Chapter 200 - Congratulations

She stopped venting out her annoyance and was surprised to see him kneeling with one knee in front of her instead.

Huang Li was holding a small maroon box and with a gentle, loving smile as he began speaking. "You are like this puzzle cube, every time I think that I'm this close to solving you, I find another part of the puzzle out of place... But I guess that's you, a puzzle with a missing piece, impossible to solve... even if that's the case, I want to keep on trying in hope that I can be your missing piece." He opened the small box he was holding, revealing the beautiful ring he prepared for her before he asked her the question she was waiting for, "Will you marry me?"

Even if Fan Xiao Yao was expecting this, he was still able to catch her off-guard. He was still able to give her a surprise. Her eyes became misty and soon, tears dripped down from her eyes as she stared down at the man who proposed to her. In one swift motion, she pounced on him, giving him a tight embrace. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

He chuckled softly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her back. He was glad and relieved that her answer was still the same. After a while, he pulled back a bit and smiled, "I should put this ring around your finger now."

"Oh yeah." She giggled happily. She wiped her face dry before she showed her left hand to him to which he held it after taking off the ring from the box and slipping it around her ring finger.

"With this ring, we're officially engaged." He pulled her hand up as he leaned forward and gave the ring a small kiss.

"And we can finally get married tomorrow!" She exclaimed happily, jumping on to him again after he gave her the ring.

Huang Li blinked a few times, placing his hands on her waist. "Tomorrow?" He chuckled.

"Then when should we get married? I want us to marry within this month! Please?" She tilted her head on the side and grinned at him.

"I see no reasons why we can't do that." He smiled helplessly.

She giggled happily and even gave him a soft peck on his lips before she looked at the ring on her finger. She was grinning ear to ear, she couldn't stop smiling and it only showed how delighted she was to finally see the ring around her finger.

...

That night, Fan Xiao Yao decided to take a picture of the ring to Shi Enxi by sending it to her Wechat. She even posted a photo of it on her Weibo with a caption: "Finally <3".

Soon enough, countless comments began flooding the post, all coming from her fans. Some were shocked but most of the comments congratulated her.

Meanwhile, after who knew a whole fifteen minutes, she was finally able to receive a reply from Shi Enxi.

Shi Enxi: [Congratulations. :)]

Fan Xiao Yao was happy to receive a reply from her since she thought that she might just ignore her again. She has been ignoring her messages whenever she was sending one to her.

She decided to use this chance to ask her, "Can I call?"

A few seconds after, she received a reply, [Are my kids with you?]

Shi Enxi had stopped calling her ever since Lu Mello stopped bringing their children to her place. Fan Xiao Yao had always been updating her friend whenever the kids were at her place just so she could call her.

Fan Xiao Yao: [I'm sorry, Mello hasn't brought them back to us yet.]

Shi Enxi: [I see.]

Just when Fan Xiao Yao thought that she wasn't going to call her, her phone began ringing and Shi Enxi's name appeared on the screen.

She quickly answered the call, pressing the phone's earpiece against her ear. "Hello, Xiao Xi?" 

"Congratulations on getting engaged." Shi Enxi's calm, smooth, and honey-like voice was heard from the other side.

"Thank you! You won't believe how Huang Li proposed! He was so cool! So cool!" She replied with a lively tone.

"When do you plan on having your wedding?" 

"Maybe next week? We decided to have it within this month." Fan Xiao Yao was staring at the ring when she answered her question. "I hope that you can come, Xiao Xi... I really want you to be my maid of honor."

Shi Enxi became quiet on the other line. She didn't say a word, only the sound of her breathing was heard.

"Please?" She pleaded. "If not for you, I wouldn't be able to get to where I am now. Also, Huang Li is like a brother to you, right? I'm pretty sure that you attending our wedding will mean a lot to him too."

After a whole minute of quietness coming from the Shi Enxi's side, she finally said, "I'm sorry."

It was an answer that saddened and Fan Xiao Yao. It only disappointed her further when Shi Enxi ended the call after.

She lowered her phone and turned her gaze to Huang Li who was leaning against the doorpost with his arms crossed. He was there from the start and he heard all their conversation.

Fan Xiao Yao shook her head a bit, "I don't think that she'll come..."

Huang Li straightened his back and began taking a step, then another one, as he approached her. He sat at the edge of the bed and reached out to hold her hand. "Do you want me to try talking to her?"

Fan Xiao Yao sighed, "I don't think she'll be answering my call..." She placed her phone on the side before she hugged him by his waist. "I really want her to come..."

He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, giving her solace that way. Since he could see how awful she looked, he decided to distract her by letting go of her hand. He held her chin, making her face him before he leaned down for a kiss, startling her.