The man looked at her with a mix of surprise and wonder, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he pressed his handsome face down and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I won’t investigate anything you don’t want to talk about," he said.
Upon hearing this, Li Qiao couldn’t help but chuckle silently.
She had thought of many possibilities and had almost believed that Myanmar’s security system was so tight even Shang Yu couldn’t penetrate it.
But that wasn’t the case.
Li Qiao took his hand and squeezed his fingers, sighing softly, "It’s not that I don’t want to say, I thought you knew.
The affairs of Myanmar, even if they can’t be told to others, you are different.
Coming to the British Imperial with the Tan Sri title was for the convenience of visa-free entry, not to intentionally hide it from you."
Having said this, she looked straight at Shang Yu with direct and open eyes.
The man’s gaze lowered to their intertwined fingers, his facial features growing softer.
In Myanmar, Tan Sri is an honorary title second only to Prince Guo, and to this day less than a hundred people within Myanmar have been bestowed with it.
It is limited to exceptional individuals who have made significant contributions within Myanmar or internationally, an honor one must truly earn.
His girl, at sixteen, had been awarded the Tan Sri title.
Shang Yu’s Adam’s apple moved erratically, emotion churning in the depths of his eyes.
He held her, feeling an indescribable sensation in his heart.
Because of her sixteen years, and also because of his own sixteen years.
The shift in the man’s emotions happened in an instant, silently falling into a state of suppressed turmoil.
The most obvious sign was the tightening grip of his arms and the sudden, stiff tenseness in his muscles.
Li Qiao, held tightly in his embrace, found it difficult to move.
With effort, she tilted her head back; the man in her line of sight had deep, lingering eyes that stared straight ahead unfocused.
Li Qiao blinked and wrapped her arms around his waist, her fingers tracing the lines of his back repetitively, "I went to the headquarters of the Medical Alliance this morning."
Her voice seemed to drift in from a great distance, winding gently into his ear.
Shang Yu’s pupils contracted sharply, and as he closed his eyes, he let out a slow breath, "How do you feel about it?"
His voice, carrying a hard-to-detect rasp and quiver.
"It’s good, the environment is nice, and the town’s scenery is also well-suited for research." Li Qiao’s effort to shift the topic appeared to have some effect.
At least, Shang Yu returned to normal, save for a hint of red at the bottom of his eyes—hardly any different from usual.
Li Qiao keenly sensed something amiss, was it the Tan Sri identity that triggered something in him, or did her explanation just now evoke some unpleasant memories?
After a while, Shang Yu’s expression gradually relaxed. He turned to meet her gaze, his fingertips lingering on her tender skin, seemingly reluctant to let go, "How long do you want to stay here?"
Li Qiao stared intently at him, repeatedly ensuring that he had emerged from that detached state before she spoke without reservation, "Not too long, just here to exchange for a few days.
I at least need to help Su Lao Si resolve the troublesome matters before heading back to the South Sea. If you need to go back earlier, I..."
"What troublesome matters?" Shang Yu’s eyes narrowed, he released her shoulders and leaned down to pick up a cigarette box from the table.
Li Qiao watched him take out a cigarette and leaned back in her chair, then recounted the bizarre demand from the capital investors for the Medical Alliance to relocate.
Then, in the midst of her calm narration, she rarely saw the usually composed and cold man drop the cigarette, which he hadn’t even lit, from his fingertips to the floor.
Li Qiao glanced at the cigarette on the floor and, in a flash of inspiration, squinted, asking with a half-smile, "Are you that surprised?"