Chapter 107 Decision (End of Main Text) New Book "Being..."
Qi Jingxuan was so happy that he blurted out without thinking. When he saw Shen Yan squinting at him, he quickly said, "Just kidding, just kidding. What I meant was that girls change a lot as they grow up, and you've really become more and more beautiful, Aci."
Shen Yan gave a light snort and made him sit back down: "My grandfather and I thought we had just saved a young master from a wealthy family, but we never expected him to be a prince."
Speaking of this, Qi Jingxuan was still a little puzzled: "Where did you go after that? I asked Father to look for you everywhere after I woke up, but we couldn't find you."
“You’ve left the capital,” Shen Yan said. “Grandfather was just here on business, and he was planning to leave once he was done. After what happened with you, he said it might be dangerous for him to stay in the capital, so he packed his things and left with me that very day.”
At that time, although they did not know Qi Jingxuan's identity, they knew that kidnappers would not easily target such a rich young master. Moreover, the two men who kidnapped Qi Jingxuan were strong and agile, and did not look like kidnappers. They looked more like government soldiers or notorious bandits, or at the very least, capable servants or guards of someone's household.
At his advanced age, with a four-year-old granddaughter by his side, Shen Xian dared not get involved in the power struggles between the powerful families in the capital. As soon as he was sure Qi Jingxuan was safe, he took his granddaughter and left the capital.
Even now, Shen Yan still feels that her grandfather's decisive action was correct. At that time, a crown prince had not yet been established, and the power struggles in the capital were no less intense than they are now. They, grandfather and granddaughter, ruined someone else's plans. What good was the emperor's temporary gratitude? Whether they could even live to enjoy the emperor's favor was another matter entirely.
Qi Jingxuan initially felt some regret, but upon reflection, he realized it was better for Shen Yan to leave the capital. Besides, although she left, they've met again now, haven't they? Not only have they met again, but they've also become husband and wife, and...
He was just feeling happy when he thought of this, but his heart sank again, and his joy faded a bit.
They were destined to be together so early on, how did things... come to this?
Looking at his ever-changing expression, Shen Yan smiled again: "I just went home to see my parents and told them about us."
Qi Jingxuan clenched his hands on his knees: "What did they say?"
"Everything, things from my childhood, things that happened recently, and things about the divorce."
Qi Jingxuan's hopes were dashed once again. His shoulders slumped, and he said with an "oh," nodding, "Yes, such a big thing as divorce... should be told to our parents."
"They told me to make my own decision, and that they would support me no matter what I chose."
Qi Jingxuan nodded subconsciously again, but his movement froze halfway through.
No matter what choice you make, it means... you haven't made a choice yet.
His eyes widened suddenly, and he leaned forward towards Shen Yan: "Aci, you mean..."
"Actually, I've been thinking for a while about whether I should go to the palace to get another divorce agreement."
Shen Yan said.
"I've been staying at the Prince's residence these days not because you tore up the divorce papers and I can't leave, but because I've been thinking about this matter."
"Since His Majesty and Consort Shu agreed to my request for a divorce, they surely won't go back on their word just because a divorce agreement was torn up. If I go to the palace and ask them to write another one, they should be willing to do so."
As she spoke, she leaned over and touched Qi Jingxuan's forehead, gently tracing the spot where his scar was: "But that day I accidentally saw the maids in the manor drying handkerchiefs, and I recognized my old belongings, and I also recognized... that you were the young master from back then."
She lightly tapped Qi Jingxuan's forehead twice with her fingertips before withdrawing them.
"I'm thinking... there might really be some kind of destiny between us."
"I actually really hate the idea of destiny. I always feel that so-called destiny is like being trapped in a box, from which you can never escape for your entire life. If everything in that box is something you don't like or hate, wouldn't life be incredibly painful and unbearable?"
"But when I think that the person destined for me is a prince, I feel... that I don't really have any bad feelings."
"So these past few days I've been hesitating between staying in the Prince's residence and leaving."
"Until yesterday, I had not made a decision until the prince gave me this divorce agreement."
As she spoke, she took out the divorce papers again, spread them on the table, and asked with a smile, "Does Your Highness regret it now?"
Qi Jingxuan originally wanted to say no, but when the words reached his lips, he felt it was really against his conscience, so he finally said the truth: "A little."
Even so, this time he did not pick up the divorce papers and tear them up.
Shen Yan smiled and said, "It's too late to regret it now. I won't give it back to you."
Qi Jingxuan's face turned pale: "Aci, I..."
“I’ve decided to stay,” Shen Yan said, “provided I have this divorce agreement.”
Qi Jingxuan was both surprised and delighted. Amidst his fluctuating emotions, he asked blankly, "Since we've already left everything behind, what's the point of this divorce agreement?"
"I may not need this divorce certificate, but I cannot be without it."
Shen Yan said.
"Your Highness, the gap between us is still too great. Even if we sincerely try to make up for it, no one knows how long that sincerity can last. When that sincerity runs out, you can leave me whenever you want, but it will be incredibly difficult for me to leave you."
"So I must keep this divorce agreement; only with it can I feel at ease."
Qi Jingxuan was stunned for a moment, then understood Shen Yan's meaning, and repeatedly assured her, "I will love Aci for all eternity, I will only love Aci, I..."
He wanted to swear an oath, but remembering that Shen Yan didn't believe in such things, he lowered his hand, choked for a long time, and finally said, "Then you can keep it. We'll never need this thing in this lifetime, definitely!"
His fear of the divorce agreement stemmed from his fear that Aci would leave him. If Aci didn't leave him, and merely kept the divorce agreement for peace of mind, then what did he have to fear?
Having figured this out, Qi Jingxuan felt a sense of relief and took Shen Yan's hand, saying, "Aci, I will spend my whole life proving what I said today, and I will never let you be sad or disappointed."
He was frank and straightforward, and his words of love were always direct. Shen Yan's heart trembled slightly, and a smile appeared in her eyes. She then pointed to the handkerchief with a footprint on it: "What are we going to do about it? You've dirtied it all."
Qi Jingxuan quickly picked up the handkerchief: "I'll take it and wash it clean."
As she spoke, she had someone fetch water and bring in soap, and she actually began to wash the handkerchief herself.
The servants tried to help several times, but Qi Jingxuan chased them away.
"This handkerchief is our token of love, so we must keep it safe. I will wash it myself and put it away myself; I won't give it to anyone else."
He had just heard from Shen Yan that the handkerchief had been kept in the warehouse and never saw the light of day until it was taken out a few days ago when the roof leaked and it got soaked.
I didn't remember it before, but now that I do, I can't let it get rained on again.
Shen Yan, who was listening nearby, found it amusing: "We were only four or five years old then, what kind of token of love could it be?"
"That's a keepsake from our first meeting, so it's very important!"
Qi Jingxuan spoke firmly, but his movements were clumsy as he rubbed the affected area.
Fortunately, the footprints, though large, were not deep and were quickly washed away.
He looked at the spotless handkerchief, nodded in satisfaction, and unfolded it for Shen Yan to see: "How is it? I washed it clean, didn't I?"
The handkerchief stood between him and Shen Yan. After he finished speaking, he moved the handkerchief aside, glanced at Shen Yan, and then inexplicably put it back down. He repeated this several times, feeling as if time was rushing by before his eyes. The person on the other side of the handkerchief was sometimes the young Shen Yan, sometimes the Shen Yan of today, sometimes the Shen Yan who was receiving cheers from everyone in Ya Feng Garden, and sometimes the Shen Yan who was pondering the case with her eyes lowered and silent.
He laughed as he watched, then suddenly leaned over and pecked Shen Yan on the lips.
Shen Yan was taken aback, and Qi Jingxuan was also stunned.
His heart pounded as he realized he had offended the other person. In a panic, he wanted to apologize, but he was unwilling to back down.
He wanted to be closer to Aci, much closer...
The cleaned handkerchief was slowly crumpled into a ball, and Qi Jingxuan's heart seemed to be crumpled again. But this time, it wasn't sadness and pain that were crumpling him, but rather an overflowing warmth and sweetness.
The two embraced tightly, their breaths mingling. Qi Jingxuan's Adam's apple bobbed as he was about to carry Shen Yan to the bed when a knock came at the door.
"Your Highness, Ah Qing says it's time for archery practice, and asks if you're going today."
"I'm not going! Tell him to get lost!"
Qi Jingxuan shouted sharply, but before he could react, the person in his arms had already quickly escaped.
"I'll go right away, tell him to wait."
As she spoke, Shen Yan tidied her hair, then ran out. Before leaving, she turned back to Qi Jingxuan and smiled, making a playful face.
Qi Jingxuan's heart skipped a beat again, and the anger that had just risen was completely extinguished. He stood there and laughed foolishly.
It took him a long time to realize that Shen Yan had already left, and just now... just now they were in this room...
Qi Jingxuan's face flushed, and he raised his hand to touch his lips, only to realize that he was still clutching the handkerchief in his hand.
The handkerchief, which had just been washed, was wrinkled again after being wrung out for a while. He turned around, put it back in the basin, rinsed it again, and only took it out to wring it dry after making sure it was flat again. He then had a clothes rack set up in the yard specifically to hang this small handkerchief to dry.
The sky was clear, and the handkerchief swayed gently in the wind. Qi Jingxuan looked at the small handkerchief, then looked up at the sky, and felt a sense of openness and relief, all his previous fear and anxiety vanished.
He didn't know what lay ahead, but as long as Aci was by his side, he would no longer be afraid or hesitant, no matter how difficult or dangerous the road ahead might be.
Qi Jingxuan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, then said to the servant beside him, "Be careful, don't let this handkerchief fall to the ground."
After saying that, he lifted his foot and walked towards where Shen Yan practiced archery, to find where his heart lay, to find his clear and bright sky.
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Author's note: Thank goodness it's finished! I always end up writing more and more. I originally planned for around 400,000 words, but it's already 430,000.
Regarding the ending plot points, I actually thought of two: one is the current one, after the male and female leads confirm their feelings for each other, and the other is when they leave the capital. I initially wanted the latter, but the more I wrote, the more I felt I couldn't control the pace. The updates for this book have been very infrequent; those readers who have followed it this far are either true fans or forced to by a lack of commitment to not abandon the story. Either way, I'm very grateful for everyone's support. I'm also really embarrassed to write too many more paid chapters, so I'll end it at this plot point. All the remaining content will be released as bonus chapters, which everyone can read for free.
I haven't been feeling well for the past few years, and I've been aware of it. I've tried to adjust, but with little success. In the early days, I would ask for leave in my writing or copywriting, but later I didn't even know how to ask for leave when I opened the backend. One day I have a headache, the next day a stomachache, the day after tenosynovitis—it seems like I'm constantly uncomfortable and in pain. I know these things are real, but saying them feels fake, pretentious, like I'm constantly making excuses. So I became more and more silent, not wanting to talk and not knowing how to talk. And because of my poor condition, I often wanted to write but couldn't, so I fell into a vicious cycle of starting one book after another and unblocking one VIP book after another.
Thankfully, this book is finally finished! After several years, I've finally completed a whole book again (excluding short stories of a little over 10,000 words). I'm so happy! Although I'm on the blacklist and not on any rankings because of frequent hiatuses, finishing the book is a victory! So happy!
Thank you again to all the readers who have followed me this far. Thank you for your understanding and companionship. It lets me know that even though I don't have many readers left, at least I'm not playing alone~ Love you all~~~
Thank you all again! *bows*
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