novelSaved a Country
| ← Ch.309 | Ch.311 → |
Yang Feng stayed firmly rooted to his spot and gently grabbed her hand, holding it like the treasure it was. He breathed in deeply and released it, only to settle his hand onto her lower back. It seemed to be his favorite spot for his fingers could feel the firm dip of her spine. He kept a tiny, half an arm distance between them.
His other hand reached into the pocket inside of his suit where he pulled out something from her wildest dreams, her eyes growing wider than the moon. She recognized it, her throat running dry and her head spinning in circles. He breathed in deeply and in a loving, tender voice, began his message to her.
"I never got the chance to ask you this or even had the honor to present this gift to you, but I will do it today." His thumb rubbed over the velvet of the small, black box with a single engraving of an infinity symbol on top of it.
"Marry me, my love. I will take away all of your sadness and give you my happiness. Shall you desire the world, I will conquer it and bring it to your knees. Whatever you desire, whatever makes you happy, you shall obtain it without any complications, this I can assure you." A small smile rested on his lips, something flashed in his eyes.
Was it nervousness? Was it anxiety and dismay? She could not tell.
"Not a second goes by where you do not plague my thoughts. When I close my eyes, all I see is you, and when I wake up in the morning, all I want is to see you. You've comfortably created a place within my heart and made a home there, a structure that I will carefully tend to." He could see her eyes moisten a bit. She pressed her lips together to control her emotions.
"When I look into your eyes, I see a future between us, a future filled with love, laughter, and a growing family. I know there will be bumps in our entwining paths and there will always be people out to break us apart, but I swear to you, my love, I will put my life on the line to keep you safely tucked by my side. If you disappear, I will chase you to the end of this world. All of those who stand in my way will drop dead and this entire world will be destroyed if it means I can see you again."
Zhao Lifei could feel the waterworks begin. She sniffled, the river dam had broken and something wet trickled down her cheeks.
"My dear, as long as there are stars in the sky and water in the ocean, I will love you. Even when death does us apart, I will chase you into the next lifetime and the rest to come."
He kneeled and opened the box, revealing a set of rings. The first was shaped like a hearth made of golden leaves holding up a sole marquise-cut emerald. It was an interesting design that resembled a simple, yet elegant crown. The star of the show was the actual wedding ring. It was one of the largest emeralds she had ever seen, but it was not traditionally placed in the center. It shared its limelight with the crystal-encrusted olive leaf. Linking the two pieces together was an externally flawless diamond that she read about in magazines, but never had the chance to ever see for it herself.
"I couldn't decide which one looked better, so I went with both." Yang Feng explained. He originally wanted to give her a family heirloom ring that his grandmother possessed. Traditionally, it was supposed to be given to the wife of the eldest son who happened to be Fan Jielan. She was not the Yang Matriarch's first candidate in marriage and because Yang Qianlu went against his mother's wishes, Madam Yang never even got a glimpse of the ring.
No one dared to speak about Matriarch Yang and her whereabouts were unknown. No one knew whether she was dead or alive, not even Elder Yang Mujian himself. The ring was untraceable, but if Zhao Lifei voiced a desire about possessing it, Yang Feng was willing to utilize every resource possible to find the ring.
"I would give you a reply, but I'm pretty sure you already know what it is." She cracked a small smile, watching as he lifted her hand and slipped on the two rings that fit snugly on her finger.
"I didn't even pop the question yet." He teased her, his lips breaking out into one of the happiest smiles she had ever seen on his face. It reached his eyes and warmed her entire body.
She let out a surprised laugh when he suddenly whisked her off of her feet, his arms securely wrapped around her waist as he spun them around, holding her comfortably to him. She could feel her heart erratically pounding, an unbeknownst smile on her face. She had never felt this happy in a very long time.
"I still can't believe we're married."
"Speaking of marriage, " She hooked her arms around his neck."When shall we hold a ceremony?"
"I'll hold the ceremony anytime you want. It doesn't have to be a day or two long, we can prolong it to a month—"
"That's an absurdly outrageous length of time for a marriage ceremony. Don't you mean the celebration?" She decided it would be better to hold the ceremony once all of their troubles died down.
"Whatever makes you happy, it shall be done." He hummed, setting her down onto her feet.
Zhao Lifei wondered out loud, "My goodness, which country did I save in my past life to get a man like you?" She leaned her head against his chest, her entire body relaxing when one of his hands began to lovingly caress the back of her head. The other was cupped over her hip, his thumb rubbing circles upon the area.
She hugged him tight when guilt bubbled in her stomach, causing aching pains in her heart. He was always giving and giving, rarely taking, but she could not find ways to respond to it. She was not used to people taking care of her or worrying about her safety. She was independent her entire life and the only person that seemed to directly lookout for her was herself. Burying her face into his chest, she knew she would have to start changing her ways soon, and only hoped it was not too late.
"Or perhaps you've saved my world." The words left his mouth without a second thought towards it. It seems his low EQ was slowly making itself less and less prominent...
Zhao Lifei's heart clenched at his loving words. She sniffed the air."Do you smell that?"
"Smell what?" Yang Feng surveyed the area, his eyes lingering upon the bamboo screen in the far back where the chefs were preparing the dishes. Was she hungry? He guessed he should direct her to the table now. A hungry wife equals an unhappy life.
"I smell cheese." She teased him about his cheesy words. She escaped his arms and happily glided to the table where she was the first to be seated. It happened so quickly, the waitress on standby was caught off guard and panicked when the young lady pulled out her own chair and sat down.
Yang Feng was initially perplexed by her words. Cheese? But none of the chefs were cooking with cheese tonight...
Ah, there goes his low EQ, making itself evident yet again.
It took a second for her words to register. He let out a burst of rich laughter that caused her stomach to excitedly flutter.
Half a year ago, if someone told him he would find himself in the position he was now, he would laugh at them and toss them into the black room where he'll personally brainwash the stupid idea out of that person. He was usually a man of very few words, especially in the presence of women. Many desired to flock to him and none dared to step out of line in fear of being heavily scathed by him. Lovey-dovey words and actions were never a part of his dictionary until she stormed through those hospital doors and wrote all of the definitions herself.
"Prepare your stomach and nose then." He confidently walked to her, his long legs easily carrying their way to her. He struggled to suppress his smile when he saw she was practically ogling his body. He pushed the chair in for her and bent down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. Next, he retired to his seat."There's a lot more cheesy content coming your way."
The waitress saw it was time to serve the first dish of the night which was the aperitif [1] consisting of a spring salad with slices of strawberries and sprinkles of fresh basil, grape tomatoes, the smallest tip of caviar, and truffle oil on top of an Italian bruschetta. It was served with a side of non-alcoholic sparkling blood orange cider.
Yang Feng had made sure it was non-alcoholic. If anything needed to be cooked with wine or any other liquor, the alcohol must be evaporated before it was served.
Zhao Lifei cupped her hands in front of her, a small grin on her face."Well then, I look forward to seeing what your exquisitely... slow EQ conjures up."
"My slow EQ?" He echoed her words, his brows raising."I could've sworn our levels were on equal standing."
Zhao Lifei was baffled by his words, a dramatic sharp gasp leaving her lips."Of course they're not on the same level."
He firmly nodded his head, agreeing with her."You're right, mine is exceedingly higher than yours. Do not fret, my love, I will make up for your..." He paused to search for the right term."... slow EQ with mine."
Zhao Lifei could not believe he was so good with comebacks. She wanted to indulge herself into this childish argument longer. All thoughts left her mouth when she saw the waitress approaching them from a distance with platter and glass dome upon it."You're lucky the food is here, or else I would've roasted you alive with my witty comebacks."
Yang Feng watched as her eyes made a beeline straight towards the oncoming dish."Excuses, excuses." He chided her but his words fell on deaf ears, for she was too concentrated on the dish set in front of them. He felt himself burning with envy and jealousy, even though the enemy was just a stupid platter of bread.
| ← Ch. 309 | Ch. 311 → |