There was no crowd of onlookers here, no elaborately arranged venue. No balloons, no roses, no candles, no lavish flowers.
Just the pouring rain across the sky, and her, and him.
Feng Ning watched Jiang Wen, stunned.
She let her playful smile fade, tilted her face up slightly, and said to him solemnly, “Jiang Wen, I’m ready.”
Jiang Wen took a long moment to come back to himself, steadying himself. His mouth opened, but his throat had gone dry. “This is…?”
“Can’t you tell?” Feng Ning tilted her head, thought about it for a second, then said with certainty, “I’m proposing to you.”
He paused for a long while before he understood what Feng Ning meant. “Proposing… to me?”
Jiang Wen looked a little lost, his cold black eyes seeming both joyful and disbelieving.
…
…
For a very, very long time, Jiang Wen had been enduring—enduring feelings he had no way to release. Sometimes he wondered why time passed so slowly, so slowly that countless nights of missing her had been spent in struggle. His days had seemed to stretch out with a foreseeable end, and he’d once thought that after all this devotion, all that would remain in the end was self-abasement and humiliation.
He had never imagined a day like this would come.
That there would come a day when Feng Ning would respond to all his feelings without reservation, passionately. When this moment finally arrived, Jiang Wen’s whole body seemed frozen in place, stiff where he stood, unable to say a single word.
Feng Ning looked at him, choking up, laughing and crying at once. “Let’s get married. You’ll be my family. We’ll get a dog together, have a baby, I’ll cook for you every day, and after we eat we’ll go hold hands and walk in the park, go buy fruit at the supermarket, eat hot pot together in winter, go for a drive together in summer. Give me a home—will you?”
In the violent downpour, on the empty street, Jiang Wen pulled her into his arms.
After a long moment, he answered, “Okay.”
Meeting Jiang Wen’s family happened two months later; Feng Ning specifically arranged a week off work for it.
There were two visits altogether—first a meal together, then a formal, official visit to the family home.
Old Master Jiang, though his hair had gone completely white, showed no hint of slackened composure. Though he remained sharp-minded and looked stern, his tone when talking with Feng Ning was unexpectedly gentle. It was probably because Jiang Wen had given him advance notice—when Jiang Wen’s parents made small talk with Feng Ning, they didn’t press her too hard about anything. They didn’t even ask about her family situation or who was in her family, only chatting casually about her job and everyday hobbies.
She’d already mentally prepared herself, but the cold reception she’d expected never materialized, and the tension in Feng Ning eased somewhat.
She was likeable by nature to begin with, with a good personality too, and after just a few exchanges, she had all the elders in a good mood.
Old Master Zhao, in good spirits, had Feng Ning play a few rounds of chess with him, while Jiang Wen stayed glued to her side the whole time, clearly guarding her.
Others found it amusing to watch. Jiang Yuyun, passing by, glanced over a few times and couldn’t resist teasing, “Jiang Wen, who brings their girlfriend home and is more nervous than she is?”
Jiang Yurou joined in too. “Brother’s definitely scared sister-in-law will run off! Brother’s been single for so long, finally found such a pretty and adorable sister-in-law—of course he’d be nervous!”
Their playful banter had everyone else laughing.
The housekeeping aunt nearby chattered on. “It’s lively this year, little Wen’s finally brought someone home. At New Year’s it’ll be nice and full, everyone reunited—hopefully next year there’ll be one more person too.”
After dinner that evening, when they were leaving, Jiang Yuyun pulled Feng Ning aside at the door for a chat.
Jiang Wen stood with his hands in his pockets, watching them from a short distance away.
On the drive back, he asked, feigning casualness while driving, “What did my sister say to you just now?”
Feng Ning’s eyes crinkled with a smile, and she said very seriously, “…Sister said you have to let me have my way from now on. If you dare bully me, go straight to her about it. She also said, sure, you’re a bit better looking, but you’re very loyal, haven’t caused any trouble all these years—told me not to worry about you fooling around out there.”
After a quiet moment, she asked half-seriously, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Saying what?”
“If you dare bully me, I’ll go find your sister, got it?”
Having said that, Feng Ning burst out laughing on her own.
Jiang Wen said lightly, “My sister got it backwards.”
“Hm, what?”
Up ahead, a red light. The car stopped, and Jiang Wen turned his head. “How could I ever dare bully you.”
“?”
He kept the same flat tone. “The one who needs to worry about the other fooling around isn’t you—it’s me.”
Feng Ning’s lips curved up slightly. “Don’t worry about that. I won’t ever wrong you. And if I ever do wrong you…”
Jiang Wen glanced at her. Feng Ning sat up straight and finished her sentence: “There’s nothing you could do about it anyway!”
Jiang Wen: “……”
The next day was their scheduled wedding photo shoot.
The southern city had a clear sky, beautiful weather, with the occasional breeze.
While shooting the outdoor scenes, in the car, a few of the staff chatted idly. One young woman sighed enviously, “It’s been ages since I’ve seen a couple this good-looking, and high school classmates too—how did you two even get together?”
The makeup artist was touching up Feng Ning’s makeup. Eyes closed, she answered with a smile, “He was so aloof and cold, I shamelessly chased him for ages before I finally landed him.”
Hearing this, the young woman secretly glanced at the man sitting nearby.
He wore a white shirt, his air cold and sharp—not the kind of androgynous pretty-boy look, but a handsomeness with real masculine presence, handsome yet also carrying something unapproachable, enough to make a young woman’s heart pound just from looking at him a couple extra times. He sat there, and no one dared strike up a conversation with him.
While everyone chatted, Jiang Wen, holding a bottle of mineral water, pressed it against Feng Ning’s neck.
She’d been talking with someone else and gave a startled shiver from the cold. “What are you doing?!”
Seeing her flare up in a little temper, the corners of Jiang Wen’s mouth curved with a hint of tenderness as he twisted the cap open and held it to her lips. “Thirsty? Have some water.”
The two of them carried on as if no one else were around, showing off their affection and leaving a crowd of singles in envy once again.
…
…
The outdoor shoot moved through several locations. Past noon, the sunlight grew fierce, and the whole crew was drenched in sweat.
The last stop was Qide High School.
It happened to be during a school break, so there were few people around campus.
After finishing a set of photos on the sports field, Feng Ning said she needed to use the restroom. Jiang Wen went ahead with the staff to wait near the classrooms.
Several years had passed, but the freshman-year classroom building still looked just the same—the hallways, the stairwells, the classrooms, the desks and textbooks, the tall, lush trees below. All of it a familiar scene.
Jiang Wen looked around for a moment, then his gaze shifted elsewhere and suddenly stopped.
Amid the bustle of voices, Feng Ning stood with narrowed eyes, arms crossed, leaning against the railing, watching him—for who knew how long.
Not far off, a few people were still setting up the shoot location. She was wearing Qide’s blue-and-white school uniform, a knee-length pleated skirt.
The two of them gazed at each other quietly. Just a few seconds, then Feng Ning walked over, step by step, right up to Jiang Wen.
It was as if they’d traveled back ten years, to this very place, where they’d first met.
Feng Ning extended her hand. “Hello, classmate, I’m Feng Ning—Feng as in ‘meeting too late,’ Ning as in peace.”
Jiang Wen looked at her features and said, “Ning as in ‘not letting even a dog rest in peace.'”
Feng Ning laughed brightly. “Nice to meet you.”
…
…
—If we could start over, would you still want to know me?
—Yes.
Their story was a simple one.
It began in the height of one summer.
And now summer was coming to an end.
I’ve taken apart all of my gentleness. Nine parts I leave for the future. One part I keep hidden away, left behind at sixteen.
Left for that summer, in the southern city under a torrential downpour.
—The day I met you.