Xia Qingqing stood on tiptoe and pinched Song Ze's cheek, threateningly saying in a coquettish voice, "Quickly tell me the truth, do you have a dog outside?"

"A dog? I don't own a dog," Song Ze said, looking completely bewildered.

"Haha, I wasn't talking about the dog," Xia Qingqing laughed at his words.

Song Ze pulled her into his arms: "Yuan Xin had something to ask me to help with, which delayed me a bit and that's why I'm late. Qingqing, don't be angry, okay?"

I'm sorry, bro, I'll have to let you take the blame for now.

At that moment, Yuan Xin, who was busy in the yard, suddenly sneezed. He looked around and thought to himself: Which bastard is cursing me?

Xia Qingqing suddenly realized, "Ah, so that's how it is."

"What else did you think? Let's go, we should get going," Song Ze said with a smile, kissing her forehead.

Xia Qingqing, sitting on the back of Song Ze's bicycle, noticed that the route seemed a bit off and tugged at Song Ze's clothes, asking, "Where are we going?"

Upon hearing the voice, Song Ze turned his head slightly and replied, "Go to the courtyard I bought before."

"Why go there all of a sudden? We might as well just stay at my house and warm ourselves by the fire," Xia Qingqing said casually, swinging her toes.

"I had someone renovate it, so you, the future mistress of the house, can come and inspect the results," Song Ze said with a smile.

Xia Qingqing reached out and poked his waist: "Hmph, what future mistress? I have no idea."

The two chatted and laughed along the way, and Xia Qingqing didn't feel cold at all.

Finally, the bicycle stopped at the gate of a courtyard. Xia Qingqing jumped off the bicycle lightly and found that the courtyard gate was not locked.

She quickly called Song Ze over: "Ze, come and take a look! The lock on the yard is gone. Has a thief broken in?"

Song Ze's eyes flickered, and he casually said, "I must have forgotten to lock the door last time, but there's nothing important in this yard."

Xia Qingqing gave him a speechless look: "How can you be so careless?"

"Come on, let's go inside and take a look," Song Ze said, taking Xia Qingqing's hand and leading her into the courtyard.

As soon as the two stepped into the main room, Xia Qingqing noticed something was wrong. The entire room was decorated with balloons and ribbons, even more festive than other people's wedding decorations. Was this the renovation that Song Ze was talking about?

Just as she was about to ask Song Ze what was going on, a group of people suddenly rushed out of the room, almost scaring her to death.

She patted her chest, looking at the group of people in front of her with some surprise and uncertainty: "Sister Qiu, what are you all doing here???"

"Comrade Song invited us here," Xiang Qiu said with a smile. After speaking, she turned her head and glared at Wang Zhihong, who was carefully supporting her. She wasn't a glass doll; she wasn't that fragile.

Besides Xiang Qiu and his wife, Chen Xiu, Yuan Xin, and Ning Zhiyuan were also there; they were all invited by Song Ze to be witnesses.

Seeing that the time was right, Yuan Xin quickly handed the roses he had hidden in the corner to Song Ze and gave him a encouraging look.

Song Ze knelt on one knee, holding a bouquet of roses in his hands. He was so nervous that he stammered, "Qingqing, I..."

He closed his eyes briefly, then mustered his courage and said, "Comrade Xia Qingqing, I love you. Would you like to marry me?"

Yuan Xin and the others immediately started cheering: "Marry him, marry him, marry him!"

Xia Qingqing remained silent, this was completely unexpected; she had never imagined that Song Ze would prepare such a surprise for her.

She instinctively placed her hand on her heart, which pounded like a drum, and a warm feeling slowly spread throughout her body.

So, she was very happy about Song Ze's marriage, right?

"Qingqing, are you willing?" Song Ze asked nervously, repeating the question when she didn't answer.

In the dead of winter, Song Ze was so nervous that his back was soaked with cold sweat. He had never thought that Qingqing would reject him, but looking at Xia Qingqing who was silent at the moment, he suddenly became flustered.

What if, what if Qingqing rejects him? No, there's a possibility he won't accept her.

Everyone else's eyes were also fixed on Xia Qingqing, waiting for her answer.

Seeing Song Ze's lips droop little by little, Xia Qingqing smiled and accepted the rose: "I do."

These three simple words brought Song Ze's heart, which had been pounding in his chest, back to normal. He stood up, happily hugged Xia Qingqing, and spun her around several times: "Hahaha, I'm so happy, Qingqing, thank you."

Thank you for accepting my proposal.

"Put me down quickly, there are so many people here," Xia Qingqing said shyly, patting Song Ze's arm.

Yuan Xin watched anxiously from the side and whispered a reminder: "Aze, the ring, the ring."

"Oh right, the ring is still inside the roses," Song Ze realized and quickly found the ruby ​​ring inside the roses.

"Qingqing, shall I put it on you?"

Xia Qingqing then realized that there was a ring hidden inside the rose. Because the two items were so similar in color, she hadn't even noticed it.

Meeting Song Ze's expectant gaze, Xia Qingqing nodded and extended her hand in front of him.

After the ring was put on, the proposal ceremony was considered a complete success. Yuan Xin couldn't wait to tease, "In this situation, wouldn't it be inappropriate not to kiss? Kiss, kiss!"

The room was filled with Yuan Xin's voice; the others were too embarrassed to say such things.

Xia Qingqing glanced at Yuan Xin with some surprise; this person was so open-minded that he didn't seem like someone born in the 1960s.

Song Ze thought Xia Qingqing was shy, and laughed and scolded, "Go away, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Kissing is definitely possible, but it can't be done in public; at least we should wait until no one is around...

"Aze, you really do use it and then throw it away," Yuan Xin said with dissatisfaction.

Thinking about Yuan Xin's contributions today, Song Ze felt he should treat him better: "Thank you all for your hard work today, I'll treat you all to dinner."

"I want to eat roast duck," Yuan Xin said loudly.

“Sure, you can eat whatever you want,” Song Ze said generously.

On the way to the restaurant, Xia Qingqing, sitting on the back of the bicycle, tugged at Song Ze's sleeve and asked, "Ze, where did you get that bouquet of roses?"

It's much easier to buy something now than it would be decades later. Although the bouquet only had nine roses, it was still a rare treat in the dead of winter.

Song Ze smiled and said, "It's all thanks to Yuan Xin. He stole it from his grandma's house—no, he picked it."

Yuanxin's grandmother used to be a rich young lady who always enjoyed growing flowers and plants to pass the time. I heard that she really liked these roses and specially built a glass greenhouse to grow them.

I wonder if Yuan Xin will suffer when he goes back.