The light in the recording studio wasn’t particularly bright, with several areas backlit, making his figure seem hazy and indistinct, though his eyes remained bright. A yellowish light wove into a thin net, gently enveloping them.
Xie Ruhe opened the ring box, his feet planted firmly on the ground. Then slowly, he knelt on one knee before her. He met Shu Nian’s eyes and repeated once more.
“Will you marry me?”
Shu Nian’s gaze followed his movement downward. Her throat felt dry, and she could barely speak. As if by association, her eyes and nose also began to sting.
Perhaps it was a spontaneous thought, making this proposal seem simple and hasty.
Just a ring and two people.
Nothing else.
Xie Ruhe looked up at her, his neck stretched into a straight line, his Adam’s apple sliding up and down. He had always been calm, composed, and cool, but now his emotions involuntarily showed through—his lips pressed tight, his jaw tensed rigid.
Shu Nian’s mind seemed to have lost connection. She sat in the chair, her toes lightly touching the ground, nervously trying to find something to support herself, wanting to calmly give him an answer.
She didn’t know how the situation had turned into this.
She had only come in to find a reason for him to take a break, yet somehow received what amounted to a promise of forever together—something only he was willing to give her.
Still not knowing what the future would hold.
Still not knowing if the road ahead would be difficult.
Yet he had already taken her entire life into his embrace, making her an indispensable part of his existence. Without any overthinking, without needing a moment’s hesitation.
As long as it was her.
Shu Nian pressed her lips together firmly, and reached out her hand, trying to respond as if it were perfectly normal. Her lips moved, but she couldn’t control the trembling, her voice nasal: “Y-yes, of course.”
Hearing this answer, Xie Ruhe seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, his eyes and brows lowering. He took the ring out, reverently placed it on her ring finger, and slowly pushed it in.
At this moment, time seemed to slow down.
The occasional feelings of insecurity all seemed to settle with this gesture.
Shu Nian’s eyes reddened, and thinking of the phrase he had just taught her, she quietly and stiffly said “yes” in French: “oui.”
Xie Ruhe froze for a moment, still kneeling on one knee, and smiled with his chin tucked. Then, he lowered his head, placed a kiss on her finger, and softly said, “Sealing it with a stamp.”
The next second, Shu Nian called out to him: “Xie Ruhe.”
Xie Ruhe looked up at the sound: “Hmm?”
“Before, when I first met you. That is when I would talk to you, and you wouldn’t respond to me,” Shu Nian sniffled. “I didn’t like you much then.”
Hearing her words, Xie Ruhe’s eyelids lifted, also recalling his attitude at that time. He opened his mouth, but since these were actions he had truly taken, he didn’t know how to explain.
“I thought,” Shu Nian said quietly, “that once I apologized to you, we wouldn’t have any more interaction afterward. That feeling would be good; I wouldn’t have to keep finding you and then watch your expressions.”
Xie Ruhe rubbed her hand with his fingertips: “I won’t be like that anymore.”
“I just, suddenly remembered that thought just now,” Shu Nian also got down from the chair, nestling into his embrace like a cat. “It feels very strange.”
The Shu Nian of that time probably wouldn’t have imagined.
Ten years later, she would be together forever with the person she once hoped to never interact with again.
That gloomy and silent young man.
Who had transformed from the darkness without light into the sun of her long life?
Before the holiday ended, Xie Ruhe took Shu Nian to meet Ji Xinghuai.
When it came to meeting the family, Shu Nian couldn’t remain as calm and steady as Xie Ruhe. Although several years ago, she had spoken with Ji Xinghuai on the phone, her status was different now.
So her state of mind was also different.
Xie Ruhe had prepared gifts for Shu Nian to bring.
But Shu Nian still felt it wasn’t good enough and dragged him to the mall a day in advance to look around. In the end, she just bought a conventional box of tea and some health supplements.
She had also searched online for many tips about meeting the parents.
Feeling that she was well-prepared, she still couldn’t sleep when lying in bed at night.
Shu Nian tossed and turned for quite a while, and finally couldn’t help but run to Xie Ruhe’s room. Without waking him up, she just stumblingly counted beside him.
“One cow, two cows, three cows…”
Before she could count to the tenth cow, Xie Ruhe opened his eyes and said hoarsely, “Can’t sleep?”
Shu Nian nodded: “I’m counting sheep.”
Xie Ruhe thought he had just woken up and his mind wasn’t clear yet, so he hesitantly asked, “Didn’t you say cows?”
“Yes,” Shu Nian said earnestly. “I used to have insomnia often, so I would count sheep, but it never really worked. Later, I switched to cows, and it seemed to help me fall asleep more easily.”
Xie Ruhe: “…”
Seeing that he didn’t seem inclined to speak further, Shu Nian returned to her thoughts, trying to remember where she had left off, then continued counting absent-mindedly: “Eight cows, nine cows, ten…”
The next second, Xie Ruhe reached out to wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her into his embrace.
Shu Nian had been lying flat. Because of his action, her posture changed, and she leaned back against him in his arms. His chin rested on the top of her head, his voice still carrying a hint of sleepiness: “Keep counting.”
Hearing this, Shu Nian looked back.