Chapter 137

Chapter 137

The cool sensation against her fingertip felt far too real. Yun Li stared blankly at it. The rare pink diamond sparkled brilliantly, sitting right there on her hand.

Her eyes began to blink faster. Yun Li curled her fingers, and her breathing slowly steadied.

“President Jiang, what is this supposed to mean?” Yun Li looked at Jiang Baichuan, who was bracing himself as he forced down almost the entire remaining portion of pork lung and snow pear soup. She spread her fingers and showed him the pink diamond ring that fit her perfectly.

The corners of Jiang Baichuan’s lips lifted slightly. Suppressing the trace of nerves in his heart, he said with a faint, unreadable smile, “A proposal ring.”

All around them, it was silent.

Yun Li could hear her own breathing grow heavier. For a moment, she had no idea how she was supposed to react.

Her lashes trembled. She simply looked at Jiang Baichuan, her eyes inexplicably growing a little hot and damp.

After Jiang Baichuan finished the soup, he packed up the lunchbox, wiped his mouth, drank half a cup of hot tea, and cleared his throat. Only then did he offer a meaningful explanation. “You and Xia Wanzhi are best friends. As they say, you take on the color of those around you. I was afraid you wouldn’t give me the chance and would learn her move, proposing before I could, so…”

“In your dreams. Who would propose to you…” Yun Li’s eyes widened as she snapped at him, both embarrassed and annoyed.

Xia Wanzhi and Xie Qiyan had at least been together for over a hundred days. They had known each other since childhood too, and knew each other inside and out.

As for her and him? They were nowhere near that point yet.

Jiang Baichuan took in the look she shot him, then smiled and gathered both of Yun Li’s hands in his. With solemn seriousness, he said, “I’ll do it. I’ll be the one to propose to you.”

Yun Li swallowed for no reason.

She was afraid he meant it.

And yet she hoped he did.

Jiang Baichuan watched her intently, taking in every expression and every movement she made.

Giving her the ring was only a way to test her attitude toward the idea of a proposal.

He did want to, deep down, but the time had not yet come. He was afraid Yun Li would think he was being too presumptuous.

Besides, Yun Li’s mother was still an obstacle they had yet to overcome.

“Jiang Baichuan, are you serious?” Yun Li asked softly. She did not dare meet his eyes, lowering her lashes to look at the hands he was holding tightly. “What if, after spending more time together, we find out we’re not right for each other? What if I’m not as good as you imagine? What if I…”

The rest of her words were sealed away when he leaned in.

It was only lips touching lips, a brief kiss as light as a dragonfly skimming the water, yet it left Yun Li’s heart swaying.

She did not reject the intimacy of kissing him. On the contrary, she even liked the feeling of their lips and breath entwining. But when the kiss drifted elsewhere, her entire body still resisted by instinct.

With her eyes shut tight, Yun Li remembered that filthy scene from long ago. She bit her lip and kept her gaze lowered.

“No what-ifs. I only want you.” Jiang Baichuan clasped her hand. Not wanting to pressure her, he smiled and changed the subject. “The real proposal ring won’t be this casual. This is your birthday present.”

Yun Li instinctively lifted her eyes. Only then did she remember that her birthday was coming up. After calming herself down, she sniffed. “If it’s a birthday present, then just say it’s a birthday present. Why would you joke about a proposal…”

“I wasn’t joking. If I weren’t afraid you’d scold me for being a hooligan, I’d want to marry you first and date you afterward.” Jiang Baichuan’s tone was light, but his gaze was serious. “Would you be willing?”

Yun Li kicked him lightly in the shin, not wanting to answer such an embarrassing question.

She was willing.

But she was afraid.

As though sensing that her mood tonight was far too strange, Jiang Baichuan frowned slightly.

Yun Li’s emotions tonight were like a roller coaster. They had reached a high point, only to suddenly plummet, as if she were carrying some unspeakable pressure.

Jiang Baichuan was certain she was hiding something in her heart.

The sky gradually darkened. The two of them curled up together and watched a movie. It was an hour and twenty minutes long. After it ended, Jiang Baichuan lifted his wrist to check the time, but he still showed no intention of leaving.

Yun Li rubbed the pink diamond ring on her ring finger. Her breathing was faintly uneven, and her soul had long since drifted off to who knew where.

A proposal ring should be worn on the middle finger.

Yet Jiang Baichuan had put the ring on her ring finger without even thinking. What he truly meant was self-evident.

She pinched her fingertip and glanced at him from the corner of her eye. When Jiang Baichuan looked over, she tried to dodge, but it was too late.

Jiang Baichuan turned off the projector, and the living room fell completely dark.

Yun Li’s breathing involuntarily quickened. When Jiang Baichuan leaned toward her, she raised her hand to block the space between them.

But Jiang Baichuan had not been trying to kiss her at all. Instead, he scooped her up and pulled her onto his lap, making her sit astride him.

Yun Li panicked and shoved at his shoulders. “Jiang Baichuan, let me down…”

“If there are things you can’t say with the lights on, then say them in the dark.” Jiang Baichuan held her slender waist, keeping her squirming body in place. “Yun Li, are you afraid of me?”

“Or rather, what are you afraid of?”

Her struggling stopped all at once. Yun Li’s shoulders sank, and the tip of her nose stung faintly.