Chapter 48: End of Main Text

While tidying up the new house, Liu Chengxu no longer needed to keep her things in storage boxes. She had a habit of collecting toys, figurines, and souvenirs from her travels, so Su Zhiluo specially made a cabinet for her. Su Zhiluo took out a very thick booklet from the box.

At first she was puzzled, but when she opened it she found a thick stack of train tickets and plane tickets.

Every single one of them was well preserved: from Guangzhou to Taipei, from Taipei to Guangzhou, the Pearl River cruise ticket, the amusement park ticket, and even her plane ticket to Shanghai last time...

Su Zhiluo felt a pang of sadness, as if she could see Liu Chengxu again, carrying a hiking backpack, appearing downstairs with red eyes and skin burning from the sun. She called out to her, "Sister-in-law, I'm here. Please don't send me away."

Every time I leave her, I wipe away tears, turning back every step of the way.

Su Zhiluo was never as meticulous as her when it came to packing. Her photo album was mostly filled with pictures of the two of them together.

Su Zhiluo carefully tucked the booklet and the emotions that welled up with her memories into the most conspicuous spot in the cabinet. Liu Chengxu's voice came from the kitchen, telling her to stop tidying up and get ready for dinner.

Tonight's dishes are bursting with the aroma of a wok. There's glistening scrambled eggs with chili peppers, tangy and spicy shredded potatoes, and freshly steamed, glistening, smoked bacon.

"I'm quite satisfied with what I did today," Liu Chengxu said with a smile.

"Mm." Su Zhiluo sat down and first put a piece of egg on Liu Chengxu's plate. Thinking back to the collection album, she said, "Let's go to more places to play in the future."

I'll use this album to fill it with happiness from now on.

*

They held a housewarming ceremony for their new home, inviting everyone they could. Everyone brought a lot of practical appliances and furniture. Liu Chengxu cooked, and Su Zhiluo entertained the guests.

After Chang Ruyin arrived, she sat with Yang Jie, but she always felt out of place. One called her "Mommy," and the other called her "Sister."

She secretly pulled Su Zhiluo aside and said, "Am I being too sensitive? I feel like the friends your Cheng Xu makes are all a bit abnormal?"

Su Zhiluo didn't know how to reply to her, so she racked her brains and said, "Actually, it's quite normal to have one or two."

"..."

Su Zhilu patted her shoulder solemnly and said, "Maybe that's how cultured people are."

Chang Ruyin: "My daughter Yang Jie is also a college student, a cultured person. They are just like me playing role-playing now. The only difference is that I play the role of the sister and stepmother, but they seem to be real."

Su Zhilu choked up, and it took her a long time to find the words: "You're playing this wildly?"

"...occasionally, not often."

Although they were strange, Chang Ruyin found them quite interesting. Led by Liu Chengxu, each of them had their own unique characteristics and eccentricities.

That evening, Su Zhiluo escorted them home. She was mainly curious about Meng Zhenyue and asked her a couple of questions. Meng Zhenyue's answer resonated with her: "Regardless of what others think, just live your own life well."

Su Zhiluo thought it made a lot of sense.

She wasn't in a hurry to go back, and strolled leisurely around their new home a few times. The moonlight cascaded down like a waterfall, and a gentle evening breeze caressed her cheeks. Looking up, she saw a warm light shining from the window on the seventeenth floor—their home.

From now on, I want to live a good life with Liu Chengxu.

They settled comfortably in their new home for a month. Once Liu Chengxu had finished his work, the two drove back to S City.

After that, they began looking for a new place to live. After comparing several options, they finally settled on a neighborhood and planned to buy an apartment there.

Su Zhiluo usually doesn't look at Liu Chengxu's phone, but today when she saw the trending topics on her phone saying that stocks were soaring, she checked the performance of the funds Liu Chengxu had bought.

Some time ago, she gave Liu Chengxu one million yuan. As soon as she unlocked her phone, she saw the chat history of Liu Chengxu's friends group.

Liu Chengxu: [My relationship with my sister-in-law is back to normal now. She moved out of the house she had with my sister and came to live with me in S City. Hahaha! Don't be too envious of me, I'm a winner in life.]

Meng Zhenyue: [Ring]

Liu Chengxu: [I'm so envious of you!!! You even have a ring!!!]

Liu Chengxu's words clearly revealed envy, and she also had many misunderstandings. She knew she liked her, but she was prepared to never express it to her for the rest of her life.

When Liu Chengxu came out of the shower, Su Zhiluo put her phone down.

Liu Chengxu plugged in the hairdryer, ready to dry his hair.

Su Zhiluo naturally took the hairdryer from her hand and gently brushed her hair with her fingertips. Liu Chengxu said something, which she didn't quite hear, but she guessed it was probably about the house.

She whispered in Liu Chengxu's ear, "I don't want to rent out the new house. I haven't lived here long enough yet, and I'm a little reluctant to leave."

“That’s what I meant too,” Liu Chengxu replied.

Su Zhiluo patiently smoothed out the curls at the ends of her hair, dried it, and then applied hair oil. Liu Chengxu looked up at her, hesitated several times before finally reaching out to wrap his arms around her waist and asking softly, "You just can't bear to let strangers into our house, right?"

Su Zhiluo gave a soft "hmm".

“Then let’s finalize the deal for that apartment we liked last time this month,” Liu Chengxu said.

The house they've set their sights on isn't cheap, costing a total of four million. Liu Chengxu will cover the mortgage, and the two of them will contribute to the down payment. Given their current financial situation, this is entirely within their means.

Liu Chengxu has a high income, plus he knows how to invest, and he also receives dividends from Meng Zhenyue; Su Zhiluo is more stable, her factory is growing bigger and bigger, not only supplying goods to many brand stores, but also running several affordable offline stores herself.

Liu Chengxu's consideration was that he was still uncertain whether he would stay in this place long-term. He decided to buy one place first, and then upgrade to a larger apartment once he had truly settled down.

As she fell asleep at night, Su Zhiluo gently squeezed her hand and rubbed it intermittently.

The next morning, Liu Chengxu got up to go to work and saw that Su Zhiluo had prepared breakfast and put it in a lunchbox for her to take with her, saying that she had something to do in the afternoon and had to go out.

Liu Chengxu said, "Why don't you open a studio here later? Do some design work, design the styles you like, and keep up with the trends. That way you won't have to stay here every day. I'm worried you'll get bored after a while."

"I know, Ruyin and I are discussing it."

Liu Chengxu kissed her on the cheek as he went out, "Thank you, darling."

Su Zhiluo looked up at her, and she ran away in a flash. Liu Chengxu went downstairs and touched his face; it was really hot.

Once Su Zhiluo has gradually adapted, they can get married according to plan.

Liu Chengxu looked back at the window, and Su Zhiluo waved to her.

After Liu Chengxu left, Su Zhiluo ate breakfast and then called Chang Ruyin to discuss it. Su Zhiluo drove out by herself. People in this city sleep late and wake up early, and the shops have already opened.

She went to the jewelry store recommended by Chang Ruyin.

Chang Ruyin said: "[This store called Lu Dameng is pretty good. The styles are nice, and if you buy according to the weight, the designs won't be bad.]"

Su Zhiluo followed the navigation to the location. She didn't want to buy a large diamond ring. She wanted to buy a pair of simple rings that would suit them well, so they could wear them forever.

After leaving their families, they walked together through spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Having endured scorching heat and freezing winters, and tasted all the joys and sorrows of life, every detail of life could have bent their backs, but they persevered and endured it all. They didn't care about other people's love lives; as long as they were happy, that was enough.

When she entered the store, the sales assistant greeted her warmly and recommended several styles. She looked at them for a long time but didn't find anything she liked, unwilling to settle for those common designs. Instead of pushing her to buy, the sales assistant handed her a note with an email address on it and gently explained: if she wasn't in a hurry and was willing to try, she could email their CEO. If the CEO was moved by their story, he would personally design a draft. After confirmation, she would receive her personalized finished product in about a month.

This matter sounded quite mysterious, and Su Zhiluo was skeptical.

Chang Ruyin said, "Right? Their service is very good, they never force you to spend money, and someone actually submitted a design and received the president's design."

Su Zhiluo initially thought it was just a marketing tactic, but after searching online, she discovered that a popular necklace that Meng Zhenyue had worn seemed to have been designed by the store's president.

A thought stirred within her, and she began to conceive her ideas on the swaying bus. She meticulously wrote down her past with Liu Chengxu, without deliberately embellishing it. When she came to her senses, the document had already exceeded five thousand words.

Sorry for writing so much. Basically, she always seems to lack confidence. When chatting with friends, she feels like she's not number one in my heart. She's like a little dog—very aloof when she's out, but if I call her, she wags her tail happily. Of course, I haven't told her this. When I like videos of dogs, it's often not because I like dogs, but because they really remind me of her. She asked me if I'd like to have a dog or a cat in the future. I want a cat because I already have a dog.

The train carriage swayed and rocked, and she reminisced about the past.

He wrote one last sentence.

The narrow space is like someone's chest cavity; every bump in love's chest is deafening.

She didn't know if the other person would read this, so she apologized for bothering them and thanked them for reading the story.

When the train arrived at the station, she visited several more stores, all of which had similar styles. She thought it wouldn't work, so she decided to buy gold bars and have them made by a master craftsman.

Unexpectedly, she received a reply in just three days, and the other party directly gave her a design drawing.

Su Zhiluo was so frightened that she immediately searched on Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform). People said that if the letter was ignored, it meant there was no hope; if there was a reply, it meant that the CEO himself had seen it.

That night, she was very excited. Liu Chengxu was working on a villa design, stretching his arms and legs to relieve fatigue. Su Zhiluo smiled while holding her phone.

She turned around and secretly took a few pictures of Liu Chengxu with her phone.

I thought to myself: Idiot, look at what you're doing right now. Don't you know I'm looking at ring design sketches?

The cabochon features an intricate pattern resembling roof eaves, beneath which rests a small dog and a delicate white angelica flower.

With just one glance, a burning, aching sensation welled up in her heart.

After finishing his work, Liu Chengxu got into bed and hugged her from behind. Su Zhiluo lay on her side, quickly stuffing her phone under her pillow, her fingertips still trembling slightly from the earlier excitement.

She truly hadn't expected that the other party would be willing to accept such a simple, unpretentious pair of rings for custom order.

About two weeks later, she went to the store to pick up the ring. The sales assistants were all surprised and congratulated her, saying that she was the first person since the store opened to receive a ring personally designed by the president, and also congratulated her and her girlfriend on their happy marriage.

It seemed like the whole world was congratulating her that day.

She overturned her previous understanding; it didn't seem so... ordinary, but rather quite dramatic.

Su Zhiluo once felt extremely miserable. She was born worse off than others, and her life was mostly filled with gloom. Her biggest goal was simply to live and have a safe haven.

She is now the luckiest person in the world.

Su Zhiluo specially bought a small cake and sat in the science park where Liu Chengxu worked, waiting for him. She sent him a message when it was time to leave work.

Liu Chengxu rushed downstairs and said, "Sister-in-law, I have a meeting today. Please wait for me in my office upstairs."

She took the cake from Su Zhiluo's hand and said, "I'll put it in the office refrigerator."

Su Zhiluo said "Eh," "Isn't that a bad idea, given where you work?"

"Don't worry, the top salesperson and director have this privilege."

Su Zhiluo was incredibly nervous and didn't dare go upstairs. After a long struggle, Su Zhiluo decided to stay in the coffee shop downstairs and sent her a message: "[Remember to eat the cake]".

After that, she waited and waited.

After waiting for almost two hours, Su Zhi finally couldn't hold on any longer. Ever since she learned that she was coming to pick up the ring today, she had been feeling sleepy, but as she waited, her heart finally settled.

She fell asleep on the table.

After finishing her meeting, Liu Chengxu sent several messages to Su Zhiluo but received no reply. Unsure if she had left, she took out a cake, cut a piece to taste, and then shared half with her assistant before deciding to go downstairs to check.

Liu Chengxu walked quickly and pressed the down button on the elevator. Her assistant rushed towards her with a cake, "Director, Director, your cake..."

Liu Chengxu said, "Just put it in the refrigerator."

“No, no…” the assistant said, “Your cake has a ring on it.”

Liu Chengxu was taken aback at first, then quickly reached out and blocked the elevator door from closing.

She took a ring from the cake.

The shock of that moment almost overwhelmed all her senses. She couldn't hear, tears welled up uncontrollably, and even her breath caught in her throat. She carefully wiped the cream off the ring with a tissue, but instead of putting it on immediately, she gently put it to her lips.

ah.

It's sweet.

It's really sweet.

Liu Chengxu took off the ring, held it in his palm, and clenched it tightly. He said, "This was given to me by my sister-in-law... my girlfriend."

Liu Chengxu returned to the elevator.

How could she not know why Su Zhiluo gave her this ring? Su Zhiluo must have seen her envy of Meng Zhenyue and knew she wanted it, so she bought it for her. From childhood to adulthood, Su Zhiluo had never made her suffer, always protected her self-esteem, kept her impeccably clean, and never treated her as inferior. As long as she asked, she would find a way to give it to her.

She peered inside through the glass.

Su Zhiluo was quietly resting by the table, her long eyelashes drooping gently like butterfly wings. The sparse sunlight filtering through the window softly illuminated her profile, creating a sacred and beautiful picture, her priceless treasure, unsellable, and hers to possess alone.

Liu Chengxu tiptoed over and sat quietly next to Su Zhiluo. She ordered the shop's signature "Sunset Glow" and a grapefruit and orange juice. Liu Chengxu tilted her head, waiting for her lover, her beloved, her partner with whom she would spend the rest of her life to wake up.

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The main text is finished! [rice][rice][rice]

The later side stories will be written more slowly.

Tell me quickly what kind of side stories you want to see, so that whichever one catches my eye I'll cook for you.