Chapter 72 Proposal

Jin Zhao left school and returned to Shanshui City. After becoming pregnant, she moved in with Meng Yanxi.

At first, she was a little resistant to taking things further, even though they had already made many, many progress. Subconsciously, she always wanted to keep a space that belonged only to herself.

Physical, psychological, and legal.

But Meng Yanxi somehow got hold of a formaldehyde detector, which showed that the organic pollutants in her talent apartment exceeded the standard.

The device she was holding looked a bit like those old-fashioned mobile phones from the 80s and 90s in movies. Meng Yanxi held up the "mobile phone," her beautiful peach blossom eyes clear yet cunning, and said to her, "It's alright for the adults, but it's not good for Tuanzi."

Jin Zhao stared at him in awe, completely baffled as to how he had come up with this idea.

How could he come up with something like that? Typical of him.

Although it's outrageous, it's actually quite useful.

Jin Zhao has indeed been quite cautious lately, especially in the first three months. The school-provided housing isn't very well furnished; the doors and cabinets are made of MDF, and even after two years, it still smells when the windows are closed. It only looks nice on the outside; the materials are definitely much worse than home furniture, and certainly not comparable to a big capitalist like Meng Yanxi who is particular about everything.

Meng Yanxi successfully brought Jin Zhao back to his place.

Since Jin Zhao moved there, he has been returning to Shanshui City every day, no matter how late. Sometimes it is too late, and Jin Zhao is already asleep, but he doesn't go back to the master bedroom. He just spends the night in the guest bedroom, considerately not disturbing her and Xiao Tuanzi's sleep.

That same night, Meng Yanxi messaged her, saying she had a social engagement and told her to go to bed early.

Jin Zhao didn't ask him when he would return; social engagements were unpredictable. She simply replied, "Goodnight."

Meng Yanxi was clearly annoyed by her coldness. After several minutes, she said ambiguously, "Okay, I won't disturb your rest anymore."

Jin Zhao: "..."

President Meng has been making a lot of noise lately.

Every sentence, though it doesn't explicitly mention dissatisfaction, is filled with it.

Jin Zhao, feeling helpless, patiently coaxed her boyfriend: "I haven't rested yet. Goodnight is what our little one said to her dad."

Meng Yanxi was instantly coaxed into pouting.

He didn't reply immediately, but Jin Zhao could imagine the arrogant and smug look on someone's face.

A few minutes later, the phone rang.

Meng Yanxi: [I miss you.]

Then, a second one came in.

Meng Yanxi: [I wasn't talking to the little dumpling.]

Jin Zhao held her phone, her long eyelashes fluttering rapidly.

Since becoming pregnant, she has been a bit sleepy and usually goes to bed early. Today, she didn't know if it was because of Meng Zhuxi's words or Meng Yanxi's words that provoked her before going to bed, but she was sleeping lightly and couldn't even tell if she was daydreaming or entering a light sleep dream.

One moment I see Meng Yanxi lost in thought, staring at that silk dress adorned with feathers; the next I dream of him frantically searching for someone to recover his phone's data, but to no avail. Data recovery is always a chore; you recover a mountain of unwanted data, but you never find what you truly desire.

The usually calm and almost cold-blooded boy rarely lost control of his emotions, but because it was his only sister who deleted it, he had nowhere to vent his anger and could only accept all the missed opportunities along with it.

When Meng Yanxi returned, she seemed to hear the sound of the door opening, but she was still trapped in her dream. She didn't know how much time had passed when she suddenly woke up, opened her eyes, and saw a faint light coming from the crack in the bedroom door.

The living room was quiet, with only a sliver of light quietly seeping in.

At one o'clock in the morning, Meng Yanxi sat alone on the sofa, propping her head up with one hand, with a faint smell of alcohol in the air.

Jin Zhao wasn't sure if Meng Yanxi was asleep, so she tiptoed to his side.

The man, who had been quietly looking down, suddenly raised his eyes.

Their eyes met, the light was warm, and the ticking of the wall clock was clearly audible in the quiet of the night.

His peach blossom eyes were dark and deep, staring straight at her.

"Why have you been drinking?" Jin Zhao asked softly.

Meng Yanxi has a low alcohol tolerance but is extremely self-disciplined, rarely drinking even when socializing.

The man was very quiet. Jin Zhao guessed that he was quite drunk and said, "I'll go make you a cup of honey water."

As she turned around, Meng Yanxi suddenly grabbed her hand.

His hands were large and his palms were warm.

"I'm not drunk," his voice was low and hoarse with the effects of alcohol. "Go to sleep, don't you still have to proctor the exam?"

Jin Zhao paused for a moment before realizing that he was referring to proctoring the CET-4 and CET-6 exams.

He claims he's not drunk, but he's clearly quite intoxicated.

"You're mistaken, there's no exam tomorrow," Jin Zhao explained softly.

"Really?" Meng Yanxi looked at her. "Aren't you proctoring the CET-4 and CET-6 exams?"

There will be no CET-4 or CET-6 exams tomorrow.

Meng Yanxi, who was drunk, seemed easy to bully. Jin Zhao, with a wicked thought, deliberately teased her: "The postgraduate entrance exam is tomorrow."

Meng Yanxi was silent for a long time before accusing, "Liar, you lied to me again. The postgraduate entrance exam is in winter, but it's summer now."

Jin Zhao: "..."

It's hard to say whether he's sober or not.

Jin Zhao made a move: "Let me go first, I'll go make you some honey water."

Meng Yanxi lowered his eyelids, just as he would sometimes pretend not to hear what he didn't want to hear. At this moment, he pretended not to hear, his actions carrying a childlike stubbornness.

“There’s a civil affairs bureau across from the restaurant today,” he suddenly said.

Jin Zhao's gaze shifted, and the air seemed to suddenly become still; even the ticking of the clock could no longer be heard.

Meng Yanxi looked up and stared straight at her: "It's almost time to get off work, but there are still many people rushing to get their marriage certificates. They seem to be in a hurry and don't want to wait even a day. Lingling, why do you think they're in such a rush?"

Jin Zhao stood before him, and under the lamplight, the man's eyes were dark and clear. Because of the angle from above, his long eyelashes appeared distinct, possessing an innocence and purity that he lacked when he was awake.

"Lingling, actually I'm quite anxious too." Meng Yanxi held her hand and gently shook it. "When will you be able to make up your mind?"

Jin Zhao's throat suddenly tightened.

In fact, Meng Yanxi had hinted at her pregnancy several times even before she discovered it.

Chao casually mentioned how convenient it is to get a marriage certificate these days; you don't even need a household registration book, just an ID card. Perhaps thinking she hadn't understood, he tried to make it even more obvious. For example, when they went somewhere, he would tap the location on his phone and casually add, "There's a civil affairs bureau nearby."

Jin Zhao is sometimes decisive in his actions, and sometimes he is conflicted.

She had witnessed firsthand the most heartless side of men, and more than that, she had experienced the full spectrum of human nature's coldness and indifference over the years. She might like this man now, even to the point of being blinded by love, but she didn't know what the future held.

Over the years, she has long since become accustomed to always leaving herself a way out.

When sober, Meng Yanxi is shrewd and perceptive, always seeing through Jin Zhao's desires without saying a word. But when drunk, Meng Yanxi is very straightforward, asking directly, "Jin Zhao, is the baby more important to you than me?"

“Your baby is connected to you by blood, but I am just an outsider. I can’t rely on your baby, and might even try to take him away from you.”

"So, you want to leave the father and keep the son?"

Jin Zhao was speechless after being asked that question.

Meng Yanxi had been holding these words in for who knows how long, so when she finally spoke them, her dark eyes were filled with hurt. Like a wild beast that was originally fierce and indifferent but was tricked into giving its heart, it ended up losing both its body and its heart, losing everything.

For a moment, Jin Zhao absurdly felt that he was that heinous villain.

Meng Yanxi tried to persuade her to stay: "Don't... Actually, I'm not bad either. I'm not much worse than Xiao Tuanzi."

As the man spoke, he stood up unsteadily.

Jin Zhao immediately stepped forward to help him, but Meng Yanxi said, "I'm not drunk. Let me show you a crunch."

Jin Zhao: "?"

The original layout of the apartment in Shanshui City was a large open-plan living room, which was further expanded by Luo Heng's greed for land and another room, making the living room even more spacious. A set of simple exercise equipment was placed in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Meng Yanxi walked straight to the fitness equipment. Jin Zhaozheng didn't know what he wanted to do. She saw him slowly start to unbutton his shirt and take off his shirt in front of her, revealing his thin muscles.

He hooked his feet firmly onto the exercise equipment, his upper body leaning back and dangling in the air, his back taut and straight, without swaying or shaking. His abdominal muscles were clearly defined, like eight sharp pebbles laid out flat under the light.

"Lingling, look at me."

As if afraid she would leave, Meng Yanxi struck a pose and turned back to look for her.

His eyes were fixed on her. The man tightened his core, his muscles contracting explosively as he slowly rolled his torso up, then gently lowered it back down with absolute control, relying solely on his core muscles to defy gravity. He held his phone in his hand, a stark contrast to the explosive power of his suspended crunch. Extreme core strength and a relaxed sense of control coexisted, radiating power with each muscle contraction during the crunch.

At the same time, he could also distract himself by handing her his phone: "Lingling, take a picture of me."

Jin Zhao: "..."

That night, at one o'clock in the morning, Meng Yanxi didn't sleep and gave Jin Zhao a live demonstration of ab crunches.

With the mindset of quickly putting him to sleep, Jin Zhao resigned himself to filming a half-hour video.

Only after Meng Yanxi got off the equipment and was satisfied with the inspection did she finally push her into the bathroom to take a shower.

Meng Yanxi was washing up when she suddenly remembered something and opened the door, saying, "Lingling, make a backup, otherwise Meng Zhuxi will delete it."

Jin Zhao: "..."

She seems to have discovered the psychological trauma that President Meng suffered in his youth.

Hopefully he won't remember anything when he wakes up tomorrow morning; just thinking about it makes me feel ashamed for him.

But she ultimately underestimated the shamelessness of that person.

The next day, when Jin Zhao woke up, Meng Yanxi was already awake, leaning against the headboard looking at his phone. The volume was on silent, but Jin Zhao still noticed that he was watching a video of himself doing crunches the night before.

She didn't realize it; he even seemed a little smug.

Sure enough, as long as you're not embarrassed, it's others who are embarrassed.

Even Jin Zhao felt a little awkward, largely because he was afraid Jin Zhao would bring up the topic of leaving the father and keeping the son again, since Jin Zhao wouldn't lose his memory when he was drunk.

But the clear-headed Meng Yanxi always acted with great composure, as if nothing had happened and showed no sign of any difference.

Summer vacation is coming soon.

University summer vacations are much better than high school summer vacations. There are no extra classes, no homework, and all you get to do is completely let loose.

Although the school repeatedly hinted to teachers to keep a low profile and post less on social media, Jin Zhao started posting about his world travels on social media in mid-to-late June.

Her colleagues are all university teachers. She is among the youngest to have entered the university at her age. Most of her other colleagues are married with children, and their photos on social media are always featuring their partners and kids.

Meng Yanxi asked her if she envied her.

Jin Zhao wasn't sure if Meng Yanxi was asking if she envied them for going out to play or for having their loved ones and family by their side.

But no matter what, Jin Zhao no longer envies it.

She has it too.

The baby is three months along, and all her prenatal checkup results are normal. This shouldn't be solely due to her efforts; Meng Yanxi's confidence might not be unfounded, but his sperm quality must be genuinely good. For the first three months, aside from eating and sleeping a lot, she didn't experience any pregnancy symptoms.

July 21st is Jin Zhao's birthday.

Strictly speaking, this was Meng Yanxi's birthday, which she had waited ten years for. Ten years ago, during summer vacation, the boy asked her her birthday and was glad that he had already started taking extra classes at that time, thinking for the first time that summer vacation was only ten days long. Unfortunately, fate played a trick on them, and their farewell was delayed by nine years.

Meng Yanxi asked Jin Zhao where he wanted to go.

Jin Zhao wants to go to the beach.

So a week in advance, Meng Yanxi took Jin Zhao to a small island.

In the Pacific Ocean, the vegetation is lush, the sand is soft, and the seawater is as clear as glass.

The two strolled hand in hand along the fine white sand, watching the clear seawater surge in again and again, covering their feet. The young couple chased and played, and that night, they enjoyed their pleasure in a hotel bed facing the sea, a mixture of restraint and unrestraint...

Good sperm quality can become an excuse for occasional indulgence.

On July 21st, Xiao Yuanyang didn't go out until evening. If Meng Yanxi hadn't said she had prepared a gift for her, Jin Zhao would have even wanted to just fall asleep.

The coastline was tinged with orange-pink by the setting sun, and the sea breeze, carrying a salty, damp scent, brushed against their hair. The two walked hand in hand on the beach, the waves lapping at their feet and then quietly receding. Meng Yanxi suddenly stopped, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon.

Jin Zhao followed his gaze.

Suddenly, a silver plane appeared in the sky, its engine noise fading into the distance before turning back.

The white trail of smoke from the plane's tail slowly stretched and spread across the azure sky, first appearing as five fluffy clouds, like cotton candy softened by the wind, before gradually becoming clearer as the trail followed the airflow.

Lingling, marry me.

Five characters floated in the sky, their edges adorned with wisps of smoke, bathed in the gentle glow of the setting sun.

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Author's Note: This chapter is now complete. Thank you for waiting, muah!