Chapter 142: “Will you marry me?” / “I like you! The kind of like that wants to get married!”
No one knew about this operation except the military; the people of the Empire continued to live and work in peace and contentment, and they would continue to live this way.
Before Ai Li, Feng Muya, and Fu Qishang left the Imperial Capital for the border, they gathered all their friends for a farewell party.
Everyone, including Du Feng and Chu Baixian, took two hours out of their schedule to have a meal.
A table full of people gathered in a top-floor private room of a seven-star hotel owned by Jingyue.
Liang Yeta played host, serving all the best dishes.
No one drank alcohol.
Because they didn’t want to say goodbye in a drunken, dazed, and confused state.
The Mega Insect Tide represented extreme danger they had never faced before.
No one knew if they would definitely return.
Perhaps, this was the last time they would see each other.
Ai Li looked at the silent atmosphere at the table and started chatting casually with Ji Weishen to liven things up.
It finally made the private room a bit livelier.
They toasted a few times, chatted about some inconsequential funny things, but there was a suppressed feeling beneath the laughter.
What remained at the end was a group photo of everyone raising their glasses.
This photo was taken perfectly.
Everyone looked clear and good.
Before the others finished eating, Du Feng and Chu Baixian left early due to military matters.
“Leaving the day after tomorrow.”
“Mn.”
“…”
Friends for over a decade, yet now they couldn’t say a single word.
Feeling a firm pat on his shoulder, Du Feng turned his head to see Chu Baixian’s smiling face.
“Don’t be so sentimental. I’m really happy right now.”
That smile wasn’t stiff; it came from the heart.
Du Feng stared at him for a while, then hooked the corner of his mouth:
“Understood. Go do what you want to do.”
Meanwhile, among the group who had finished eating, Feng Muya accompanied Shen Zhuo back to the Royal Palace.
Once they left the hotel building and there was no one around, Feng Muya suddenly said:
“Are you pregnant?”
Shen Zhuo was startled and subconsciously moved to cover his lower abdomen.
He saw Feng Muya breathe a sigh of relief, as if her whole body relaxed.
“That’s great.”
Shen Zhuo knew his reaction had confirmed Feng Muya’s suspicion, so he didn’t hide it. His gaze was gentle as water:
“Mn… it will be a month in a few days.”
Feng Muya seemed even more excited than Shen Zhuo had been, moved almost to tears:
“You two must stay safe. The child needs a Papa and a Father; neither can be missing. No matter how difficult the future war is, as long as it’s not the end, you must live well.”
Shen Zhuo paused.
He suddenly realized that he seemed to have treated his impending death as a predetermined fact from the very beginning.
But nothing had happened yet.
If it hasn’t happened… there’s a possibility it won’t happen.
The boy’s gaze slowly moved to where his fingers touched, and he gave a soft “Mn.”
For the first time, he had the thought of resisting fate.
Ai Li intended to go home and pack his luggage, but Ji Weishen dragged him into the garden behind the hotel.
“What is it? Giving me a surprise?”
Ai Li tapped his lips with a finger, standing on tiptoe to lean in and look at Ji Weishen’s face. “Let me guess…”
Ji Weishen nervously clutched the small box in his pocket.
He heard the boy say with a smile, “You’re not going to propose, are you?”
Ji Weishen paused, his body stiffening for a moment.
Then he dejectedly took the box out of his pocket and opened it in front of Ai Li:
“You’re too smart… I can’t surprise you at all.”
It was a three-carat diamond ring. The cut and clarity were of the highest grade; a second one couldn’t be found in the entire Empire.
“Ah, wait.”
Ji Weishen looked at the surrounding flower bushes, then fumbled to the center of the garden and pressed a button he had set up early that morning.
Bright, tiny lights began to spread outward from around Ai Li.
Like disturbed ripples, they spread out circle by circle toward the periphery of the garden.
Ai Li’s pupils contracted slightly, and the depths of his eyes lit up as well.
Brilliant as the Milky Way.
“Um… there aren’t any flowers you like in winter, and I don’t know how to say pretty words. Wait until we come back from this great war—I’ll make it up to you then. So—”
Ai Li was looking at the beautiful lights around him with surprise.
On every light, there were words handwritten by Ji Weishen.
Wishes, compliments, but mostly confessions of love.
“Stinky Tofu…” Ai Li’s eyes rimmed with red. Looking at Ji Weishen through a misty blur, he whispered, “Why are you so romantic, you jerk…”
Only to find him kneeling on one knee in front of him.
The awkwardness and panic from just a moment ago vanished from Ji Weishen at this instant.
“Ai Li.”
The Alpha gave the boy a huge smile. Reflected in his eyes was the image of tears streaming down the boy’s cheeks, but the depths of his eyes were brighter than the lights and the stars.
He asked loudly: “Will you marry me?”
Ai Li responded just as loudly, wiping the tears from his face and raising a bright, vibrant smile:
“I will!”
After people left one after another, only Liang Yeta remained in the private room, along with Fu Qishang, who was waiting for his driver to pick him up.
Fu Qishang glanced at Liang Yeta sitting opposite him:
“Open a bottle of wine. On me.”
Liang Yeta hung his head, lost in thought. Hearing the voice, he waved to the waiter outside the door: “It’s fine, drink up.”
Strong liquor could sweep away all worries.
Among the group, Ai Li had the best alcohol tolerance. Fu Qishang could drink a bit, but he got flushed easily.
But for some reason, drinking such high-proof alcohol this time made him feel more and more sober.
For so many days, he had been avoiding Liang Yeta’s invitations.
And his “engagement” with Wei Qi had been put on hold due to the war.
A few days ago, when he and Wei Qi were discussing ending this act…
Liang Yeta, having received news from who knows where, rushed directly into the restaurant and took him away. Yet, he didn’t say a word the whole way.
Only after dropping him home did he say through gritted teeth:
“If you want to be with him, I will stop you no matter how many times it takes.”
Fu Qishang was welcomed into his home by the butler. Before turning around, he glanced at Liang Yeta’s overly ugly expression with a frown.
What the hell.
…Inexplicable.
This baffling feeling persisted until now.
Fu Qishang looked up at Liang Yeta, who had chugged a bottle of hard liquor and staggered over to him.
“I’ll get someone to help you—”
“Don’t go!”
Fu Qishang had just stood up, not even stepping out of his seat, when his wrist was gripped tightly by the Alpha.
“?” Fu Qishang looked at the almost drunk face of the man in front of him and patted his shoulder with his other hand. “Let go first.”
“I won’t!” Liang Yeta’s face was flushed red from drink, but his strength was immense.
Fu Qishang’s phone flashed. He opened the message and looked: “My driver is here. I have to go.”
The blond boy tried to pry his fingers open, but that hand remained motionless, as if it had grown onto his wrist.
Fu Qishang had drunk a little wine, and his temper flared up:
“If you don’t let go, I’ll hit you! An A3 Alpha like you can’t dodg—Hey, why are you…”
Fu Qishang’s eyes suddenly widened as he watched the man’s tears fall onto his arm, drop by drop.
“I like you…” Liang Yeta felt his voice was too quiet just now, so he took a deep breath and shouted:
“I like you! I like you!”
“The kind of like that wants to be with you for a lifetime! The kind of like that wants to marry you!”
Liang Yeta finally raised his head. His tear-streaked face made him look more wretched than ever before.
Losing composure like a child.
“So you can’t marry anyone else, you can only marry me!”
In that instant, Liang Yeta seemed to return to the lawless, willful, and spoiled Young Master Liang of the past.
Using the alcohol as courage, he smashed everything he hadn’t dared to say onto the boy.
He didn’t care anymore. Consequences, reason.
He didn’t care about any of it.
Fu Qishang’s mouth was open, still mouthing “why,” frozen as if struck by lightning.
Words spoken after drinking… couldn’t be trusted, right?
What if Liang Yeta was joking?
What if…
Before Fu Qishang could finish thinking, he stumbled due to Liang Yeta’s movement.
Amidst the overwhelming pheromones of grass and mint, there was the taste of wine and tears.
Warm lips pressed down accurately and forcefully.
Fu Qishang’s pupils contracted sharply, and he went blank.
The Alpha had never kissed anyone before; their lips touched, but there was no further movement.
Before Fu Qishang could react, Liang Yeta let go of him, his voice full of trembling sobs:
“I said I didn’t like you before because I didn’t dare. Whether it’s rank, family background, or anything else, you far surpass me.”
“I felt I wasn’t worthy of you, that I definitely couldn’t give you the future you wanted. I wanted to make you give up on liking me sooner so you could find a better Alpha.”
“But I was wrong…”
Liang Yeta hugged Fu Qishang tightly in his arms, whimpering apologies: “I’m sorry, Fu Qishang.”
“I’m sorry…”
He raised his eyes, and Fu Qishang saw a completely sober look in those eyes. The tears falling on his cheek were scorching hot.
Liang Yeta was sincere; Fu Qishang sensed it.
The wine hadn’t made him drunk; it made him more sober now.
Fu Qishang’s lips moved twice, his throat choking with pain. He intended to say “get lost,” but the next second he heard himself say:
“I’m not that easy to chase.”
Liang Yeta’s eyes lit up instantly.
“When you come back, I’ll chase you. I’ll love you in my way. I won’t hide anymore.”
Thump thump, thump thump…
The accelerated heartbeat in his ears was loud.
Very noisy.
Dopamine stimulated his brain, sending out signals of happiness.
How strange. He could still feel happiness even now.
He had clearly kept saying he would forget…
Turns out, he never forgot.
Fu Qishang closed his eyes. The decisive and cold version of himself inside turned around, but his heart was still warm, engraved with the name Liang Yeta.
After a long time, Fu Qishang opened his eyes.
He looked at Liang Yeta’s expectant expression, turned his head away, and said softly: “We’ll… we’ll see how you perform.”
Liang Yeta immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the private room.
Fu Qishang was surprised: “Wh-what are you doing? You can’t drive after drinking!”
Liang Yeta didn’t even wipe his tears as he pulled Fu Qishang toward the elevator: “I’ll follow your car and see you home.”
Fu Qishang laughed angrily: “Then how will you get back?”
Liang Yeta said righteously: “I’ll walk back.”
Fu Qishang: …
So childish, acting like a kid!
Fu Qishang wanted to scold him, but he felt wet warmth on his own face too.
Touching his cheek, Fu Qishang stared blankly at his own fingers, which were also covered in tears.
As he quickly wiped them away, Fu Qishang felt the upturned corners of his mouth.
“I won’t say yes easily,” Fu Qishang tried saying again.
The Alpha’s voice came from ahead: “Then I’ll chase you until you say yes.”
Fu Qishang finally laughed. He didn’t realize how happily he was smiling.
“You said it yourself. If you give up, I’ll beat you up.”
This was the best gift.
It would become the obsession that would make him crawl back from the sea of blood and bones.
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