Chapter 119: Proposal
—How should she propose?
After this thought arose, Ming Fei spent every spare moment pondering this question. She envisioned many romantic and beautiful proposal scenarios… but every time she constructed one, she would gradually dismantle and discard it.
Because she could probably guess that Zhu Yiqiao wouldn’t like them.
However, during their travels, she often quietly watched Zhu Yiqiao’s side profile as she worked, and when holding hands, she would often gently caress Zhu Yiqiao’s middle and ring fingers. When Zhu Yiqiao looked over, she would smile or gently kiss her.
In Xianyun City, this fairy-tale-like city, time also magically slowed down.
Since arriving here on the fourth day of the new year, they had spent a week exploring the entire city, watching the sunrise and sunset on Andalowe Island, taking Ming Zaozao to experience the sea and diving. However, because Ming Zaozao was too young, while they were diving, Ming Zaozao happily collected seashells and conches on the beach with her two grandmothers.
When her two mommies and aunts returned from diving, Ming Zaozao even built a sandcastle for them. There were seven small figures in the sandcastle, and Ming Zaozao explained in her childish voice that they represented the seven of them, all together.
This deeply touched Yan Nanzhi, who loved taking photos and recording memories. They took a group photo on the beach, surrounded by their loved ones, the setting sun on the sea behind them, the sky painted in hues of orange and pink.
The ocean, the beach, seashells and sandcastles, the sunset and the afterglow, and them, together, formed an unforgettable scene.
The night they returned to the manor from St. Piggs Castle, Ming Fei checked the astronomical news online and found that there would be a meteor shower in three days. Her long eyelashes lowered, and after a brief moment of silence, as if making an important decision, the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
Three days later, January 23, 168 New Calendar.
After breakfast, Ming Fei and Zhu Yiqiao took Ming Zaozao to the pasture for two hours. After visiting all the animals, Ming Zaozao waved to her two mommies, gesturing for them to sit on the bench under the tree. She wanted to finish feeding the cows before going back to rest and have lunch.
0619 was with her, and the keeper also accompanied her, so the two mommies were very reassured.
The weather was fine today. After sitting down on the bench, they chatted about other things. Zhu Yiqiao received a call from Lan Lubai, who seemed troubled about something. As soon as Zhu Yiqiao answered, Lan Lubai started pouring out her worries.
“…You know how it is, although the marriage rate is very low now, elders still bring up blind dates and marriage during New Year gatherings.”
Zhu Yiqiao responded with an “mm-hmm.”
After the call connected, Lan Lubai asked if anyone else was with Zhu Yiqiao. Learning that Ming Fei was also there, Lan Lubai didn’t mind and even asked the brilliant Teacher Xiao Fei for advice.
“My aunt recently insisted on introducing me to someone, saying that we have similar interests and hobbies, and even if we can’t become lovers, we can still be good friends.”
“I didn’t plan to add her contact information at first. We’re all adults, we understand how elders try to set us up, but she sent me an invitation first, and my grandmother accidentally accepted it for me, and then…”
Ming Fei smiled and helped her finish the sentence: “And then you became friends?”
Lan Lubai continued, “Yes, yes, yes! Just like Teacher Xiao Fei said, after adding her, she kept chatting with me, and I thought, since I’ve already added her, I can’t be impolite and ignore her. Making a new friend is also good.”
“…So we chatted for about a week.”
“When I first added her, I explained the situation to her and said that I was just making a friend, so we only talked about hobbies and interests. But just now, she told me that she actually…,” Lan Lubai coughed, “That she actually liked me for a long time, and after learning that the person my aunt wanted to introduce her to was me, she was very happy and looked forward to meeting me. After saying all this, she finally asked me, ‘Are you free tomorrow? I want to meet you.'”
After listening, Zhu Yiqiao and Ming Fei exchanged a look, their intertwined hands gradually interlocking their fingers.
“Lubai, do you want to hear Ming Fei’s and my advice?”
Lan Lubai’s voice rose slightly: “Of course!”
Zhu Yiqiao asked her back, “Then what are your thoughts?”
“What thoughts?” Lan Lubai said without hesitation, “You know, I don’t consider anyone younger than me, and she’s about five years younger than me. But even without this reason, I wouldn’t be interested in her.”
Zhu Yiqiao’s voice was calm: “Saying this, you actually already have an answer in your heart. If you want to hear other advice, you can ask Min Man.”
“Ask Min Man???”
Lan Lubai was a little puzzled: “She seems even less knowledgeable about these things!”
“Why wouldn’t she understand?” Zhu Yiqiao asked.
On the other end of the phone, Lan Lubai’s tone was very certain: “We grew up together, of course I know her. She hasn’t liked anyone for over thirty years. When we were in school… anyway, I just know she wouldn’t understand.”
After a moment of silence, Zhu Yiqiao replied, “Tell her about this, and she will reply to you immediately.”
She didn’t say what the reply would be, just that it would be immediate.
Lan Lubai didn’t catch the implication, but she always trusted her friend’s judgment, so she hummed in agreement on the other end of the phone. Then, another noise distracted her. It wasn’t until two minutes later that she explained to her two friends,
“My mom just came to bring me something, and we’re going out for lunch together later. Yiqiao, since both you and Teacher Xiao Fei say so, then I’ll go find Min Man after lunch and give her the New Year’s gift…”
She chattered for a while longer before hanging up.
Two “baa” sounds came from the fenced pasture in the distance. Ming Fei smiled, as if understanding something from this phone call. She wasn’t surprised and didn’t say anything directly to the person beside her, because recalling their past meetings, Min Man’s gaze always seemed to linger on Lan Lubai.
She shook Zhu Yiqiao’s hand and wrote a word on her palm with her thumb, like a little lamb nuzzling its mother’s palm with its soft horn.
After she finished writing, Zhu Yiqiao said, “Love?”
“Mm.” Ming Fei nodded honestly. “I love you.”
Zhu Yiqiao looked at her sideways, not speaking. But her eyes seemed to convey everything she wanted to say to Ming Fei, and Ming Fei understood those three words, the smile on her lips deepening.
A cotton candy cloud drifted further away in the wind, and they asked simultaneously, as if sharing a mind,
“Tonight, do you want to—”
“Tonight, Jiejie, can we—”
Ming Fei’s prepared speech faltered. She paused, planning to issue the invitation after Zhu Yiqiao finished speaking. But their tacit understanding worked again, and Zhu Yiqiao’s voice also stopped abruptly, her blue eyes, filled with a smile, looking at Ming Fei.
Although they had already agreed during the hide-and-seek game a week ago.
But perhaps because she was a little nervous, Ming Fei’s ears suddenly felt hot, and she asked, her ears red,
“Jiejie, can you come with me to a place tonight?”
Then, Ming Fei received an expected answer and an unexpected kiss.
Zhu Yiqiao kissed her: “Okay.”
When leaving the pasture with Ming Zaozao, Ming Fei had asked what the question Zhu Yiqiao wanted to ask but didn’t finish was. Zhu Yiqiao replied that she would know soon.
So, she didn’t ask further. It wasn’t until after dinner, when Yan Nanzhi and Yu Qingyan took Zaozao to the town center to participate in the local ethnic celebration, and Xu Zhou and Xue Xun went out, that she knocked on the study door.
Zhu Yiqiao happened to be coming out.
Only the two of them remained in the large manor. After a half-hour online meeting, seeing Ming Fei again, Zhu Yiqiao first captured her lips in a long, lingering kiss. After the kiss, she didn’t say anything, just kissed Ming Fei again when she brought over her coat.
As they rode in the hovercar towards their destination, Ming Fei started to feel nervous.
She couldn’t explain why, because there were too many reasons. This nervousness was mixed with excitement, joy, and shyness. She held Zhu Yiqiao’s hand tightly, getting out of the car with her and strolling through the giant wood forest under the moonlight.
“Jiejie, have you guessed where we’re going?”
Zhu Yiqiao had guessed, but she said, “Not yet.”
Entering from the Pingyan path, all the way to the end of this magical giant wood forest, at the edge of the cliff, there was an open-air chapel—St. Marius Chapel, built during the first centennial of the old Government Republican Alliance, incorporating elements from multiple ethnic groups, with a thousand years of history. Because of its unique symbolism and geographical location, it was known by the locals as the “Purest Land.”
The closer they got to their destination, the more Ming Fei’s nervousness and anticipation intensified.
The clear moonlight bathed the entire forest. When they arrived at their destination, standing at the wooden arch of St. Marius Chapel, Ming Fei’s heartbeat accelerated. Just as she was about to speak, Zhu Yiqiao turned and kissed her cheek, her fingertip tracing Ming Fei’s jawline.
“Ah Fei, we’re here.”
Ming Fei blinked, understanding the unspoken implication.
She asked, “Jiejie, the question you wanted to ask at noon today, was it also related to St. Marius Chapel?”
Zhu Yiqiao replied, “Mm.”
Ming Fei’s heart stirred, and she also kissed Zhu Yiqiao’s right cheek.
“Then let’s go in.”
Because of the ethnic celebration being held in the town tonight, almost all the residents with free time had gone there. Coupled with the remote location of St. Marius Chapel, few people came here at night, and Ming Fei had also spoken to the management beforehand, so only the two of them were at St. Marius Chapel tonight.
As they entered the arch, colorful moonlight streamed through the stained glass windows. At the end of the oak pews was a statue of Griffid, an ancient piano, and an unobstructed view of the misty night sky.
The stars and the moon seemed within reach.
Ming Fei glanced at the time on her watch: “The meteor shower will be starting soon, where does Jiejie want to sit?”
“In the front row.”
“Okay.”
“Ah Fei.”
“Mm?”
“Will you make a wish later?”
After they sat down, Zhu Yiqiao played with Ming Fei’s hand, waiting for her answer. A minute later, she heard Ming Fei say,
“No.”
Ming Fei’s voice was soft: “I won’t make a wish on a shooting star.”
Zhu Yiqiao didn’t ask why.
Because she was also hiding a secret tonight.
In this quiet, sacred place, their fingers intertwined, they looked up at the clouds together, waiting for the predicted meteor shower. Finally, the meteor shower, streaking across the sky, arrived two minutes earlier than predicted. The entire night sky was lit up by the flashing meteor fragments. Zhu Yiqiao, looking at this astronomical phenomenon, closed her eyes, her ocean-like blue eyes hidden behind her eyelids.
She made a wish on the meteor shower.
And this romantic and beautiful phenomenon didn’t distract Ming Fei. She kept looking sideways at Zhu Yiqiao beside her, her gaze never wavering. When the ten-second meteor shower passed, and Zhu Yiqiao opened her eyes again, the person beside her had already sat down at the piano.
Their eyes met, and Ming Fei smiled gently at her.
She didn’t explain, her slender, white fingers dancing across the black and white keys, the melodious notes forming a beautiful melody, flowing through St. Marius Chapel in the giant wood forest.
The moment the notes flowed out, Zhu Yiqiao recognized the piece.
—It was Polaris Variations, which she had shared with Tree of Mystical Jade many years ago, when she was still just One Raccoon Hill. At that time, she had sensed that Tree of Mystical Jade seemed to be in a low mood, so she played this piece for her, recorded it, and sent it to her.
After receiving the recording, Tree of Mystical Jade said that she liked it very much and thanked her for the comfort. And seeing that message, she had immediately sent the title and sheet music.
After so many years, she hadn’t expected to hear it again, and she hadn’t expected it to be in this kind of setting.
Her heart fluttered, because the kitten, with her good memory, was playing her favorite piece for her.
She listened quietly, her heart beating at an unusual rhythm, until the last lingering note faded away. Ming Fei looked up at her again, her almond eyes curving into a smile, but her ears, hidden beneath her hair, were burning hot.
“Jiejie.”
Zhu Yiqiao stood up: “Mm.”
Ming Fei walked to her side, stopping a step away: “Look over there.”
The meteor shower, caused by meteor fragments, had only lasted for ten seconds, but in the clouds above the cliff, Ming Fei, skilled in mechanics and robotics, had prepared a long-lasting mechanical star show for Zhu Yiqiao.
Countless small aircraft, carefully arranged and combined by the designer, first formed a star chart, then started to transform, changing from a star chart symbolizing love into a line of text.
—I love you, thank you for coming into my world.
Zhu Yiqiao’s eyes flickered, her lips parting slightly as if she wanted to say something.
When she looked back and met Ming Fei’s gaze, Ming Fei knelt down on one knee, her left hand holding a ring, both hands trembling slightly, tears welling up in her eyes. The blue diamond reflected the light. In the silence, amidst the pounding of their hearts, their gazes met as equals. Zhu Yiqiao also knelt down on one knee, holding the ring she had long designed.
Ming Fei’s chest was filled with emotions brought on by Zhu Yiqiao.
Her eyes, filled with tears, smiled: “Jiejie, we’re always so in sync.”
Zhu Yiqiao’s voice was soft: “Ah Fei.”
Ming Fei said, “Can I finish this time?”
“Okay.”
Because of nervousness and joy, Ming Fei spoke slowly, but every word hit Zhu Yiqiao’s heart: “…Jiejie, I often feel incredibly lucky at the same time as feeling happy, because you’re by my side, you came into my world, you gave me so much love, you said a lifetime with me was too short, and you wanted an eternity.”
A crystal tear rolled down her cheek, and Ming Fei said, “Me too.”
“I thought for a long time about how to propose, and finally chose this place, St. Marius Chapel, where promises are unbreakable, to offer you my most loyal faith and most sincere love. I love you, I will always love you.”
“Zhu Yiqiao, will you marry me?”
Zhu Yiqiao’s gaze was like a gentle kiss.
“…Ah Fei.”
“I’ve always wanted to guide you to express your truest feelings, to confess your emotions. But later, in our time together, I realized that I was the one who needed to learn, the one who needed guidance. We are in love, and I am the lucky one.”
“I still have many secrets, and I want to tell you one by one.”
Her eyes reflected her beloved, reflected Ming Fei: “Ah Fei, I love you, will you exchange rings with me, will you marry me?”
In the ancient and sacred St. Marius Chapel, with heaven and earth as their witness, they held the carefully designed rings, proposing to each other simultaneously, their hearts in sync. After crossing time and space, they still found each other in the vast sea of people, met, and fell in love.
So, they kissed.
So, they said “I do.”
So, they exchanged rings and said “I love you.”
