Chapter 129: The End

Jiang Yunzhou called him a rogue and hung up the phone.

Shen Tingxiao felt wronged and bombarded her with messages.

[Zhouzhou, I wasn't thinking of anything; it was all you.]
[But Zhouzhou, once I get back, can I?]

His inner "old rogue" nature could not have been more obvious.

Jiang Yunzhou didn't reply to his messages, but she switched over to an online shop and bought a few boxes of condoms, just in case.

A week later, Shen Tingxiao finally returned from his business trip. After handing over his work, the first thing he did was go to the company to find Jiang Yunzhou. A group of people followed behind him, placing the high-fashion items he had bought one by one in front of her.

"I brought these for you," Shen Tingxiao said, sitting on the sofa with an air of nonchalance. "There’s more on the way."

Jiang Yunzhou was dazzled by the diamond jewelry and necklaces before her. She couldn't hold back anymore. "Shen Tingxiao, what do you think this place is? A jewelry store? And there’s so much of this! Even if I had three heads and six arms, I couldn't wear it all!"

"Then take it home and display it," Shen Tingxiao said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Jiang Yunzhou sighed helplessly. "Take it back."

Shen Tingxiao waved his hand, and the group filed out. He walked over to Jiang Yunzhou and suddenly knelt on one knee.

Jiang Yunzhou’s typing came to a halt. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she looked at him nervously. "What are you doing?"

"Zhouzhou." Shen Tingxiao pulled a ring box out as if by magic. He opened it to reveal a sapphire ring. "Marry me, will you?"

Jiang Yunzhou looked at the ring, then back at him. "Isn't the order wrong? We haven't even dated yet."

"Get married first, then date," Shen Tingxiao had already thought it through. "During this trip, I felt that no matter what, I wanted to marry you first and settle things, then slowly date after marriage. That way, we can keep dating and always feel fresh to each other for the rest of our lives."

"Do you think this is a vegetable market?" Jiang Yunzhou couldn't help but laugh.

Shen Tingxiao’s eyes sparkled. He remained in his low posture, looking up at her. "So, is it a yes?"

After a brief silence, Jiang Yunzhou slowly extended her hand. Just as Shen Tingxiao grabbed her hand and was about to slide the ring on, he suddenly pulled back.

"Wait a second!" Jiang Yunzhou said suddenly.

Shen Tingxiao immediately asked, "What is it?"

"Isn't this too rushed?" Jiang Yunzhou felt a bit conflicted. "Isn't it a bit too early to enter into marriage?"

Shen Tingxiao understood her value better than she did herself. He grabbed her wrist firmly. "Not early at all! It's just right!"

He slid the ring onto Jiang Yunzhou’s finger.

***

Jiang Yunzhou’s emotions were complex—excited, yet dazed, with a hint of trepidation. "So when are we holding the wedding?" she asked, covering the ring on her hand.

Shen Tingxiao stood up and scooped her into his arms. "We'll get the marriage license first, then decide on a venue and look at wedding dresses. Don't worry, I’ve already prepared everything."

Jiang Yunzhou felt dizzy from his enthusiasm, but a smile played on her lips. "Okay, everything is fine."

Although the proposal was simple, only the two of them knew how difficult it had been to reach this point. That very day, Shen Tingxiao couldn't wait to get their marriage license. The following week was even busier. Shen Tingxiao had someone check the calendar; there was an auspicious date in half a month, but that left them with little time to prepare for the wedding.

The two of them were spinning in circles, trying to finish their work ahead of time to clear that day. In the gaps of their busy schedules, they had to squeeze in wedding dress fittings and a photo shoot. When life gets busy, time seems to fly, and they both wished a day had thirty-six hours. After a week of hard work, both Shen Tingxiao and Jiang Yunzhou had clearly lost weight.

Finally, they managed to squeeze in the photoshoot, and next was scouting the venue. Shen Tingxiao came to pick Jiang Yunzhou up to see the wedding site. She was so tired she fell asleep in the passenger seat. When she woke up, Shen Tingxiao was leaning against the car door, smoking.

She rubbed her eyes and pushed the car door open. Before her lay a beach, with countless lanterns hanging in the sky.

"Awake?" Shen Tingxiao turned to look at her, took off his coat, and draped it over her shoulders. "It's so beautiful here."

"Are we holding it here?" Jiang Yunzhou was still groggy from exhaustion and sighed. "This period has been so busy, I almost don't want to get married anymore."

"Absolutely not!" Shen Tingxiao immediately refused.

Jiang Yunzhou kicked him in the calf. "Annoying! I was just venting."

Shen Tingxiao grabbed her waist, pulled her into his arms, and rested his chin on her shoulder. He whispered, "It took so much effort for me to chase you down and finally get you to agree to marry me. How could we possibly call it off?"

"You didn't really try that hard to chase me..." Jiang Yunzhou thought he was flattering himself too much.

Shen Tingxiao held her tighter. "How was it not long? From the moment we met, I was already chasing you; you just didn't know it."

Jiang Yunzhou thought back to that time and suddenly laughed. "You were so cold back then; I didn't even dare to get close to you."

"My fault," Shen Tingxiao took her hand. "I was afraid that if I were too enthusiastic, you’d think I was crazy."

Jiang Yunzhou: "...Now I think you really are quite crazy."

Shen Tingxiao didn't mind. "You are my medicine; we are a perfect match."

"My god." Jiang Yunzhou didn't want to play along anymore. "Shen Tingxiao, go see a doctor, just go!"

***

"Having you is enough; I’m not going." Shen Tingxiao clung to her, acting clingy and affectionate.

The two only had one day of rest before throwing themselves back into the non-stop preparations. Half a month later, they finally managed to coordinate everything.

On the day of the wedding, a motorcade of dozens of luxury cars circled the city, tossing out candies along the way. When the time came, Shen Tingxiao carried Jiang Yunzhou out of the car, and they entered the hotel. Jiang Yunzhou stopped at the entrance while Shen Tingxiao went in first.

When the emcee announced the start of the wedding and invited the bride, the grand doors swung open. Jiang Yunzhou walked toward Shen Tingxiao step by step. As the distance between them closed, Jiang Yunzhou’s eyes suddenly reddened. Past events flashed through her mind.

No one knew how much they had endured to reach this point. She gripped his hand tightly and blinked.

The emcee was about to say something, but Shen Tingxiao cut him off. "I want to kiss my bride now." He cupped her face and kissed her directly.

Jiang Yunzhou closed her eyes and fell into the deep kiss. The emcee smiled helplessly.

After the deep kiss ended, they exchanged rings. Then came the toast-offering segment. But when it came time for that, everyone realized the bride and groom were gone.

Shen Tingxiao, still in his black tuxedo, gripped Jiang Yunzhou’s hand and ran out of the hotel with her. Once in the car, Shen Tingxiao looked at his runaway bride in her wedding dress and said with a smile, "How about I take you wandering?"

"Okay!"

Together, for a lifetime, never to be parted.

The End.