Proposal

The car moved along, emitting a relaxing, soothing white noise. Outside the window, the night was vast, black, and boundless.

Within the cramped space, Zhou Suirong's heartbeat was almost impossible to conceal. His eyes were still slightly red, bearing the lingering traces of tears. The pale-blue veins on the back of his hand pulsed, vividly pumping blood, and seemed to radiate a scorching warmth. His hair had grown a bit long, slightly veiling his eyes.

Every single detail was as sharp as if carved by a knife and chisel.

Zhou Suirong kept his full attention on the road ahead. Only when he had to wait at an intersection did he turn his head to glance at Fang Qingzhou, saying with a foolish and endearing earnestness, "Actually, the phrase 'fleeing to the ends of the earth together' is quite romantic."

Fang Qingzhou: "..."

Choosing to adopt a negative attitude toward his unhealthy view of romance, Fang Qingzhou uttered a mood-spoiling remark, "Do you even know what the phrase 'terminally ill and beyond cure' means?"

Zhou Suirong clearly chose not to listen.

It wasn't until the car came to a stop at the hotel that he let out a soft, imperceptible sigh, as if he had just driven a very long distance.

Zhou Suirong pushed open the car door, lagged a step behind, and asked, "Are you cold?"

Fang Qingzhou wanted to say no, but in the end, she gave a slight nod.

Zhou Suirong draped his own coat over her shoulders and took her hand.

His palm was indeed piping hot.

The hotel corridors were fully carpeted, and their shoe soles made virtually no sound against the floor.

Zhou Suirong pressed down on the doorknob, finally seeming to return to his senses. A smile blossomed across his face as he said, "Just now, while I was driving..."

Fang Qingzhou looked at him.

As the indoor lights flickered on, Zhou Suirong continued, "I kept thinking about you. I was so nervous. I wanted to roll down the window for some fresh air, but I didn't dare make a move."

"Because your imagination runs wild," Fang Qingzhou said. "If I were fantasizing about fleeing to the ends of the earth, I'd be nervous too."

Completely unfazed by her teasing, Zhou Suirong let out a cheerful, muffled chuckle.

Having been dusted with dirt all day in the village, Fang Qingzhou headed straight for the bathroom to wash up the moment they walked in.

Zhou Suirong sat alone on the sofa, resting his chin in his hand, lost entirely in his own reverie. He seemed to be enveloped by an invisible cloud of dreamy bubbles, while his eyes remained firmly glued to Fang Qingzhou.

Shifting his posture, Zhou Suirong called out, "Senior!"

The moment she heard that, Fang Qingzhou knew he was about to start, his mind fully loaded with a headful of nonsense.

Zhou Suirong asked, "When did you start liking me?"

With her toothbrush in her mouth, Fang Qingzhou looked back at him with a helpless expression.

Zhou Suirong rambled on with his persistent questioning, "Didn't you hesitate at all when you started liking me?"

Puzzled, Fang Qingzhou asked, "Why would I hesitate?"

Looking a bit bashful, Zhou Suirong spoke in a vague manner, "Well... you know, all sorts of things. Like our respective conditions, hobbies, the gap in our family backgrounds, future prospects, and all that..."

Fang Qingzhou felt his question bordered on unreasonable making-a-fuss-over-nothing. "What are these things you're talking about? Listing conditions and comparing them before getting to know someone is the process for an arranged blind date. Although blind dates can occasionally lead to romance, I don't need a blind date."

Relentless, Zhou Suirong persisted, "I mean all those odds and ends..."

"Understood," Fang Qingzhou said as she rinsed her toothbrush, reaching a final conclusion. "Little Zhou is a rather sentimental person."

Covering his forehead, Zhou Suirong found his speech system plunging into complete disorder. The heat that threatened to bake his body kept seeping out through his skin as he muttered under his breath, "Well? Do you find me annoying?"

"I don't find you annoying," Fang Qingzhou replied, displaying a broad-minded attitude and ignoring his awkwardness as she offered a sincere promise. "I know you're emotionally fragile and need to be tenderly cared for. You can tell me anytime."

Zhou Suirong walked over, standing right behind her. His fingertips grazed the shell of her ear. Feeling much too lightheaded, his mouth spoke a step faster than his brain: "Your neck and your ears look really nice from this angle."

Fang Qingzhou: "..."

Wiping the water from her face with a towel, she turned around to lock eyes with him.

Even Zhou Suirong found it a bit too much to bear. He gave a dry cough and said, "Your silence at a time like this makes me look like a total pervert."

With a playful tone, Fang Qingzhou retorted, "Aren't you?"

Zhou Suirong wrapped his arms tightly around her from behind, laughing uncontrollably as he asked, "Does that mean we've made up?"

Left speechless for quite a few moments, Fang Qingzhou finally replied, "If we hadn't made up, what you just said would be classified as sexual harassment."

Playing the rascal, Zhou Suirong muttered, "Well, you were the one who kissed me in the car first."

After a brief pause, he asked again, "Did we actually never break up in the first place?"

"We didn't," Fang Qingzhou said.

A satisfied smile spread across Zhou Suirong's face. "That's wonderful."

Fang Qingzhou wasn't one to hold grudges, but she certainly hadn't forgotten the cold, aloof look Zhou Suirong had worn back then. Deciding this was the moment to settle old scores, she tilted her head back and gave him a gentle bump.

With a miserable yelp, Zhou Suirong clutched his chin and stumbled back in pain. Stretching out his arm, he rubbed the back of Fang Qingzhou's head and said, "What kind of headbutt is that? Is this the power of knowledge?"

With a worried tone, he added, "Don't go around bumping into people with your head. What would you do if you hurt yourself?"

Zhou Suirong opened his arms toward her, lifting his face with an expression brimming with eager anticipation and hope. After a brief, weak resistance, Fang Qingzhou's willpower crumbled slightly, and she stepped forward to let him hold her.

Pinching her fingers, Zhou Suirong stroked her knuckles back and forth. Fang Qingzhou felt the cool texture of metal pressing against her skin. Lowering her gaze, she saw that Zhou Suirong was holding a plain silver band.

Right before he could slide it onto her finger, Zhou Suirong pulled the ring back and vigorously wiped it against the hem of his shirt.

Yet his hands were covered in sweat, and wherever his fingers pinched the ring, fingerprints were left smeared across the smooth metallic surface.

Repeating the process in a dazed, computer-like freeze, he finally remembered to wipe his own hands clean on his clothes as well. Then, in a flurry of nervous haste, he slipped the newly polished ring onto Fang Qingzhou's finger.

*He's still as clumsy and immature as ever,* Fang Qingzhou thought to herself.

As if performing magic, Zhou Suirong fished a thin gold chain out of his pocket—judging by the length, it was a necklace. He had shoved it savagely into his pocket without even a packaging box, and predictably, it was tangled into a knot.

The fingers that were so precise and agile in the laboratory now felt like poorly installed, cheap replacement parts, lagging move by move. Mortified and vexed by his own clumsy operation, he let out a series of irritated huffs while desperately forcing his hands to remain gentle.

After shaking it out for ages, he finally untied it, supported Fang Qingzhou's wrist, and wrapped it around her arm layer by layer.

Having completed this high-difficulty maneuver, Zhou Suirong didn't even spare a moment to admire his work. Instead, he wove his fingers through Fang Qingzhou's, using both hands to clasp her left hand so tightly that no air could pass between them—as if stubbornly declaring his claim and refusing any possibility of rejection.

Zhou Suirong's chest was pressed so close against hers that Fang Qingzhou could feel the chaotic pounding of his pulse and the trembling of his muscles. For several seconds, she couldn't hear him breathing at all, and she briefly wondered if he might suffocate from sheer nervousness.

Catching his breath, Zhou Suirong put on an air of sweet reason and composure, saying, "I know you don't like things like rings; they'd just get in the way of your work. You can take it off usually and wear it around your neck."

Fang Qingzhou poked the back of his hand, signaling him to let go, then spread her fingers and held her hand up to the light for a closer inspection.

The hotel lighting was a warm amber, radiating a springtime richness that felt almost tangible. The ring caught the light, condensing into a tiny, brilliant speck within her pupils.

"You really do carry jewelry around with you normally," Fang Qingzhou remarked.

With his heart practically leaping into his throat, Zhou Suirong flushed to the tips of his ears at such a teasing remark. Overwhelmed by sudden embarrassment, he snapped defensively, "Fang Qingzhou!"

Suppressing a chuckle, Fang Qingzhou asked, "When did you buy this?"

Zhou Suirong didn't answer.

Guessing that they were most likely still in the middle of a cold war back then, Fang Qingzhou figured he was too embarrassed to admit it.

Without pressing the joke any further, she asked, "Were you originally not planning to take it out?"

Burying his face in her shoulder, Zhou Suirong's voice sounded muffled as he confessed, "I thought you wouldn't accept it."

Reaching behind him to give his head a reassuring pat, a thought suddenly struck Fang Qingzhou. "Did you forget something?"

With his eyes shining brightly, Zhou Suirong tilted his head toward her and blurted out, "Wife?"

Sensing that he was pushing his luck, Fang Qingzhou decided she simply didn't care to argue at the moment. "I meant, why is there only one?"

Beaming with radiance and utterly intoxicated by a wave of overwhelming joy, Zhou Suirong's reason completely deserted him. "I... I'll go buy a men's one. First thing tomorrow morning as soon as the shops open."