This restaurant has a pleasant atmosphere.
There is a live band providing accompaniment.
Amid the flowing music, people relax and enjoy their meals with ease.
Ran Keqing kept glancing over frequently, somewhat spoiling the mood… but overall, the good outweighed the bad.
Conveniently, there was a small vase on the table with a single tuberose inserted in it.
Though not a rose, it was better than nothing. Certainly better than no flowers at all.
Last night, Xie Qian had not allowed Wen Ying to flirt and then flee. He insisted on making her say “I like you” again. Tonight, it was Wen Ying’s turn to turn passive into active, determined to clarify their relationship.
This was very much like Wen Ying!
Xie Qian smiled. “You were not this competitive before.”
Wen Ying’s eyes widened in mock glare.
Xie Qian lowered his head and took out a small black velvet box from his pocket. “I have carried this gift with me every day. If not for that accident, it would have belonged to you long ago… Sister Jiang wanted to give it to you, but you said it had to be delivered by me personally. Now, are you willing to accept it?”
When Xie Qian took out the box, Ran Keqing at the next table could not sit still.
What was inside the box?
Xie Qian, could he be planning to propose tonight?
He must be mad. Truly mad!
Ran Keqing shifted, but President Zhang grabbed her. “Xiao Qing, behaving like this is very impolite. I have known your father for many years. I cannot watch you embarrass him like this.”
“Uncle Zhang, I did not… Sorry, I lost my composure.”
Ran Keqing sat back down dejectedly.
Even if Xie Qian were really proposing, what did it have to do with her?
Just like no matter how high the Xie family’s threshold, whether that fish could cross it was not for her to decide.
Ran Keqing stared fixedly in the direction of Wen Ying and Xie Qian. Perhaps heaven heard her prayers. When Wen Ying opened the black velvet gift box, inside was not a ring.
It was a brooch inlaid with pink diamonds.
Two early spring cherry blossoms intertwined and interlocked. The brooch could also be separated to be worn as earrings.
Seeing Wen Ying take out the item from the box, Ran Keqing’s heart, which had risen to her throat, settled back down. It was not a ring!
Of course it would not be a ring.
Wen Ying had known what was in the box all along.
She had seen this gift before.
Jiang Youjia said Xie Qian had designed it himself. From sketching the design to receiving the finished piece, it took a full half year. Adding the nearly half year delayed by Xie Qian’s car accident, this gift had waited a whole year to reach Wen Ying’s hands.
“It is very beautiful.”
Wen Ying’s eyes sparkled. “I really like it.”
Mere words were not enough to express how much she liked it. Fortunately, tonight she was wearing the coat Zou Weijun had bought from abroad. Wen Ying directly pinned the cherry blossom brooch on.
The brooch’s style was very elegant, matching any outfit without clashing. It was eye-catching yet not overpowering, never letting others focus only on the brooch and overlook Wen Ying herself.
Jewellery, after all, exists to enhance the wearer’s radiance!
Xie Qian was very satisfied. It did not matter that the design drafts had been revised several times. The final effect was acceptable. For the perfectionist Xie Qian, this brooch could barely score 90 points. Because of Wen Ying’s liking, it gained a few bonus points.
Out of 100, he would reluctantly give it 99.
Anything below 99 did not deserve to be given to the hamster!
People below 99 did not deserve to interact with the hamster either, like the Miss Ran at the next table.
Strangely, when Ran Keqing stopped contacting him after hearing about his disability, Xie Qian was not angry at all. But when Ran Keqing looked at Wen Ying with disdain earlier, Xie Qian was truly upset.
In front of Wen Ying, Xie Qian maintained his grace and did not say anything too harsh.
In his heart, calling Ran Keqing disconnected from the industry was already very polite. What he really wanted to say was that Ran Keqing was an “illiterate in measurements”!
In this day and age, those who recognise the characters for “wen mang” (illiterate) are the truly illiterate. Those who misread “wen mang” as “zhang yu” are absolutely the real illiterates.
Ran Keqing had not even heard Wen Ying’s name?
This young lady did not seem very bright!
Xie Qian admired the effect of the cherry blossom brooch worn on Wen Ying, then looked directly into her eyes. “This is the gift I want to give to my girlfriend. Once you accept it, you cannot go back on your word. If you regret it, there are many witnesses in this restaurant!”
Pfft.
A confession cannot be taken back, and confirming a relationship cannot be regretted either?
Wen Ying was amused and annoyed by Xie Qian. “In your heart, am I the kind of person who goes back on her word?”
Xie Qian shook his head. “In my heart, your word is worth a thousand gold. It is not that I do not trust you. I just occasionally feel insecure. Some people can start dating smoothly after knowing each other for three days, yet we have known each other for over three years and only now, with such difficulty, have we come together… If possible, I would even be willing to sign a dating contract with you: black on white, stamped in red, to ensure we are truly boyfriend and girlfriend.”
From the summer of 2004 to the end of 2007.
A full three and a half years.
From friends to lovers.
From confession to accident.
Xie Qian had no memories of a past life. He just vaguely felt that starting a relationship with Wen Ying seemed harder for them than for others?
Xie Qian looked at Wen Ying very seriously. He no longer wanted to bear even the slightest risk of losing her.
Wen Ying found it amusing, yet a touch bittersweet.
A dating contract, in black and white.
This was truly something only a science top student, the ultimate straight man Xie, could come up with.
Signing a contract on the spot was definitely out of the question. Ran Keqing was still watching.
If Miss Ran could not keep up and thought she and Xie Qian were playing some “contract romance”, then self-importantly tried to interfere… Wen Ying was not afraid of Ran Keqing, but she did not want to unnecessarily complicate her own relationship!
The ultimate straight woman Wen thought seriously for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “A dating contract is too formal. How about we pinky swear instead, or simply hook fingers and hang ourselves for a hundred years, no changing allowed?”
The waiter standing beside the table pouring water nearly could not hold the kettle steady upon hearing this.
Is this possible?
You two look so good, seem so well-matched. Do you really need to be this childish to start dating?
No, even primary school kids would not be this childish!
The waiter inwardly complained wildly, wishing to press their heads together and make these two who did not know how to date kiss right there.
Unexpectedly, Xie Qian thought about it and actually extended his hand.
“I choose the pinky promise.”
High-fiving felt less romantic, more like brothers swearing loyalty!
Xie Qian decisively chose the latter.
Wen Ying also thought the pinky promise was good.
Both reached out at the same time, hooking their little fingers together.
“Xie Qian is my boyfriend.”
“Wen Ying is my girlfriend.”
“Pinky swear, hang ourselves for a hundred years, no changing allowed!”
Little fingers hooked, then thumbs gently pressed together.
The waiter was dumbfounded.
Ran Keqing was pretty much the same.
Ran Keqing was utterly bewildered. She turned to President Zhang and said, “Xie Qian was not like this before. Now I suspect the car accident really left him with serious after-effects.”
Xie Qian’s after-effects were not in whether he could walk, but as if something was wrong with his brain!
Xie Qian thought Ran Keqing was an “illiterate in measurements”. Ran Keqing likewise thought Xie Qian had become an idiot, completely losing the elite aura from their previous meetings!
