Propose to her
"What are you doing?!" Zuo Xiao asked as he bent down to pick up the document and opened it.
The first part was a bunch of clichés, which she quickly skimmed over. Turning to the third page, she finally saw what Zhuang Yu'an had mentioned to her: how pre-marital property would be legally converted into joint marital property, and how after marriage, the family's hundreds of millions in cash or equivalent assets would be gradually converted into her personal property.
Her face flushed, she clutched the document and asked, "What are you doing?"
Zhuang Yu'an looked innocent: "Uncle said he wanted to see my determination. I think other things might sound a bit hollow, so -"
"You're crazy!" Zuo Xiao interrupted him, "You haven't even proposed to me, and I haven't even agreed to it, so where's the prenuptial agreement?"
Also, what sane person would carry around a prenuptial agreement? He'd been planning this for a long time!
"Alright, alright," Lao Zuo said. "Xiaozhuang is a steady and serious kid. He's always thinking and doing things ahead of the curve. It's a good habit." He added, "You should learn from him and stop being so out of touch all day."
Zuo Xiao didn't expect that his own father would be so disloyal. His eyes widened immediately and he felt like an outsider.
She suppressed her anger and asked unhappily, "Have you had enough chatting? Is it time to go out for dinner?"
"Why don't I do it?" Zhuang Yu'an said, "Uncle has just recovered, so it's better for him to eat at home."
Zuo Xiao rolled his eyes at him, mentally cursing him for being conspicuous and spineless. This guy was way too eager to show off. How could someone be so eager to serve like a slave the first time they met their parents? If their genders were reversed, this kind of behavior would be blasted to bits on Xiaomoushu's blog!
"Then it must be very hard for you." Lao Zuo refused hypocritically. When Zuo Xiao glanced at him, he still looked complacent.
"It's not hard. I'm used to cooking." Zhuang Yu'an said calmly.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Lao Zuo said with a smile.
While Zhuang Yu'an was cooking in the kitchen, Zuo Xiao confronted his father in the living room, "Are you polite? This person is coming to your house for the first time, and you have the nerve to let them cook?"
Lao Zuo chuckled, "He insisted on making it, I didn't force him. Besides, it's not his first time here. Didn't he cook a few dishes last year?"
"How is that the same?" Zuo Xiao retorted. "He came here today as my boyfriend, so he should have some basic etiquette, right? You're checking his household registration and ordering him around. If this gets out, everyone will say you don't act like an elder."
"What do you know?" Lao Zuo raised his lips and said proudly, "Oh, you can't even stand this little bit of grievance, and you still want to marry my daughter?"
Zuo Xiao's eyes went dark, and he didn't want to talk to him anymore, so he walked into the kitchen.
Zhuang Yu'an was busy slicing fish. His right hand had recovered, and he wielded the kitchen knife with the same fluidity as a restaurant chef.
"Don't you think you've gone too far?" Zuo Xiao reprimanded him, "You're being too humble, making you seem easy to bully. Aren't you afraid he'll treat you like a soft persimmon and bully you in the future?"
Zhuang Yu'an put down the kitchen knife and smiled at her foolishly. She frowned: "What are you laughing at?"
The man bent down and kissed her on the cheek: "Your father is my father, even if you order me around, it's my duty."
Zuo Xiao's vision went dark again. He glared at him angrily and rushed out of the door.
Fine, these two are willing to fight and the other willing to be beaten, let them have their fun! She doesn't care!
After dinner, they chatted for a while. Around eight o'clock, Zhuang Yu'an stood up to say goodbye. Zuo Xiao said he wanted to see him off, but Old Zuo just said, "Come back soon."
The evening breeze was blowing gently, and the two of them walked hand in hand on the way to the hotel.
"Do you think I've passed?" Zhuang Yu'an asked.
Zuo Xiao raised his eyebrows and asked, "What do you think?"
"I think there's a chance." Zhuang Yu'an said with a smile, "I saw him eat two bowls of rice. At least he should recognize my cooking skills."
"Tsk..." Zuo Xiao sneered, "He's not hiring a cook."
"Yeah." Zhuang Yu'an said calmly, "He's looking for a son-in-law."
Zuo Xiao turned his face away, suppressed the upward curve of his lips, and said, "No wonder others say that when you go out, your status is self-given. This person really knows how to flatter himself. His face is thicker than the city walls of Nanjing."
"Haha..." Zhuang Yu'an's hearty laughter echoed in the night breeze. Zuo Xiao looked at his cheerful smile and couldn't help but sigh that he had changed too: he had become more cheerful, cheerful, and occasionally childish.
She pulled him into a roadside park and after turning a few more corners, the scene before their eyes gradually became quieter. The lush branches and leaves formed a natural barrier, and the hustle and bustle of the city became distant and blurred.
"Look."
Zuo Xiao pointed to a massive Chinese hydrangea. It was at least three meters tall, covered in clusters of blossoms, towering like a canopy. Under the quiet moonlight, the white blossoms adorned the tree like snowballs dotting its branches.
"How beautiful..." She walked over briskly. "This tree has been here for many years. It's been here since I was in college."
She looked up at a tree full of blossoms, and he slowly approached, his eyes always fixed on her.
Suddenly, he took two steps forward and took her hands.
"I've always carried the prenuptial agreement with me." His eyes were filled with unwavering affection. "I didn't show it to you, nor did I propose to you. It's not that I didn't want to, but I didn't dare... Three times the limit, this last chance I didn't want to use lightly."
Zuo Xiao suddenly felt rebellious. He snorted and laughed, saying, "Who said there can't be more than three times? Besides, a proposal should at least involve getting down on one knee and taking out the ring. Isn't that what you're proposing, being so indirect and unclear? How can that be called a proposal?"
Zhuang Yu'an looked at her in a daze, and joy gradually appeared in his eyes.
"You mean..." he trembled, "Can I?"
Oh my God, this man has become stupid again... Zuo Xiao snorted, shook off his hand, and was about to turn around and leave, but was unexpectedly pulled back by him.
He pulled her wrist with his left hand and reached into his windbreaker pocket with his right hand. A moment later, a burgundy velvet box appeared in his palm.
Under the moonlight, Zuo Xiao was stunned, staring at his palm, speechless.
Are you kidding? Is the engagement ring also something he carries around with him at all times, just like the prenuptial agreement?
"I'm always ready..." He was so nervous that his pupils and voice were trembling. "Every day I feel that I can't wait any longer, but every time I want to take it out, I'm afraid it's not the right time..."
Zuo Xiao didn't hear his next words clearly, because her ears were rumbling and her heart was beating like a drum. At the same time, she felt hot all over, as if she was about to burn.
Zhuang Yu'an knelt on one knee before her, a glittering diamond ring exposed in the moonlight. His slender fingers trembled as he picked it up and held it out to her solemnly.
A gust of wind blew by, and the flowers and trees above my head rustled and sang.
"The only love of my life..."
Flowers fell into his eyes, sparkling like stars.
"will you marry me?"
The trembling voice pierced through the drums and sank straight into her heart. Suddenly, a surge of emotion arose, tears overflowed from her eyes, and everything before her was as hazy as a dream.
It turned out that she was looking forward to this moment so much.
She bit her lip, silently stretched out her hand, and let him hold up her palm and put the vow of eternal life on the ring finger of her left hand.
The next afternoon, when Zhuang Jinghao saw the ring on her ring finger at home, she turned into a screaming chicken.
Zuo Xiao covered his ears, waited for her high-decibel scream to pass, and then said with a smile: "Is there any need to be so surprised?"
Zhuang Jinghao's face flushed crimson, and she glanced back and forth between the two men's faces. She trembled as she asked, "What...when did it happen?"
"Last night," his brother said with a subtle smile.
The Screaming Chicken once again let out a high-pitched cackle, followed by a harsh rebuke of him: "Why did I miss such an important and famous moment! Why did you propose to me secretly behind my back? Brother, you're going too far!!"
"I'll tell you slowly later." The brother smiled and patted her shoulder. "Rest for a while now. I'll cook dinner tonight." After saying that, he put his arm around his beloved and hurriedly walked towards the stairs.
Zhuang Jinghao glanced at the clock on the wall: It’s almost four o’clock... Her face immediately turned red: Really, is it necessary to be so anxious?
"Come here, Peter Pan!" she said as she put the dog on the leash. "Dog food will make you feel bloated. Why don't we go for a walk?"
She had been strolling outside for two hours, and Peter Pan was so tired that he lay on the ground and refused to move. She sighed heavily, sat down on a bench by the roadside, and said with her head down, "Peter Pan, do you think I should move out?"
She was half happy, half reluctant. She had dreamed of moving out when she grew up countless times before, but when that day finally approached, she felt a pang of sadness.
A family split into two. From now on, she will no longer be her brother's closest and most important person...
But her brother was happy! This was more important than anything else!
The Peter Pan lying at her feet was blurry. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and carried it to the bench. "I've never lived alone in my life. I don't even know how to pay the water and electricity bills. I'm like a fool... Humph, it's all my brother's fault!"
Peter Pan stuck out his tongue and licked her hand, making her laugh. She sniffed and said, "I've made up my mind. From now on, we must be self-reliant and not rely on our brother anymore! So, you and I will move out together, okay?"
"Woof!"
"Okay, then I'll take it as your agreement!"
As night fell, a man and his dog were walking home when her phone suddenly rang, rang twice, and then went silent. She took it out and saw it was a voice call from her brother.
She opened the WeChat dialog box and found his message from an hour ago: "Sorry, I'm not cooking tonight. We're going out to eat at 8 o'clock. If you're hungry, eat first. No need to call us."
Then another message popped up: "Sorry, I can't go out tonight."
"Fuck!" She stamped her feet in anger, "I'm going to run away from home!"
The next morning, Zhuang Jinghao really "ran away from home", but she left Beijing with her brother and sister-in-law and returned to Wuhan.
Ever since their grandparents saw their future grandson's wife, they couldn't stop talking, calling her "Xiao Xiao" this and "Xiao Xiao" that. Even she, the little cotton-padded jacket, was not impressed. She felt jealous and envious at the same time, and secretly made up her mind: one day she would bring Chen Liqing back home and watch her grandparents call her "Qingqing" all the time!
After dinner, Zuo Xiao felt sleepy and was sent to the guest room for a nap. Zhuang Jinghao took the opportunity to pull her brother downstairs and forced him to explain in detail the process of the proposal and the causes and consequences.
"Brother, you are this!" She gave a thumbs up, "You are so resourceful!"
The other party smiled lightly: "It's okay."
"Be humble, be humble..." She counted on her fingers, "Meet the parents, propose, meet the parents again... In three days, you accomplished three major things! Is this just 'okay'? It's lightning fast!"
Seeing that he just smiled and said nothing, she teased him again, "At this rate, do you have to go get the marriage certificate tomorrow?"
She just said it casually, but she didn't expect her brother's eyes to light up, and then he smiled and said, "Thank you for your good words."
Zhuang Jinghao was stunned and said in disbelief, "Why, you really plan to get the marriage certificate tomorrow?"
"Well, I'm going to give it a try," he said with a smile. "I happen to have my ID card with me."
"Holy crap!" Zhuang Jinghao was amazed and asked with blinking eyes, "She agreed?"
"No, we haven't talked about getting a marriage certificate yet."
"Oh my god... Shouldn't I prepare properly for something this important? And 'try'... How can I try? What if she refuses?"
Zhuang Yu'an smiled and said, "If you refuse, try again next time."
He was so nonchalant, and Zhuang Jinghao was even more surprised: "I don't understand... You mean as long as I'm thick-skinned enough, it's all I need?"
Zhuang Yu'an shook his head. "I remember telling you before, 'Everything is ready, only the east wind is missing' isn't a good state of mind. Being prepared is right, but being obsessed with being fully prepared and waiting for the perfect opportunity is wrong. It will cause you to miss opportunities that could be exploited while passively waiting. The right approach is to take the initiative while keeping the risks under control, try multiple times, and even if you don't succeed, you can use the feedback to iteratively optimize the strategy for the next action. Do you understand now?"
Zhuang Jing seemed to understand, not quite, and said, "I think I understand... What you mean is, you should just try your best, regardless of whether there are any dates or not?"
"It's not that casual..." Zhuang Yu'an said with a wry smile.
"Never mind." Zhuang Jinghao waved her hand. "Do you have any plans? Is there anything I can help with?"
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