anna nodded in total agreement, then suddenly thought of something and hurriedly leaned into Wilson's ear, whispering, "Come to think of it, when we were chatting today, she had a very high opinion of Jue..."

The beach—

Looking at the boundless sea before her, Jiang Baobao felt a peace she had never experienced before.

Li Beijue stood silently by her side, his deep eyes like the calm sea in front of them, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking at that moment.

Jiang Baobao stared at the sea for a while, then suddenly couldn't help but turn her head to look at the person beside her.

"What is it?"

Noticing her gaze, Li Beijue asked casually, his tone not sounding as cold as usual, but instead carrying a hint of softness.

Jiang Baobao suddenly couldn't help but lose focus for a moment.

Perhaps the scene was too deceptive, causing Jiang Baobao to lower all her defenses without realizing it.

Looking at the man before her, she suddenly couldn't help but say, "Li Beijue, you... really seem to have changed a lot lately. Can you tell me why?"

Jiang Baobao's eyes were filled with confusion, and she looked at Li Beijue quietly, like a well-behaved child waiting for a parent to answer a question.

Li Beijue was slightly taken aback, as if he hadn't expected her to suddenly ask him this.

He pondered for two seconds, then suddenly raised an eyebrow noncommittally and answered casually, "Isn't change a good thing?"

"It is a good thing, yes... but..." Jiang Baobao looked at the person before her and suddenly realized where the strangeness she had been feeling all along lay.

The Li Beijue she knew had always been cold, hard, and full of sharp edges.

Yet during this time, he seemed to have acquired an aura of gentleness and peace.

She had originally thought this change only appeared because he was in a good mood.

But now it seemed, he appeared to...

As Jiang Baobao thought this, a bold idea suddenly popped into her mind.

She asked almost uncontrollably, "Then does this mean we can get along peacefully in the future?"

Her expression was somewhat expectant, and she watched Li Beijue without blinking, as sincere as could be.

Upon hearing this, Li Beijue finally couldn't help but let a hint of a smile flash in his eyes.

Was getting along peacefully all she could think of?

No, what he wanted... was much more than that.

Li Beijue's heart stirred slightly, and he suddenly thought of the small box he had been carrying with him for the past few days.

He had been waiting for the right opportunity to explain what happened back then to her.

Now, that opportunity seemed to be right before his eyes...

Li Beijue's gaze flickered for a moment, and he suddenly reached out and took the small box from his suit pocket.

"I have something to give you."

He said in a deep voice, and as he spoke, he held the small object in his palm and extended it toward Jiang Baobao.

Jiang Baobao was stunned, looking at the exquisite, small object in his hand that looked like a jewelry box, and she didn't react for a moment.

"You... are giving this to me?" She hesitated for two seconds, and instead of accepting it, she immediately waved her hands quickly: "There's no need for a gift. I don't need anything lately, and my demand for jewelry and such isn't very high..."

Jiang Baobao spoke rapidly, her expression somewhat flattered, and she even subconsciously took a step back while her brain raced.

Li Beijue's transformation was just too fast!

It must be because his conscience got the better of him, so he felt guilty and wanted to give her a gift!

And it was something he had prepared in advance!

No wonder he had been acting so strangely; it turned out he had wanted to make peace with her all along!

And because he was too concerned about his pride to bring it up himself, he just took advantage of her mentioning it earlier to bring out the gift!

Then she definitely couldn't accept it!

They weren't elementary school students who had to exchange gifts after making up; if he just stopped causing trouble for her in the future, she would be thankful enough!

Jiang Baobao analyzed the situation in her mind at lightning speed, feeling that she was being incredibly rational at this moment!

Seeing her looking at the small box in his hand as if she were facing a formidable enemy, Li Beijue was momentarily left between laughter and tears.

He wasn't pulling out a bomb, was he?

Did she really have to hide so far away?

Li Beijue sighed helplessly in his heart, took a step forward, and simply and domineeringly pulled Jiang Baobao's hand over, placing the small box into her palm.

Jiang Baobao subconsciously wanted to refuse again: "I really don't need it, I..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Li Beijue interrupted her directly: "Whether you want to keep the item or not, you can decide after looking at it; if you still don't want it after seeing it... you can return it to me then."