"Oh, G.o.d!", Rong Xinghe gasped, covering her wide-open mouth. Amid all the conspiracy theories she"d been solving and decoding these past few days, she hadn"t seen this one coming. "Are you sure?", she asked."I"ve never been this sure about something, Xinghe. I want this.", the man smiled, picking up the gla.s.s from the tray the waiter had brought. The Virgin Mojito. The drink that wasn"t just a drink to them. It was a memory. A beautiful and unforgettable memory.
"I know you can not promise me a "forever". There will always be uncertainties and fears and dangers. There will always be the possibility of you not returning back home one day, for you are a valorous and remarkable soldier. I know all of it.
"But even after all that, I want this. I want to build a home. With you. Every morning, I want you to wake up to the smell of breakfast I make. Every evening, I want to be the reason you would want to wind up every mission and come back home.
"I have loved you. And I won"t be able to love anyone else like that. You are my addiction and my drug. My strength and my weakness. You are an adventure, but you are also the warmth of the fire, to me. You can be a disastrous storm one second, and a piece of peaceful music the other. But above everything, you are my world. You are my everything.
"Rong Xinghe, having you by my side is what completes me. The first time I laid my eyes on you, I just knew that you were the one I"d been waiting for, my whole life.
"So Rong Xinghe, will you do me the immense honor of becoming my wife and life-partner?"
With that being said, the man offered the gla.s.s in his hand to the girl, the corner of his eyes stinging with hopeful tears.
Rong Xinghe stood frozen, clutching onto her dress. Every emotion that humans could possibly feel, was flooding through her heart, like the wave of ocean water hitting the sh.o.r.e of sand. More intensely than ever. Happiness. Anxiety. Doubts. Fears. Surprise. Everything.
The girl lifted her head up and ran her gaze through the crowd, finally setting onto her Six tigers, standing together. They exchanged glances among themselves and crossed their arms, nodding at her faintly. As if they were declaring their approval to her. So did the girl"s Sisters-in-law. The Superfamily was indeed a unique source of a.s.surance and sanity to her. She could feel her mind relax. She could feel her heart moving into a state of impeccable ease.
Rong Xinghe looked down at her darling next. Surrounded by all the awes and admiration, the girl sat down on her knees, accompanying him. She took the gla.s.s from his hands and guzzled the liquid down her throat. For she knew, what was awaiting her, at the bottom of that snifter.
As the girl sipped down the last drop, a smooth metal surface touched her soft upper lip, barely. Rong Xinghe pulled the gla.s.s away from her mouth and handed it back to the man, wrapping her hands around him, tightly. Then, with a slight tilt to her head, she brought her lips closer to his ear.
"Yes!", she whispered.
There was no going back from this man, she sighed. He was a stubborn and hopelessly romantic dork. A dork she was in love with. When it came to him, she"d never had second thoughts anyway. She loved him, and that was what mattered. Right?
"Say that again.", Xi Yuan separated himself from the girl, looking straight into her eyes, his expression a mix of shock and surprise.
"Yes, Yuan.", the girl laughed.
"Keep saying it.", the man grinned, wiping the wet ring with his handkerchief, with an utmost propriety. As if he wanted to make the ring worthy of her, to wear it.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Xi Yuan held onto the girl"s left hand, rubbing the back of her ring finger. Not long after, petals of roses and the white lilies started showering down the starry-lit roof, upon the guests and the couple. They were Rong Xinghe"s favorite flowers. No wonder the proposal was planned by Business King Xi Yuan. The charming wife-doting devil.
"May I?", he asked, eliciting a nod from the girl, heat rising up to her cheeks and the tip of her nose.
::::::::::::::::::
"Hey look at the ring! It"s designed into the form of a crown. So beautiful.", a high-cla.s.s socialite princess clasped her hands, staring at the dazzling thing, dreamily.
"Of course, it is a crown. She is a born-Queen, after all. She doesn"t deserve anything less.", another Xinguan admirer smirked.
"You young kids know nothing.", an elder sighed, keenly observing the texture of the ring around Rong Xinghe finger, "It"s the de-Beers Centenary Diamond. Worth 8,42 Million euros. De Beers no longer own it, and the real owner is still unknown. It"s, literally the fifth-most expensive diamond, across the world."
"Oh my... It"s actually the Centenary Diamond. How come..."
"Does she even know what she is holding onto right now?! Women would kill to own that ring."
"What kind of suicidal woman would try to even touch Xi Yuan"s woman?!"
"HAHAHA. That"s true."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
As the crowd broke into a row of murmurs and laughter, the journalists snapped pictures of the couple on-stage. Violently. Desperately. Trying to get every close-up.
"Should we get out of here?", Rong Xinghe asked, glancing at the ferocious camera flashes directed towards their direction.
"Definitely.", the man nodded, "Xi Wei will handle the media."
_____________________
10:30 p.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;
"What would you"ve done if I"d rejected you today?", Rong Xinghe asked, playing with her ring as her head rested upon Xi Yuan"s lap, "Did you even ever consider it?"
"I would"ve been embarra.s.sed, of course.", the man shrugged, ma.s.saging the girl"s head, "But then again, I am a strong-willed man. I am not going to stop until I marry you. So I would"ve stalked you even more."
"There is really no way to escape you, is there?", the girl laughed.
"Nope.", the man poked the girl"s cheeks, "By the way, when are we getting married?"
"Don"t worry. I have already decided on the perfect date for our wedding!", the girl sat up, pulling the man in for a quick soft kiss.
"Really?! When is it?", the man raised his brows, intrigued.
"31st of February.", Rong Xinghe winked.
"If we were married right now, I would"ve divorced you for that!", the man groaned. Little lady devil indeed. Couldn"t she be romantic for once?!