Chapter 206: Zhou Yinhe's Wish Fulfilled

He curved his lips; from Wen Ling's perspective, she could even see his lips trembling slightly.

"I know, I can be unreasonable sometimes, selfish and petty."

Speaking of this, Wen Ling couldn't help but laugh through tears, interjecting: "You know that yourself."

She bent slightly, wiping the tear from Zhou Yinhe's face.

Zhou Yinhe exclaimed "Aiyo!" and shouted: "Don't talk!"

Wen Ling nodded, holding back her laughter, listening as Zhou Yinhe continued.

"I actually know that you said you didn't want to reconcile back then on purpose." As he said this, his eye sockets grew redder, and he muttered, complaining: "You always bully me, relying on my love for you."

Wen Ling felt a pang in her chest, wanting to touch him, but he lifted his head, smiling like a child.

"But I still love you the most."

Wen Ling froze; Zhou Yinhe lifted the ring box he had been clutching and said softly: "I want to be bullied by you for a lifetime—will you marry me?"

Wen Ling slowly squatted; her tears broke free, dripping onto Zhou Yinhe's wrist, burning and making his wrist twitch.

She pressed her lips into a smile, reached out to cup his face, and as her lips slowly approached, she said: "I agree."

Zhou Yinhe's body jolted, his eyes widening.

This outcome was something he had long known, yet he couldn't help imagining other possibilities, fearing Wen Ling might refuse or that something might go wrong.

As Wen Ling's lips were about to meet his, Zhou Yinhe suddenly snapped back, dodged backward, took out the ring, and pulled her finger to slip it on, saying while doing so: "Put on the ring first, put on the ring first—only then does it count as agreement."

""

Wen Ling and the crowd originally silent below, not wanting to disturb them, were all left speechless by him.

The ring on, Zhou Yinhe's mouth split into a grin, excitedly saying: "Now we can kiss."

Saying that, he lunged forward, planting a kiss—though it was so sudden Wen Ling had no guard, being kissed with such force by him, she widened her eyes and fell backward onto the ground.

"Zhou! Yinghe!"

Wen Ling was about to die of anger; the proposal scene had been perfectly set up, but his move meant they would later remember not how moving the proposal was, only that the heroine of the proposal fell flat on her butt because the hero kissed her too hard.

Zhou Yinhe was also stunned by the scene; Ning Qing rushed forward, together with the nearby Zhou Zhaoning, to help Wen Ling up.

The scene grew chaotic; Zhou Yinhe, still half‑kneeling with his torso leaned forward, seemed frozen, but Ning Qing couldn't bear it, poked his forehead, and summoned his three hun and six po back.

"Baobao, I..."

Wen Ling wanted to fling the ring off and throw it at him, but seeing his eyelids red from crying, she pressed her lips and still couldn't bear to, stepping forward to hand him her hand.

Zhou Yinhe thought she wanted him to kneel on one knee and kiss the back of her hand; he took her hand and kissed the back of it.

"... I just wanted to pull you up." Wen Ling didn't know what to say, feeling like an illiterate.

Those who could still bear it out of respect for Zhou Yinhe's face could tolerate it, but friends like Jiang Jibai couldn't possibly tolerate it.

"Are you happy‑stupid?"

"That's definitely still happy—finally having a real fiancée is far better than him constantly bragging outside."

"Having gotten what you wished for, you can be as silly as you like—after all, someone wants you."

Zhou Yinhe's mind, whose string had snapped when Wen Ling agreed to marry him, reconnected due to their teasing, and upon standing he became again the little tyrant Xiao Wu from before.

He glared one by one at the childhood friends who loved the drama, and when he withdrew his gaze, it met the lazy Lu Zhaoye leaning against the flower rack.

Lu Zhaoye curled his lips, raised both hands overhead, and applause rang out.

He loudly said: "Congratulations, Zhou Yinhe, for getting what you wished for and winning the heart of our eternal goddess, Miss Wen."

The scene fell silent for a moment, then applause rose and fell as countless people loudly repeated Lu Zhaoye's words, their voices echoing across the whole beach.

At that moment, the sound of fireworks blooming came from not far away.

Wen Ling glanced sideways; the seven‑colored splendid light scattered, forming the light of her name that gradually coalesced in the ink‑like sky.

Zhou Yinhe stood beside her, rubbed his nose, and said: "A bit rushed; on the engagement day I will definitely make it a hundred times better than now."

Wen Ling's eyes, bright from the fireworks, gazed at him tenderly; though they came from extraordinary backgrounds and had seen any scene, what moved her most was his confession just now.

"Great." She leaned close to Zhou Yinhe and praised him in a voice he could hear.

Zhou Yinhe raised his arms to hug her tightly; the tears that had just faded surged again.

He hoarsely said: "Congratulations, Zhou Yinhe, for getting what you wished for and winning the heart of the goddess Wen Ling; from now on he will have no regrets."

Wen Ling lifted her head and murmured: "Congratulations."

She rose onto her tiptoes and kissed Zhou Yinhe's lips.

The two kissed under the fireworks' glow, while the people beside them fell into a mutual silence, not disturbing them after all their hardships.

Lu Zhaoye slipped away silently as their fireworks ignited, walking along the beach in the opposite direction.

Wen Zhuo was the only one who noticed his departure.

By the time Wen Zhuo caught up to Lu Zhaoye, Lu Zhaoye was already seated on a bench by the beach, having lit a cigarette, and moreover, with good manners, he had picked up a water bottle from the ground, filled it with seawater, to use for flicking ash.

"You sure run fast."

Wen Zhuo's expression cold, he sat beside Lu Zhaoye, picked up the cigarette case Lu Zhaoye had placed aside, took out a cigarette and lit it.

"Does your sister know you smoke? And you still dare to do it openly." Lu Zhaoye curled his lips, grinning wickedly.

Wen Zhuo turned his gaze to the distance, lightly saying: "My sister doesn't know, but she probably can't be bothered with me either."

"That's true." Lu Zhaoye exhaled a mouthful of smoke, leaned back against the chair, his gaze calmly fixed on the waves layering the sea, and drawled lazily: "I thought you wouldn't be willing to come see this scene."

"I'm afraid my sister will be hurt." Wen Zhuo tugged at the corner of his mouth, lowered his eyes imitating Lu Zhaoye's motion of flicking ash into the bottle, "Everyone came; if I didn't come, to my sister it might count as a regret, and I don't want her to have a regret that could so easily be avoided."

Lu Zhaoye tilted his head to look at Wen Zhuo, smiling and asking: "I still thought you had let go earlier than I did."

Wen Zhuo lifted his eyes, met his gaze, and calmly said: "I will never be able to let go in this lifetime."

"Don't say that so early, it's easy to get slapped in the face." Lu Zhaoye redirected the cigarette to his lips, biting the filter, and said: "I used to think I couldn't let go either, but now I'm gradually letting go, aren't I?"

Wen Zhuo snorted, tossed the cigarette into the bottle, heard the sizzle of the ember dying, stood up, and looked down at Lu Zhaoye.

"I'm not like you."