Proposal (Twenty-Seven)
Yang Liu, who was sitting nearby watching the fun, immediately smiled and waved her hand: "You young people are going on a date, so your dad and I won't be the third wheel. Besides, there are a lot of mosquitoes at night, and I'm too lazy to go out."
Yang Liu has never liked summer very much. This reason is very reasonable, so Ruan Qi did not suspect anything.
She looked at Cheng Jinyan, Grandpa Xi and the others again.
"Big Brother and Grandpa Xi haven't watched an open-air movie, right? Why not..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Mr. Xi with a wave of his hand.
"I'm not going. Movies nowadays aren't good. They're all full of cheesy romances and boring. You young people should go watch them. I'll stay home and play chess with your grandfather."
"..." Mr. Xi, who always loved to join in the fun, actually rejected her. Ruan Qi was surprised for a moment and looked at Cheng Jinyan again.
But unexpectedly, Cheng Jinyan also rejected her.
"I have a video conference tonight, so I probably won't have time to go to the open-air movie. Sorry, Xiaoqi, you and Xijiu go."
Ruan Qi walked downstairs and was stunned when she saw his imposing appearance.
Unlike his casual attire these days, tonight Xi Jiu transformed himself into the aloof and regal Xi Ye of the imperial capital. From his hair to his shoes, every detail was exquisite, and his entire body exuded an air of nobility.
Xi Jiu was wearing black today, his most suitable color. A black shirt embroidered with gold patterns, the sleeves neatly rolled up to the elbows. Beneath it were matching trousers, neatly cut and made with high-quality workmanship, every inch of the fabric exuding the scent of wealth.
…
Ruan Qi was a public figure, and appearing in public without warning would cause a disturbance. Xi Jiu hadn't had a public status in the past two years, so it wasn't appropriate for her to appear in public hand in hand with Ruan Qi.
But everyone was determined and rejected her kindness again.
"No." Xi Jiu rubbed her head with a smile in his eyes, "It's more suitable to date with fewer people. I like to be alone with my baby."
Ruan Qi and Xi Jiu held hands and walked side by side on the path leading to the square.
But...it's August now!
Ruan Qi persuaded herself to accept Xi Jiu wearing long sleeves and long pants in the hot weather, then said goodbye to her family and left the villa.
Evening arrived quickly.
Ruan Qi walked under the starlight, feeling the warmth from Xi Jiu's big hand, and her heart suddenly calmed down.
He refused the suggestion to change clothes, insisting, "This outfit is fine, no need to change. I have energy in my body that can adjust my body temperature according to the temperature, so I won't get heatstroke."
“…”
Even at its coolest in August, Qingyun Village was still nearly 30 degrees Celsius. It was so hot everyone wanted to be naked. Was Xi Jiu wearing long sleeves and long pants trying to avoid getting a heat stroke?!
But now it's good, they have made their relationship public and can hold hands openly.
The bun that she had been wearing because she was too lazy to take care of it was finally let down. Her long, black hair, as silky as silk, was draped smoothly over her shoulders. A small white pearl hairpin was stuck on her temples with some broken hair, which looked delicate and cute.
Ruan Qi was completely stunned.
Seeing this, Ruan Qi immediately felt happy.
Such a high-end and expensive outfit is more than enough to attend a banquet.
It was almost seven o'clock in the evening and it was gradually getting dark.
She looked at her fiancé, who was so handsome he looked like he was going to a wedding, and murmured, "Jiujiu, we're just going to see a movie, not walk the red carpet. You don't have to be so... grand."
"Jiujiu, it seems like we rarely walk hand in hand like this."
Ruan Qi tried to persuade Xi Jiu to change into seasonal clothes.
"Why does everyone have something to do today? Can't we all go to the movies? Open-air movies are very lively, are you really not going to watch it?" Ruan Qi tried to persuade everyone unwillingly.
Ruan Qi: “…”
Ruan Qi dressed up in the bedroom, then put on her small shoulder bag and went downstairs with brisk steps.
Xi Jiu, who was walking beside her, turned his head to look at her and said "hmm" softly.
But I don’t know what happened to Xi Jiu today, he suddenly became conceited.
She picked up a big bun for Xi Jiu and said happily, "Then eat more. When you're full, we'll go on a date tonight~"
The entire family, young and old, men and women, unexpectedly refused to go to the movies with her. Even the two dogs, Dahui and Xiaohui, were rejected by Nie Heng on the grounds that they had been eating too much lately and needed to be taken to the back hills for a jog to lose weight.
Okay.
"After returning to the capital, I'll reduce my workload and find more time to go out with my baby. Aren't there those 100 things couples must do online? We should do all of them, okay?"
Ruan Qi was helpless and turned to look at Xi Jiu: "Jiujiu, it may be just you and me tonight. There are not many people here, will you feel bored?"
The evening breeze brought the fragrance of grass and trees. The night sky, free of air pollution, was clean and clear, dotted with stars, casting a starlight on the ground.
Her fiancé suddenly fell in love with beauty, and she had to respect his hobby.
Downstairs, Xi Jiu was already waiting in the living room.
"Jiujiu, aren't you hot wearing so many clothes?"
In order to cater to the atmosphere of the party, Ruan Qi took off the home clothes she had been wearing these days and put on a beautiful and exquisite dress.
But today, she suffered the worst Waterloo in her history.
Ruan Qi was rarely rejected by her family. No matter how unreasonable her requests were, her family would try their best to satisfy her.
Xi Jiu's dark eyes were filled with anticipation as he looked at Ruan Qi quietly.
Ruan Qi curled her eyes and nodded in agreement without hesitation.
"Okay. I'll also reduce some of my announcements in the future and spend more time with my parents. But Jiujiu, I'm a public figure, and if you go out with me, there might be onlookers."
Xi Jiu: "It's okay, I can run fast. If anyone really surrounds us, I'll just take the baby and run away."
Ruan Qi imagined the scene of Xi Jiu pulling her away in a panic, and couldn't help laughing.
"But what if I can't run as fast as you? Will I hold you back?"
"No." Xi Jiu held her hand tightly and said seriously, "I'll run with the baby on my back. I'm strong, and they can't catch up with me. Anyway, no matter what the situation, I won't abandon the baby."
Hearing these words, Ruan Qi's heart couldn't help but soften a little.
Her eyes were filled with smiles, and her gentle gaze fell on Xi Jiu's face. "I know, I know Jiu Jiu will never abandon me, and I won't abandon Jiu Jiu either. Let's go quickly, the movie will start soon."
Ruan Qi pulled Xi Jiu and quickened his pace.
According to past experience, the village's open-air movies usually start at 7:30, and if you want to grab a seat in the front, you have to arrive half an hour in advance.
In order to maximize Xi Jiu's experience of watching an open-air movie for the first time, Ruan Qi decided to go there quickly and grab two good seats.
However, when she hurried to the small square, she unexpectedly discovered—
There is no one here at all!
The empty little square was a sight to behold. Not a single person, not even a stray dog.
Where are the people?
What about the movie?
What about a big movie screen?
Ruan Qi was stunned looking at the empty square.
"Jiujiu, did you remember the date wrong? Is the movie really being shown tonight?" she asked uncertainly.
Xi Jiu pretended to be calm and nodded: "It's tonight. Nie Heng and I can't be wrong."
Ruan Qi: "But now... there's nothing."
"Maybe something unexpected happened." Xi Jiu said, and suddenly let go of her hand. "I'll go find out. Baby, don't move here. I'll be back soon."
After Xi Jiu finished speaking, he turned around and ran away quickly without waiting for Ruan Qi to react.
“????”
Ruan Qi's head was full of question marks.
She wanted to call out to Xi Jiu, but Xi Jiu was too fast and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Helpless, Ruan Qi had to put down his hands and stand still obediently.
But as she stood there, she vaguely felt that something was strange around her.
This small square is a little too quiet.
In the summer, it gets dark late, and around 7 or 8 pm is the time for villagers to have fun. Every evening, villagers gather in this small square to dance, and children run around and play, making it extremely lively.
But today, there is not even an ant in the square.
Even if there were an outdoor movie tonight, it wouldn't be this quiet, right? Where are the old ladies dancing in the square? Where are the children running around in the square?
Ruan Qi realized belatedly that something was wrong.
She didn't want to stand there and wait any longer, so she decided to go to a crowded place to find out what was going on.
But before going, she had to send a WeChat message to Xi Jiu first.
Ruan Qi took out her cell phone and was about to unlock the screen.
However, at this moment, the lights around the square suddenly went out.
The whole world seemed to be covered with a layer of cloth and turned dark in an instant.
Ruan Qi, who was standing in the center of the square, had the first reaction that there was danger and enemies.
But before she could become alert, an orange light slowly lit up in the dark night.
Then, the second, third, fourth... countless lights slowly emerged from all directions, and then floated lightly into the night sky in the gentle evening breeze.
It turned out to be a Kongming lantern!
Ruan Qi's eyes suddenly widened.
She looked up at the lights in the night sky, and before she could react, a Kongming lantern slowly floated in front of her.
Unlike other Kongming lanterns, this one is larger and more exquisitely made.
On the lantern paper, a painting was drawn with a brush. In the painting, there was a little girl with a sunflower hairband and a boy with an indifferent expression.
That was nine-year-old Ruan Qi and sixteen-year-old Xi Jiu.
【This is our first meeting】
——Next to the painting, someone wrote this line of words on the lantern with a brush.
Looking at the familiar handwriting, Ruan Qi guessed who the owner of the Kongming lantern was.
Her eyes felt slightly warm, and she let go of the Kongming lantern, letting it slowly fly into the sky.
At this moment, a buzzing sound was heard, and a white drone slowly flew over from a distance, and finally stopped in front of Ruan Qi.
With the help of the lights of the Kongming lanterns in the sky, Ruan Qi saw that there seemed to be something hanging under the drone.
She stood on tiptoe, raised her hand and took the thing off——
It turned out to be a dragonfly woven with grass leaves.
This dragonfly was woven very delicately, with a thin twine at the end, and a carefully polished wooden sign on the twine.
There was a small line of words engraved on the wooden sign:
【When you were three years old, you had your first dragonfly】
I've been thinking about the proposal plot for a long time, struggling between extravagance and simplicity, but ultimately I chose the latter. Having Mr. Xi personally craft lanterns and weave dragonflies is far more meaningful than a proposal ceremony involving money, and it's more worthy of his true love for Soft Baby. Of course, there's more to the proposal than just this; there's more to come tomorrow. Stay tuned!
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