Feng Ning suddenly laughed.
Her forehead pressed against his shoulder, but her vision was growing more and more blurred.
When she was little, Feng Ning’s dream had simply been to grow up quickly, get a job, earn money, and buy her mother a big house to live in. Even though life was hard, she had always worked hard, always struggled to climb upward, never once thinking of giving up no matter what she encountered. Later, Qi Lan passed away, and she developed depression. She didn’t know why, but her days grew worse and worse, as if nothing held any meaning anymore. Back then, all she could think was: get through one day at a time.
The long-standing avoidance, the loneliness, the awkwardness and helplessness of being seen through—day after day, these things had pressed down on her heart until it ached, like a worry sunk deep in the ocean. But now, it was as if a slit had suddenly been cut open, and a beam of light shone through.
…
Feng Ning, I used to be someone with very high pride too.
But right now, I want so badly to beg you.
…Just these two simple sentences seemed to unlock some barrier, laying bare before Feng Ning all of Jiang Wen’s past, helpless affection.
Her heart ached, both sour and sore.
Her nose stung too.
At such a sentimental moment, Feng Ning hid the turmoil inside her, wrapped both hands around Jiang Wen’s head, and shook it hard. “Are you an idiot or something?”
Looking at her face streaked with tears, Jiang Wen lowered his head and kissed her eyes. “If I were smarter, could you have fooled me so many times?”
“Good thing you’re not smart.”
Feng Ning, having survived the ordeal, hooked her arms around his neck and kissed him back. “Otherwise, where would I find such a huge bargain to pick up.”
After a whole night of emotional highs and lows, a cold wind blew and calmed things down. Pulling herself out of the emotion of a moment ago, Feng Ning spared some attention and noticed what Jiang Wen was wearing.
He had on only a shirt and a sweater—he’d given her his coat.
She tugged him toward the house. She pulled, but he didn’t budge. Feng Ning turned her head. “Let’s go inside first.”
Jiang Wen stood stubbornly where he was.
Following his gaze, she saw the ring again.
She’d been so busy crying a moment ago that she’d forgotten all about it. Feng Ning held her breath and stood dazed for a while. She hesitated slightly. “This proposal of yours… isn’t it a little too sudden?”
“Sudden?”
“You scared me.”
“I thought you wanted to dump me again.”
“That’s not right.” Feng Ning corrected him. “When did I ever dump you? Wasn’t it you who dumped me last time?”
“I’m sorry.” Jiang Wen apologized very earnestly. “Breaking up with you is the decision I’ve regretted most in my whole life.”
Feng Ning patted his shoulder, about to say something comforting.
“I hope you never bring it up again.”
“Why?”
He paused for a few seconds, then turned his head away. “It hurts to think about it.”
Seeing him like this—a little fragile, a little uneasy, and inexplicably endearing—made Feng Ning’s heart go soft, while at the same time making her want to tease him mercilessly.
“Aren’t you afraid you’ll regret it once you sober up?”
“I’m not afraid.”
Feng Ning showed a hint of a smile, then sighed and held out her hand. “Then come on.”
Jiang Wen asked quietly, “What about you—are you afraid of regretting it?”
Feng Ning tilted her head. “Honestly, a little.”
“Being afraid won’t help.”
Jiang Wen grabbed her hand, lined the ring up with her ring finger, and pushed it on, locking it firmly in place. “If you regret it, then spend the rest of your life regretting it.”
Neither of them could bear to sleep. They just stayed like this, embracing and kissing like conjoined twins. They did nothing at all, just quietly stayed together, talking on and off, yet feeling a warmth and sense of security they’d never felt before.
He suddenly spoke up. “Where’s your household registration booklet?”
Feng Ning lifted her face and stared at him.
Jiang Wen wore a deliberately composed expression.
Feng Ning couldn’t help laughing. “What good is a household registration booklet right now? The Civil Affairs Bureau doesn’t open until after the seventh day of the new year—don’t you have any common sense?”
Before they knew it, the first light of dawn had crept in outside. Feng Ning spoke softly beside Jiang Wen’s ear. “Jiang Wen, I have a wish.”
“What is it?”
“I hope that from now on, the two of us can work hard together. Feng Ning wants to be full of energy again, radiant. Jiang Wen quits smoking, quits drinking, and lives a good life.”
Jiang Wen felt her warm breath against him. He was silent for a long time, then reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist and said, “Okay.”
The two of them didn’t wake until the afternoon.
Jiang Wen’s phone had over a dozen missed calls, all from Zhao Binlin.
The moment he called back, the other side picked up almost instantly.
“Damn you, you bastard, you finally answered. I thought you’d blocked me. What the hell were you doing that you didn’t check your phone for this long?”
Jiang Wen glanced at Feng Ning, who was still sleeping, lifted the covers, and got out of bed. “I just woke up. What do you need?”
“Come out for dinner tonight—a whole bunch of people. So, are you coming or not?”
“Depends.”
Zhao Binlin cursed. “It’s the New Year holiday, what could you possibly have going on! Why is it so hard to get a meal with you? Harder to book than Warren Buffett?!”
Feng Ning was a light sleeper to begin with. The moment Jiang Wen moved, she woke up.
He leaned against the doorway outside, talking on the phone for a while. She rubbed her eyes, sat up in bed, and called out, “Jiang Wen?”
Her voice came out.
Both sides went silent at once.
Hearing it was a woman’s voice, Zhao Binlin instantly flew into a rage, cursing nonstop for two straight minutes on the other end of the line.
Jiang Wen, for his part, listened it all out very patiently.
He was in a good mood right now and didn’t care to argue.
After he hung up, Jiang Wen pushed the door open and went in, crouching halfway beside the bed. “Did I wake you?”
“No, I’d slept enough.” Feng Ning blinked lazily. “What’s going on? Someone needs you for something?”
Jiang Wen said, “Zhao Binlin. They want to have a meal with you—want to go?”
Feng Ning thought about it. “Sure.”
After last night, the atmosphere between the two of them had clearly changed. Exactly how, she couldn’t quite say.
Still, Feng Ning finally understood some of Min Yueyue’s exaggerated behavior from before.
She herself had now turned into the kind of sickly-sweet woman who used even the few dozen seconds waiting at a red light to hold hands with her boyfriend.
The restaurant was about a thirty-minute drive from Feng Ning’s home. Jiang Wen managed to stretch that stretch of road into a full hour.
This time, several of their childhood friends had come too—about five or six people.
Once they arrived, a server led them upstairs to the second floor, knocked on the private room door, and pushed it open.
Inside, it was noisy and lively. The moment Feng Ning and Jiang Wen appeared hand in hand, the room fell silent for a few seconds.
Xi Gaoyuan and Zhao Binlin exchanged a knowing look. A few others who weren’t in on it just stared, eyes wide.
Facing his familiar group of friends, Jiang Wen said calmly, “Let me introduce—” Zhao Binlin stood up from his seat, waving impatiently. “Introduce what, my ass.”
He walked right past Jiang Wen to greet Feng Ning instead. “Sister Ning, right this way, please.”
Jiang Wen grabbed Feng Ning’s wrist, refusing to let her go.
Seeing others flaunt their love made his eyes hurt, and Xi Gaoyuan lost his patience too, shouting, “All right, no need to introduce her, we all know she’s your girlfriend, no need to keep showing off.”
Jiang Wen glanced at him flatly. “I want to introduce her.”
Xi Gaoyuan: “…”
Zhao Binlin stumbled for a second. “Fine, fine, go ahead and introduce her.”
“This is Feng Ning, my high school classmate.”
Feng Ning played along, raising her hand with Jiang Wen, her eyes curving into a smile as she greeted them. “Hello, everyone.”
Even though everyone present already knew, they still tactfully played along and applauded. “Pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you, sister-in-law.”
“Right now, she…” Jiang Wen paused, then said something startling, “is my fiancée.”