On the phone, Chu Fanyin was still going on about what had just happened.
“Sweetie, Mom knows you and Hezhou have a great relationship now, but sometimes you need to be mindful of appearances. Just now… ahem, what you two did outside—we all saw it. Your big brother and his friend didn’t say anything, but I could tell their expressions changed—they were probably shocked.”
Chu Luyu thought to herself, How is this my fault? It was the male lead who told me to kiss him.
She instinctively glanced to the side.
The man was focused on driving. A light rain fell outside, and a thin layer of mist covered the car windows. Streetlights and passing neon signs cast soft, hazy glows through the glass, their light dappling his flawless face.
Another voice came from the other end of the line, faintly: “Oh, Mom, why are you nagging her so much? They’re in love—it’s totally normal to kiss on the street! Stop lecturing—she doesn’t want to hear it! Give me the phone—”
After some rustling, the voice on the other end switched to Chen Mian.
“Don’t listen to Mom’s nagging. She’s just old-fashioned and conservative—she doesn’t get us young people. But honestly, I didn’t expect you and your fiancé to be this close already. I thought you’d still be figuring each other out since you’ve only been living together for a short while… When we got back just now, even Big Brother was asking about you—he seemed pretty surprised too.”
Chu Luyu didn’t know how to explain things to this convenient little brother of hers. She leaned to the side, lowered her voice, and replied: “We’re engaged—isn’t it normal for us to be affectionate?”
“It’s normal, just a bit surprising. But thinking about your past history of chasing other people, today’s stunt really doesn’t seem like much.”
The moment she heard the words “chasing other people,” something clicked inside her, and her lips immediately felt numb again.
She quickly glanced back at Jiang Hezhou. Seeing that he seemed not to have heard, she lowered the volume on her phone and dropped her voice even further when she replied.
“Say one more useless thing, and I’ll throw every one of your ranked games when the new season starts.”
“Come on, you can’t be that cruel to your brother…”
The siblings traded a few more lighthearted jabs before finally hanging up.
The car fell silent. The man beside her continued driving quietly, making no move to speak.
Chu Luyu couldn’t hold back any longer and said to the system: [Cuihua, what was wrong with the male lead just now? Why did he suddenly bring up getting married?!]
Earlier, at the restaurant entrance, Jiang Hezhou had blurted out something about marriage in the middle of their kiss—it had genuinely scared Chu Luyu.
Fortunately, the group had come out right around then, and Chen Mian had jokingly bounced over to tease them, cutting off any chance to continue that conversation.
The system seemed a bit confused too, its tone uncertain: [I was analyzing this while you were on the phone. What if the male lead was provoked and thought, ‘We’re going to end up married anyway, so why not do it sooner? Then I won’t keep feeling challenged all the time’…]
Chu Luyu: […] Don’t you think that reason is a bit of a stretch? I still feel like something’s off. The male lead is way too strange right now.
System Cuihua: [Oh honey, no matter how strange he’s acting, it’s definitely not because he’s into you. That aversion value is right there above his head, plain as day. After you two kissed, it went up another two points—now it’s -82. Didn’t you see it?]
That was exactly why Chu Luyu felt so conflicted!
On one hand, she felt that so many of the male lead’s recent actions were odd—completely at odds with his character and the direction the plot was supposed to take. On the other hand, she could see that his aversion toward her in his heart was still sky-high.
But could a person really, out of a sense of duty, take the initiative to propose marriage to someone they despised that much?
Chu Luyu was genuinely confused.
The car pulled into the underground garage of the apartment complex. Jiang Hezhou took Chu Luyu’s hand and led her back to the apartment.
They’d been quiet the whole way. He still held her hand tightly—so tightly that she couldn’t break free even if she tried.
Once they were home, Chu Luyu was about to head to her room to change when Jiang Hezhou kept holding onto her, refusing to let go.
“Let’s finish what we were talking about earlier.”
His clear, low voice sounded beside her. Her heart gave a nervous flutter, and she pursed her lips as she looked over at him.
She was then led by Jiang Hezhou to the living room sofa and made to sit down. She’d wanted to sit by herself, but somehow the man lifted her and set her down on his lap.
He held her tightly, their position completely intimate. Chu Luyu was forced to sit in his embrace like a doll, looking up at the ceiling in speechless resignation.
Chu Luyu: […] So what’s the male lead doing now?
System Cuihua: [Since he’s made up his mind to marry you, he probably wants to get more intimate with you to build up some immunity. Think about it—he already finds you annoying enough as it is. If you two keep treating each other like polite strangers all the way until the wedding, he definitely won’t be able to handle it when the time comes! So now, before you’re officially married, he’s seizing every chance to get close to you. That way, when you actually tie the knot, it won’t be as awkward!]
Chu Luyu didn’t know what to say. She felt like what the system said was both right and wrong.
Her mind had become a complete mess when it came to the male lead lately—she couldn’t make sense of anything.
Jiang Hezhou found a comfortable position and settled in. Then he looked down at Chu Luyu in his arms.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? I brought up marriage just now, and you haven’t given me an answer yet.”
His voice was low, and they were so close that his magnetic tone seemed to vibrate right by her ear. She felt a shiver run through the half of her body pressed against him.
She couldn’t help but look up at him.
Behind his glasses, his eyes were as still and deep as a quiet pool, fixed firmly on her face with no intention of letting her go.
“I… I just think that we’ve only been together for a few months. Isn’t getting married all of a sudden a bit too soon?”
“Why do you think it’s too soon? Many people get married after knowing each other for just a week or two. And we’ve already spent a considerable amount of time together—we have a thorough understanding of each other.” Jiang Hezhou paused, and his tone suddenly turned airy. “Or is it that you’re not satisfied with me now? That you’ve started to have doubts about our engagement?”
System Cuihua: [Oh crap, oh crap—baby, I think the male lead is testing you! If you go along with what he’s saying right now, he’ll break off the engagement in a heartbeat!]
Chu Luyu was panicking: [Then what do I do?! We’re destined to part ways. Right now, if I agree, it’s wrong; if I don’t agree, it’s also wrong.]
System Cuihua: [Just keep him steady for now. Agree temporarily, then find some other topic to distract him! As long as you can hold out for two more months—until the point in the plot when you two are supposed to break off the engagement—then we’ll be golden!]
Chu Luyu thought the system made sense. Sitting in the man’s lap, she started racking her little brain frantically.
Jiang Hezhou watched her fall silent, second after second. His expression remained faint and unchanged, but the depth in his eyes grew colder by the moment.
So—she really had changed her mind?
Because she’d been seeing that man she’d once loved so passionately more often lately, she was starting to question their engagement—their relationship?
She didn’t want to be with him anymore?
At these thoughts, Jiang Hezhou’s thin lips involuntarily pressed into a straight line. His arms around the little girl tightened slowly.
What he could be sure of now was that he would never let go.
Even if she was reluctant to marry him, even if she no longer wanted to continue their engagement, he would absolutely never let her leave.
He’d never thought he’d ever be the type to force a relationship.
In his mind, feelings were the most natural thing in the world. You spend time together, feelings develop—no need for grand gestures. A peaceful, stable life together was enough.
But ever since Chu Luyu came along, his ideas had been overturned time and time again.
He didn’t want calm and uneventful anymore. He wanted to fuse flesh and blood, to be united in body and soul, to belong completely to each other—never to be apart.
So Jiang Hezhou would never give Chu Luyu a chance to escape. Even if she didn’t want to, he wouldn’t allow her to leave him.
Maybe he should find a way to cut off her thoughts about other men…
At that thought, the dark, placid eyes behind his glasses deepened once more. In his mind, he was already plotting how to quietly sabotage Chu Luyu’s relationships with other men.
But just then, the little girl suddenly spoke up.
“You haven’t even prepared a wedding ring, nor planned a proposal. You haven’t done anything—just dryly telling me to marry you like that. You… you’re dreaming!”
When the girl spoke, she seemed genuinely annoyed, struggling to push him away. Jiang Hezhou froze for a moment, then quickly pulled her back into his arms.
“So that’s why you hesitated just now—because of that?”
“What else would it be?” The little girl’s expression was fierce now, her eyes wide with indignation. “What girl doesn’t look forward to a perfect proposal? And as for the wedding ring, I don’t want some random one bought off the shelf—I want one that carries meaning, one that’s been thoughtfully designed! We don’t even have matching couple’s jewelry yet, and you’re already talking about marriage. Who would want to marry you like this!”
Seeing Chu Luyu’s adorable, petulant pout, Jiang Hezhou felt as though the heavy weight that had been hanging over his heart had suddenly dropped to the ground. Every part of his body seemed to relax in that moment.
A faint, involuntary smile tugged at his lips as he pulled the little girl closer.
“You’ll have them. Everything you want, you’ll have.”
As long as she didn’t want to break off the engagement, as long as she didn’t want to marry someone else—then everything else was no problem at all.
Chu Luyu secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Seeing that the man wasn’t pressing further, she carefully observed his expression and felt that he no longer seemed as aggressive as before. She asked the system: [Did I manage to get through this?]
System Cuihua: [Judging by the male lead’s reaction, it seems like he’s not going to bring it up again for now!]
Chu Luyu finally felt completely at ease.
After they chatted for a bit longer, Jiang Hezhou let her go back to her room to wash up and rest.
He went to the study and immediately called Zhang Jiting.
Among his friends and family, aside from the elders, only Zhang Jiting had a steady partner. Asking her about what Chu Luyu had just mentioned should yield advice more suited to a girl’s tastes.
It was already quite late, so Jiang Hezhou hesitated to call directly. Instead, he sent a tentative message first.
Jiang Hezhou: [Are you asleep?]
The reply came almost instantly: [? Why are you contacting me at this hour? Did you run into a ghost in the dissection room?]
Jiang Hezhou ignored the teasing and called directly.
“No way, bro? You actually ran into a ghost?”
“Is your girlfriend there?” Jiang Hezhou said. “If she is, put the call on speaker. I want to ask her something.”
Xiao Yan’s voice soon came through from the other end. Jiang Hezhou explained his request in the simplest terms. After he finished, Xiao Yan sounded a bit uncertain: “You’re suddenly asking me for advice like this—I can’t just come up with something off the top of my head. I don’t know what style or elements your girl likes, whether she prefers big diamonds or small ones, white, pink, or blue stones…”
Jiang Hezhou fell silent, unable to argue.
Xiao Yan continued: “How about I recommend a designer to you first? He’s pretty well-known in the industry. Let him give you some design ideas first, and then you can discuss them with your little sister-in-law? A wedding ring is something you’ll most likely only design once in a lifetime. My personal opinion is—don’t make it a surprise. Choose a style that she actually likes and is happy with.”
Jiang Hezhou replied with a “good,” and after hanging up, Xiao Yan quickly forwarded the designer’s WeChat contact.
Jiang Hezhou added the designer right away, asking for some of his past design portfolios and a copy of his career resume.
The designer was indeed someone with significant standing and skill in the industry. If Zhang Jiting and Xiao Yan hadn’t put in a good word beforehand, he probably wouldn’t have added Jiang Hezhou himself—he would’ve had his assistant handle it.
Still, even so, Jiang Hezhou hesitated for a moment before saying to the other party: [Could you first help me design a pair of couple’s accessories for my fiancée and me? I’d like to show her your design style first. If she likes it, we’ll trouble you again for the wedding rings later.]
The designer, who usually worked for wealthy clients, had already learned about Jiang Hezhou’s background from Xiao Yan and knew his status. Hearing his request, the designer didn’t hesitate at all and agreed immediately.
[So what would you like to design first? Couple’s bracelets? Matching rings? Or earrings and brooches?]
Jiang Hezhou thought for a moment: [Bracelets.]
[Alright. Any preferred elements? Clover motifs and minimalist engravings are very popular right now—you and your fiancée could wear ones with each other’s initials.]
Jiang Hezhou was quiet for a long moment before replying: [Would handcuffs work?]
[Handcuffs?]
Jiang Hezhou’s pale, cool face was illuminated by the harsh light above, making it look even more starkly white. The cold lenses rested on his nose bridge, and behind them, his eyes held a restrained yet profound darkness—
[Yes. They symbolize locking each other tightly by their sides, never to be separated for life after life.]
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