Times varied, and Ye Xingmian didn’t dare go out. She waited at home. But the city adorned in pure white was beautiful.
After that day on the street, the atmosphere at home changed subtly. During the day, Liu Yinuo often went out to handle errands.
When she returned, the living room door was tightly shut. Occasionally, light snow fell outside the window—not heavy. The traffic on the road seemed much quieter, though through the window no sound could be heard.
Sometimes she would find housework to do, but more often she just stared blankly. Sitting in her wheelchair, she propped her head and gazed at the empty sky.
She watched the sky, full of an unpleasant graininess—sometimes grayish white, sometimes covered in clouds, sometimes a vast, clear blue.
The time swallowed into her stomach filled her life, tasteless and dry like a piece of stale black bread. The only thing to look forward to each day was when Liu Yinuo came back.
After courageously taking that step, their relationship was defined.
“Lovers.”
A word that was once dreamlike and distant to her had actually appeared by her side. Moreover, it wasn’t like Qin Haiyue in the past forcing her to admit, nor was it a wishful fantasy—it was truly, genuinely accompanying her.
Like sweet honey flowing into the core of black bread, making one can’t help but anticipate that sweet bite, letting it fill the taste buds.
But… some worries… still remained unresolved.
Liu Yinuo liked her now, but what if she grew old?
What if she was no longer beautiful, no longer so pitifully charming? What if time faded the sweet preserves of their love, turning her into a burden, unable to provide emotional value anymore?
Her life still could only be entrusted to Liu Yinuo’s love for her.
Although she didn’t doubt Liu Yinuo’s sincerity and didn’t want to groundlessly suspect her partner, such love always needed some anchor to seem stable. Otherwise, it was like rootless duckweed, bobbing and insecure.
This chaotic train of thought continued until Liu Yinuo came back.
A knock sounded at the door. She was slightly startled, threw those unpleasant thoughts out of her mind as much as possible, and revealed a smile different from usual.
A sweet, healing smile.
She wheeled herself over and carefully opened the door. Although she was much shorter in the wheelchair, it didn’t prevent her from looking up with a smile.
Even though her voice was still faint, with a hint of forcedness and lack of confidence, she still softly spoke the words she had rehearsed in her heart for a long time.
“Welcome home, darling! Do you want to eat first, take a bath first, or… eat me first?”
As she spoke, she felt a bit shy, blushed, lowered her head, twisted her fingers, and dared not look at Liu Yinuo’s expression.
And what did Liu Yinuo feel at that moment? Surprise? Shock? Or something between crying and laughing?
She just showed a smile.
She walked behind Ye Xingmian and pushed the wheelchair.
“Little perverted cat, can’t wait this early? I haven’t eaten yet. I’ve been looking forward to the meal you cooked all morning.”
“No… not at all…”
Hearing Liu Yinuo’s kind teasing words, Ye Xingmian’s face turned even redder.
‘For some reason, since taking that step, the frequency of her demanding from Liu Yinuo had been a bit… frequent.’
‘Moreover, she was paralyzed from the waist down and had a thin skin, so most of the time she could only hold onto Liu Yinuo with both hands and awkwardly demand through various subtext.’
‘This kind of behavior… after so much time had passed, she had mustered a bit of courage, and plus she barely overcame her own shame before she could barely do it.’
‘She probably wouldn’t be hated, right?’
Though… her voice was still small, that’s all.
Those were lines she imitated from a manga plot that Liu Yinuo had read before. Though her voice was still small, that’s all…
After thinking for a moment, she was a bit conflicted.
“Do you want to eat first?”
“No~”
Liu Yinuo suddenly stopped, walked in front of her, and gave a sinister smile.
“Of course… eat you first~”
Liu Yinuo suddenly jumped onto the wheelchair without warning, pressing down on the girl. If she hadn’t put the brake on beforehand, the wheelchair would have rolled far back from the impact.
Such a strong demand. Ye Xingmian was dizzy, and the golden sunlight outside seemed to turn into spinning stars. Her body swayed until Liu Yinuo got off her, allowing her to catch her breath.
“Ugh… it’ll get dirty…”
“No… no… here… I’m still sitting on…”
“It’s okay, if it gets dirty I’ll wipe you clean~”
Liu Yinuo smiled and leaned close to her ear. The warmth of her breath made her body tremble.
“Besides, weren’t you the one who proposed it first? At this point, how can you still run away from the battle~”
At this point, it seemed Liu Yinuo wouldn’t let her off.
The usually timid Ye Xingmian seemed to have no choice but to accept her fate. She lightly bit her lower lip, her expression looking a bit aggrieved. Of course, Liu Yinuo knew she wasn’t really aggrieved.
‘For a little one lacking security like this, the more forcefully she was taken, the more it ignored her own will, the more it could actually reassure her, relax her, and also… more legitimately enjoy the forthcoming joy.’
However, what Liu Yinuo had to do today wasn’t just that.
“By the way, I brought you a New Year’s gift, something you want the most~”
“Gift…?”
The girl’s rosy eyes were filled with confusion.
“Guess what it is?”
‘How could she possibly guess? Ye Xingmian didn’t really want anything. What she wanted was just Liu Yinuo’s company—long-term, reassuring company.’
‘She didn’t need any gift. This was enough.’
‘What she dreamed of most was just love. Now that she had it, naturally she couldn’t guess what this “thing she wanted most” was.’
Seeing her like this, Liu Yinuo chuckled softly.
There was both tenderness and slyness in it. But looking at her, Ye Xingmian suddenly felt a sense of solemnity.
Standing in front of the wheelchair, Liu Yinuo suddenly knelt on one knee and took out a ring from her pocket.
“Miss Ye, I now solemnly propose to you. Will you marry me?”
“Ah…?”
In that instant, Ye Xingmian felt her mind go blank. She stared blankly at Liu Yinuo on the ground.
Liu Yinuo said nothing, waiting for her reply.
Of course she had no reason to refuse, but…
“Getting married… isn’t legal, is it…”
“It’s okay, we can go to a country where it’s legal to get the certificate and then come back.”
“But your parents…”
“I’ve been going out these past two days to convince them.”
“Mm…”
In the end, that small ring—not very expensive but infinitely precious—was placed on her ring finger.
It wasn’t a diamond ring, nor gold. She didn’t need Liu Yinuo to spend a lot of money to prove her love, and Liu Yinuo knew she didn’t need to spend a lot to increase her psychological burden.
—It was just a small, finely crafted iron ring.
“But—this isn’t the gift yet?”
“Not the gift yet…?”
She tilted her head in confusion until Liu Yinuo pulled something indescribable out of her backpack. Her expression quickly changed from confusion to shock, then to trembling with panic.
“This… this is…”