Sweetie, don't look at him, kiss me.

Lin Qingmian stared at his profile for a few seconds.

He was looking down at her design sketches, his expression serious, his eyes filled with focused attention. She suddenly recalled the first time she saw him in the office—he sat behind his desk, dressed in a suit and tie, his expression aloof, exuding an aura that kept strangers at bay.

The man who was now wearing loungewear, with slightly messy hair, and intently looking at her design drawings was a completely different person.

"Ji Linzhou," she said softly.

"Um?"

You've changed.

Ji Linzhou looked up at her: "What's changed?"

Lin Qingmian thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just feels... a little different from before."

Ji Linzhou didn't say anything, but simply reached out and gently rubbed the top of her head.

"You've changed too," he said.

"Me?" Lin Qingmian was taken aback. "How have you changed?"

Ji Linzhou withdrew his hand, his gaze falling on her face, his eyes deep and unfathomable, as if hiding many unspoken words.

Finally, he merely curled the corners of his lips into a slight smile, his voice low and gentle: "You've gotten better."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked away, leaving Lin Qingmian sitting alone on the sofa, her heart pounding like a drum, feeling as if she had been gently tossed into the air by something, suspended in mid-air and unable to fall.

She looked down at the unfinished dress on the tablet screen and suddenly felt a surge of motivation.

She wore a dress she designed herself for her wedding.

This is probably what every designer dreams of.

She picked up the stylus and began to draw carefully, stroke by stroke.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating her focused profile. In the distance, Ji Linzhou's voice drifted from his study, deep and steady, like a reassuring background noise.

As Lin Qingmian drew, the smile on her lips grew wider and wider.

She suddenly realized that she would be willing to live like this for the rest of her life.

After the wedding arrangements were finalized, the days actually flew by faster than before.

Upon hearing the news, Fang Shiyang was so excited that she jumped around three times in her office. Then she immediately created a work group and added all the relevant personnel, including the planners, venue staff, florists, and photographers.

【Don't worry, baby!】 Fang Shiyang sent over a dozen emojis in the group chat: 【I'll definitely give you the most dreamlike wedding in all of Rongcheng!】

Lin Qingmian looked at the screen filled with flying emojis, smiled helplessly, and replied: 【No need for anything too grand, simple and warm is fine.】

"No way!" Fang Shiyang replied instantly. "You're the chief designer for our Morning and Evening Line! If your wedding dress is stunning, then you've done the best job for the brand! This is business! Business!"

Lin Qingmian was amused by her and didn't insist any further.

The days spent drawing design drafts always fly by. She attended classes during the day and drew at home in the evening, occasionally discussing fabric and pattern issues with Fang Shiyang online. Ji Linzhou still picked her up and dropped her off from school every day, and if he occasionally worked late, he would send her a message in advance to tell her "don't wait for me to eat."

The way the two of them interact is becoming more and more like that of an ordinary married couple.

Sometimes Lin Qingmian would sit on the sofa drawing, while Ji Linzhou would work at the desk next to her. They would each be busy with their own things, occasionally glancing at each other before looking back down. That quiet and tacit atmosphere made her feel exceptionally at ease.

That afternoon, Lin Qingmian had just finished her last class and was walking out of the teaching building when she saw a familiar silver-gray Porsche parked at the school gate.

She paused for a moment.

The car door opened, and Ji Xingye got out of the driver's seat. He looked thinner than a few days ago, his jawline was sharper, and there was a faint layer of fatigue in his eyes, but his overall condition was much better than the dejected look he had in the corridor earlier.

He walked up to her and stopped a few steps away.

"Mianmian," he said, his voice a little hoarse, yet carrying a calm seriousness, "I have something I want to tell you."

Lin Qingmian paused for a moment, then looked up at him.

The afternoon sun shone between the two people, casting two parallel shadows on the ground.

"you say."

Ji Xingye took a deep breath: "I've already told Grandma that I won't bother you anymore."

"I was too impulsive before and caused you a lot of trouble."

Lin Qingmian was slightly surprised.

She thought he would stubbornly refuse to let go, just like before, and that he would make a scene at least a few more times before giving up.

"Have you accepted reality?" she asked.

"It's not so much acceptance as understanding," Ji Xingye said with a wry smile. "I just understand it now."

"I was the one who let go first during those twenty years we were together. I have no right to blame you for choosing someone else."

He looked into her eyes and spoke slowly, word by word, as if trying to etch each word into his heart: "But I want you to know that when I left, it wasn't because I didn't love you."

"It's because I wasn't strong enough back then to protect you."

"I thought that if I came back after I succeeded, I could give you a better life."

Lin Qingmian listened quietly, her eyes showing no emotion.

"But Ji Xingye," she said softly, "you've never asked me what I want."

Ji Xingye was stunned.

"You've always been making decisions for me. Twenty years ago you decided to be with me, two years ago you decided to leave me, and now you've decided to come back."

Lin Qingmian looked up at him, her gaze clear and calm: "But you've never asked me once whether I'm willing or not."

Ji Xingye's lips moved, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He stood there, looking at the girl he had loved for twenty years, and suddenly felt as if he had never truly known her.

"What I want," Lin Qingmian continued, her voice steady, "is never to come back and marry me after you've achieved success."

All I want is for you to stay by my side during my most difficult time.

That's all.

After she finished speaking, she paused for a few seconds, then smiled slightly at him: "Ji Xingye, you will meet someone better in the future."

I hope you are happy.

After she finished speaking, she turned and walked towards the school gate.

Ji Xingye stood there, watching her receding figure as she walked further and further away, the sunlight casting her long, long shadow. He didn't chase after her, but simply stood there quietly, watching her disappear at the end of the road.

Then he looked down at his hands and gave a bitter laugh.

He missed it.

It's long gone.

When Lin Qingmian returned to her apartment, she was changing her shoes at the door when she suddenly noticed a box on the shoe cabinet in the entryway.

The white velvet box, neither too big nor too small, sat there quietly.

She paused for a moment, then picked it up and opened it.

Inside is a necklace.

A delicate platinum chain, adorned with a small, teardrop-shaped pink diamond, refracts delicate light under the lamp.

She stared at the pink diamond for a long time, then looked up and saw the man leaning against the bedroom door.

Ji Linzhou had returned at some point and was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, tilting his head slightly as he looked at her, his expression carrying a nervousness she rarely saw, almost like that of a naive young man.

"The wedding ring is the one you put on your finger on the day we got our marriage certificate."

He said in a very soft voice, "This necklace is a replacement for you."

"Consider it... a gift for the formal proposal."