"Qian Meng… this is the easiest and most difficult thing I have ever had to do," Mo Qingchen started without looking at the page. Qian Meng wasn't sure if he was speaking what was on his mind or if he had read those pages so many times that he knew them all by heart.

  "To stand up here before our friends and family and marry you… I don't need to think about it for a second. I often find it hard to describe how much I love you. I don't think it is possible." He gulped and his eyes flitted to the paper in his hand.

  Qian Meng was sure that he didn't need to read off it.

  "Yes, you are absolutely gorgeous…" He took a shuddering breath as he looked up at her. "And I am sure that I have seen your eyes shimmer and move as the day progresses. You have the voice of a siren. No matter where I am. No matter if millions of people surround us and I can't find you. Your voice alone would stop me and pull me to you."

  "You stun me at every turn. Your face that needs not a drop of makeup, your fingers that bend metal and stones alike to create something new." He paused with intent. "But all of that could evaporate in an instant and I might not even notice. Because I have never been so attracted to anything as I am that beautiful mind of yours."

  "The mind that makes you curious and funny and passionate. It makes you spontaneous. But most of all, I love your loyalty. You would do anything for your friends and family. And I am elated that I am part of your life."

  "No matter how strong the world thinks I am, there have always been moments I have wavered. Moments I have considered that the gruelling days and bitter nights were not worth it, but in the end, you were there at the end of the darkness, bringing meaning and sweetness to my life."

  Qian Meng felt moisture on her cheeks and quickly moved her fingers up to wipe off the traitorous tear that threatened to roll down her face. She was not in the slightest concerned about the cameras. She was only unused to people seeing her cry.

  In front of Mo Qingchen, it was okay. But others? It felt like a great weakness. She listened keenly to the words that slipped his mouth, her heart trembling at the intensity of his eyes on hers.

  "Someone once asked me who was the dominant one in our relationship. And you were so offended that I thought it was me. I didn't tell you then, but I am only so strong in front of the world because I can stand straight with you as my backbone. I know for sure that even if I falter, you will prop me up and push me to greatness. You make me want to push myself to greater heights."

  Qian Meng pressed back the sob that was stuck in her throat.

  "I am bound to you. There is no looking away from the brilliance of you. The fact that your heart beats on this planet is enough. I am not a religious man, Qian Meng, but for you, I am willing to bow down. I praise you and the universe which gave me the opportunity to share my life with you."

  He dipped his head as if to bow to her.

  "You are the one thing that reminds me to be good… to do what is right. You are my best friend and there is nothing that I won't do for you." He stopped. "You deserve the world and I can't wait to go get it with you."

  A smile bloomed on his lips. "I love you."

  He stopped. Qian Meng, stunned, leaped at him and hugged him tightly. The people around them be damned, she needed to hold him close to make sure this was not all a dream.

  From the woman who didn't want a wedding ceremony to the one stunned by his words, she had come a long way. He was eloquent and always knew what to say, but she… she was lost for words.

  She could only show him, in her own capacity how much his words struck her. She could never compare with words…


  Xiao Chen coughed from behind them. "I don't think this was part of the ceremony," he said awkwardly even though he was joking.

  The crowd laughed, but it was low. They didn't want to ruin the moment for these two.

  "Is this okay?" Xiao Chen teased.

  Qian Meng cleared the lump in her throat and pulled away. She slowly smothered the shirt she had hidden her face in and took a generous step back to keep herself from kissing Mo Qingchen silly.

  "Qingchen… my scoundrel… husband…" she trailed off, jotting down everything she called him. "While I wrote these vows, I remembered something you said a while ago. Yes, I too think that I loved you even before I knew that there was a 'you'."

  Mo Qingchen raised his brow in question.

  "I have known Mo Qingchen all my life, but you… I found 'you'. I love wildness and freedom. I love the salt in my hair and the sand between my toes. I love that every day I spend is unknown to me. I am not scared of it when I am with you. Because I can bravely face it with you on my side."

  "You give me everything that I wished for. I love the safety and excitement of a trip I didn't know about. I love the rawness of emotion in your eyes and words. They are unfiltered and unapologetic and I know that I am finally home."

  She looked at him with a teary smile.

  "So, it would be wrong to say that I fell in love with you. No… I found a love that the universe had planned all along. I found everything I love in the strict man whom I never thought well of until I knew him. Until I knew you. You were perfectly there. Perfectly you."