After doing all this, Ai lay down on her bed, holding her phone, staring at the screen, waiting for Akemi's reply.

Ai quickly received a reply; Akemi sent her several interjections expressing surprise.

Upon seeing the text message, Xiao Ai smiled.

Following this surprised text message, Ai received a phone call from Akemi.

The matter was too big for Akemi to handle by sending text messages slowly.

"Hello." Ai tried her best to keep her tone calm.

She had barely uttered a single word when Akemi's questions rained down through the microphone:

"Shiho, is that photo you sent me for real?"

Is it a real diamond ring?

"Is that diamond ring yours?"

"Was the diamond ring a gift from Guangyou?"

"What exactly happened?"

At this moment, Akemi was still somewhat disoriented.

Why the sudden marriage proposal?

"It's just like what you saw, sister."

After saying that, Ai answered the questions one by one in a very ordinary tone, as if it were a trivial matter:

"I'm serious."

"The ring is definitely real."

"It was given to me by Guangyou."

At first glance, the tone of voice seems similar to usual, but upon closer listening, one can detect the difference.

Even though some time has passed, Ai's heart still pounds and a smile involuntarily creeps onto her face whenever she thinks of the scene where Kousuke gave her the ring.

"So, Shiho, you and Kousuke are already engaged?" Akemi felt this was all too sudden and hadn't quite come to her senses yet.

She knew that Kōyū and Ai had a good relationship, but the fact that they went from being an ordinary couple to an engaged couple in the blink of an eye still caught her off guard.

After a few seconds of silence, Ai Haibara, her cheeks flushed and a faint smile on her face, replied:

"I guess so."

Even over the phone, Akemi could hear the sweetness in her voice.

"Look how happy you are," Mingmei teased, then offered her blessings, "You two must stay together forever."

"Mmm," Ai replied.

She was quite confident about her and Guangyou's future.

...