Chapter 205: Baobao, smile

Wen Ling stepped back toward the wall, holding her camera and swaying it, boredly looking around.

At the corner ahead, a figure seemed somewhat familiar; Wen Ling furrowed her brows, ultimately unable to resist her curiosity, she stepped forward and pursued.

Just as she reached the corner, Zhou Yinhe had already come out of the room behind her; seeing her standing there, his expression still somewhat puzzled, he strode forward and followed her gaze.

"What's wrong?"

There was no one ahead at all.

Wen Ling said, "I saw a figure from behind that seemed somewhat familiar."

Zhou Yinhe curled his lips, raised his arm to embrace Wen Ling, and said, "You probably saw him a couple days ago, which is why you remember him."

"Really?" Wen Ling pursed her lips, "Maybe."

Zhou Yinhe let out a breath, took Wen Ling's hand and walked toward the elevator; seeing his hands empty, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Didn't you go back to get your camera? Where is it?"

"I went back and looked everywhere but couldn't find it; I'll check later to see if I left it in the car." He said this without changing his expression, lying without blushing or panting.

Wen Ling chuckled, lifted her hand, and showed him the camera she was holding, smiling narrowly: "Look, what is this?"

Zhou Yinhe looked surprised at the camera in her hand, reached out to take it, and said, "How did it end up with you? No wonder I couldn't find it when I went back to look."

"Didn't you slip this into my bag when you left?" Wen Ling tilted her head and asked him, "You forgot?"

She noticed Zhou Yinhe's expression was somewhat odd, took a step forward toward him, and her high heels clicked on the floor.

Wen Ling drew out her tone and asked, "What were you just thinking about?"

Zhou Yinhe quickly found an excuse for himself and kissed the corner of her lips.

"I was thinking of you; what else could I be thinking about?"

"What were you thinking I should do?"

"I was thinking about why I didn't move just now, that something went to my head."

"……" Wen Ling felt utterly outmatched by Zhou Yinhe's thick-skinnedness.

The two lingered, having thought the rainbow they'd just seen from the window would disappear, but to their surprise, it was still there after they went downstairs.

The setting sun's dusky yellow washed over the whole sky; Wen Ling looked up, and feeling at ease, she narrowed her eyes.

"Shall we go to the seaside?" Zhou Yinhe shook the camera in his hand.

"Sure."

They walked together toward the seaside, but the further they went, the more Wen Ling felt something was off; she stopped, unwilling to go further, gripped Zhou Yinhe's hand tightly, and gritted her teeth: "Why won't you let me put on makeup!!!"

Zhou Yinhe knew she had figured it out, released her hand, and raised the camera toward her.

The camera covered his upper face, leaving only his smooth jawline and the scarlet lips that had kissed her all over; he curled the corner of his mouth slightly and coaxed, "Baobao, smile."

Seeing him point the camera at her, Wen Ling gave a dry, stiff smile, and Zhou Yinhe pressed the shutter.

After he finished shooting, Wen Ling stepped forward, gritted her teeth, and asked, "You said, why won't you let me wear makeup? A few days ago you said that for a proposal you need to tell the woman so she can prepare; now you say, what have you let me prepare?"

Zhou Yinhe's finger rested on her cheek, and he said seriously, "Baobao, makeup for you is merely an unnecessary burden."

Wen Ling didn't believe him, turned to head back to the hotel, and threw over her shoulder: "I'm going back to put on makeup; you can propose to me again later."

Zhou Yinhe, quick-eyed and quick-handed, grabbed her, and said helplessly, "Baobao, it's too late."

"What's too late?" Wen Ling turned back, bewildered, and her eyes widened suddenly.

Not far away, many people she knew stood there—family, friends, even her sister who is constantly traveling the world and never finds time to see her—were looking at her gently.

Grandparents, parents, childhood younger siblings, and Zhou Yinhe's family and childhood friends were all present.

Each person held a bouquet of flowers, some gazing gently, others with reddened eyes, at the two of them.

Zhou Yinhe took Wen Ling's hand and slowly walked to the venue he had meticulously prepared.

While Wen Ling was still dazed, he took a ring from his pocket, knelt on one knee, and looked at her earnestly.

His gaze had never been so sincere; at this moment his eye sockets reddened, and when Wen Ling lowered her head to look at him, he smiled, and a tear slipped from the corner of his eye.

Wen Ling chuckled softly, bent over to help wipe his tears, and said gently, "Why are you crying again? Don't cry—I'm right here."

Zhou Yinhe shook his head, voice choked, and said, "You know, every time something involves you, I just can't hold back."

Wen Ling hummed in acknowledgment, and whispered, "I know."

Around them rose kind laughter; Zhou Yinhe exhaled and gathered his spirits.

"When I met you, you were just eighteen; when we got together, I was only nineteen, and even then I wanted to marry you."

Wen Ling opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Zhou Yinhe interrupted her.

"Please listen to me first."

"When I had this idea, I even looked up which countries would be suitable for us to register our marriage; I thought that no matter whether you wanted to or not, I would force you to go, but this was merely a rather impulsive notion of mine, and I know you wouldn't agree."

"Later, on our anniversary, I summoned them all to set up the scene; I intended to propose to you, you know that, right?"

Wen Ling nodded, a clear tear slipped down, and she pressed her lips together to keep from crying out.

"When you brought up breaking up with me, I felt like I was about to die, so I also did things that made my parents, my older and younger brothers and sisters worry; oh, and Jiang Jibai and the others were also worrying about me."

Ning Qing rolled her eyes with red-rimmed eyes, while Zhou Shuanglin solemnly watched him, now feeling that his little son had finally grown up.

Jiang Jibai and the others raised their flower bouquets and swayed them in the air, uttering an "Oh——"; the atmosphere on the spot instantly exploded, passersby stopped in their tracks and crowded forward to see the male and female leads surrounded by the crowd.

Zhou Yinhe lowered his eyes, smiled, and licked the tear that had fallen at the corner of his lips with his tongue; it was a bit salty, but he didn't notice—he only felt that this drop of tears was explosively sweet.

He continued, "After you left, everyone thought I had forgotten you, but I know I could never move on. When you came back to find me, I was overjoyed; although I spoke hurtful words in spite, I knew I was truly happy, and at that time I also secretly wondered where we would hold our wedding in the future."

"Not quite," he said, shaking his head, looking at Jiang Jibai, Ke Chengyu, and the others who were about to tease him, helplessly tugging at the corner of his mouth, and continued, "They know I'm happy; I don't know whether it's because I'm too obvious, or because they understand me too well."

"Obviously it's because you're too obvious!! Besides the two of you, who doesn't know you're about to be ecstatic!!"

Around them, several people burst out with teasing sounds; normally, Zhou Yinhe would have lost his temper by now, but today he didn't—he simply withdrew his gaze and gently looked at Wen Ling standing before him.