“Um… Brother Jiang…” She tried to pull her hand back, but Jiang Chenjun gripped it tightly.
"Really?" Jiang Chenjun smiled slightly, his stunningly handsome smile blooming perfectly before her. "So, you like me?"
"Huh? This... I..." Attracted by his smile, Cheng Yongxin was completely stunned and had no idea how to react.
"Actually, I've always regretted not realizing my true feelings..." Jiang Chenjun's face was filled with a sorrowful and lonely expression, almost causing him to burst into tears as he tried to suppress his laughter.
"Wh-what?" Cheng Yongxin was a little dizzy, her mind was a bit muddled.
"Singing of the Heart..."
He suddenly called her by her name, which made her tremble involuntarily.
"Brother Jiang..." Cheng Yongxin pursed her lips, her mind only focused on how to pull her hand away from his grasp and break the ambiguous situation.
He noticed her subtle movements, but how could he let her succeed at such a crucial moment? Jiang Chenjun deliberately pretended not to notice, instead tightening his grip on her hand, his slender fingers intertwining with Cheng Yongxin's, placing it against his chest. "Yongxin—"
Will you marry me?
bitter
"well……"
A long sigh.
Su Ying and Fang Yu, who were engrossed in their work, subconsciously looked up and saw Cheng Yongxin slumped on the table, her eyes glazed over, looking half-dead, completely unlike her former energetic self.
"Yong-xin—please, can't you even focus on your work?!" Fang Yu, who had been tormented by Cheng Yongxin's endless sighs all morning, was finally at her wit's end. She didn't know what had gotten into Cheng Yongxin lately. A while ago, she was running around to the South Exhibition Center all day, only to come back looking completely lost. These past few days, she hadn't gone anywhere, spending all her time in the student council office either spacing out or sighing, looking utterly absent-minded. She herself was fine, but it was tough on those around her, who were suffering along with her, forced to listen to her lamentations every day. It was simply unbearable!
"I am working hard—" Cheng Yongxin lazily propped her chin up, looking listless.
"Please! If that's what you call working diligently, I'll change my surname to yours immediately!" She didn't even look at the mountain of documents and materials piled up on her desk. This was supposed to be "working diligently"?
"The school anniversary celebration starts the day after tomorrow, can you be serious for once?"
The day after tomorrow is the day when Youluo and Nanzhan jointly hold their school anniversary celebrations. For this reason, the gates of both schools will no longer restrict entry for the next two days, in order to facilitate the final preparations of the two schools. During the three days of the anniversary celebrations, Youluo and Nanzhan will open their gates wide to welcome people from all walks of life to visit the two schools and participate in various activities of the anniversary celebrations. Therefore, the student council members of both schools are almost working themselves to the bone for the opening ceremony the day after tomorrow, all in order to do it perfectly and strive for excellence. The only one who is lazy is President Cheng Yongxin.
"I'm not in the mood," Cheng Yongxin said indifferently, shifting her position and continuing to slump on the table in a daze.
It's been... four days since Brother Jiang proposed to her, hasn't it?
“Of course, I’m not asking you to marry me right now.” Jiang Chenjun smiled slightly as he looked at her. “What I mean is, let’s wait two years, until you turn twenty, before we officially register our marriage and hold a meeting. For now, we can get engaged first.”
She stared at him blankly, hardly believing her ears.
Is this... really true?
The prince she thought was so far away actually walked towards her. This thing that could only happen in fairy tales actually happened in her life. How could she believe it?
"But, Brother Jiang, you, you suddenly said that... then, that me, I—?" Looking into his eyes, which were as deep as the blue sea, she struggled to speak, her tongue tied in knots.
“I know it’s a bit difficult to ask you to answer right now.” Jiang Chenjun chuckled, his clear eyes crinkling with laughter. “You can consider it first… However, if my partner is Yongxin, I think not only my family, but also Yongxin’s family would approve and be satisfied.”
That day, she stared blankly at Jiang Chenjun. Later, she made up a random excuse and stammered as she left the Jiang family home. Even now, after so much time has passed, she is still in a daze.
Brother Jiang... he actually said he wanted to marry her?
If he hadn't said it himself, she would have thought she was having a sudden dream. Although she had long considered marrying him as her ultimate goal, this happiness came too suddenly, it was simply too dreamlike, and hard to believe.
She really should be happy, after all, her long-held wish had come true... But why didn't she feel any joy or happiness? Besides shock and bewilderment, she felt nothing else. Why... why wasn't she happy? She had thought she would be overjoyed, but why couldn't she feel any happiness at all, not even the slightest bit of joy...?
"Xiaoying, please ask the teacher for leave for me. Tell her I'm not feeling well today and need to leave early."
"Huh? Oh, Yongxin..."
Before Su Ying could call out to her, Cheng Yongxin's figure had already disappeared at the office door.
"Oh dear, she's still so impatient." With her hands behind her head, Fang Yu said lazily, "She never listens to what others have to say, really."
Su Ying sighed and turned to look at her friend.
"So, does Yongxin know that she and Jiang Haozhe will be the ones to start the dance at the closing ceremony ball?"
Why? How is this possible?
Lying on her pillow, Cheng Yongxin kept asking herself these questions.
She clearly liked Brother Jiang so much; he was an imprint on her heart since childhood, her aspiration, and the driving force and source of all her efforts... Why, why couldn't she feel even a little bit of happiness? Her heart felt heavy, as if a lead stone was pressing on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.
"Sing, Heart—"
The door was suddenly pushed open, revealing Guan Xinyi's beaming face.
"Mom?" Cheng Yongxin stared blankly at Guan Xinyi, not understanding why her mother was suddenly smiling so happily... and with ill intent.
"Ta-da!" Guan Xinyi stretched out her hand, and as if by magic, a white dress appeared in her hand.
"Mom? What are you doing?" Looking at her mother, who resembled a clown in a circus, Cheng Yongxin stared at her in bewilderment, as if the person in front of her was not her mother whom she had been with day and night for seventeen years, but a complete stranger.
"Oh dear, of course this is for you! Come on, try it on!" Guan Xinyi grabbed her daughter's hand and handed her the little dress with a smile.
Although she didn't understand what had happened, Cheng Yongxin obediently changed into the new clothes.
"Tsk tsk, no wonder she's my daughter, she looks good in anything!" Guan Xinyi exclaimed enthusiastically, her eyes shining brightly, as if the person standing in front of her wasn't her daughter whom she had watched for seventeen years, but an idol star who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Cheng Yongxin said irritably, tugging at the long hem of her dress. Although she did like wearing new clothes, didn't her mother know that she hated wearing clothes with lots of bows and lace? The dress was heavy, not to mention it was inconvenient to move around in. This outfit was so elaborate that even a bride's dress wasn't this complicated.
"Oh my, isn't it beautiful? What else could you possibly want? Besides, it was sent by my favorite brother Jiang. Don't you want it?" Guan Xinyi's eyes crinkled with laughter, her face beaming with joy.
As her mother, she knew her daughter's personality better than anyone. Given Yongxin's infatuation with Xiaochen, even if Xiaochen gave her a rag, she would still try her best to wear it.
"Brother Jiang?" Cheng Yongxin was taken aback. "Brother Jiang...why did he suddenly want to give me clothes?"
Although Brother Jiang had given her dolls and chocolates, he had never given her clothes, especially not such an elaborate dress—
"Oh dear, you little rascal, you're still trying to hide this from us!" Guan Xinyi lightly poked Cheng Yongxin's forehead with her finger, her smile full of meaning. "Didn't your beloved Brother Jiang propose to you? Of course, you'd need to make new clothes for your engagement, what's the big deal?"
Huh? What?! Cheng Yongxin was stunned.
"No, no, I... I haven't agreed yet!" Cheng Yongxin said anxiously. Brother Jiang did say that, but she hadn't even answered yet. Why was this happening—
"That's why I said you were trying to hide it from us!" Guan Xinyi said smugly. "The next day, Xiao Chen came to our house and told me everything, so your mother personally agreed on your behalf!"
What?! Cheng Yongxin's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and her clothes suddenly felt like they were covered in thorns, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Mom! How could you do this! You didn't even ask for my opinion!"
"Ask your opinion? Do I need to ask your opinion for this?" Guan Xinyi said with a smile, assuming that her daughter was just being shy and not admitting it. "Mom knows you well, so I don't want you to miss out on your happiness because of shyness. For your happiness, Mom agreed on your behalf first. You are indeed my daughter. Once you make up your mind, you can get what you want. Now your wish has come true. How about it? Aren't you happy?"
"But...but I..."
"There's no 'but' about it. We've already printed and sent out the wedding invitations. Next weekend is your engagement ceremony with Xiaochen. Oh, you don't need to be shy anymore, everyone knows anyway!" With a smile, Guan Xinyi patted Cheng Yongxin's shoulder and happily stepped out the door.
Next weekend is going to be exciting! Guan Xinyi smiled happily.
Inside the room, Cheng Yongxin was still in shock.
The dress has arrived, the invitations have been printed and sent out... Doesn't that mean she's now on the verge of taking action? The progress of events leaves her no room to back down. The Cheng family is such a prominent family in the city's social circles, how could they possibly break their word and go back on their promise?
She might be willing to lose face, but that doesn't mean her parents can...
But she had no desire to marry Brother Jiang at all!
She finally realized this when her mother told her that the wedding invitations had been printed.
Although she kept saying she wanted to marry Brother Jiang, she had no real understanding of what he meant. It was just a habit; she always thought that way. But when the time came, she finally realized that she didn't want to be with him at all.
When did the feelings I've cherished since childhood quietly change?
The moment her mother told her that the wedding invitations had been printed, the first thing that came to her mind was Jiang Haozhe's expression as he looked at those invitations!
His face might still bear the same smile as that day, warm and gentle, as beautiful as a flower in the morning. Perhaps he would still have that faint smile, congratulating her on finally getting her wish and finally being able to enter the Jiang family and become her sister-in-law in name and in fact... But this is not what she wants at all. She doesn't want his kind of blessing!
She slumped onto the carpet, tears sliding down her cheeks one by one, like sparkling shooting stars falling onto the red carpet, leaving tiny dots.
Even she herself didn't understand why she thought of that scene, why just thinking about it made her feel so bitter, why she wanted to cry so much...
Sister-in-law
From the initial planning to the official start, Youluo and Nanzhan spent more than a month preparing. Although the time was a bit tight, with the joint hard work of the staff of both schools, the school anniversary celebration finally kicked off in a great way.
The school anniversary celebration lasted for three days. During these three days, Yu-Luo Girls' High School and Nan-Zhan High School, which are usually not open to the public, opened their gates wide to welcome people from all walks of life, as well as alumni, to visit their alma mater. A long banner was specially strung across the street above the gates of Yu-Luo Girls' High School and Nan-Zhan High School, which read: "Congratulations on the successful completion of the joint 80th anniversary celebration of Yu-Luo Girls' High School and Nan-Zhan High School!" This not only connected the two schools into a community, but also implied the meaning of the two schools working together to create a better future.
"Looking at it this way, I suddenly feel a great sense of accomplishment. All the hard work of the past month has been worth it." Looking down at the people coming and going, Fang Yu felt a little emotional.
"Yes," Su Ying said with a smile, her eyes behind her glasses filled with satisfaction.
"By the way, where's Yongxin?" Fang Yu looked around. Today was supposed to be her day to shine as the student council president, so why hadn't she seen Cheng Yongxin? "Since this morning..."