It touched Jiang Lai’s heart.
Jiang Lai instantly understood.
Her earlobes turned red, and even her voice softened a few notes.
“You…”
Before she could finish, Chi Yingyu had already leaned in.
Her lips were soft.
When they gently pressed against Jiang Lai’s, it felt like a warm cloud landing on her heart.
Jiang Lai froze for a moment, then relaxed.
She reached out, pressed her hand against the back of Chi Yingyu’s neck, and carefully deepened the kiss.
The car was very quiet.
Only the faint hum of the air conditioning vents and the sound of their intertwined breaths filled the space.
***
“Then… Dad, you have to promise me that you’ll absolutely be good to Aunt, okay?”
Jiang Leyi was silent for a long time.
It seemed she fully understood her father’s current situation.
“I will.
I’ll work hard too.
I’ll work hard so that all of us can be happy.”
After breakfast, the two of them quickly tidied up and set off.
Once they got in the car, Leyi kept helping Jiang Lai review the details.
“Dad, do you remember how big Aunt’s hand is?
For the ring, we definitely have to pick the right size, or it might fall off easily.”
Jiang Lai nodded.
“I remember.
Everything about your aunt is in my heart, let alone her ring size.
I definitely won’t get it wrong.”
“That’s good.”
Leyi suddenly said, “Then in a little while, I’ll help you pick out a style, Dad.”
Hearing this, Jiang Lai felt even more confident.
“Alright…”
With her own daughter by her side to help her decide, the ring they picked would definitely be liked.
But Jiang Lai completely overlooked one thing: no matter what she gave, Chi Yingyu would love it anyway.
They soon arrived at the mall.
Jiang Lai took Leyi directly to the jewelry store she had scoped out earlier.
As soon as they walked in, a sales clerk warmly approached.
“Hello, are you looking at rings?
Do you have a favorite style?”
“Yes.
I want to see your thin-band single-diamond ring.
I saw it online.
The model number is… Do you have it here?”
Jiang Lai recited the model number.
The clerk quickly retrieved the ring from the counter and placed it on a tray.
The clerk gently set the tray on the counter.
Inside the transparent display box, the thin-band single-diamond ring lay quietly.
The platinum band gave off a soft, cool glow.
The diamond at the top refracted tiny bits of light under the store’s lighting—not too flashy, but bright enough.
It was exactly the style Jiang Lai had double-checked on her phone in the early hours, and also the minimalist style Chi Yingyu would like.
“Leyi, what do you think of this one?”
“I think it’s fine.
Since we already decided on the style, let’s go with this one!”
Jiang Lai gently rested her fingertips on the display box.
The cool touch of the glass helped calm her scattered thoughts a little.
She looked at the diamond on top of the ring, hoping with all her heart that Chi Yingyu would like the ring she had chosen.
“This one.”
Jiang Lai looked up and said to the clerk with firm eyes.
The clerk smiled, nodded, expertly took out the ring, and processed the purchase for Jiang Lai.
After buying the ring, Jiang Lai and Jiang Leyi walked around the mall a bit more.
During lunch, Jiang Leyi kept giving Jiang Lai advice.
“Dad, when you propose, you have to look Aunt sincerely in the eyes and tell her how much you love her.”
Jiang Lai smiled and nodded.
“Okay.
Dad remembers.”
In the afternoon, Jiang Lai took Jiang Leyi home and began the final preparations for the evening proposal.
She first went to a flower shop, carefully selected a beautiful bouquet, and placed it in the passenger seat.
At 4:30 PM, half an hour before Chi Yingyu got off work, Jiang Lai’s car was already parked steadily in the parking lot below the office building.
On the passenger seat, the beautiful petals were spread out, dotted with the fine mist she had intentionally sprayed, glowing with lively warmth under the sunset.
In the velvet box beside it, the thin-band single-diamond ring lay quietly.
The platinum band was tinted a soft gold-red by the afterglow of the setting sun.
The diamond at the top occasionally caught the light and refracted tiny sparkles, like a star hidden in the palm of a hand.
Jiang Lai turned off the engine.
The car fell silent instantly, leaving only the faint sound of the air conditioning vents.
She reached out and picked up the velvet box.
The moment her fingertips touched the soft surface, her heartbeat inexplicably quickened.
The certainty she had felt this morning when confirming the style at the jewelry store had now all dissolved into fine threads of nervousness—like when she was a child about to give a favorite person candy she had saved for a long time, both hoping they would accept it and afraid they wouldn’t think it was good enough.
“She should like it, right?”
She gently opened the box.
The ring was even clearer under the sunset.
Jiang Lai kept murmuring to herself in her heart.
She lightly touched the band with her fingertip.
The cool metal touch calmed her down a little.
Now she probably understood what Shen Ruxue had been thinking when she proposed with a ring.
She must have felt just as anxious in her heart as Jiang Lai did now.
At that moment, her phone vibrated.
It was a message from Leyi.
“Dad, have you arrived?
I’m at home waiting for your good news!”
After the message, her daughter added a cheering emoji.
Jiang Lai replied briefly to her daughter.
Instead of putting down her phone immediately, she opened the chat history with Chi Yingyu and scrolled up.
It was mostly daily trivialities.
After reading through their past conversations, Jiang Lai finally gathered the courage to send Chi Yingyu a message.
“I’m here to pick you up.
I’m already waiting for you in the usual parking spot.
Are you willing to come home with me?”
After sending that message, Jiang Lai didn’t dare look at her chat history.
She closed the chat interface and looked back at the ring in the velvet box.
As she was imagining how beautiful Chi Yingyu would look wearing the ring, her phone vibrated softly.
Chi Yingyu’s reply carried very little emotion.
She simply answered:
“Mm.”
It made it impossible for Jiang Lai to gauge her current mood.
That single “Mm” was like a small pebble thrown into Jiang Lai’s heart, stirring up ripples of uncertainty.
She stared at the simple reply on the screen, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of the velvet box.
She felt both relieved and couldn’t help being nervous.
Chi Yingyu’s tone was unreadable—was she still sulking, or was she truly willing to give her a chance?
When it was time to get off work, the flow of people outside the car gradually grew denser.
After a while, a familiar figure appeared not far from the car.
Chi Yingyu walked slowly.
She wasn’t carrying a folder.
Her hair was a bit looser than in the morning.
Her profile looked especially soft under the setting sun.
Jiang Lai took a deep breath, opened the car door, picked up the flowers from the passenger seat, and walked over.
Her steps were steadier than she had imagined.
“Yingyu.”
She called out.
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to make Chi Yingyu stop.
Chi Yingyu looked up.
When she saw Jiang Lai, her eyes paused.
Her gaze swept over the flowers in her arms, then finally settled on her face.
She didn’t speak, but she didn’t refuse either.
This was already far better than Jiang Lai had expected.
Jiang Lai walked up to her and handed her the flowers.
“Were you tired at work today?
When we get home, I’ll massage your shoulders, okay…”
Chi Yingyu’s gaze lingered on the petals for a few seconds.
She gently touched the misted petals with her fingertips, then reached out, took the flowers, and held them in her arms.
Her voice was softer than it had been in the morning.
“The flowers are beautiful.”
“That’s good.”
Jiang Lai smiled, her nervousness easing a little.
She reached out, took Chi Yingyu’s hand, and led her back to the car.
When Jiang Lai led Chi Yingyu back to the car by the hand, the setting sun happened to shine through the window, casting a warm glow on their clasped hands.
She first opened the car door for Chi Yingyu.
Only after the other woman was seated in the passenger seat did she walk around to the driver’s side.
When she had held Chi Yingyu’s hand just now, the warmth from her fingertips had dispelled most of her nervousness, leaving only full-hearted anticipation.
Chi Yingyu placed the flowers beside her leg.
Her gaze swept over Jiang Lai’s expression.
Jiang Lai didn’t start the car immediately.
Instead, she took a deep breath, slowly pulled the ring box out of her pocket, and held it out in front of Chi Yingyu.
Her fingertips trembled a little, but her voice was steadier than before.
“Yingyu, actually, picking you up today isn’t just about taking you home.”
Chi Yingyu turned her head.
Her gaze fell on the velvet box, then she looked up at Jiang Lai.
There was a hint of confusion in her eyes, but she didn’t look away.
Jiang Lai gently opened the box.
The thin-band single-diamond ring sparkled in the sunset, perfectly meeting the faint shimmer in Chi Yingyu’s eyes.
She looked into Chi Yingyu’s eyes and said, word by word:
“This morning, Leyi and I picked out this ring.
You’ve stayed with me for so many years.
Can you stay with me forever from now on, okay?”
“I’ve told you before: you will always be my first choice.”
Chi Yingyu’s gaze fell on the ring.
She gently touched the band with her fingertip.
The cool metal touch made her eyes feel a little hot.
She didn’t speak, but she quietly moved a little closer to Jiang Lai, narrowing the distance.
Seeing this, Jiang Lai felt even more emboldened.
She held the box a little closer to Chi Yingyu, her voice carrying a hint of pleading.
“Yingyu, I know I made you feel wronged yesterday and made you insecure.”
“I can’t say I can handle everything immediately, but I can promise you that you are in my heart, and there will only be more of you.”
“Are you willing to accept my ring?”
Chi Yingyu looked at the ring that Jiang Lai had carefully chosen.
Finally, a faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
She looked at Jiang Lai and asked softly:
“So… did you not sleep yesterday?”
“I couldn’t fall asleep at all…”
“Then what did you do last night?”
Chi Yingyu gently touched Jiang Lai’s cheek, looking at the bloodshot veins in her beautiful eyes.
Her heart ached with concern.
“Actually, I’m the same.
I didn’t sleep at all yesterday.
I kept thinking about you.”
“I wanted to go find you, but I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to control myself and would say something hurtful.”
“Because I was so jealous.
So jealous that Sister could put a ring on your finger.
And it hurt that I didn’t do it sooner.”
“I know my thoughts are terrible, so I’ve been holding myself back these past two days.
I planned to digest my emotions first, then apologize to you.”
As Chi Yingyu spoke, tears filled her eyes, and her voice grew hoarse.
Seeing the tears welling up in Chi Yingyu’s eyes, Jiang Lai’s heart instantly tightened.
She reached out and gently wiped the tears from the corners of Chi Yingyu’s eyes.
The skin she touched was warm and trembling slightly.
“How could it be you who says sorry?
I should be the one apologizing.”
“I shouldn’t have accepted Ruxue’s ring without discussing it with you.
I made you suffer so much, and I made you endure that night alone.”
Chi Yingyu’s tears fell even harder.
She reached out, grabbed Jiang Lai’s wrist, and gently rested her cheek in Jiang Lai’s palm.
Her voice was choked with sobs.
“It’s not that I blame you for accepting the ring.
I’m just so frustrated with myself…”
“Why couldn’t I have done it sooner?
If I had, the ring on your finger would be mine.”