"I demolished the Li family's tomb, but the old lady didn't leave. I paid to keep her alive so she can reflect on her mistakes over the years and come down to apologize to you properly," Wen Qi said softly, stroking his mother's tombstone.
"There's one more thing. After twenty-eight years, I've finally introduced you to someone. He's Uncle Wen's son, and I've decided to marry him this year."
Wen Cheng nodded blankly, then realized something was wrong five seconds later.
Does he even know he's proposed? Could you please be any more casual?!
"Me, me, when did I do that?!"
"You already called my parents 'Mom and Dad' when we left. Are you going to go back on your word in front of them? Are you trying to lie to me?" Wen Qi looked hurt.
Wen Cheng has finally started to understand this expression and behavior. He's completely taking advantage of Wen Cheng's inability to bear seeing him weak, helpless, and on the verge of tears! He's exploiting a man's great capacity for tolerance.
...
"I didn't say it was impossible, but I think marriage should be a more formal affair,"
"Isn't meeting Mom and Dad formal enough?" Wen Qi looked at him expectantly.
"At the very least, there has to be a ring." Wen Cheng's eyes darted around, her heart clenching with nervousness.
Wen Qi pursed his lips, then took Wen Cheng's hand and magically produced a ring from his pocket.
Wen Cheng recognized the ring at a glance; it was a buy-one-get-one-free deal he got when he bought the necklace for Sister Yu Ning.
"Isn't this too big?" Wen Cheng's attention was drawn to something strange.
"No way," Wen Qi exclaimed in disbelief.
Wen Cheng perked up instantly at the thought that she would one day know more than Wen Qi. "How is it not big? Do you remember when I was sitting in the car last time, didn't I try it on? This is your size. Unless I wear it on my thumb, but have you ever seen anyone propose with an engagement ring on their thumb?"
"I don't remember that at all. I remember it fit you perfectly, but it was too small for me."
"How is that possible!"
Wen Cheng firmly believed that her memory was correct. She took the ring and slipped it onto her middle finger. The ring went in easily and sat perfectly in the most comfortable spot.
? ? ?
Wen Qi put on the other one and grabbed Wen Cheng's hand. "You put this on in front of Mom and Dad, Chengcheng, you can't go back on your word." Wen Qi's eyes were filled with light.
Wen Cheng stared blankly at all of this, feeling deeply that the deepest trap she had ever fallen for in her life was Wen Qi's schemes. She had been deceived again and again!
However, Wen Cheng did not take off the ring, because there was nothing to regret about this relationship now. This was probably the greatest fortune she had received from doing good deeds in her past life. Besides, her boyfriend had never smiled so happily before.
Back home, although she was proposed to in a daze, Wen Cheng gradually began to have doubts. Recently, she has been falling for all sorts of tricks from Wen Qi. Moreover, even though she was the one being bullied the most, she was the one who felt sorry for him!
Then, perseverance pays off. Wen Cheng, who had left work early, spotted some books on the most prominent bookshelf in Wen Qi's study—books that Wen Qi obviously wouldn't read.
Men need to know how to be charming and affectionate; that way, their wives will cherish and pamper them like a treasure!
My wife, who had been physically abusing me for ten years, did these things after I did them...
[The basic etiquette of tea brewing.]
How to win over your wife?
"Smack!"
The dregs wrapped in literary book covers were slammed to the ground by Wen Cheng, and then Wen Cheng, carrying her luggage, drove her little green car and angrily went back to her parents' home!
Author's Note:
Good night~
Chapter 175, the final chapter
The cicadas in June were already gathering their energy in the treetops, and by 4:30 they showed no sign of stopping. Wen Cheng sat under a tree, enjoying the cool air, holding an ice pop in one hand and Yan Nian, who was wearing a white princess dress, in the other.
Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead. The nanny van was actually parked not far away, but Wen Cheng, who had been living in this kind of family for a year, still couldn't get used to some of the lifestyles. So she simply waited for Yan Nian, who was also finding it difficult to adjust, under the tree.
"Nian Nian, are you hot? Do you want to go to the car and enjoy the air conditioning?" Wen Cheng finished her popsicle and took a tissue from her pocket to wipe Yan Nian's mouth. It was too hot for the child to eat the ice cream as fast as it was melting.
Yan Nian shook her head, "I have to wait for my brother. He said he'll take me to the amusement park after the exams." Yan Nian had been looking forward to this for two months.
"Can my brother come along too? He wants to play with Nian Nian too~" Wen Cheng deliberately acted coquettishly, making Yan Nian giggle. "Take my brother with me!"
Wen Cheng couldn't resist rubbing the little girl's soft face.
“Yes, the kids can relax a bit after the exams. This year has been tough for them. But the kids who really dare to push themselves are the parents in front of us. They don’t even need to take a shady spot; they just stand under an umbrella in the sun,” a parent chimed in.
Wen Cheng looked up and realized he had never received such treatment before. "Parents these days have it pretty tough."
"Yes, who can argue with that? My child may not have the ability, but if he did, I'd be standing in front too. With so many reporters there, a simple interview would be perfect for the TV station." The parent narrating this looked on with envy.
"Is this your younger sibling taking the college entrance exam this year? Have you decided which junior college to enroll them in?" Once the parent started talking, they didn't stop, fanning themselves with a small notebook given out by a roadside training institution while gathering information about the surrounding area.
Wen Cheng frowned slightly, somewhat displeased. He thought every parent had high expectations for their child, but how could they be discussing future plans with others before the child was even born?
"It depends on the child. He can go to whichever university he is capable of," Wen Cheng said ambiguously.
"Sigh, your idea is too idealistic. In our area, everyone has at least two or three schools in mind for their kids. There's the distance, the tuition, and the major. The key is choosing the right major. These days, everyone's into things like Photoshop and computer science. It's a big era, a big trend. If your child is willing to work hard in a junior college, getting into a top university like Wenshi isn't that difficult."
"Someone's coming out!"
"Someone came out? There's still more than half an hour left for the English exam, why did they come out? Did they give up?"
"Oh no, oh no, my child's English is the worst, will they have to repeat a grade?!"
"Never mind, never mind, let's see what the kid in front has to say first?"
The commotion in the crowd also caught the uncle's attention. "This kid's mental fortitude is terrible. No matter how difficult it is, he should at least come out on time, right? If his parents were here..."
Taking advantage of the chaos, Wen Cheng picked up Yan Nian and walked a little further away. Just then, the commotion caused the parents who were relaxing on the other side to go over, and he could sit down there.
"Brother Cheng, let's go,"
A boy walked against the light to Wen Cheng, his loose blue and white school uniform gleaming on him.
Wen Cheng looked up, the intense sunlight blurring his vision, but he could vaguely see the gleaming light in the boy's eyes.
"Yan Luan, how did you get out?" Wen Cheng hadn't even successfully moved yet. Someone was just saying that someone was backing out, but the next second, that person became part of her family.
"Yan Luan, how did you feel about the exam? You haven't attended any events for almost a year, so you must be full of confidence this time!" The reporter followed behind, interviewing him relentlessly. This was the first person to leave the exam room early, and he was a big celebrity who had been trending on social media a year ago. This kind of big news was definitely not to be missed!
Yan Luan pretended not to hear and urged Wen Cheng to leave quickly with his eyes.
Wen Cheng finally understood why the real person was able to quickly break through the crowd and get to his side.
He patted his straightforward younger brother on the shoulder and said, "It must have been tough for that girl to chase after you in this blazing sun, so give me an answer."
The female reporter was immediately moved. Upon closer inspection, she realized that this was Wen Cheng, who had also disappeared for half a year.
"Is Mr. Wen here in person to receive Yan Luan during the exam?"
The parents realized something was wrong; it turned out this person was a celebrity.
Wen Cheng is now completely at ease in front of reporters, after all, she has seen all sorts of big occasions with Wen Qi. "Yes, picking up my brother from the exam, of course I can't miss such an important day!" Wen Cheng showed a beautiful smile, and the female reporter suddenly felt that this summer was not so hot.
Wen Cheng nudged Yan Luan as she spoke, "Luan Luan, answer the young lady's question."
Yan Luan's eyes betrayed a hint of impatience; after all, it had taken him more than ten minutes to walk out of the teaching building, and he was practically melting from the heat.
"I've finished answering, so I'm coming out," Yan Luan replied succinctly.
Parents watching the show: This kid is putting on an act, isn't he?
"Um, if Yan Luan finishes the exams in two days, what schools is he confident he can apply to?"
"People from this city shouldn't have any connection."
This city?
Those are all top-tier universities; at the very least, those in the suburbs are all first-tier universities.
"Is there a university you really want to attend?"
Yan Luan thought for a moment, "K University, I guess."
Wow! A Double First-Class University!
"K University is a very good university. What's the reason Yan Luan wants to go there?"
Yan Luan: "...Because it's a very good university."
On the day of the college entrance examination, candidate Yan Luan became a trending topic on social media with the headline: "The most difficult reporter of the year. Listening to your words is like listening to a profound truth."
Wen Cheng put Yan Luan in the car and immediately asked him where they were going to eat.
Yan Luan mentioned a hotel name, and Wen Cheng was taken aback. Wasn't this the hotel where he and Wen Qi had their first real meeting? It had been a year since she'd been there, and Wen Cheng suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia.
"Okay, let's go to that hotel then, driver, thank you!"
"Alright!"
On the bus, Yan Luan saw Wen Cheng browsing cats online again.
"Brother Qi still won't let you keep a cat?"
"Sigh, yeah, he's always firmly convinced that the two of us are too busy to take care of this delicate little one, but I just want to go home and pet that incredibly cute creature."
"Brother Cheng, your description..."
"Very accurate, right!"
Yan Luan chose to look at the scenery along the way.
Along the way, Wen Cheng didn't ask Yan Luan how well she did on the exam, since this was a part that most candidates hated. So she simply forgot about it and discussed with them which dishes at the hotel were good and which ones were suitable for Yan Nian to eat.
As I got off the bus, the setting sun had already filled the entire sky, with lingering rays of the setting sun in the distance, its soft orange hue gradually being enveloped by the night.
The waiter at the hotel entrance greeted them very politely, holding a small bouquet of sunflowers in his hand. After Wen Cheng and the others passed through the revolving glass door, he handed the sunflowers to Wen Cheng.
"Today is a very important anniversary for the hotel. Our boss asked each of us to take a bouquet of sunflowers and give it to someone who is particularly like this bouquet. Sir, we hope you like it and don't mind." The waiter's polite words made it impossible for Wen Cheng to dislike him.
Wen Qi had never given him flowers before, so when Wen Cheng received the flowers, her first thought was to put them in her living room to admire them, and she gladly accepted them.
Then, when they arrived at the elevator, the young lady who opened the elevator door smiled and handed him the flowers, saying the same thing as before, "Sir, this bouquet looks a lot like you. I hope you like it."
Once inside the elevator, Wen Cheng looked puzzled. "There are three of us, why are you only giving me one?"
"Brother Cheng, do I look sunny to you?" Yan Luan asked coolly.
Um......