Chapter 154 - 3.50

Of course, she did not mean it. Her place was in Xian Ruo, right here beside him. Why would she go back there when she had just finally managed to return here?

"No! Qiqi, don't joke about that kind of thing, you can't do that.." Xie Yongrui instantly became frantic, and threw himself over Xu Jiaqi even harder, burdening the other with his weight.

"I thought that.. the first thing I will be receiving when I show up would be a grand surprise, but all I get is a crushing bear hug? Not that I'm complaining, though. You make me feel warm nonetheless."

"..You've been gone for so long. I convinced myself that I would stay calm after you come back.. But I can't even do that. There's.. too much to.. process. Qiqi, please give me some more time.." Xie Yongrui refused to get off her, clutching her tightly. "I do have a surprise for you, but I'm not in a condition to do it.."

He was akin to a child who had just retrieved his most precious thing. Seeing him like this made Xu Jiaqi's heart warm up.

"..Then calm down first. We have a lot to catch up on. My lord, you've matured. You look so different from when I went away." Xu Jiaqi loosened her hair pin, since it was bothering her when Xie Yongrui held her tight.

"You.. too. You look so beautiful.. Exactly how I imagined you would be in my dreams."

"Ao, did you dream about me a lot? That makes me happy~" Xu Jiaqi let out a small sigh. "Rui, you've gotten so big~ I didn't really grow up that much. It makes me feel slightly dejected. You're handsome, much more than anybody I've ever seen. Ah, you also did great without me.. Look at how high you've brought Xian Ruo to. My time spent in Xi wasn't a waste after all."

"...Qiqi, what are you doing?"

"Praising you, of course? During these five years, I couldn't praise you like I regularly do, so I need to uplift you with my words."

Xie Yongrui pouted, feeling like he should be the one to praise her for all she did for Xian Ruo. The news of her accomplishments were spread far, and she deserved a ton of praise for her existence itself. But he had trouble talking and sorting out his thoughts, so he feared that Xu Jiaqi would end up getting the wrong idea instead.

He took deep breaths in and out, trying to compose himself. Then, he removed her from his grip, standing up and going to a compartment in the room to take out a certain something.

Xu Jiaqi's eyes softened upon seeing the small box held inside Xie Yongrui's hand. He tried to hide it, but the box itself was already exquisite to begin with. Judging by the context and size, it was impossible to escape Xu Jiaqi's gaze.

It should be jewelry. Although this was set in ancient times, where the concept of engagement rings wasn't  made to be a tradition yet, there was still a lot of people who exchanged pieces of jewelry to honor a promise or a connection.

"Qiqi.. My treasured person. I know that you don't like to be tied down to anything, but.. I truly hold you in the deepest parts of my heart.." Xie Yongrui was still fumbling a lot with his words. Expressing his emotions in a clear cut way was not his forte, and not to mention, he was extremely nervous.

"Rui, I'm not too keen on people who say too much unnecessary stuff. If you could do me the favor of getting straight to the point, I would like it very much." Xu Jiaqi sighed as she cut the man off, massaging his shoulders in a circular manner to help relax the man's tensed up poise.

As much as she found the man lovable when he started to ramble like this, she preferred more straightforward ways of expressing one's emotions. There were not much that could be extracted from simply just speaking words without actually executing the actions behind those words.

Xu Jiaqi advocated for proving oneself by actions, and not just by words. Words could be spoken easily, but fulfilling the repercussions that followed those words, especially promises, was the part that not everybody could follow.

She did like love talk, but not ones that were too dragged out. Professing one's love should be done in a simple manner, sincere and concise so that the other party would be able to get the important meaning directly without having to screw around with flowery words.

"...In short, during the time that you were away, I've figured everything out. Your existence is special to me, much more special than anything else that I have ever held in my life. Xu Jiaqi, I love you and would like to spend the rest of my life with you." Xie Yongrui followed Xu Jiaqi's advice, taking out the box and showing it to her.

He clasped the first red box and opened it, revealing a pair of golden rings with white jade stones embedded in the socket. Just by seeing the pieces, you could tell that it must've had an astronomical cost.

"It's beautiful... Matching jewelry. Since when do you know my ring size, though? Will it fit perfectly?"

"I.. actually had sent a letter to Xi.. When you attended banquets, I had your ring measurement sent to me. It was hard to convince He Yiyuan, and I don't know why, but he ended up giving in and sent the measurements under his name a month ago?" He Yiyuan stuttered in his speech as he took out the ring and held it in his hand, looking up towards Xu Jiaqi to look at her reaction.

Xu Jiaqi burst into a small fit of laughter upon seeing Xie Yongrui's clumsy act. Why did he use such an elaborate method in order to get her ring size? There were so many other ways, why did he have to go through He Yiyuan?

"Qiqi.. What do you say? How do you feel about me?" Xie Yongrui saw that Xu Jiaqi was getting distracted and put the ring forward for her to see.

"Isn't it obvious? Rui, you've been in my mind ever since I left for Xi. Just like you chose me and remembered me for all this time, waited for me to come back patiently... I also choose you.