After Escaping Marriage - Chapter 132
Chapter 132
"I do."
Yu Qingtang slightly raised the ring finger of her left hand, allowing Cheng Zhanxi to slip the engagement ring on for her.
Cheng Zhanxi had just stood up when Yu Qingtang pulled her down by the neck and kissed her.
She wasn't good with words, so she could only use this most instinctive and direct way to tell her how joyful she was, how deeply she loved her, just as she loved her in return.
Cheng Zhanxi closed her eyes and smiled. The two of them embraced and kissed tightly under the setting sun, the afterglow casting long shadows behind them.
The tide rose and fell, night descended, and stars twinkled in the deep blue canopy of the sky.
"So, you've been busy with this, leaving early and coming back late these past few days?" Yu Qingtang asked, holding the book Cheng Zhanxi had given her, her other hand held by Cheng Zhanxi.
Hand-drawing a picture book is very time-consuming. Apart from this recent period, Cheng Zhanxi was mostly under Yu Qingtang's watch, so it was easy to guess when she had prepared all this.
Cheng Zhanxi hummed softly in affirmation.
Yu Qingtang pressed her lips together.
She increasingly felt her own proposal had been too casual. Who just slips a ring onto their girlfriend's hand like that, without any sweet words or gifts?
The second diamond ring she had custom-ordered had also arrived. She had picked it up from the store two days ago. Just like Cheng Zhanxi before, because she hadn't figured out an original way to propose, she had hidden it in a drawer in the study.
Now, she simply didn't dare to take it out. She couldn't possibly be more romantic than Cheng Zhanxi.
"What are you thinking about?" Cheng Zhanxi tilted her head to look at her fiancée, who hadn't responded for a while.
"Nothing."
"Then why do you seem distracted?"
"I'm still immersed in your proposal just now." Yu Qingtang's acting skills had greatly improved; she had learned to lie without batting an eyelid.
However, Cheng Zhanxi didn't believe her. She bent down and easily scooped Yu Qingtang into her arms bridal style, standing on the beach, and asked with a smile, "Are you going to tell me or not?"
Yu Qingtang also smiled. "Not telling."
Cheng Zhanxi, holding her, dashed forward a few steps. Yu Qingtang, terrified, turned pale, clung tightly to her neck, and closed her eyes.
Cheng Zhanxi put her down and said, "It's okay if you don't tell me. Just call me something sweet."
"What?"
Cheng Zhanxi looked at her, then glanced at the diamond ring on her hand, her hint very obvious.
Yu Qingtang cleared her throat.
Cheng Zhanxi's eyes were full of anticipation.
Yu Qingtang: "Girlfriend."
Cheng Zhanxi pouted and said, "Two characters."
Yu Qingtang: "Baby."
Cheng Zhanxi smiled and continued, "The other two characters."
Yu Qingtang looked all around. The nearest person was at least fifty meters away. Only then did she say, very, very softly, "Wife." After saying it, without waiting for Cheng Zhanxi's response, she covered her own face, her voice muffled from behind her hands, "It feels so strange to say that."
Actually, Cheng Zhanxi also found it a bit strange. It seemed that when it came from Yu Qingtang's mouth, it didn't feel the same as when it came from her own.
Yu Qingtang switched back: "Xixi."
Cheng Zhanxi smiled. "That's more like it."
Yu Qingtang, self-taught, said, "Xixi baby."
Cheng Zhanxi clutched her chest. "Ah, I'm dead."
Hearing this, Yu Qingtang turned pale with fright and said nervously, "What's wrong? Is your heart bothering you? I'll call 120 now!"
Cheng Zhanxi quickly lowered her hand. "I'm pretending."
Yu Qingtang: "..."
Afterwards, Cheng Zhanxi explained to her that this phrase was an internet meme and what it meant. Yu Qingtang happened to see a crab scuttling on the beach and said, "Ah, I'm dead."
Cheng Zhanxi: "Hahahaha, that's not how you use it!"
Yu Qingtang gave her a light glance.
Cheng Zhanxi immediately said decisively, "You're right, that's exactly how you use it!"
Yu Qingtang's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, and she pinched her smooth cheek.
The two spent a night at the villa in Q City. At night, they made love to the sound of the ocean waves, the surf rising high, layer upon layer.
Yu Qingtang had a low-key personality, but the diamond ring Cheng Zhanxi gave her was too large to ignore. As soon as she went to the Cheng family home, Song Qingrou noticed it. Song Qingrou took her hand and exclaimed, "Oh my."
Yu Qingtang shyly lowered her eyelids.
Cheng Zhanxi smiled beside her.
Yu Qingtang: "Aunt Song..."
Song Qingrou said with a beaming smile, "Still calling me Aunt?"
Yu Qingtang's face flushed red. She opened her mouth several times but still couldn't bring herself to say the word "Mom." Cheng Zhanxi stepped in to smooth things over, "She just proposed, Ms. Song. Let's get them married first, then we can talk about changing how she addresses you. Also, have you prepared the red envelope?"
Song Qingrou: "Right, right, right, marriage."
In the evening, Cheng Yi and Cheng Yuanxi returned. The family of five sat in the living room, discussing Cheng Zhanxi and Yu Qingtang's marriage.
Cheng Yuanxi looked left and right, feeling that this scene was discordant in every way.
Four members of the Cheng family, and opposite them, only Yu Qingtang. How could marriage discussions be conducted like this?
Cheng Yuanxi spoke up, "Qingtang, shouldn't we arrange a time to meet with Uncle Wei?"
Yu Qingtang's thin lips pressed together slightly.
Cheng Zhanxi sensed trouble and shot her brother a look.
Cheng Yuanxi didn't know what he had said wrong, but from Cheng Zhanxi's gaze, he concluded he had misspoken and tactfully remained silent.
Back home, Cheng Zhanxi asked Yu Qingtang if she minded her telling her family about her family's experiences. Yu Qingtang shook her head, saying she didn't mind. In the family group chat, Cheng Zhanxi recounted Yu Qingtang's upbringing over the years. When it came to Yu Qingtang's word versus Wei Tingyu's, Song Qingrou naturally believed Yu Qingtang, who was now one of their own. Besides, it wasn't as if Yu Qingtang was any less good-looking than her own father.
Song Qingrou: "???"
Song Qingrou: "!!!"
That very night, Song Qingrou threw the treasured tea set Wei Tingyu had previously gifted her into the trash!
She had never understood why Wei Tingyu had handled Yu Qingtang's marriage affairs in such a way, and had even imagined some father-daughter incestuous drama. She never expected the truth to be so... What a waste of his handsome appearance!
Ms. Song sent dozens of angry messages in the group chat, getting so worked up that her head ached, and she couldn't sleep well all night.
The next day, Ms. Song made a firm decision: "There's no need to invite Wei Tingyu. We'll just discuss it among ourselves. If the Wei family doesn't consider her their daughter, why should we give them any face!"
Cheng Yuanxi said, "No, that won't do."
Song Qingrou pinched his arm. "I knew it, none of you men are any good!"
Cheng Yuanxi cried, "Dad! Help!"
Cheng Yi took his wife's hand and held it, saying, "Don't get so worked up first. Do you remember what Wei Tingyu told us?"
Song Qingrou showed her nails, ready for a fight at any moment. "What did he say?"
Cheng Yi said, "He said he was critically ill and didn't have much time left. The other three branches of the Wei family were planning to seize his share of the family assets, so he was desperate for Qingtang to marry. He chose our Cheng family because the Cheng family could protect Qingtang. With our backing, she wouldn't be swarmed by the Wei family members and devoured."
Song Qingrou slowly retracted her nails and asked, "You mean..."
Cheng Yi said unhurriedly, "What's rightfully hers of the family assets is hers. Why should she just hand it over to others?"
Cheng Yuanxi added, "So, for this marriage, not only do we need to invite the Wei family to discuss it, but we also need to make it widely known to everyone."
Cheng Yi said, "It would be best to alarm the other three branches, so they wouldn't dare to have any designs on Qingtang."
Song Qingrou: "..."
She'd leave this kind of scheming and plotting to the two of them. She only cared about when Yu Qingtang would start calling her "Mom."
Cheng Zhanxi only learned today that Wei Tingyu didn't have much time left. The two of them had been living a carefree life, and Yu Qingtang never mentioned those people and things that would spoil the mood. Hearing Wei Tingyu's name, she tightened her grip on Yu Qingtang's hand. Yu Qingtang looked at her with a gentle gaze and shook her head.
She now had a new family; old people and old matters were to be treated as part of someone else's life, unrelated to her.
One thing was settled: Wei Tingyu would likely not survive this winter. To give Yu Qingtang enough confidence to face the covetous Wei family members, she and Cheng Zhanxi had to get engaged as soon as possible. The reason for an engagement first, rather than direct marriage, was the lack of time. Although preparations for Miss Wei's marriage to Cheng Yuanxi had been underway, apart from the proposed guest list, nothing else could be used.
The groom had become a bride, meaning two wedding dresses were needed. Should they buy ready-made ones or commission a designer for custom-made ones? How to choose the wedding rings... Meticulously planning a wedding would take at least six months to a year. Given Cheng Zhanxi's personality, who deliberated extensively even for a proposal, the official wedding preparation period would only be longer.
The Cheng family was no ordinary family. The engagement banquet wouldn't be a simple dinner with just the two families. They decided to proceed with the original plan: a grand banquet for many guests, a lavish affair. Apart from not wearing wedding dresses or reciting vows, the scale would be no different from a wedding.
Anyway, most people weren't even clear whether it was the brother or the sister getting married. Whether it was a wedding or an engagement wasn't important either. As long as Cheng Zhanxi and Yu Qingtang appeared at the engagement banquet, seeing would be believing.
The Cheng family home was immersed daily in a lively engagement atmosphere, even more festive than a wedding. Yu Qingtang followed her routine, continuing her fitness, horse riding, archery, and darts without slacking, hoping to see results soon.
She was peacefully living an almost secluded life when she received an invitation to a dinner party.
Strictly speaking, the invitation was for Cheng Zhanxi's family. Yu Qingtang, as a member of the Cheng family, was naturally expected to make an appearance in the Capital City.
This would be her first time appearing before the world as Seventh Miss Wei.
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