Chapter 207 A Romantic and Fulfilling Proposal (Part 2)
The video looks a bit shaky, and the angle is like a selfie taken with a handheld phone.
She was wearing the same main dress she wore for today's photoshoot, with the backdrop being the same location where the shoot took place a few days ago at Edinburgh Castle.
The sunlight was bright, and you could still see his blurry silhouette in the distance as he was reshooting a solo shot.
She waved playfully at the camera, her face beaming with a bright smile.
"Hi, Mr. Zhuang, hello! I am your wife, Qu He. It is 10:26 a.m. on November 15th in Edinburgh, UK time. I have a gift for you."
The screen went black as soon as he finished speaking.
Zhuang Bieyan's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, and his gaze was fixed on the screen.
A few seconds later, the screen lit up again, but the image was shaking violently, as if the person filming was adjusting the angle.
At first, only the lower half of her face and the swaying collar of her shirt could be seen. Then the camera stabilized, and Qu He's entire body appeared in the frame.
This time, she was wearing the school uniform of Beicheng No.1 Middle School.
Wearing a white shirt and a plaid pleated skirt, with her long hair tied in a ponytail, Zhuang Bieyan recognized the person in the background at a glance.
It was the university library where he studied in England, the spot where he spent countless afternoons.
Qu He waved to the camera, then took out a prepared white card from behind her back, held it up to the camera, and displayed her neat handwriting:
[Zhuang Bieyan, this is the library you used to come to every day. The sunlight here is lovely, but the coffee from the automatic coffee machine on the first floor is a bit sour, not as good as the one you made for me later.]
Then, she turned the card over, and on the back was a profile of him quietly reading alone in this corner of the library all those years ago.
He didn't even remember having such a photo. How did she find it?
Zhuang Bieyan felt as if his heart had been violently struck.
The scene quickly shifts, and Qu He is now wearing a thick British-style coat and a red scarf.
A lively commotion could be heard off-screen, and the camera panned to a group of students dressed in formal black and white uniforms.
Their university's opening ceremony is held every November.
Qu He stood on the outskirts of the crowd, looking at those faces, her eyes filled with nostalgia as she looked at the camera: "Zhuang Bieyan, were you like this back then, secretly watching me from the crowd?"
She then took out another photo, a picture of him speaking at the opening ceremony in a black suit, looking very confident and spirited.
Next, Qu He held up his phone and walked through every corner of his university.
She commented on the dishes he often ate, the laboratory building where he had worked on projects, and the lake with swans behind their school.
Wherever they went, she would magically produce a photo from that period of his life.
She was re-engaging in his college years in her own way, filling the void in his heart.
Finally, the scene cuts back to the initial shot in Edinburgh.
Wearing a wedding dress, Qu He looked at the camera as if she were looking through the screen directly at Zhuang Bieyan, whose eyes were already red with tears.
"Zhuang Bieyan, thank you for liking me for so many years in those years I didn't know about."
"From now on, let me love you properly, okay?"
She called him by the nickname he knew best from childhood: "Brother Swallow, I love you."
The screen went dark again, leaving only Qu He's voice-over, filled with laughter and anticipation: "Now, groom, please turn around and greet your bride."
Zhuang Bieyan's throat felt like it was blocked by something, and he choked up, unable to make a sound.
He slowly turned around and looked towards the entrance of the church.
Qu He stood there quietly.
She didn't wear the same wedding dress she wore for the last set of wedding photos, nor the main dress from the beginning of the video. Instead, she changed into a brand new wedding dress that he had never seen before.
She lifted her skirt, looking at him with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face.
This is the second gift she prepared for him, First Look.
In this place that belonged only to the two of them, he saw her for the first time wearing the wedding dress that had been prepared just for this moment.
Zhuang Bieyan could no longer restrain himself and almost ran over to hug Qu He tightly and forcefully!
Qu He, who had been trying hard to hold back her tears, finally broke down completely in his embrace.
She hugged him back, sobbing slightly.
When did you take these photos?
Zhuang Bieyan's voice was terribly hoarse.
He recalled the itinerary, and the only possible timeframe was the day she went to see Teacher Qi Mo.
It takes more than an hour by train from central London to his university, which explains why she left early that morning and didn't return until evening.
And yet, after she had spent a whole day preparing such a gift for him, he still pestered her and acted silly until the wee hours of the morning.
He then recalled that two days before flying to England, she had made a special trip back to the Zhuang residence to see Zhuang Liuyue, so was it just to get the photos?
It turns out she had started planning this all along.
Thinking of this, his heart ached even more, and he hugged her even tighter.
"Ahe, thank you. Really, thank you."
He whispered in her ear again and again, but all words seemed pale in the face of his sincerity.
Qu He tiptoed and planted a sweet kiss on his lips.
She looked at his red-rimmed eyes and gently stroked his cheek. "Zhuang Bieyan, I know you've always had a regret, feeling that you didn't tell me your feelings sooner and missed being a part of my past. Now, I'll help you fulfill that wish, okay?"
I've walked the same university paths you walked, seen the same scenery you saw, and experienced the same loneliness and growth you felt. Now, there are no more blank spaces between us.
Zhuang Bieyan could no longer utter a word.
What else could he possibly be dissatisfied with?
His Ah He responded to his ten-year unrequited love with such a meticulously planned gift, soothing all his anxieties and regrets.
She loved him more deeply and with more devotion than he could have imagined.
He cupped her face in his hands and, with a tearful yet tender kiss, expressed all his emotions and love.
"I love so much."
He pressed his forehead against hers, his voice choked with emotion yet filled with happiness, "Ahe, having you is having the whole world."
The two embraced tightly under the beam of light.
Just then, Qu He suddenly felt something fall from above her head, carrying a faint fragrance.
She opened her eyes and found that it was white rose petals falling from the second-floor balcony of the church, creating a romantic rain of flowers.
As she was wondering, she saw Zhuang Bieyan suddenly release her, take a step back, and then, to her surprise, kneel down on one knee.
At the same time, the photographer smiled and stepped forward, handing Zhuang Bieyan a bouquet of pink lychees.
Zhuang Bieyan took out a diamond ring from the pink petals.
He raised his head and looked up at the one and only love of his life.
“Ahe, some people say that confessions and proposals should start with the ritual of a bouquet of flowers. Our beginning was filled with too many misunderstandings and haste, and lacked the solemnity it should have.”
He held up the dazzling ring as if it were his most precious heart: "Now, I want to give you all of this."
"Qu He, are you willing to marry Zhuang Bieyan?"
She hadn't expected that they would both choose to prepare surprises for each other today to make up for their regrets.
Although the answer was already known to everyone, Qu He's tears fell again in this place surrounded by love, surprise and roses, in the face of this solemn proposal ceremony.
She looked at the man kneeling before her, at her reflection in his eyes, at the ring on his hand that symbolized their promise, and firmly uttered those three words:
"I do!"
Zhuang Bieyan carefully placed the ring on Qu He's left ring finger.
He lowered his head and placed a devout kiss on the ring.
At this moment, all regrets are made up for, and all love receives the most perfect response.
Outside the church, white doves flew across the clear sky.
Inside the church, rose petals drifted down silently, covering the lovers who were embracing and kissing.
That evening, Zhuang Bieyan and Qu He both updated their Weibo accounts with a photo.
The photo was taken at Carlton Hill in Edinburgh.
The setting sun painted the sky a warm orange-red, and the silhouettes of ancient buildings stood in the distance.
The photo mainly shows the backs of two people.
Qu He leaned her head on Zhuang Bieyan's shoulder, and the two of them gazed at the setting sun that was about to sink below the horizon.
The caption, though simple, conveyed all the romance and promise:
I want to watch the romance of the sunset with you forever.
(End of text)
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