Chapter 294: Yu Zheng’s Proposal
Gong Xiaoyu walked into the shopping district. The salespeople here were particularly enthusiastic about tourists with Asian faces. Upon seeing an Asian person, they would greet them in Chinese first, saying, "Hello, welcome!"
They seemed to have already disregarded the Japanese and Koreans, subconsciously considering the Chinese as their main consumer group, and many of them could say a few words in Chinese.
Gong Xiaoyu was a typical Oriental beauty. As soon as she stepped into a jewelry store, two enthusiastic salespeople approached her and said in standard Chinese, "Welcome, is there anything we can help you with?"
Gong Xiaoyu said, "I’m looking at necklaces."
The salespeople’s smiles grew even sweeter upon hearing her speak Chinese. "We just had new arrivals, miss. Please follow me."
Gong Xiaoyu walked to a counter to look at necklaces. There were two new items recommended by magazines that weren’t yet available in stores back home.
As she was trying on a necklace, she heard a familiar male voice say, "Wrap this up for me, thank you."
Gong Xiaoyu looked over in confusion. At the counter to her right sat a tall man, dressed casually, with a handsome profile as warm as jade.
Meeting an old friend in a foreign land, what a coincidence.
The man seemed to sense someone looking at him and turned his head to meet her gaze.
Yu Zheng blinked several times, thinking he was hallucinating due to longing. How could she be in Paris?
Gong Xiaoyu smiled at him. Only then did Yu Zheng snap back to reality. He walked over nervously, "When did you get here, are you alone?"
She looked much thinner. Yu Zheng didn’t need to guess that it was because of Yue Xiaoyang.
Yu Zheng hated Yue Xiaoyang but also envied him for having all of her.
What a twist of fate. If he had known that falling in love would be this painful, he would never have let himself sink in so deeply. But it was beyond his control.
Gong Xiaoyu said, "Yes, I’m alone."
At this moment, the salesperson handed him a bag, "Sir, your bracelet is ready. How would you like to pay?"
Gong Xiaoyu glanced at the bag, "Are you here to buy a bracelet?"
It was just a casual question, but Yu Zheng, fearing she might overthink, explained, "It’s for Sister Wang from my company. I finished my business and came over to buy it for her." Luckily, he came, and he was very happy to meet her in a place without Yue Xiaoyang.
Gong Xiaoyu looked at Yu Zheng, who was eager to explain, and said, "It doesn’t matter who it’s for."
The salesperson next to her asked, "Do you like this one, ma’am?"
Gong Xiaoyu then remembered she was still wearing the store’s necklace. She took it off and said, "I’ll take this one."
Yu Zheng said, "Let’s check out together."
Gong Xiaoyu stopped him, "I’ll do it myself."
Yu Zheng was insistent, "Consider it a gift from a friend. Won’t you accept it?"
Several salespeople were watching them. Gong Xiaoyu didn’t want to make things difficult for Yu Zheng, "Okay, thank you."
Yu Zheng swiped his card to pay. The beautiful saleswoman looked at Gong Xiaoyu with envy, thinking how fortunate she was to receive jewelry from such a handsome gentleman.
As they walked out of the store, Yu Zheng asked her, "Why are you out alone, where is he?"
Gong Xiaoyu said, "We broke up."
Yu Zheng seemed incredulous, repeating, "You broke up?"
"Yes," Gong Xiaoyu had been calming her emotions for the past few days. "It was an amicable breakup. My mom wants me to get married soon."
Yu Zheng couldn’t hide his excitement as he held her hand, "Xiaoyu, can you consider me? I can marry you right away."
Gong Xiaoyu pulled her hand back, "Do you know what you are saying?"
"Of course I do," Yu Zheng looked at her with a pained expression, "I’ve liked you for almost three years, Xiaoyu. I hope you can give me a chance."
"You deserve someone better than me," Gong Xiaoyu said, "Even if I marry someone else, it would be to fulfill a family obligation, not out of love. I don’t want to hurt you."
"I want to take care of you. Other than you, I won’t marry anyone else," Yu Zheng said with determination, "You know what kind of person I am. My feelings for someone don’t easily change."
Gong Xiaoyu felt ashamed, "Do you look down on me for choosing him back then, even though it didn’t work out?"
Yu Zheng held her hand again, "Xiaoyu, everyone makes mistakes. I believe love can be cultivated. Give me a chance to take care of you, okay?"
Gong Xiaoyu’s thoughts were in a whirl, "Yu Zheng, you can find someone better than me. I lived with Yue Xiaoyang for two years... I started with the intention of being with him for life. I am his person, you understand?"
Pain flashed in Yu Zheng’s eyes, but he quickly regained composure, "I believe you will forget him, as long as we can spend the rest of our lives together, that’s enough."
Gong Xiaoyu was deeply moved. Yu Zheng’s feelings for her were never conditional. No matter what she became, he was always there, waiting.
She couldn’t be so selfish to hurt him, "I don’t want to make a wrong decision at this time, Yu Zheng, please don’t."
Yu Zheng also realized he had been too hasty, "Then think about it overnight, I’ll wait for your response."
Gong Xiaoyu didn’t oppose him with words anymore. Yu Zheng saw her back to the hotel and said, "I live just on the next street. I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow."
"Okay, you should go rest."
Yu Zheng watched her go upstairs before leaving. Gong Xiaoyu sat in her hotel room. Tonight felt like a dream.
She was no longer who she once was. Even if she wanted to find someone to marry casually, it couldn’t be Yu Zheng; she didn’t deserve his goodness.
Uncertain how she would face him the next day, Gong Xiaoyu packed her bags and checked out before dawn, wanting to leave as soon as possible.
As she dragged her suitcase out of the hotel, Yu Zheng’s pained voice came from beside the door, "You really want to run away, Xiaoyu? How many times do you want to make me lose hope?"
Startled, Gong Xiaoyu saw Yu Zheng emerge from the darkness, his coat wet with dew, his hair still dripping.
Gong Xiaoyu saw his exhausted face, "Have you been waiting here all night?"
Yu Zheng said, "I was afraid you would run away, so I couldn’t rest easy."
Tears filled Gong Xiaoyu’s eyes. No man had ever done this for her, not even Yue Xiaoyang.
Yu Zheng spoke, word by word, "Stop running, Xiaoyu. Let me take care of you from now on."
In that moment, Gong Xiaoyu had no other concerns. She only knew that his love for her was so deep, no one could compare.
She nodded, "Okay."
Yu Zheng was overjoyed. He took her into his arms, "I won’t let you down, I promise."
Gong Xiaoyu, not used to such intimacy, pulled away. Yu Zheng, fearing he had scared her, kept his distance and said, "I’m just so happy." He reminded himself not to be so impulsive in the future.
Gong Xiaoyu said, "I really am not used to this..."
"It’s okay, we have plenty of time. I’ll let you get used to me slowly."
Gong Xiaoyu’s aloofness didn’t deter Yu Zheng. At dawn, he took her to select a ring and knelt down to propose to her in front of everyone.
Surrounded by well-wishes, Gong Xiaoyu had no reason to refuse. With trembling hands, Yu Zheng placed the ring on her finger, "Xiaoyu, once we return home, let’s meet our parents."
Gong Xiaoyu looked at the dazzling ring on her finger, a ring she had longed for, but not from Yue Xiaoyang.
Yue Xiaoyang, let’s end it like this. For the rest of our lives, we will stay out of each other’s way.
After returning home, Gong Xiaoyu called An Junxi and said, "Yu Zheng proposed to me, and I accepted."