Chapter 81 "In the near future, she will be my wife..."
Is she willing to start a family with him?
Is she willing to let him spend the rest of her life with her?
The world remained silent, and Wen Jia did not reply to him for a long time.
Xu Shaoting's emotions had reached their peak, and it would be up to her to decide whether the tide would break or recede.
"I want to marry you, Wen Jia. I simply can't imagine the rest of my life without you." His voice was low and firm, each word seemingly drawn from the deepest recesses of his heart. "Not because of responsibility, not because of suitability, and certainly not because of worldly opinions. It's simply because that person is you. I just want to cherish every moment with you. So, Wen Jia, will you? Will you let me be your husband, will you entrust your future to me?"
Time seemed to stretch out, with waves rising and falling one after another.
Finally, he heard her trembling voice, "I do."
The moment the answer was given, the waves obediently stopped abruptly.
Xu Shaoting blinked almost imperceptibly, a smile playing on his lips.
He carefully took out the diamond ring, lifted her left hand, but did not put it on immediately.
Instead, it pauses for a moment, as if waiting for the two gears to mesh perfectly into each other's life trajectories, thus achieving fulfillment.
Then, he slowly pushed it into the base of her ring finger.
Her fingers were long and supple, trembling slightly like water lily petals under the moonlight. A diamond rested quietly on them, shining gently, as if it had always been there.
The ring fit her perfectly. She didn't even know her own finger size, so the arrival of this ring was an unexpected surprise, and her eyes filled with tears.
He had been kneeling on one knee for a long time, and his joints were starting to ache, but he didn't care and struggled to stand up. His eyes welled up with tears, but he forced them back down and pulled her into his arms tightly.
He held her left hand and kissed it gently again and again.
From then on, nothing could separate them.
From then on, two destinies became intertwined, and whether it was a hurricane or spring sunshine, they were all etched into the same ring of time.
“I love you,” he said.
He used to be unaccustomed to uttering these three words aloud, but from now on, he wants to make this expression instinctive.
Wen Jia pressed her ear against his chest and heard a deep, resonant, and solemn sound in his voice.
Hot tears slid down her cheeks. "I love you."
The two held each other tightly, neither willing to let go, feeling a sense of peace, as if a ship that had been adrift for a long time had finally returned to port.
In the distance, the last wave broke into silent foam beside the reef, like a distant blessing.
-
That night, he held her in his arms on the big bed in the master bedroom.
The Caribbean nights are cool, and the sounds of waves and wind rustle into the room.
Wen Jia was captivated by the wedding ring. She held it up to the crystal chandelier for a long time before asking a silly question, "Why does it fit so perfectly?"
“I guessed.” He said seriously.
"I don't believe it."
Xu Shaoting smiled and said, "I've measured it."
She searched her memory for a while, but felt like her memories were missing a few frames. "When?"
"While you are asleep."
Wen Jia lowered her eyes, not bothering to find out which time he had measured her in her sleep, and only asked, "When did you prepare for the proposal?"
"The first time I told you I wanted to marry you."
"I still don't believe it." Wen Jia withdrew her hand, very doubtful.
"Why?"
She pursed her lips with a hint of guilt: "Back then... my answer to you was, don't joke around."
"So what? Just because you think I'm joking doesn't mean I don't want to marry you, nor will it stop us from getting married."
"But we broke up again later..." she said, sounding extremely unsure.
“We haven’t broken up,” he corrected her. “We’re just temporarily separated for a while.”
Temporarily. What a domineering word. It seems to have an innate certainty, as if time itself must detour around it, and the separation between people must be redefined by it.
“Mmm,” she obediently wrapped her arms around his waist, “we’ve only been apart for a while.”
Speaking of breaking up, he just happened to remind her of that.
She got out of bed, opened her suitcase on the carpet, took an envelope from a hidden compartment, clutched it carefully, and then returned it to his arms.
"What's this?"
"I don't know. Helen gave it to me that night. She didn't say what it was, she just told me to bring it. She also said that she shouldn't have given it to me, but she thought I would want to see it." Wen Jia muttered as she opened the envelope.
Xu Shaoting frowned, and a dark memory instinctively surfaced, gradually becoming clearer.
After figuring out what it was, he reached out to snatch it—
However, it was too late; Wen Jia had already unfolded the letter.
On the light-colored letter paper, the penmanship was strong and sharp; the letter began without a salutation.
"The day we broke up, you told me you wanted me to be happy. These past few days I've been thinking about it, but I can't find an answer. How can I be happy without you?"
I really miss you, I dream about you every single night.
"Sometimes I don't even know whether I should fall asleep or stay awake. In my dreams, I see you from the past, but in reality, I can't see you."
"I am still waiting, as snow falls on every step we've taken."
The smile on her lips slowly disappeared as she wrote line after line of penmanship.
Just as he grasped the gist of the message, Xu Shaoting snatched the letter away.
He had almost forgotten that before going to Switzerland, he had asked Helen to deliver this letter to her.
He harbored a last selfish hope: that she would see his longing.
Belated longing is deadly, like a clear mirror reflecting the equally desolate inner worlds we both experienced during that time apart.
Her eyes reddened, and she breathed heavily, "Why was it with her?"
Xu Shaoting gave a self-deprecating smile. "I asked her to give it to you."
"Then...why didn't I receive it?"
“That day in Zurich, I saw you avoiding me, and I told her,” he closed his eyes, speaking with difficulty, “Don’t give it to you again.”
Wen Jia felt a jolt in her heart, the bitterness coming unexpectedly. She buried her head deep in his chest, stammering, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry."
"Don't cry," he lifted her face, "it's all over now."
She was so glad, so very glad, that she only saw the letter at this moment.
Fortunately, this belated letter did not become the catalyst for their reconciliation, but rather appeared quietly after everything had settled down and vows had been exchanged.
It is no longer a bargaining chip for reconciliation, but has become a testament to love.
Xu Shaoting wiped away her tears, and only asked after they had dried completely, "Where would you like to hold the wedding?"
Wen Jia had never seriously considered this question.
She had attended countless weddings of her friends in the industry and witnessed countless couples fall in love. Before he came along, she never imagined that she would become the bride in the spotlight.
But perhaps every girl dreams of wearing a wedding dress. Back in high school, after lights out, the six of us in the dorm somehow ended up talking about weddings and wedding dresses.
The other five people were full of beautiful dreams about marriage. After chatting for a while, their voices suddenly stopped. Lin Xi, who was sleeping in the bunk above her, poked her head out and innocently asked her, "Wen Jia, you said you have no intention of getting married, does that mean you can't wear a wedding dress? What a pity, I really wanted to see you wear one, I wonder how beautiful you would look."
Wen Jia lightly kicked the bed board and stubbornly said, "I can buy clothes for myself even if I don't get married. If I really get into the film academy through the arts entrance exam, I might even be able to play a bride. What's the big deal?"
Later, she actually played the role of a bride countless times in front of the camera, wearing a phoenix coronet and a white wedding gown, but after the director yelled "cut," all the carefully arranged joy or emotion was instantly taken away, leaving only the coldness of the props.
She always felt that those gorgeous clothes and accessories were just another kind of theatrical costumes.
But at this moment, upon hearing Xu Shaoting ask this question, those distant imaginings about the bride that she had deliberately sealed away quietly revived, carrying with them the warmth of the dim yellow light under the dormitory in her teenage years.
She was lost in thought, muttering, "What I want... might be very unrealistic."
"explain."
Unrealistic? It'll just be all about luxury, extravagance, and grandeur. So what? He has plenty of money; he can afford it. If she wants, he can give her countless weddings of the century.
"Let's not talk about it yet."
She needs to slowly sort through her memories from her teenage years, which will take time.
“Okay.” He leaned against her, his fingertips twirling her hair. “I’ll give you whatever kind of wedding you want, it’s all very easy.”
Everything is easy as long as she's the bride.
Wen Jia nodded in his arms, paused for two seconds, and then asked softly, "Do we want a baby?"
"You've already thought that far ahead?" Xu Shaoting laughed. "You can have children if you want, or not if you don't."
Wen Jia was slightly taken aback. "I thought you would say yes."
"I'll do whatever you say."
Getting back together was already difficult enough, and he couldn't possibly risk losing her in the slightest by forcing her to do something she didn't want to do.
"My uncle might not be willing..."
Xu Shaoting couldn't help but chuckle, "Xu Yancheng has a normal orientation and is in good working order."
Wen Jia buried her face in his chest and laughed for a while, then lifted her head and said in an even softer voice, "If I were to have a child... I only want to have a girl."
"good."
"Your eyes should resemble mine, and your nose should resemble yours."
"I'll try my best." Xu Shaoting kissed the tip of her nose. "What about personality? Who should I take after?"
"Personality?" Wen Jia's eyes sparkled as she pondered for a moment. "Half for each of us."
Xu Shaoting chuckled softly, his fingertips gently tracing her eyebrows and eyes. "So fair?"
"Of course it has to be fair." Wen Jia grabbed his mischievous hand and pressed it against her cheek. "What if he takes after you completely and is always lecturing people with a stern face?"
When have I ever lectured you?
She whispered her accusation against him, "In bed..."
“Then she would be even happier,” Xu Shaoting said, biting her earlobe and whispering in her ear, “If she knew that she came here because her father was disciplining her mother, she would probably be even happier.”
He was being malicious, deliberately emphasizing the word "lesson".
Wen Jia's cheeks flushed crimson. She bit her lip, ignoring him, and asked only, "Do you prefer a son or a daughter?"
"daughter."
"You don't have to do as I say."
“I didn’t do as you said,” he comforted her by kissing her cheek, “but I also wanted to see what you looked like when you were little.”
Wen Jia gave a soft "Mmm" and hugged him even tighter. "All of these things will come true, right?"
Xu Shaoting's Adam's apple bobbed. "They will all come true." Every word he uttered was firm and resolute. "I will make your wishes come true."
Outside the window, the gentle sound of the Caribbean waves accompanied their vows.
Wen Jia adjusted to a more comfortable position in his arms, her fingers unconsciously stroking the diamond ring she had just put on.
"Xu Shaoting." She was very sleepy, her eyelids drooping, and her voice was very soft.
"Um?"
"Will we always be like this?" she murmured, almost in a dream.
"Yes. It will only get better." He wasn't dreaming; his tone was calm and resolute, like an unbreakable reef in the distance.
It was probably very late at night, and Wenjia gradually fell asleep to the sound of his steady heartbeat.
Xu Shaoting did not close his eyes for a long time, but gazed at her sleeping face by the moonlight, as if he wanted to etch this moment into eternity.
-
During their vacation on the Caribbean island, Hsu Shao-ting forbade her from using the internet and instructed Lin Yu-che not to report anything unless the sky fell down.
So neither of them knew that a frenzied storm had already swept across Weibo, centered around them.
It all started with the studio not releasing Wen Jia's public schedule.
At first, fans only made gentle comments in the super topic, but when the studio remained silent, tech-savvy people began to thoroughly investigate Wen Jia's personal accounts.
To her surprise, she discovered that the IP address of her account had become a long list of countries whose names were too long to pronounce.
At first, fans just laughed it off as a bug on Weibo and didn't take it seriously.
The shift in public opinion began with a comment:
[Family members, guess what I just discovered? I just checked xst's Weibo IP address, and it's here too! [Shocked] Didn't any of you notice? Am I the first one to find this?]
The letters "xst" were too eye-catching and sensitive in the super topic, and fans expressed their opinions and had a heated discussion.
[Really? I'll go check!]
[OMG, seriously, I can't even pronounce the name of that country that starts with "Saint"!]
So, ++'s recent disappearances are because she's with him?!
[Did they go on vacation? Probably a team-building activity. Now that you're the boss, organizing a company trip isn't unusual...]
[Although... have you ever seen a company schedule a vacation after the New Year? And I just checked Zhang Jie and Kai Qing's accounts; their IP addresses haven't changed, they're still local. If it were a team-building event, how could they not go?]
【Agreed!! What could possibly require two people to come to this place at the same time? Oh my…】
I have a bold guess...it can't be...what I'm thinking...[covers mouth]
[Don't go yet! Finish what you're saying!]
Could this be a marriage proposal...? How romantic!
[! Is my favorite couple finally going to get married?!]
...
The discussion intensified, and with Wen Jia's inherent ability to attract attention, the event quickly gained traction, translating into several hashtags: #WenJiaXuShaoting#, #XuShaoting#, #xst#, #WhoIsXst#, #WenJiaRelationship#
When she saw this, the two were on a private plane returning to China. She looked at him with worry, "What should we do? Will this cause too much of a scene?"
She had tried her best to keep a low profile! She hadn't told Yu Kaiqing, Zhang Linzhi, or even He Lingyi. Only Lin Youzhe knew the truth from Xu Shaoting's side.
Who would have thought that a change in just one IP address could lead to so much deduction?
Oh well, it's nothing. She's been a celebrity for so many years, she has no privacy anymore.
"Do you think we should go public?" Xu Shaoting asked casually, seizing the opportunity. "Should we go public? You're already my fiancée?"
Before he proposed, his fiancée was perhaps just an unspoken term. Now that the proposal has taken place, he can't wait for the whole world to know that she is his and will be his wife in the future.
In fact, she was also eager to get started. However, a lingering worry always remained in her heart.
The public has never been optimistic about wealthy tycoons marrying female celebrities. She has seen too many examples of actresses who married into wealthy families in a glamorous way, only to find themselves struggling under public scrutiny and pessimism. Those harsh voices of "unworthy," "marrying up," and "for money" seem to have become a predetermined script.
“Of course I want to tell everyone,” Wen Jia’s voice was soft, with a hint of hesitation, “but the outside world will criticize and judge, saying that female celebrities are trying to climb the social ladder and are only interested in marrying into wealthy families… there will always be these kinds of comments… I’m not afraid, I’m used to being praised or ridiculed by the media anyway. But… I’m worried that it will affect you.”
The Xu family holds a prominent position in the business world, making them a target for criticism. As the head of the company, Xu Shaoting's marriage is never just a personal choice; it could potentially affect the group's image and even its stock price. She loves him, so she can't bear to see him embroiled in any controversy because of her.
Hearing this, Xu Shaoting smiled indifferently and reached out to pull her closer. "If the Xu family still needs to rely on marriage to maintain its reputation after all this, then I am incompetent." He paused. "As for what outsiders think, it doesn't matter. You don't need to care about anyone's opinion."
His tone remained calm, yet it soothed the last vestige of unease in her heart.
“Okay, then let’s go public.” Wen Jia finally smiled, snuggled into his arms, and placed her fingers on his chest.
This is thousands of meters in the air, where the purest sunlight shines through the clean porthole, making the diamond on her left ring finger sparkle brilliantly.
Xu Shaoting lowered his head and kissed her forehead. "How would you like to announce it?"
"Hmm..." She had no idea. "I post on Weibo?"
"Not formal enough."
"Should I have the studio issue a statement?"
"It's still not enough."
She scoffed, "Then how do we make it public?"
"Should I notify the media and hold a press conference?"
Wen Jia raised an eyebrow. "With such a big fuss, won't the stock price plummet?"
Xu Shaoting admired her naivety and thought process, and said in a doting tone, "It will only go up, baby."
She nodded reassuredly, "I'll listen to you."
When would you like to make it public?
"The sooner the better."
"The sooner the better?" Xu Shaoting could detect a hint of anticipation and impatience in her tone. He smiled and said, "Perhaps there's a better way."
Wen Jia raised her head, puzzled, and asked him with her eyes.
“I have a few old friends, would you like to see them?” Xu Shaoting didn’t wait for her answer, glanced at her nightgown, and said directly, “Go change your clothes first.”
Although she was still completely out of the loop, Wen Jia obediently ran back to her bedroom to change her clothes.
So she didn't hear Xu Shaoting sitting in the cabin dialing Lin Youzhe's number.
He succinctly instructed, "Notify Zhou Yan and his group to come to the airport now."
Lin Youzhe was stunned for a moment, almost thinking he had misheard, and asked again, "Wait...wait...who?"
“Zhou Yan.” Xu Shaoting looked out the porthole and repeated firmly.
Fifteen minutes later.
The Bombardier continued to fly steadily at an altitude of several thousand meters, showing no sign of descending.
However, outside Terminal 3 of Linzhou International Airport, more than ten black Alphard minivans had arrived one after another and stopped in front of the glass doors.
The sounds of car doors opening and closing echoed as dozens of people—to put it nicely, media personnel, or to put it bluntly, paparazzi—rushed out of the cars with cameras, vying for the best vantage point.
They were very professional, moving in a remarkably quiet manner, leaving even the security guards who rushed out at a loss.
The air was thick with tension, and they kept their eyes downcast, exchanging snippets of information, their eyes burning with a thirst for breaking news.
They had been waiting for this day for a long time.
From the day Xu Shaoting took the chair of the board of directors of Tianxu Group, they have never given up following him.
They might be getting paid by their rivals to try and dig out some information about him, or they might simply want to capture a side of him that no one else knows and sell it for a good price.
After all, he is too low-key, never giving in-depth interviews, and his public schedule is always airtight. And the value of news about him is too tempting. Over time, a saying even circulated in the industry: whoever can get solid evidence of Xu Shaoting's infidelity can retire early.
God knows how much Zhou Yan, a media professional who had followed Xu Shaoting for nearly ten years, could not believe her ears when she received the news from Lin Youzhe.
Inside the Maybach in the distance, Lin Youzhe sat in the driver's seat, observing everything calmly, and said on the phone, "Boss, they're in position."
The man on the plane nodded in satisfaction.
Lin Youzhe was meticulous in his work. "Is there anything else I need to tell them?"
After thinking for a long time, the man said only one sentence, "You are not allowed to touch her."
As soon as she finished speaking, Wen Jia emerged from the Bombardier cabin, now dressed in a neatly tailored off-white knee-length dress.
She lifted her skirt and twirled in front of him. "How was it?"
He stared at her, smiled faintly, and slowly shook his head. "Too beautiful."
"Do I need to be this formal when meeting your friend?"
Xu Shaoting's gaze softened as he reached out to tuck a stray hair from her forehead. "It's necessary for the occasion." He paused, then added, "They've already arrived."
"They've arrived?" Wen Jia was even more surprised. "We're still on the plane, where could they be?"
Xu Shaoting smiled but said nothing. He simply took her hand and held it in his palm, which soothed the slight unease that had inexplicably risen in her heart.
About forty minutes later, the Bombardier began its descent, and the outline of Linzhou city gradually became clear under the clouds. The plane finally came to a stop on the runway.
This was the first time the two of them had used the regular entrance.
Seemingly sensing something, she, who had always lived under the scrutiny of others, felt a slight tension. "The old friend you're talking about... is it the media?"
Xu Shaoting held her hand, stopped in his tracks, and looked back at her. "Are you scared? If you are, I'll tell them to go back now."
Without a moment's hesitation, she shook her head and tightened her grip on his fingers. "I'm not afraid."
Xu Shaoting pulled her into his arms, "Do you want to wear sunglasses and a mask?"
“No need.” She laughed self-deprecatingly. “The media is all bad. They can’t see my face clearly and they’ll call a deer a horse, writing me as any other woman. I don’t like it, and I don’t want to.”
Xu Shaoting took her hand again with satisfaction, kissed it, and then led her out of the terminal without hesitation.
The moment the glass door slid open, the media area, which had been waiting for a long time, froze for a moment.
Immediately, as if receiving a silent command, all the cameras turned to point at them.
There was no noise, no pushing or shoving, only a dense and restrained sound of camera shutters clicking in unison, flashes of white light, maintaining a tacit order.
Xu Shaoting made his move almost the instant the door opened.
He wrapped his arm around Wen Jia and pulled her into his embrace, his large hands firmly protecting her shoulders and back, gently pressing half of her face against his chest to block most of the direct camera light.
His gaze swept calmly across the crowd without lingering, yet it carried an invisible pressure, keeping the potentially turbulent atmosphere under control.
The flashes covered everything, not only their faces, but also his arm around her, her hand clutching his shirt, and the huge diamond ring on her ring finger, as big as a pigeon egg.
No one dared to speak first.
Zhou Yan stood at the front of the crowd, seizing the brief moment to ask the question everyone was tacitly aware of: "Chairman Xu, Ms. Wen, did you two return from vacation together? Can this be considered a formal public announcement of your relationship?"
Xu Shaoting didn't answer directly, but turned his head to look at the person in his arms. His voice was deep and clear, enough for the nearest microphones to pick up: "Are you tired? The car is right outside."
Wen Jia instantly understood his intention.
He handed the choice to her.
She took a deep breath, met the countless expectant or inquisitive cameras, and flashed a flawless smile, "Yes, back from vacation."
Once the conversation started, questions from other media outlets couldn't be stopped, and in an instant, the area in front of the terminal building was bustling with noise.
"Could you please respond to the recent online rumors about your engagement?"
"Ms. Wen, is the diamond ring on your hand your engagement ring? May we take a look?"
Are you two getting married soon?
"Please say a few words, Mr. Xu!"
"Could you two please reveal a little bit?"
...
They held the microphones, unsure of who to hand them to.
Xu Shaoting did not answer immediately, but first looked around. His gaze was calm but extremely imposing, and the originally noisy scene quieted down a bit.
Then, he calmly said, "We are not making our relationship public."
The scene was filled with doubt and uproar.
Xu Shaoting maintained a refined and elegant smile, raised his hand intertwined with Wen Jia's, fully exposing the dazzling diamond ring on her finger to the camera, and said clearly, word by word: "We are informing everyone that I have successfully proposed to Wen Jia. She is now my fiancée, and in the near future, she will be my wife."
The moment he finished speaking, the surroundings fell into an even longer, more stagnant silence than before.
Immediately, the sound of camera shutters exploded like firecrackers, creating a dense, impenetrable wave of sound. The blinding flashes illuminated the spot where the two stood, revealing every detail.
A slight commotion arose in the crowd as they tried to get closer and capture Wen Jia's most subtle expression.
The camera recklessly zoomed in on her face, only to be ruthlessly blocked by a hand.
The paparazzi, having been humiliated, didn't dare utter a sound and silently took a small step back.
Xu Shaoting spoke again, his tone calm and composed, "I cannot share the specific details today. I am taking this opportunity to inform everyone and hope to receive your witness and blessings. Any official announcements will be released through appropriate channels. Please give us some space. My fiancée has just arrived from her flight and needs to rest. Thank you all for coming to witness this today."
The words "fiancée" were uttered by him with a weighty and precious meaning, clearly conveying themselves to everyone's ears.
His tone clearly indicated the end of the matter. Lin Youzhe and his bodyguards stepped forward at the opportune moment, effectively separating the reporters who still wanted to ask questions and creating a passage for the two of them.
The camera didn't stop there; it continued to follow their backs, frantically recording his protective posture and her steps as she nestled against him, completely trusting him.
Only after settling into the back seat of the Maybach, isolated from the outside noise, did Wen Jia lean back and finally let out a long sigh of relief.
How are you feeling?
"That's so exciting!"
It wasn't just because of the scene of being surrounded by cameras and microphones and announcing her relationship under the spotlight, but also because it was the first time she had escaped from the media frenzy under such tight protection from one person.
This feeling was so novel, completely different from everything she had experienced in the past ten years.
Recalling what had just happened, she couldn't help but laugh, "That reporter who had the loudest voice was really bold."
Xu Shaoting said casually, "He's been with me for so many years, he deserves a headline."
Behind them, news of their public engagement began to sweep across all social media platforms.
The hashtag #WenJiaXuShaotingEngaged# quietly appeared, followed by a bright red "Explosive" sign.
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