First snow as proof
The blueprint that carried his grandfather's youthful dreams was carefully put away by Lu Shixu and returned to its original place. Like a bookmark of time, it marked a voyage that had never begun, yet it also more clearly reflected the safe harbor they had chosen to dock in. The conversation about the future did not stir up any storms, but rather added another solid and serene layer to the connection between the two, like the rings of an old tree.
The days slipped quietly into late autumn in an almost transparent happiness. Until one morning, Lin Zhiyi pushed open the door of "Time Sequence" store, and a chilly, refreshing air rushed towards her. To her surprise, she found that under the gray-blue sky, tiny, crystalline snowflakes were falling sporadically.
"It's snowing!" she said, turning back to Lu Shixu, who was turning on his desk lamp, with a childlike surprise.
Hearing the sound, Lu Shixu walked to the window and stood beside her. Outside, fine snowflakes fell sparsely, dancing in the air, not yet settling on the ground, but enough to announce the official arrival of winter. This was the first real snow of the year.
"Yes, the first snow." He responded softly, his gaze following a snowflake as it twirled and fell until it touched the cold windowpane and instantly melted into a tiny water droplet.
The shop was warm and inviting, a gentle contrast to the chill outside. They watched the snow in silence for a while, as if participating in a silent ritual.
“I heard,” Lin Zhiyi suddenly remembered something, turned her head, and smiled playfully, “that wishes made on the first snow day are very effective.”
Lu Shixu looked at her; the tip of her nose was slightly red from the cold air, but her eyes shone with a light warmer than the lamplight. A thought stirred within him, and like snowflakes falling silently outside the window, it surfaced clearly and without warning.
He didn't ask her what she wished for.
He simply looked at her quietly for a moment, and then, quite naturally, took her hand and led her to the center of the shop, to the open space bathed in warm light.
His movements were unhurried, but his eyes were unusually focused, reflecting her figure and the swirling snowflakes outside the window.
Lin Zhiyi was somewhat puzzled, yet she also had a vague premonition of something. Her heart began to beat faster involuntarily, and she let him lead her.
Lu Shixu stopped and turned to face her. He held her hand, his grip gentle yet firm. The clocks in the shop seemed to hold their breath, their ticking becoming exceptionally clear, as if awaiting some important moment.
“Zhiyi,” he began, his voice slightly lower than usual, carrying a solemn calm, as if stating an unquestionable conclusion reached after countless precise calibrations, “I used to think that time, for me, was a journey that required careful handling and was often interrupted.”
His gaze was locked on hers, not allowing her the slightest chance to look away.
"But now, because of you, it has become a road that I can walk on safely and even look forward to the future."
He paused, as if gathering his courage, or perhaps savoring the weight of the words themselves. The snow outside the window seemed to be falling heavier, its soft rustling faintly audible.
“I’m not sure exactly where my time will end,” he said, his words so honest they sent shivers down your spine, yet so resolute they were as solid as a rock. “But what I am sure of is that from this moment on, I want to spend every moment with you.”
He released one hand and took a small, dark blue velvet box from his shirt pocket. The box was old and simple, no different from the boxes he usually used to store precision parts.
Lin Zhiyi's breath almost stopped at that moment. She stared blankly at the box, watching him gently open it with his long, steady fingers.
Inside lay not a dazzling diamond, but a ring of remarkably simple design. The band was a warm rose gold, devoid of any superfluous embellishments, except for a small, lustrous piece of white jade set in the center of the band. The jade was skillfully cut and polished into a tiny, exquisite gear shape. The gear's teeth were rounded, its lines smooth, and it gleamed with a warm, understated luster under the light.
This is a unique ring that belongs only to Lu Shixu.
He took the ring out of the box, held it in his palm, and presented it to her. His gaze was as deep as the night sea, churning with all the unspoken love, dependence, promises, and expectations.
"Lin Zhiyi," he called her full name, his voice clear and steady, piercing through the ticking of the clock and through time itself, "Will you... marry me?"
There was no kneeling, no romantic declarations. Only the simplest inquiry and the most authentic self—a man who used gears and time as his language to promise the rest of his life.
Lin Zhiyi looked at the gear ring, at how it perfectly blended his world with his feelings for her; at his eyes, brimming with tension and sincerity; at the clock chimes that seemed amplified countless times, a symbol of the passage of time, and at the soft sound of the first snow falling outside the window.
A surge of hot liquid rushed to her eyes, blurring her vision instantly. It wasn't that she hadn't hoped for it, but when this moment arrived in such a "Lu Shixu" way, the shock and emotion far surpassed any preconceived romance.
She didn't answer immediately, but instead reached out her slightly trembling hand and gently touched the warm, smooth gear ring, as if to confirm that this was not a dream.
Then, she raised her tear-filled eyes, looked into his expectant gaze, and a radiant smile, tinged with tears, bloomed on her face. She nodded firmly and clearly:
"I do."
Her voice was choked with emotion, yet it was firm and resolute.
The tension in Lu Shixu's eyes finally transformed into immense relief and overwhelming love. He carefully and solemnly placed the unique gear ring on the ring finger of her left hand. The size was perfect.
The ring was slightly cool, but it was quickly warmed by her body heat.
He took her hand, which was adorned with a ring, and gently pulled her into his embrace. This embrace was tighter than ever before, carrying a sense of peace and the excitement of a promise fulfilled.
The snow outside the window had been falling silently, blanketing the entire world.
Inside the store, countless clocks still ticked away, as if playing a solemn and gentle eternal melody for this engagement, witnessed by the first snow and recorded by time.
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