The present paper approaches the usage of non-literal expression (NLE)with the theory of correlation between emotion and circumstance (TCBEC). TCBEC, serving as a general principle and paradigm in language use, is a pragmatic theory that deals with the expression and interpretation of linguistic speech, reflecting the general psychological process in language use. TCBEC, having inherited the Chinese tradition of using language through emotion-circumstance correlation, is a linguistic theory which considers that the speech meaning comes from this correlation in the process of expounding the relation between emotion and circumstance. In a word, TCBEC, relying on the cognitive principle of mutual interplay of the cognitive agent and the circumstance, takes as the main part the emotion of the speaker, and takes the manner of feeling indebted as if the sensation were felt in person on the part of the hearer agent, making the meaning of the speech flow from one agent to another. This is the way in which people establish their emotional connection through speech. As to the semantic realization of NLE, more attention should be paid to the comparison between the entity involved in the non-literal expression and the original entity on this basis.