Chapter 37

The next day, they spent the whole day at Disneyland. Luckily, Zhuang Zhuoyuan didn't receive an emergency call halfway through the rides and was able to accompany her through all of them. It wasn't their first time there, so he should know all the places Iris likes. But unfortunately, Zhuang Zhuoyuan didn't propose until the evening, which made Iris a little uneasy. She pinned all her hopes on the fireworks show that night.

They found a good spot to watch the fireworks from a distance, and the camera was positioned perfectly, capturing the distant castle and fireworks alongside them in the foreground. The only downside was that Iris wasn't focused—initially it was nervousness, but later it turned into sadness. She finally snapped at Zhuang Zhuoyuan, tears welling up in her eyes: "Just because I don't have a baby, does that mean you're going to call off the proposal?"

When someone handed her flowers at the restaurant, she thought he was going to propose; when someone handed her balloons in front of the carousel, she thought he was going to propose. But in the end, it was all for nothing. He didn't seem to have any intention of taking out a ring, or perhaps he simply didn't bring such a prop.

Having hastily created a Plan B, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was busy with the new arrangements, but he neglected his girlfriend's emotional experience. When he saw Iris frown and turn her head away, unwilling to look at him, Zhuang Zhuoyuan realized that the perfection he was pursuing was not the surprise Iris wanted most.

Fortunately, he still had a gift to make up for it. Wiping away Iris's tears, Zhuang Zhuoyuan cupped her face and whispered words of comfort for a long time. Only when Iris was willing to hug him again did he have time to take out the necklace he had originally prepared for her from his backpack: "You said you wanted to be a fairy, so I asked Alice for help and found this flower wreath necklace for you. Alice only found the design, but I picked out all the rubies, pink sapphires, diamonds, and pearls myself. Do you like it?"

Iris's expression relaxed slightly as her fingertips traced the pendant, but she pouted, still not entirely happy: "This necklace could have surprised me even more."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan put his arm around Iris and kissed her on the forehead: "It was my fault."

But the day wasn't over yet.

When the car started heading down a road that wasn't leading home, Iris began to realize she might have acted too impulsively. Sitting in the passenger seat, she kept stealing glances at Zhuang Zhuoyuan, who clearly noticed but only smiled and ignored her. Only when her gaze was completely fixed on him did Zhuang Zhuoyuan finally free one hand to shake hers. But he still stubbornly refused to say a word.

"Ouch!" At a red light, she bent down and bit his arm, not hard, but leaving a faint tooth mark. This little bit of venting, or rather, threat, meant nothing to Zhuang Zhuoyuan. He smiled and reached back to scratch her chin, like teasing a cat.

"Hey!" Iris puffed out her cheeks, only to have her cheeks pinched, making her even more bullied.

"I'm ignoring you!" she huffed. But afterwards, she was still gently kissed and obediently followed him back to the villa.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan stopped to pick up the new friend she had brought home from the amusement park that day, and she ran to the porch to turn on the light. Everything seemed normal, but Iris had a feeling that something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it, and then ran back to Zhuang Zhuoyuan, hugging his waist as if she were scared: "Baby, I suspect a thief has broken into the house."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan restrained himself from laughing at his girlfriend's wandering thoughts, but his act of surprise was too over-the-top, and Iris immediately saw through it. The little princess, now that she knew what was going on, pretended to be nonchalant: "You go open the door."

"Don't you want to try catching a thief?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan coaxed, hoping to evoke Iris's adventurous spirit. His girlfriend had always been quite courageous, so this behavior was unusual. However, remembering his earlier emotional outburst, Zhuang Zhuoyuan automatically justified Iris's actions. Seeing that she clung tightly to him and refused to move forward, he finally gave in and entered the keypad to unlock the door himself.

The door opened a crack, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan didn't push it further in. Iris peeked out from behind his shoulder, and he turned back to confirm with her again, "You really aren't going to come in first?"

Iris deliberately asked him, "Aren't you worried about my safety?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan simply made a "please" gesture: "I am 100% sure there is no danger inside."

"Then what percentage of your trust should I give you?" Iris pretended to think, and after a while, seeing that Zhuang Zhuoyuan was not fooled, she gave up and patted his hand before going inside: "Fine, I'll reluctantly trust you for a bit."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan really wanted to stop her; this "reluctant" answer wasn't enough. He simply held her hand, but their steps didn't falter. The two entered the house hand in hand, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan guided Iris to press a button. Immediately, a series of colorful lights illuminated the entire hall.

Flowers, dolls, balloons, ribbons—the entire hall, after being rearranged, had practically become a wedding venue under the guise of romance, filled with a fairytale atmosphere. How could she be a little fairy? Even in the forest, she was still a pampered little princess. Iris exclaimed, turning to look at Zhuang Zhuoyuan with disbelief in her eyes: "When did you decorate this?"

“Yesterday and today, after you fell asleep and before you woke up.” Iris realized this was his Plan B, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan didn’t hide anything either. “Originally, I did want to propose to you at Disneyland, but I was afraid that you would have guessed everything, and I was also afraid that our proposal scene would be filmed and posted online, causing unnecessary trouble. So after thinking it over, I changed my mind at the last minute.”

Balloons and ribbons are easy to handle; there are plenty left over from Christmas decorations. He can also prepare dolls in advance. But what about flowers? Iris stroked the roses and tulips lining the aisle. Every single one of them was a real flower. Without a reservation, how could he possibly have time?

“So order what you can, and buy the rest early at the Mong Kok Flower Market. Otherwise, how will you get Fu Kee’s Ji Di Congee?” His eyes were full of smiles, clearly pleased with her satisfaction. Iris turned back and took Zhuang Zhuoyuan’s hand, her voice soft and sweet, filled with all her care and emotion: “Hmm, BB, then you didn’t get any rest all night?”

It was only a night and a half; their Flying Tigers' daily training included far more arduous exercises. Zhuang Zhuoyuan stroked her neck and kissed Iris's forehead: "That's OK. Come on, I'll take you to see the ultimate treasure."

Flowers bloomed on both sides, and various fairytale characters lined the path to offer their congratulations, like guests. At the far end of the table, cups and plates were scattered about, and the table was laden with food. Iris's eyes searched among the dishes, and she easily spotted a silver jewelry box. Excitedly, she reached for it, but then withdrew her hand halfway. This was not something she should be doing.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan saw through her thoughts, took the box and placed it in his palm, showing the keyhole hidden among the patterns: "We still need a key to open the treasure chest. The hint is: nine flowers."

Iris retorted angrily, "Who proposes to their girlfriend and expects her to find the flowers herself?!"

“Okay then, the first one is a champagne rose,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan pulled one out of the square glass bottle and gave it to Iris. “It represents that I am devoted to only you, and falling in love with you is the greatest happiness of my life.”

"Ah!" Iris took the flowers and immediately covered her face. Nine flowers—how many sweet nothings was Zhuang Zhuoyuan going to say?

The second tulip was a two-tone tulip. A joyous reunion, a celebration of their happy reunion, and a forever remembrance of Iris's devotion to this relationship. Zhuang Zhuoyuan picked it up from the center of the angel statue, his expression earnest: "Our meeting was both a gift from heaven and a result of your tireless efforts. Without your persistent searching..."

"So, will you come looking for me?" Iris had wanted to ask this question for a long time.

"Yes!" He wasn't idle during that year. "If you don't show up in Hong Kong, I will try my best to keep up with you and search for you all over the world."

She doesn't hold book signings, and she usually only posts on social media after leaving a certain area. She also doesn't accept private messages from strangers, so it was quite a hassle for Zhuang Zhuoyuan to find her. Fortunately, she found him first, and they eventually reunited.

This embrace, just like the one under the streetlights outside PC Bar, stirred a thousand emotions within Iris. She reached out and took a red rose, placing it between their chests: "A red rose represents passion, ardent love. One can't maintain passion all the time in a lifetime, but my love for you will always be ardent."

"So do I."

Then came the pink roses, placed on an embossed plate, with ribbons tied to the stems. Zhuang Zhuoyuan handed them to Iris, carefully avoiding the thorns on them: "The pink roses represent my feelings. I will treat you with sincerity for the rest of my life, always care for you, and make you feel sweet forever."

The happiness of this moment was enough to make her dizzy, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan had even more expressions of love. Red tulips were a declaration of love, pink tulips spoke of eternal love, white tulips represented pure romance, and purple tulips promised unwavering and endless love.

Only one bridal rose remained. Where was it? He magically produced it from behind her. Iris was greatly pleased by the white rose and was about to reach out to take it when Zhuang Zhuoyuan knelt down on one knee. He manipulated the still-bulging bud in the center, and a ring appeared in the heart of the flower. Iris had never imagined this moment.

A semi-circle of diamonds is set into the ring, then wraps around to highlight the sugar loaf ruby ​​at the center. The sugar loaf cut uses the simplest cutting method to showcase the beauty of the gemstone, just like Zhuang Zhuoyuan's love for her, which is woven into every little detail. Iris assumed Zhuang Zhuoyuan wouldn't consider so many extra factors, but that didn't stop her from asking, "Zhuang Zhuoyuan, do you know that this type of cut has very strict requirements regarding the size, quality, color, and other aspects of the gemstone?"

"Huh?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan didn't react for a moment.

Iris smiled and added, "The fact that this ruby ​​was cut using the sugar tower cut means that it is large enough, dark enough, and of excellent quality."

She had implied this much; was there anything he didn't understand? Originally, the most important reason for choosing this gemstone was to please him, but now she had given it a new meaning. Zhuang Zhuoyuan naturally agreed and gave the same affirmation: "My love for you is absolutely pure, and I will always be devoted to you."

Iris merely smiled; he hadn't uttered the most important sentence, so how was she supposed to respond?

Looking into her eyes again, Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt incredibly stupid. Before he could even feel annoyed, he quickly asked, "Iris, will you marry me?"

Iris's answer was affirmative and readily accepted: "Okay!"

After exchanging rings and a passionate kiss, the newly engaged couple felt happier and sweeter than ever before. A strand of saliva formed between their lips, which Iris kissed away with another, her entire being enveloped in Zhuang Zhuoyuan's breath. He belonged to her—the realization was so clear, so exhilarating!

"But BB, the ring is in the flower, so what's in the jewelry box?"

Sinking into the sofa and nestled in his arms for a long time, Iris finally remembered what had happened. Zhuang Zhuoyuan took a small key out of his wallet and gave it to her. When he opened it, he found a perfectly round, golden Akoya pearl inside.

“I saw it when I was picking out gems and bought it without hesitation,” Iris said, holding the pearl in her hand while Zhuang Zhuoyuan held her hand tightly. “I remember Daddy said you were the apple of his eye, and I want you to know that I will treat you the same way when you are with me.”

"Thank you, BB." Zhuang Zhuoyuan had given her so many surprises tonight. She should have let him go to rest, but she just couldn't resist wanting to linger with him a little longer. "One more question," Iris touched her new necklace, "Actually, is this necklace and ring a matching set?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan's expression spoke volumes; if things went according to plan, her surprise would be triple. He sighed deliberately, "There's nothing I can do. Who told you to be in such a hurry to marry me!"

"Hey, who's in a bigger rush to get married!"

We absolutely must get this sorted out!