Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince-Chapter 366: You Wouldn’t Dislike It, Would You?

Qi Yu’s entire focus was on the dough in her hands, and she didn’t notice his abnormality.

This time, she was able to skillfully pull the dough into thin strands, which actually looked quite decent.

Although she still accidentally added a bit too much seasoning, the final product looked much better than her first attempt, at least it seemed somewhat appetizing.

Qi Yu tried a bit of the noodles with her chopsticks, and although they couldn’t be considered a feast for the eyes, nose, and mouth, they were edible.

She put down her chopsticks with satisfaction and said to Shi Zhou, "Would you like to try some?"

Shi Zhou shook her head, "I’ll pass."

She had often blown up the kitchen when she was in the bandit’s lair, better leave something for the ship.

Seeing her outright reluctance, Qi Yu didn’t insist and took her leave with Shi Zhou after cleaning up the kitchen.

A few days passed, and it finally came to Li Mingjue’s birthday.

Qi Yu woke up unusually early while he was still asleep, and went to the kitchen to get busy.

She had told the kitchen staff the night before to prepare the ingredients in advance.

Upon entering the kitchen, she confidently began to knead the dough and quickly made a bowl of longevity noodles.

Shiqi concealed himself in a hidden spot, vigilant for every move in the kitchen, just in case his Princess would accidentally injure herself again.

Fortunately, thanks to her efforts over the past few days, Qi Yu could now make a bowl of noodles without any chaos.

Qi Yu, focused entirely on her handiwork, didn’t notice someone was watching her the whole time.

She had just delivered the noodles upstairs when Li Mingjue happened to walk in, the timing was impeccable.

But Qi Yu didn’t think too much of it, waving her hands excitedly at him, "Prince, come and try the longevity noodles I made for you!"

Li Mingjue looked at the bowl of noodles before him, his heart moved slightly. He picked up his chopsticks and tasted the noodles, even offering praise, "They’re delicious."

Upon hearing this, Cailin and Shen Xiheng both leaned in to take a peek, obviously skeptical that these plainly-presented noodles could taste that good.

But longevity noodles are more about sentiment than flavor.

And since the Prince had spoken, they dared not say otherwise, each offering their compliments.

Qi Yu laughed and waved her hand dismissively, telling them, "All right, all right, anyone would think I’d made a full Manchu-Han Imperial Feast!"

After finishing breakfast, Shen Xiheng also presented his prepared birthday gift, a fan he had painted himself.

Qi Yu took it and saw it depicted a pond with lotuses—very seasonal.

She raised her eyebrows slightly and smiled, "As expected of the top scorer, nicely done."

Shen Xiheng smiled faintly, unmodestly accepting the praise, "Of course."

After toying with it for a while, Qi Yu then tossed the fan to Li Mingjue.

Shi Zhou gave a piece of jade, also purchased from Suiyu Pavilion.

After Qi Yu learned of this, she had the manager of Suiyu Pavilion send her a jade hairpin as well.

Cailin and Zhou Hong prepared gifts similar to the jewelry and jade they had given in previous years.

Gifts exchanged, they tactfully dispersed.

Li Mingjue, looking at the person playing with the jade jewelry, arched an eyebrow and asked, "What about the Princess’s gift?"

Qi Yu feigned annoyance as she furrowed her brows, telling him, "It seems I’ve left it behind at the residence."

Li Mingjue saw through her act immediately and let out a sardonic laugh, playing along, "No matter, it’s the same if I send it back after returning to the capital."

Qi Yu knew her terrible acting skills could never deceive him, so she smiled, took out a beautifully crafted small box from her space, and handed it to him, "Here, the gift is right here. Prince, why don’t you open it yourself and have a look."

Li Mingjue took it, his movements extremely gentle as he opened the box to reveal a silver thumb ring with a tender green jade embedded at the top.

Qi Yu took the thumb ring and slid it onto his finger.

She then took out another thumb ring from her space, identical in style but slightly smaller, and had him put it on her before she slowly said, "Where I come from, spouses put rings on each other’s ring fingers during the wedding. But since there’s no such custom here, I chose thumb rings, which also don’t look out of place."

As she spoke, she looked down at the thumb ring glistening in silver in her hand, her lips curving slightly.

This had been a birthday present she’d thought long and hard about, drawn a diagram for, and had asked the artisans at Suiyu Pavilion to make. freeweɓnovel~cѳm

Li Mingjue originally thought the thumb ring looked pretty, a nice piece of adornment, but when he understood the meaning behind it, he was suddenly taken aback.

He lowered his gaze to look at the thumb ring, feeling a warm current flow through his heart.

Seeing him with his head down and not speaking, looking a bit odd, Qi Yu probed, "You don’t like it, do you?"

Li Mingjue looked up at her, shaking his head slightly, "No, I’m just a bit surprised, that’s all."

Qi Yu felt there was more to his words but couldn’t figure it out, so she pretended to be easygoing, "What’s there to be surprised about? I can still afford to give a thumb ring."

Although the jade piece embedded in it was the treasured piece from Suiyu Pavilion, a priceless treasure gathering dust was better off being given as a gift.

If it could make the recipient happy, it was worth it.

And the ring itself had a special significance, making it a good token of commitment or reminder.

Li Mingjue said, "I’m not surprised at the value of the thumb ring, just that I didn’t expect you would give me such a present."

Qi Yu blinked, and after a moment of reflection, she finally realized.

Looking straight into Li Mingjue’s eyes, she spoke with extreme earnestness, "Prince, my heart has always been sincere with you, as clear as day!"

After uttering those words, her ears were a shade of crimson red.

It was indeed embarrassing for Qi Yu to say such cheesy words in broad daylight.

But some things, if not voiced, how would the other person know?

Love that relied on guesswork and feeling was bound to be elusive. If you care about someone, you must let them know.

Li Mingjue was once again stunned, and after a moment, he regained his composure and said to her, "I have never doubted..."

Before he could finish, Qi Yu interrupted him, "I know, although some things are clear without words, saying them out loud makes them even clearer, doesn’t it?"

Li Mingjue nodded slightly, a gentle smile spreading across his lips as he spoke in an incredibly tender voice, "Yes."

The two exchanged glances for a moment, then both shifted their eyes away, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Suddenly, Shiqi appeared, his expression grave as he said to them, "Prince, Princess, several figures have just surfaced in the water. It seems more assassins are coming!"

Hearing this, Qi Yu became infuriated.

The good atmosphere was ruined, and besides, today was Li Mingjue’s birthday.

She bit her teeth, her tone very annoyed, "Once we get to Qingzhou, I will hang that thousand-year-old bastard Li Ming’an up and display him at the city gates for three days and nights!"

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