Zhuang Ningyu was truly a very perceptive person, often needing just one look at Yi Ke, or sometimes not even that—just hearing the tone of his voice was enough to know what he was thinking. So, in this household, conversations like this frequently occurred:
“Wifey.”
“No.”
“Wifey.”
“The water hasn’t boiled yet.”
“Wifey.”
“It’s on the third shelf of the freezer.”
“Wifey.”
“Go ahead, come back early.”
Usually, this kind of understanding is certainly wonderful. The unique intimacy and tacit understanding between lovers allowed Yi Ke to savor it for a long time and force his fair-weather friends to praise it. However, at certain critical moments, it didn’t seem so wonderful. On Saturday afternoon, at a secret location unknown to anyone, Yi Ke sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, staring at the huge projection screen on the opposite white wall. The entire proposal plan had been drafted perfectly. Now, only one problem remained: how to make the other protagonist appear at the proposal site without knowing anything about it.
Surrounded by a large circle of fair-weather friends, none could understand his worry. In this beautiful weather with crisp autumn air, wasn’t it normal to go hiking together? You are a couple in a passionate relationship, not mortal enemies who never interact. based on what logic would you think that “inviting Brother Zhuang to hike” is equivalent to “telling him directly that you are going to propose”?
Although they said this, Yi Ke still felt his plan wasn’t perfect enough and could still be improved. Thus, the N+1th proposal preparatory meeting ended in a repetitive cycle at 7 PM that evening. Returning home, Yi Ke collapsed onto the sofa with a crash, exhausted and unwilling to move.
“Didn’t you say you went to play games?” Zhuang Ningyu, pressed underneath, tapped the back of his head with the book in his hand. “Why are you so exhausted?”
“I did go play games.” Yi Ke buried his face in his neck, humming, then reached out to hug him. Ah, wifey’s waist is so slim… kiss kiss kiss.
Zhuang Ningyu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Propping himself up into a comfortable position, he continued to let the person lie in his arms: “Let’s go back to the suburban courtyard next weekend. Dad said a large batch of grapes is ripening; we’ll go bring some back.”
Next weekend was originally the proposal date Yi Ke had carefully selected; he had even specially consulted a master for auspiciousness. However, now he had planned to postpone the whole thing, so going to pick grapes and enjoy some agritainment wasn’t a bad idea.
As a result, as soon as he arrived at the unit the next day, he was called to the conference room by Ye Jiaoyue. The table was already full of people. Logically speaking, under the double worker buff of Monday plus the weekly departmental meeting, such a joyous scene shouldn’t appear. Yi Ke pulled out a chair casually, turned his head, and asked, “What’s going on?”
Qing Gang turned his head: “Don’t look at me, the protagonist is over there.”
Colleague Zhang Xiaowei was rubbing his hands nervously and excitedly. Yi Ke hadn’t reacted yet until Qing Gang continued to turn his head toward the projector. Only then did he see clearly that the text on the screen wasn’t “Weekly Departmental Meeting,” but… Xiao Zhang’s Proposal Process?
His eyeballs trembled involuntarily.
“Xiaowei is going to propose to his girlfriend. We are his atmosphere group,” Qing Gang explained further, then asked, “You’re free this weekend, right?”
“Uh, should be. Saturday or Sunday?” Picking grapes for his father-in-law only required one day, so time-wise it worked. Zhang Xiaowei was very popular in the department. He was honest and simple, and his family ran a breakfast shop. Every time there was a new product, he would treat everyone to a few good meals for free. And now, Qing Gang was rubbing his fists: “Finally, it’s time for us to repay the kindness of the steamed buns!”
The Breakfast Shop Prince’s proposal plan was only two short pages, and the process was simple. Step one: bring the girlfriend to the lakeside restaurant. Step two: kneel on one knee amidst the blessings of friends and family. During the whole process, no colleagues needed to do anything. As Qing Gang just said, act as the atmosphere group, applaud, and send blessings as appropriate.
“Is there anything else to pay attention to?” Accustomed to his own PDF of over a hundred pages, Yi Ke couldn’t adapt to this minimalist version for normal humans for a moment.
Qing Gang waved his hand: “Nothing to pay attention to. You just convey the spirit of the meeting to Captain Zhuang later. Don’t worry, we won’t ask him to give a congratulatory speech this time.”
Zhuang Ningyu wasn’t at the unit; he had been taken out by Huo Ting for a government meeting and didn’t return home until 7 PM. After listening to Yi Ke talk about Comrade Xiao Zhang’s proposal arrangements, his first reaction was indeed to ask: “Does it need me to offer blessings again?”
The disappearance of the Rule Zone brought many changes to society, the most obvious one being a significant increase in the marriage rate. This was normal; a stable environment made people more willing to look forward to the future, and marriage was one of the forms of expectation for the future. Zhuang Ningyu and Yi Ke had attended quite a few weddings in the past two years. Last month, at the wedding of Little Wang from the neighboring department, while Zhuang Ningyu was burying his head eating the super delicious meatballs Yi Ke picked for him, a diamond-encrusted microphone was suddenly stuffed into his hand by the emcee. Looking up to see the joyous couple and three black cameras, he almost couldn’t catch his breath, cheeks puffed out, not knowing whether to chew or not. Although Yi Ke comforted him afterward saying, It’s okay wifey, you looked like a cute hamster at the time, Zhuang Ningyu still felt it was really unnecessary. For future events like this, he always had to ask clearly in advance.
“Not this time, I promise,” Yi Ke said. “I’ve already asked Xiaowei; he said colleagues are only responsible for clapping.”
“Good.” Zhuang Ningyu stirred the oxtail soup in the pot and said casually, “Xiaowei and his girlfriend only met on a blind date in the middle of the year, right? Getting married so soon?”
“Flash marriages aren’t unheard of. Xiaowei is great, down-to-earth, hardworking, and has no temper. Success this quickly is normal.” As he spoke, Yi Ke hugged Zhuang Ningyu from behind. “Go rest, I’ll continue cooking the noodles.”
Zhuang Ningyu handed him the ladle, casting a somewhat different gaze at him—a subtly different gaze that only Yi Ke could detect. After his wife went upstairs, he stood by the pot somewhat puzzled. He thought for half a day and didn’t return to bed. He brought it up again, and Zhuang Ningyu seemingly inadvertently asked, “Is there really no need for me to dress formally?”
“No need.” Yi Ke put his arm around him single-handedly, habitually rubbing the back of his fingers against that soft cheek. With the other hand, he quickly replied to messages from his fair-weather friends, then dropped the phone and turned to hug him. “Sleep.”
The lights went out. Five minutes later, Zhuang Ningyu asked again in the darkness: “Are you sure wearing anything is fine?”
Yi Ke was even more puzzled. Although Xiaowei was indeed popular, why would… Wait a minute!
The wrongly connected channel was miraculously tuned back in an instant. Yi Ke finally deciphered the story behind these repeated inquiries. He turned on the light with a “snap”, held his wife’s shoulders with both hands, lifted him up, and emphasized very seriously: “It really is Xiaowei proposing!”
Zhuang Ningyu nodded cooperatively: “I know.”
No, you definitely misunderstood! Yi Ke didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “It really is Xiaowei, not me. You don’t need to wear formal wear, don’t need to do anything. We are purely the atmosphere group.” Letting his wife foresee his own proposal plan in advance was a no-go, but letting his wife have wrong expectations when he clearly hadn’t planned to propose yet was even worse. To make Zhuang Ningyu believe this was really someone else’s story, Yi Ke not only asked for Xiaowei’s PPT but also squatted on the bed in the middle of the night to explain it in detail. He even dug out a set of ugly yellow clothes from the closet and domineeringly decided: “You wear this on Saturday!”
It was a distribution item Ms. Deng bought to get a bag. After receiving it, Zhuang Ningyu only tried it on once. Yi Ke commented, “Looks like Charlie Brown.” Making his wife wear this to Saturday’s event was enough to prove that this was indeed Xiaowei’s home game.
Zhuang Ningyu refused: “I’m not wearing that.”
Yi Ke held his hands: “Not wearing it is fine too, but Saturday really isn’t… How about this, wifey, you just don’t go. Don’t go, don’t go. Arrange your own activities for that day. I can give Xiaowei a coffee machine to make up for your absence!”
Facing Comrade Little Yi’s various 360-degree dead-angle-free fancy proofs, whether Zhuang Ningyu believed it in the end wasn’t apparent, but he was incredibly sleepy. Yawning continuously, he pulled the quilt over his head, shutting out the “wer wer” sounds from the world. Yi Ke, holding the cat roll in his arms, was completely sleepless, thinking how could this be? Although my wifey has always been sharp, isn’t this a bit too sharp? It was hard to fall asleep in the latter half of the night, and as a result, he kept dreaming. The content included but was not limited to: the proposal ring being discovered by wifey in advance; wifey taking a taxi home after work but being weirdly sent by the ride-hailing driver to the unfinished proposal site; everything going smoothly in the beginning, but the person he waited for in the sea of roses wasn’t wifey but Xiaowei!
Getting up in the morning, his steps were floating.
“Bro, are you okay?” At work, the unit’s intern handed him a cup of coffee.
“I’m fine.” Yi Ke looked haggard, staring at his computer screen, just wanting this week to pass quickly.
Qing Gang also poked his head out from behind the screen: “You look so nervous, almost the same as Xiaowei. No, you are simply more nervous than Xiaowei. People who don’t know would think you are the one proposing.”
Touching a sore spot. Yi Ke stared at him gloomily. Shut up.
Colleagues throughout the unit were busy with Saturday’s grand proposal plan. On Wednesday afternoon, Zhuang Ningyu came downstairs to find Yi Ke and said helplessly: “You might really have to give Xiaowei a coffee machine.”
“I know.” Yi Ke shook his phone. “Mom just called me and said she’s taking you to a dinner on Saturday.”
Upon hearing the news, Xiaowei expressed full understanding—Captain Zhuang should be busy—and firmly rejected Yi Ke’s high-end coffee machine!
On Saturday, the two split up. The Yi family driver picked up Zhuang Ningyu early in the morning, while Yi Ke picked up Qing Gang and the group, heading straight for Qing Gang Mountain. The proposal location was chosen at a newly opened small resort villa—Jing Lan’s property. It was said that out of consideration for the client being from the Order Maintenance Department, not only was the fee discounted, but the exclusive decoration was also upgraded. At this moment, Yi Ke drove through the walkway full of flowers. People in the back seat craned their necks to look out. Tian Luxin looked shocked: “Wow, is opening a breakfast shop so profitable?”
“Tian ah, you’re still thinking too simply.” Qing Gang turned back from the passenger seat. “Besides being the son of the Golden Chrysanthemum Breakfast Shop owner, he also has demolition funds for three houses in his hands.”
Tian Luxin clasped her fists: I overstepped.
Colleagues chatted and laughed, relaxed and happy, forming a sharp contrast with Xiaowei’s high tension. When the group walked into the reception hall, he was in a suit and leather shoes, taking deep breaths, even holding an oxygen tank in his hand. Yi Ke rarely commented on others’ outfits—except for ruthless mockery of his fair-weather friends and sincere praise for his beautiful wife. But right now, he held back for a long time but finally couldn’t resist, very euphemistically saying to Qing Gang: “Who chose Xiaowei’s clothes?”
“Who else could it be, himself,” Qing Gang replied. “How is it? Very tasteful, right?”
Yi Ke: “I think it’s a bit loose, doesn’t seem to fit quite right.”
Qing Gang: “Is it?”
The passing Xiao Tian explained this as: “It follows the bride’s taste. She is obsessed with this Power Suiting that emphasizes broad shoulder pads. Brother Yi, you don’t understand, it’s a trend. Xiaowei looks very cool wearing it, like a filmmaker in a pictorial.”
Yi Ke originally classified Tian Luxin in the aesthetically superior class of the Order Maintenance Department. Now he had to look at her with new eyes—the kind that looked down. Out of care for his colleague and the most simple aesthetic view, he really wanted to remind Xiaowei that it would be best to change clothes, but was dissuaded by Tian Luxin’s sentence “follows the bride’s taste.” Imagine if his precious wife wanted him to dress up as a yellow banana swinging in the tropical rainforest to propose… then the footsteps of countless great members of the “Super Perfect Human Praise Group” measuring love would have already been left in the Amazon rainforest.
But then again—
Yi Ke: Wifey, do you like the South American tropical rainforest?
Zhuang Ningyu: Don’t like it, too hot.
Yi Ke: Okay, nothing, just asking.
Let us congratulate the fifty-something group members for dodging a bullet!
The proposal time was set for 5:20 PM. The atmosphere group didn’t need to do anything in advance, so Yi Ke leaned on the sofa and played two rounds of games. Jing Lan asked him during the game interval: “Aren’t you going to learn from him? In case you can find some useful experience.”
Yi Ke refused to borrow ideas; love for his wife must be 100% original. Tired of playing games, he pulled out a magazine to cover his face and slept for almost half an hour, suddenly shaken awake by Qing Gang: “Xiao Yi, quick, wake up, you have a new task now!”
“…”
His dream forcefully interrupted, Yi Ke was confusingly moved to a chair by Qing Gang. Tian Luxin rushed over with a hairstylist: “It’s him, the most handsome guy in our department.”
The hairstylist immediately worked his fingers to tidy up Yi Ke’s bedhead. It turned out to be the old acquaintance, Master Kevin. Currently, he owned three chain stores, and it was hard to get a haircut from him personally. Unexpectedly, he was invited by Xiaowei today. Regarding this, Kevin pulled down his mask and explained with a smile: “I have been old friends with Uncle Zhang for many years.”
The hair salon owner and the breakfast shop owner being friends sounded reasonable in a subtle way, even if they didn’t seem to match. However, Yi Ke had no time to investigate this in detail because Qing Gang was urgently assigning him a new task—after the proposal ceremony ended, stand at the door and distribute steamed buns to all participants, one bag per person.
Yi Ke asked: “Is it distributing those festive steamed buns with a red dot?”
Qing Gang held his shoulders with both hands: “Yes, didn’t expect you to know even this. It’s this beautiful ancient custom!”
Kevin’s technique was neat. In no time, he cleaned up this handsome face of the Order Maintenance Department until he was sparkling. Yi Ke asked: “Where are the steamed buns? Then do I need to go to the front and clap with you later?”
“Yes, one more person counts.” Qing Gang pulled him along with the main group to walk out. “Let’s go, it’s almost time.”
The corridor was in chaos. Yi Ke was dragged stumbling all the way by this two-meter-one strong man, sighing inwardly that planning ahead was indeed necessary. This kind of impulsive proposal was really prone to problems. As a fellow proposer, he felt a natural care for Xiaowei. While walking, he was actively asking about the process of distributing red-dot steamed buns later: how much surplus was there, was it one bag per person or one bag per family, what if there wasn’t enough at the end?
“One bag per person.” Turning the corner at the end of the corridor, Qing Gang didn’t forget to tidy up his little brother’s hair and clothes, pushing him out only after ensuring perfection. Cheers rang out instantly. Yi Ke, whose head was full of steamed buns, stood shocked in place. This was the last hall leading to the Little Lake. Logically, it should also be Xiaowei’s proposal site. But now, the ground was covered with a sea of flowers, exactly the same as the rendering in his own proposal PPT. All friends from the praise group were there. Passionate red roses spread all the way to the lakeside. He froze for a few seconds, then raised his head incredulously, looking at Zhuang Ningyu standing by the lake. Realizing something, he immediately felt dizzy, but his excellent Gong virtue allowed him to maintain the stability he should have in this super shocking life moment. Turning to the group of fair-weather friends, he whispered angrily: “My ri—”
Before he finished speaking, Jing Lan stuffed a small square box into his hand: “Don’t worry, here!”
The ring was there, friends and family were there, and all processes connected perfectly. Every page of the PPT played its due role. Yi Ke took a deep breath, and amidst the crowd of good friends, ran towards the lover smiling at him by the lake with a large bouquet of roses.
The calm lake surface reflected the romantic distant mountains blending gold, red, and green.
When kneeling on one knee and putting the ring on Zhuang Ningyu’s slender white ring finger, Yi Ke still had a huge sense of unreality—the screaming of the fair-weather friends around was very real. Both families were holding up phones to take pictures. He Mo folded his hands, eyes revealing a kind fatherly benevolence. Huo Ting rubbed his temples with one hand and threw him a pack of tissues. Uncle Zhuang hasn’t cried, but you started crying first. Save some tears for the wedding.
The bonfire proposal party in the PPT was also perfectly restored, and it didn’t basically disperse until 2 AM. Jing Lan arranged a suite for the two. Yi Ke closed the door backhanded, turned around, and pressed the person in his arms firmly against the entryway, kissing him again and again with his head lowered. The scent of red wine seemed to linger between their lips and teeth. Zhuang Ningyu stroked his side face with one hand and laughed low: “Aren’t you tired?”
Yi Ke held his hand, wanting to ask something, but the words turned into laughter at his lips. Finally, he simply pulled the person forcefully into his arms, hugging very, very tightly, and for a very, very long time.
Zhuang Ningyu buried his face deeply in his chest. His nerves, tense for over a month, finally relaxed a bit.
Yeah, making a perceptive lover appear at the proposal scene completely unaware… indeed, truly, is not easy.
