Chapter 47: Contemplating Marriage

“Are you willing to marry me?”

Luo Shaoxuan’s hands trembled as he peeled the grape. He lifted his head and stared at her blankly: “Wh-what?”

He seemed to have just heard something that made his heart tremble. Luo Shaoxuan’s heart tightened and he crushed the grape in his hand. His eyes fixated on her as he carefully asked: “What did you just…say?”

Luo Shaoxuan’s heart pounded rapidly, so fast that it made him a bit dazed. It made him feel like the words he just heard might have been his imagination.

Si Qingyu took a deep breath and looked at him seriously, enunciating each word: “Are you willing to marry me?”

She lightly took his hand, stained with grape pulp, and picked up a silk handkerchief beside them. She meticulously wiped his hand clean and interlaced their fingers. Her expression was tender as she gazed at him, vowing word by word: “Marry me, and I will certainly not let you down.”

Si Qingyu was not one for honeyed words. She wasn’t in the past and still wasn’t now. But once she made a promise, she absolutely would not change it.

Luo Shaoxuan looked at her in disbelief, still feeling like this was a dream. A beautiful dream he had been foolishly waiting for. But this dream was truly so real that he couldn’t help but be intoxicated.

Luo Shaoxuan tightly gripped her hand, with a force strong enough to almost crush it.

Si Qingyu secretly took a breath, enduring the pain and not withdrawing her hand. Seeing Luo Shaoxuan’s dazed and disbelieving appearance, she forced out a gentle smile, her voice soft: “Shaoxuan?”

He looked at her in a daze. It was the first time Si Qingyu had seen him so stunned. She laughed lightly, her gaze even more gentle and doting. She tightly held his hand back and lightly shook it: “Shaoxuan? What’s wrong?”

Luo Shaoxuan’s red lips parted slightly, but she couldn’t hear what he said. Si Qingyu leaned her head closer to him, puzzled: “What did you say?”

“You…really mean it?” Even though she was close, his voice was still so soft that she almost couldn’t hear it.

Si Qingyu withdrew one hand and slowly caressed his face, pressing his head toward her. She dropped a kiss on his forehead and rested her forehead against his, eyes quietly gazing deep into his: “Do you believe it now?”

This feeling was so real, not at all like being in a dream…

Luo Shaoxuan’s eyes suddenly reddened and a clear teardrop flowed down. But he was smiling very happily, happier than he had ever been.

“Why are you crying now? You don’t want to?” Si Qingyu’s fingers gently wiped away his tears. The thought that he might be unwilling made her feel an unstoppable sense of loss.

But she saw Luo Shaoxuan shake his head, tears glistening. He grabbed her hand caressing his face and rubbed against it affectionately, smiling like a gorgeous blooming flower: “So happy…”

He was so happy that his whole body trembled slightly. So this was how hard it was to control oneself when the things in a beautiful dream actually came true.

Si Qingyu smiled. Was he really this happy? She let him nuzzle her hand while tightly holding his other hand: “So you’re willing?”

“Mm, I’m willing…willing.” Saying this, he even grabbed her hand and pressed it to his lips, kissing it nonstop. His beautiful eyes were filled with love and infatuation as he looked at her.

How could he be unwilling when it was something he had extravagantly longed for for so long?

“Then when shall we wed?” The eagerness in his beautiful eyes seemed to wish they could get married right now, entangling together and never separating.

Si Qingyu smiled and lightly pinched his cheek, looking at him with a teasing glint in her eyes: “Why are you in such a rush?”

Luo Shaoxuan sat on the bed and obediently rested his head on her shoulder, tightly hugging her while still remembering to avoid her wounds. His eyes were deep with a hint of obsessive love: “How can I not be in a rush? I’ve waited so long, so very long for this day…” So long that he had almost lost patience, that urge to knead her into his bones and never part.

“Ziliang…” He lifted his head from her shoulder. The love in his eyes was like a huge net slowly woven from strands, leaving no escape. “If you want…we can consummate right now.”

“Cough cough cough…” This train of thought had jumped too far, making it momentarily impossible for Si Qingyu to accept.

“Uh…no, this kind of thing, we should still wait until after we’re married…” As if thinking of something, Si Qingyu’s face began to heat up. She hurriedly grabbed Luo Shaoxuan’s shoulders as he nestled in her arms and pushed him away a bit. She made a fist and held it to her lips, lightly coughing: “Shaoxuan, of course this kind of thing should wait until we wed…”

Having lived two lifetimes, it was the first time discussing something so risqué with someone. She composed herself and looked at Luo Shaoxuan seriously: “When we return to town, I will certainly give you a complete wedding ceremony, alright?”

There was a faint disappointment in the depths of Luo Shaoxuan’s eyes, but it was quickly concealed. He raised a shy, sweet smile: “Then let’s return tomorrow.” But then he seemed to think of something and looked at her wounds, frowning in worry: “No, that won’t work. We should wait a couple more days.”

“…” She remembered yesterday when she said she wanted to return to town, he had coldly refused, insisting she stay here a few more days. He really changed so quickly. “Alright then, let’s return in a couple of days.”

“I haven’t prepared anything for the wedding yet. I’ll have the housekeeper go prepare things for me now and we can bring them back together later.” Luo Shaoxuan’s jade-like finger tapped as he listed out the things that needed to be prepared. His icy, jade-like cheeks were flushed with excitement, like an ordinary youth about to be wed, bashful yet unable to contain his elation.

He went over the wedding arrangements with Si Qingyu one by one. Unfortunately, Si Qingyu didn’t understand these things at all. But she also didn’t interrupt him, quietly listening to him speak, occasionally nodding and smiling in response.

Soon, Luo Shaoxuan summoned the housekeeper and had her go buy all these things.

Si Qingyu still remembered the housekeeper’s shocked eyes, gaze flickering between the two of them. Head lowered, she listened to Luo Shaoxuan’s instructions, not daring to question anything.

After the housekeeper left, Luo Shaoxuan sat on the edge of the bed, eyes holding a hint of resentment as he looked at Si Qingyu: “Originally, we should have gone to buy these together.”

But because of her injuries, he couldn’t bear to have her accompany him out right now.

Si Qingyu naturally knew the complaint in his heart. She pursed her lips: “Otherwise, I should still go out with you? My wounds aren’t serious now. As long as I don’t make any big movements, it’ll be fine.”

But Luo Shaoxuan shook his head, heartache in his eyes as he lightly caressed the red marks on her jaw: “No need. Your wounds have only just begun to heal. Of course you need to recuperate properly first.”

“Then won’t you feel wronged?”

But she saw Luo Shaoxuan take her hand and gently press it to his heart, eyes brimming with tender feelings: “So, remember to treat me well in the future.”

Through her palm, Si Qingyu could feel that warm heartbeat. With her hand, it jumped all the way into her own heart. Her eyes began to cloud over as she looked at him. At this moment, his beautiful eyes were like hooks, making her heart tremble.

Si Qingyu uncontrollably caressed his cheek with her hand. He rubbed against her hand, beautiful eyes reddened at the corners with a hint of coquettish charm as he gazed at her. The hand gently stroking his cheek slowly moved to the back of his head. Si Qingyu’s eyes were hazy as she began to approach his lips.

The two kissed once more, reluctant to part.

……

The items for the wedding ceremony couldn’t be prepared in a single day. Moreover, Luo Shaoxuan was very particular. He would nitpick everything brought back, striving for perfection. He would also ask Si Qingyu’s opinion.

Si Qingyu naturally didn’t understand. As long as he felt it was acceptable, she would just nod and agree beside him. In her eyes, these things really didn’t have much difference.

But Luo Shaoxuan was different. If a single hairpin had the slightest color that displeased him, he would directly discard it and buy a new one.

Si Qingyu was sunbathing in the courtyard.

He placed a piece of top-grade red fabric in front of her, full of joyful anticipation as he asked her: “Ziliang, what do you think of this fabric?”

Si Qingyu sat at the stone table, a book in hand. Hearing him ask this, her eyes left the book and glanced at the fabric: “Mm, it’s very nice.” Then her gaze returned to the book.

Seeing this, Luo Shaoxuan’s eyes held some displeasure. He took the book from her hands and continued with a smile: “This fabric will be used to make the wedding robes. What do you think?”

The book was snatched from her hands. Si Qingyu rubbed her fingers and looked at the fabric carefully, thinking for a moment before asking hesitantly: “You know how to make them?”

“Of course I do.” His needlework was top-notch in the capital. How could something like this be difficult for him?

“But…won’t it be hard on the eyes?”

Just looking at it stitch by stitch made her eyes a bit tired.

Luo Shaoxuan’s smile grew even more enchanting. He placed the fabric on the stone table and sat beside her, tightly interlacing their fingers. His eyes curved as he looked at her: “I will…so you have to watch me a lot. Only then will I not overexert myself.”

“…” There was even this kind of logic? Si Qingyu looked at him helplessly and reached out to pat his head. Taking advantage of his dazed state, she took the book back from his hand: “Alright, then go ahead and make it.”

Seeing her attention focused on the book again, Luo Shaoxuan wasn’t upset. He lowered his head to look at a hairpin with a color that displeased him and crushed it.

Raising his head again, he looked at Si Qingyu’s profile, eyes full of tenderness: “Then when shall we return to town?”

This question reminded her. Si Qingyu lifted her head and thought. It seemed she had stayed here for quite a few days. She hesitated for a moment: “How about…tomorrow?”

“Alright.”

Luo Shaoxuan nodded in agreement. In his view, naturally the sooner the better. He went back to the bedroom to get the sewing supplies, planning to bring them to the courtyard to start cutting the fabric. Without any reservations, he spread out the fabric.

Sitting to the side reading, Si Qingyu saw the exquisite fabric about to brush against the ground. She hurriedly bent over to pick it up. Such fine fabric would be a pity if it got dirty from falling on the ground: “Shaoxuan, take it back to the room to work on it. It’s dirty here on the ground.”

Luo Shaoxuan was unmoved. He tugged the fabric in her hands up a bit, saying indifferently: “No, I want to do it here.”

“I’ll go back to the room to read too then.”

“Alright, then I’ll go back to the room to do it.”

“…”

Si Qingyu sat by the window in the bedroom, a book in hand but unable to focus on reading. Her gaze unconsciously drifted to Luo Shaoxuan on the bed. He was currently fiddling with the cut fabric with a serious expression. His jade-white fingers looked especially beautiful against the red fabric. His dark hair fell slightly against his fair cheeks, long dense lashes occasionally fluttering.

It actually made her stare in a daze.

The man with lowered head on the other side curled his lips in a meaningful smile, feeling an unprecedented satisfaction in his heart.

Yes, just look at him like this. It was good if her eyes only had him in them.