"No! Unless..." A playful glint appeared in his eyes, and a smile played on his lips.
"Still negotiating terms?" She had really run into a real shrewd businessman this time.
"Well, I was afraid you'd run away, so I tied you up. I'll untie you after you promise me one thing."
All she wanted to do now was loosen her tie and resignedly roll her eyes.
"Okay, go ahead and say it!"
"Let's get married!"
This "condition" terrified Shan'er, and her expression clearly turned sour.
"Are you proposing to me? You're using such a despicable method!"
"Say what you will, I'll stop at nothing to achieve my goal." He shrugged, looking utterly shameless.
"You're only proposing for the child, aren't you!" Shan'er always believed he was only proposing because of the child. She didn't want this kind of marriage, no matter how much she loved him. "You're afraid the child will be labeled as having an unknown father and become a laughingstock as an illegitimate child!"
She knew he loved his child and could never accept that the child would not acknowledge his ancestral roots.
You're overthinking it.
He frowned as he stared at her, not understanding the reason for her sorrowful expression.
"Regardless of whether the children have been formally recognized by the family, they will always be my children, Zhang Boxuan's children! They are destined to be inseparable from me in this lifetime."
Under the sunlight, her half-naked body exuded a fresh and sensual allure, and he felt his desire return.
"It's okay. If you don't agree to marry me, I'll persuade you in my own way until you do." He lazily took off his coat.
"No, you can't conquer me with your desires..."
That's what he said, but the moment he met her, she was immediately captivated.
In the morning sunlight, his kisses were especially intense; she felt lightheaded, her will gradually crumbling.
For a moment, her hazy senses cleared, and she saw his head, with its thick black hair, slowly descend down from her navel—
"Marry me!" he pressed on relentlessly, refusing to back down.
"No! I don't want to..." she struggled frantically.
Suddenly, a child's shouting came from outside the door—
"Dad! Mom!"
It's Xuande!
The two separated immediately. Zhang Boxuan only had time to pull the sheet up to cover Shan'er's naked body, but he forgot that he also left some red marks on her neck.
Xuande stood at the door, looking at the two people's disheveled appearance with a mixture of understanding and confusion. Suddenly, he said righteously, "Mom, can't you see that Dad loves you and us very much? He really wants to be a real family with us. Why don't you accept him?" The child's simple yet direct words deeply shocked the two of them.
Faced with the gazes of Xuande and Zhang Boxuan, Shan'er could only say with difficulty, "He has never said he loves me. He only wants me to get back you and Xuanling. He doesn't love me at all!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Boxuan finally realized where the problem lay.
"Silly Shan'er, I was planning to save those words for the wedding!" Zhang Boxuan breathed a sigh of relief. "Heavens! I've done everything I could to please you, even offering you my pride and my heart, and now you say I don't love you? Silly Shan'er, you've been so clever all your life, but you've made a foolish mistake."
What? Was she really too oblivious to his intentions? Shan'er stammered, "I always thought you wanted to take the child back..."
"Do you think you can win a man's heart with just a child? That night in Sydney seven years ago has made me unable to forget you. Because of that night, many of my thoughts changed. The reason I haven't found someone I like is because I've been searching for you." He poured out his heart with deep affection and untied Shan'er's hand.
"Why didn't you say so sooner! I thought you were just trying to take responsibility." Her head drooped lower and lower; how embarrassing!
What are you afraid of?
"I'm afraid of betraying myself!"
"Betray yourself?" He didn't understand.
"I saw through the hypocrisy of this world when I was very young, but after meeting you, I couldn't forget you. Your shadow has always lingered in my heart. I dare not hope you will love me, and even more so, I don't believe I'm worthy of love. So, I only want to keep your child..." She looked at him mournfully. "I never imagined we would meet again, and that you would discover this secret, shattering the boundaries I've built. I'm afraid you will destroy the beliefs I once held so firmly; I'm afraid I will lose myself."
"Your stubbornness and pride almost killed me!" He cupped her face in his hands and said tenderly, "I swear to you, I will cherish you like the apple of my eye, and love you for all eternity!"
"Dad, Mom!" The precocious Xuande chimed in. "As the young leader of the Red Gang, I demand that you two marry! No disobedience! Otherwise, I will punish you!"
"What should the punishment be?" the two asked in unison.
"I will lock you up on a deserted island until you can't live without each other," Xuande said confidently.
"But I don't want to marry a gangster." She turned her head away coquettishly.
Zhang Boxuan quickly reassured her, "Regardless of my identity, you will only marry one person, and that person is Zhang Boxuan, who will always love you!"
She felt a dull ache in her left chest for some reason, and then scalding tears made her cheeks burn.
"Hmph! You win this time..." She nodded reluctantly.
Xuande let out a sigh of relief and turned to leave.
Zhang Boxuan gently embraced Shan'er, feeling a sweet joy after all the hardships.
"I have to confess something to you. In my heart, I've always been thinking about a mysterious girl I met in Sydney. She is Kim Sun-ah!" he said tenderly, his words filled with affection.
Shan'er gazed at him shyly. "In my heart, there is also a man, and his name is Zhang Boxuan!"
I love you, Shan'er.