The Finale
Qin Yi's family has been staying here for the past few days, making the villa quite lively, while Bai Lin has become practically invisible.
He had promised to be honest, but he couldn't find an opportunity, so he left after only two days.
The discussions between the two families regarding the marriage went relatively smoothly, except that sometimes when Yang Han opened her mouth, Qin Yi would have the urge to call off the engagement.
Fortunately, everything went relatively smoothly, and both sides were well-off, so there weren't many disagreements about money.
On the contrary, both sides had their own ideas about the wedding and felt that the other's ideas were not good enough.
In the end, both sides got angry and told Yang Jingyu and Qin Man to handle it themselves, while they, as elders, would only be responsible for paying the money.
Qin Man and Yang Jingyu had no idea about these things, so they went to Qin Anning and dragged her into it as well.
Qin Anning was speechless. They didn't understand, but did she think she did?
The three of them got together, but couldn't come to a conclusion.
Qin Anning patted her forehead and said helplessly, "Why don't we leave it to the professionals? We don't know anything about this."
Qin Man nodded seriously, fully agreeing with Qin Anning's suggestion, "I think it's a good idea, otherwise we'll never come up with a solution even if we discuss it for the rest of our lives."
Yang Jingyu wholeheartedly agreed; he hated trouble the most.
The three hit it off immediately, found a wedding planner, and within half a month, he provided three plans.
All three options were good. Yang Jingyu and Qin Man had different preferences, but under Qin Man's threat, Yang Jingyu compromised and agreed to the option Qin Man had chosen.
It's a traditional Chinese wedding. Yang Jingyu has to ride a horse and be carried in a sedan chair by eight bearers to fetch his bride.
Yang Jingyu had fallen while learning to ride a horse before, and he had a phobia of riding horses, which is why he didn't like this plan.
But since Qin Man liked him, he's completely done for now.
Of course, Qin Man also uninstalled those live streaming apps and even deleted the accounts she used to send gifts. This can be considered a two-way street.
Qin Anning watched the two of them spending all their time together and couldn't understand what they had been through to make their relationship so deep all of a sudden.
There was also an engagement before the wedding, which was quite high-profile.
The seven-star hotel was booked out, and countless important figures came; those without status couldn't even get through the gate.
Qin Anning sat in the audience, watching the host speak on stage, somewhat absentmindedly.
Qiao Xing exclaimed, "Yang Han really spares no expense; her engagement was even bigger than my wedding."
Hearing this, Qin Ce glanced at her and asked, "Shall we reissue it?"
Qiao Xing rolled her eyes at him, "I'm already so old, I don't want to, it's too embarrassing."
"What's shameful about that? Others will only be envious."
"No, I don't want that. I was just saying. I've already done it once, why would I do it twice?"
Qin Anning continued, "You can also celebrate your golden and diamond anniversaries."
Qiao Xing twitched the corner of her mouth. "You should get married first. Golden anniversary, my foot! Don't let your dad and I celebrate our golden anniversary while you're still single. People will laugh at you to death."
Qin Anning touched her nose and muttered under her breath, "You guys are dragging me into this again."
She spoke softly, but Qiao Xing still heard her.
Qiao Xing smiled meaningfully, then looked around and asked, "Hey, where's Xiao Lin? I don't see him."
Qin Anning paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked around, her expression turning somewhat forlorn.
She had just met Bai Lin before coming in.
However, Bai Lin told her that he had mentioned their relationship to his parents a couple of days ago, but they didn't agree, and he told her not to bring it up again.
Although she had expected it, she still couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
However, she believed that her parents wouldn't be able to accept it in a short time. As long as they persisted and didn't give up, she would eventually be able to persuade them.
After the host finished speaking, Yang Jingyu and Qin Man went up on stage.
The two seemed a little embarrassed, and Yang Jingyu was especially nervous, holding his cue cards and speaking in a trembling voice.
Yang Han shook her head, looking disgusted. "Too cowardly, too cowardly, you're such a disgrace!"
Xiao Lin pinched him, signaling him to talk less on such a nice day.
The two finally finished speaking, albeit haltingly, and exchanged engagement rings, embracing on stage.
A thunderous applause erupted from below. As soon as the host announced the successful engagement, he couldn't wait to drag Qin Man off the stage.
The engagement was finally over, and the rest of the people went about their own business, gathering in twos and threes to chat and drink.
Qin Anning had no interest in talking to those people; she was searching everywhere for Bai Lin.
She hadn't seen Bai Lin since the engagement ceremony began. Could it be that he had already left?
She took out her phone and called Bai Lin, but no one answered.
Qin Man called her and urged her on the phone, "Anning, come to the top floor."
What am I here for?
"Hey, come on over here. We'll just drink by ourselves. We don't know any of the people down there. What's the fun in that? Come on, we're all here."
Qin Anning hesitated for a moment. She didn't really want to go, but considering that today was Qin Man's engagement day, she didn't want to spoil the mood, so she agreed, "Okay, I'll come up now."
She took the elevator straight to the top floor.
The rooftop is not an empty space; I heard it has been transformed into a sky garden by the hotel, with lawns, various flowers and green plants, a swimming pool, and a golf course.
However, she had never been here before. As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she saw an archway made of flowers and plants. A cobblestone path led through the archway, and various kinds of potted flowers were planted on both sides of the path, creating a riot of color.
There are also many tall flowering trees and green plants that crisscross the landscape. Walking on them feels like being in a dreamlike scene from an animation, so beautiful it seems unreal.
Qin Anning looked around, but couldn't see a single person.
The tall green plants blocked her view, making the visible distance very short. Moreover, the place was very large, and she had no idea where those people were.
She took out her phone and called Qin Man, "Where are you guys? I'm up here, but I don't see you."
Qin Man said on the phone, "After you get off the elevator, walk forward for about a hundred meters, then turn right and walk straight and you'll see us."
"oh."
Qin Anning hung up the phone, mentally calculated the distance, then turned right, wandering through the tall green plants, feeling somewhat like walking in a dreamlike forest.
She didn't know how long she had been walking, but Qin Anning was getting impatient. She sighed, took out her phone, and was about to call Qin Man.
Suddenly, as she rounded a giant green ivy tree, she heard several loud "bangs" overhead, followed by a shower of colorful ribbons falling down from above.
Surprise!
"Happy birthday!"
Qin Man, dressed in an evening gown, appeared out of nowhere, carrying a firework tube in her hand.
Besides her, there was Yang Jingyu, and several others.
Qin Anning was startled and patted her chest, saying, "You scared me to death! What are you doing...?"
Qin Anning stopped speaking halfway through her sentence when she saw the scene ahead.
Ahead was an open space with a green backdrop woven from flowers and plants, surrounded by all sorts of flowers and balloons.
There was a long red carpet underfoot, which led to the backdrop wall at the other end.
Most importantly, she saw Bai Lin standing at the other end of the red carpet.
Qin Anning was dumbfounded. She stood there blankly, her mind completely blank.
"What's going on?"
Yang Jingyu grinned and said, "Can't you tell?"
"I can tell... What? Isn't today your engagement day?" Qin Anning murmured, her gaze fixed on Bai Lin in front of her.
He was wearing a white suit, a smile on his lips, and holding a bouquet of flowers as he walked towards her.
As he approached, Qin Anning's heart pounded wildly, and her mind went completely blank.
Qin Man and Yang Jingyu were chattering away, but she couldn't hear what they were saying.
In the blink of an eye, Bai Lin was already in front of her, his tall figure looming over her.
A rose was presented to Qin Anning. "Anning, happy birthday."
Qin Anning then came to her senses and subconsciously accepted the roses, saying, "Thank you."
"Anything else? Anything else?" Yang Jingyu urged.
Qin Man: "Yeah, keep going, is 'Happy Birthday' all there is?"
Bai Lin's expression was also somewhat unnatural. He coughed lightly, took out a gold velvet box from his pocket, and then slowly knelt on one knee.
"And also, will you marry me?"
Although Qin Anning had expected it, she still couldn't help but feel nervous when she heard those words with her own ears.
She stretched out her hand halfway, then remembered something, "Um...didn't you say my parents don't approve?"
“We didn’t say that.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Qiao Xing slowly emerged from behind a green plant.
As soon as she appeared, Qin Ce followed closely behind, and then one after another, people emerged from behind other green plants.
Yang Han, Xiao Lin, Wang Ye, Bai Yihefen, Qin Yi, etc.
Even Wang Qin and Grandpa Li's family came; almost everyone who could attend was there.
With so many people suddenly appearing, and some even carrying cameras to film, Qin Anning instantly felt like a monkey being watched in a zoo, and wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole.
Her mind went completely blank. "No, you all conspired to deceive me?"
Qiao Xing gave an awkward laugh. "This was Xiao Man's idea. We old folks don't know anything about these things."
Qin Man was displeased. "Didn't you all agree? Why are you blaming me now?"
Yang Han said, "An Ning, the person is still kneeling on the ground. You should at least give me an answer, or we can go downstairs for a drink."
Qin Anning glanced down at Bai Lin, who was kneeling on one knee. Bai Lin was staring at Qin Anning with obvious tension on his face.
"With such a grand gesture, how could I refuse?" Qin Anning muttered softly, "I, I'm willing, you'd better get up quickly."
Hearing her answer, Bai Lin breathed a sigh of relief, stood up from the ground, and took the ring out of the box.
Qin Anning also reached out her hand in cooperation.
Bai Lin held her hand and slipped the ring onto her ring finger.
Then came another round of deafening applause and cheers, and a helicopter flew over in the distance.
It paused briefly at a high altitude, and then various flower petals began to fall from the sky.
"Why don't we give each other a kiss?" someone said, and then countless others echoed the sentiment.
"Don't be a coward, Bai Lin, give me a kiss!"
Amidst the jeers of the crowd, Bai Lin glanced at Qin Anning.
He then hugged her, but did not kiss her.
"Hey, even more cowardly than Yang Jingyu."
"What does this have to do with me!"
Wang Ye scratched his head and grinned, "My son has made something of himself; he actually managed to win An Ning's heart."
Bai Yi also showed a relieved smile. Now she could finally rest easy, and Xiao Lin's mother could finally find peace in heaven.
As Qiao Xing smiled, her eyes welled up with tears, and she let out a soft sigh.
Qin Ce noticed her expression and silently hugged her, "Our daughter has grown up and found her own home. This is something to be happy about."
"I'm crying tears of joy."
Although I've been constantly worried about my daughter's marriage, now that I've finally found someone, I feel a pang of reluctance.
"Alright, now that the proposal is successful, let's not be third wheels and go," Qin Yi said, then walked towards the elevator first.
So the elders gradually dispersed, leaving the space to the younger generation.
Bai Lin also released Qin Anning.
Qin Anning finally found an opportunity to ask, "What exactly happened?"
Qin Man looked smug and pointed to herself, "Oh, you should thank me for this."
It turned out that Qin Man overheard Bai Lin confessing to Qin Ce that he wanted to marry Qin Anning, and she eavesdropped for a while.
Qin Ce already knew about their relationship, so he wasn't too surprised. He just asked him a few questions and then agreed.
At this moment, after her initial shock, Qin Man stepped forward and said she had a plan.
That is, she set the engagement date on Qin Anning's birthday, and then, she would have a triple celebration.
She was the one who planned the proposal, and then secretly informed everyone, asking them to keep it a secret from Qin Anning and give her a surprise.
Qin Anning was both amused and exasperated after hearing this. "You guys really kept it so secret that I had no idea what was going on."
"If you knew, would it still be considered a surprise?"
"That's great! Let's get married together then." Yang Jingyu put his arm around Bai Lin's shoulder and said with a grin, "You can ride horses with me then."
Bai Lin smiled, turned to look at Qin Anning, and asked, "Anning, what do you think?"
Qin Anning said, "It's fine, you can discuss it yourselves. Just marry me."
Yang Jingyu was filled with envy, "An Ning is so considerate."
Qin Man's face darkened, and she grabbed Yang Jingyu's ear with her other hand. "What do you mean? You think I'm inconsiderate? Hmm?"
"Ouch, no, no, it hurts! There are so many people here, give me some face!"
"You're already looking down on me, and you still want to save face? Come on, I'll go find you someone considerate, okay?"
"No, no, no, I like you just the way you are..."
The two joked and played around as they walked towards the elevator. The rest of the people followed Bai Lin and Qin Anning to their destination and then left one after another.
Soon, only Qin Anning and Bai Lin remained on the huge rooftop.
Bai Lin said, "Let's go down too."
Qin Anning tilted her head to look at him, a slight smile playing on her lips. "Why didn't you kiss me just now?"
Bai Lin paused for a moment, then leaned slightly closer to Qin Anning, "Because I don't want them to see."
Now it was Qin Anning's turn to be stunned.
The next moment, Bai Lin suddenly moved closer, and the distance between them instantly shortened. Qin Anning felt a warm touch on her lips.
Immediately afterwards, a warm embrace and a faint, refreshing fragrance wafted towards me.
——
The two walked on the flower-covered lawn, their hands clasped together. The sun was setting, and the afterglow cast long shadows of the two on the ground.
"Cousin, when did you start liking me?"
"I don't know, it was probably a long time ago."
"When was a long time ago?"
"If I had to put it into words, it would be when you gradually faded from my sight, when you no longer needed me, that I felt as if I had lost something important."
"Then why didn't you confess your feelings before?"
Bai Lin paused, turned to look at her, and the setting sun shone on his profile, making his eyes shine brightly.
Bai Lin said, "You always call me cousin, which is like a constant reminder of the insurmountable relationship between us."
Qin Anning stared into his eyes, unsure of what to say for a moment.
After a long silence, she finally spoke, "What if I marry someone else?"
"Actually, I've already prepared you for marriage to someone else. As long as you're happy, that's enough."
Only at this moment did Qin Anning truly feel the weight of his love.
And somewhere deep inside her, an indescribable feeling seemed to well up inside her.
This was a feeling of excitement she had never experienced when she was with Fu Lian.
"And what about you?" Qin Anning asked.
Bai Lin smiled slightly and tightened his grip on her fingers. "I'm fine."
...
After a long while, Qin Anning rested her head on his chest and whispered, "Now that you have me, we have a long time ahead of us."
"Yes, there's plenty of time."
The story may end, but life never ends.
This heart has no end; the rest of my life is but a prelude.
—End of text
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