On Yu Qing’s outstretched palm lay a shimmering ring. While the diamond wasn’t big, it had cost almost all the money Fang Yuqing had saved up at the time. When he had been doing well in Zhicheng afterwards, he had wanted to change it, but Yu Qing had not let him. She had said that however big the diamond he was now able to afford, it could still not compare to this one.

  Now, she said that she was returning it to him.

  Actually, things were already completely wrong at this point in time. It was very normal for women to invite their ex-boyfriends when getting married, even allocating a table for them. It could not be considered a very strange thing at all. Still, who would stop and shout the name of their ex-boyfriend halfway down the red carpet, returning him a ring?

  Xu Tingsheng pulled a local guest at the neighbouring table and asked him, “Are you a relative of the male side or the female side?”


  “The female side.”


  “Have you seen any relatives from the male side?”


  That person stood up and scanned the area, “They’re all our people……hey, what’s with this?!”


  At some point in time, the groom on the stage had sat down. A cigarette in his mouth, he looked melancholic as if he had lost his wife and kids.

  At this moment, virtually everybody knew that something was up.

  Aside from Fang Yuqing himself. He was still in pain as he stared at the ring in Yu Qing’s hand. He felt like he had to take it, but if he did, it would be like taking a knife and stabbing it into his heart.

  Oh, and there was still another person who didn’t know the situation.

  As Xu Tingsheng was wondering if reminding Fang Yuqing might instead spoil things, Little Xiang Ning tugged at his arm, saying, “Looks like Big Sis Yu Qing is actually a bit reluctant……”


  “Far from a bit,” Xu Tingsheng said.

  “Then, if I were going to marry someone else one day, would you come snatch me?”


  “Would you want me to?”


  “Yes.”


  “Why would you want to marry someone else then?”


  “Right!” Xiang Ning pondered, “It’s just very interesting. I want to watch you panic, snatch me back. I also want to stop halfway down the red carpet, yell ‘Xu Tingsheng’! Next tell you: I am returning her to you, your wife! Hehe……”


  Miss Xiang laughed very happily, as if she was already seeing such a scene play out.

  Xu Tingsheng dared not let her harbour such mischievous thoughts any longer as he put on a strict face and said, “You’re not to think this way. I can’t bear you marrying anyone else, even if it’s fake. Got it?”


  Looking at his trademark teacher face, Xiang Ning obediently said, “Yes, got it.”


  “Just prepare to be a bride for me. What you said before must count. Got it?”


  “Got it.”


  “You’re not to stop from now till you walk the red carpet, because I’ll always be waiting anxiously, got it?”


  “Got it.”


  As if afraid that Xu Tingsheng might be unhappy, or perhaps full of it because of his earlier nervous look, Miss Xiang was very cooperative as she waved her small fists and answered emphatically with each reply of ‘got it’.

  Xu Tingsheng was very satisfied.

  “I’m just worried about two things……’ Leaning back against her chair, Xiang Ning looked a bit dismal and resentful, this sudden 180 degree change in mood making Xu Tingsheng rather befuddled even as he found it cute.

  “What two things?”


  “First,” Xiang Ning cupped a hand by Xu Tingsheng’s ear, “If I’m wearing a wedding gown like Big Sis Yu Qing’s, I don’t know if it will, if it will……fall down on its own……”


  Looking at her small chest, Xu Tingsheng understood at once. He smiled rather evilly before receiving a hard pinch to his waist.

  “Don’t laugh……” Xiang Ning glared at him before saying, “The second thing. I’m thinking……about that, should I go back on what I said before? Leaving it for our wedding night-now that I think about it, that seems the most romantic.”


  “.……Xiang Ning.”


  “Yeah?”


  “You can’t do that.”


  “Hehe……”


  She stretched, “Oh, how I wanna get married!”


  The two had very unchivalrously cozied in their own little world for a time. Around two to three minutes had passed, and things were still at a standstill. This was probably two to three minutes during which one could even hear a pin drop. Yu Qing’s hand was still stubbornly outstretched, tears having welled up in her eyes.

  Fang Yuqing was not much better, being too involved in and thus oblivious to the situation. With Yu Qing already about to marry someone else, she was even going to cut off that last thread of what had transpired between them? Cleanly severing it in front of everyone.

  While this could be considered what Fang Yuqing wanted, for him to truly face it and accept it was very difficult.

  Whatever the case, Fang Yuqing had stood up and walked like a mindless zombie in front of her, yet not extending his hand.

  Looking at her, his eyes were full of pleading, “Can you please not do this, Yu Qing?”


  “Why is it that you can just do whatever you want? Since you like me, you can harass me. Not willing to break up, you run over to my house drunk and propose with a ring. If you want me to wait, I have to wait. If you want me to break up, I have to break up……must I always listen to you?”


  This strong castigation narrated a heartless man, though the narrator should never have been a bride. Fortunately, Yu Qing’s voice wasn’t loud and people mostly couldn’t discern what she was saying.

  Actually, Yu Qing had always been an intelligent girl with views of her own.

  When she had rejected Fang Yuqing, many people had said that she was silly or feigning it. When she had accepted him later on, many had said that she gravitated towards wealth and status. She had ignored it all. She had always been sure that the two had no future together as after finishing their time in university together, she had returned to her hometown to work and proposed a breakup. Even when she had been most moved, she had only said that she would keep that ring in safekeeping for him for the time being, acting calm and rationally. When Fang Yuqing had entered commerce and performed splendidly there, she had not been influenced to the point of prematurely agreeing to anything, much less quit her job before rushing to Yanzhou to be by his side.

  This girl had always had her own firm, steady pace in life.

  Fang Yuqing was rendered speechless by her words.

  “Take it,” Yu Qing said.

  Fang Yuqing clenched his teeth and took that ring from her proffered palm.

  “Put it on me.”
……

  A massive uproar……

  Fang Yuqing was stunned silly.

  Yu Qing turned before kneeling down and bowing to her father, “Dad, I’m sorry. Thank you.”


  While her father looked pained, he still helped his daughter up with tears in his eyes.

  Then, she got up and extended her hand towards Fang Yuqing.

  “I’m already in my wedding gown. Will you marry me or not?”


  What was not said was this: With her parents, relatives, former classmates, colleagues and friends all present, Yu Qing too had no path of retreat should Fang Yuqing not marry her.

  “After working for a year, I’ve just saved up this bit of money. I couldn’t book a good hotel; I know you’ll surely be dissatisfied……at most, I’ll save up again and make it up to you with another in the future. Just make do for today, okay?” Yu Qing said, as if she was the one bringing a wife into the family today.

  Fu Cheng got an invitation from a relative of the Yu family seated nearby. It read: Bride, Yu Qing. Groom……Fang Yuqing.

  So, only those of them who knew Fang Yuqing had received a different invitation.

  So, Yu Qing had made the preparations for this wedding on her own, her wedding with Fang Yuqing. One could only imagine how hard it had been for her to convince her parents, how she was resolved to deal with the rumours and nasty comments after this wedding.

  One could see how she was resolved to accompany Fang Yuqing in going through these difficult times. In truth, the darkness that stretched out before them could be incomparably long. They might never be able to break free of it.

  No one understood Fang Yuqing better than Yu Qing did, understood how stubborn he was and how much he loved her. Therefore, she knew mere understanding wouldn’t work, consolation wouldn’t work, pleading wouldn’t work……

  Wait for him? With the entire Fang family having fallen, what assurance was there that she would definitely be able to wait till Fang Yuqing had made a comeback? He might just be doomed to such a fate. He might not even have a future of any kind……

  Wait for him? Who would accompany him as he traversed this darkness then? Darkness for which there was no end in sight.

  Yu Qing’s decision was the most reckless, yet also the most firm. When Fang Yuqing had been at the height of glory, she had hesitated about marrying him. Now, however, at his darkest hour, here she was, forcing him to marry her.

  “I’m already in my wedding gown. Will you marry me or not?”