"Sure." She readily agreed.

"But first" Chen Linyun added, while locking his gaze with Xue Jinxu. "Xue Jinxu… Will you marry me?" He placed a small box on the table, already opened, containing an engagement ring. The ring itself was built with 14-karat yellow gold and was cut thinly, and on top, it was adorned with diamonds and a sapphire in the middle of diamonds. The ring was called Sydney Evan Bezel Evil Eye.

The lady was stupefied, flabbergasted. She could not move, nor speak. She kept her gaze locked with Chen Linyun.

The guy broke into sweat. "Hey, Jinxu. Say something. Are you backing out now?" He was nervous.

Xue Jinxu lowered her gaze, then blinked several times. "Yes! Yes! I'll marry you, Chen Linyun!!!" She smiled brightly. "Let's get married today."

"It's just that, it felt surreal." A teardrop fell from her eyes. Then another fell again. "I thought this day will never come." She dug her head in Linyun's chest and wailed. She gripped the hem of his clothes.

"Sorry, if I have kept you waiting all this time, milady." His tone, his whole persona was engulfed with sadness. "I'll make it up to you. I will fulfill my promise today."

He put the engagement ring on her left ring finger. The lady's grin was stretched wider.

"Once the deal is sealed, and the marriage is registered, you cannot divorce me, Mister." Xue Jinxu threatened.

"I should be the one saying that." He said, with a tinge of torment in his eyes.

She knew well enough what he meant. Their marriage will be nowhere near fake. Every bit of it was real, and out of love. They both worked hard for it. And Chen Linyun had insinuated that Jinxu's family would probably be against it, and might even force her to divorce him in the future.

Jinxu's heart ached, as if it was pinched a thousand times. "Divorce is not an option, dear." She hugged him so tight protectively as if afraid that he would escape her grip, her reach, her life.

Supposedly, that day, the neighbors will have their long-planned get-together. They moved the get-together later that night.

"Can we stop over some shops first? I'll grab a pretty white dress. It will be fast." Xue Jinxu pleaded with her adorable puppy eyes.

Chen Linyun gently laughed. "Take your time. We'll proceed to the registry office once you're done."

She giggled.

After a few trips to some shops, finally the almost-couple was ready to proceed to the registry office. They arrived at around eleven in the morning. They filled up the forms and signed at the end. After a short while, they claimed two red booklets that were their marriage certificate from the releasing window. On the inside of the booklets, printed there were their individual details, the date today, and a photo of them together, which they took earlier that day in one of the shops downtown. They both looked so happy.

Chen Linyun presented a small box to Xue Jinxu. It contained two rings. "I always have this with me." He proceeded in putting the smaller ring on Xue Jinxu's left ring finger. She did the same with the larger ring.

"Are you okay with simply registering the marriage? No ceremony, no witnesses, no vows? Let's arrange the ceremony at a later date alright? Chen Linyun asked with a worried expression.

"I'm fine. I'm okay with this." She was beaming her signature smile with her dimple peeping at her left cheek. She was also busy inspecting her hand which had the rings – the engagement and the wedding rings. "I would like to gloat and boast our marriage. But I'm fine without the ceremony. What's important is that the objective is met." She clung to his arm and rubbed her face on it. "We can have the ceremony whenever, and it's fine even without it."

"Let's have our fifth meal, then." Chen Linyun urged. "It will be the last from our deal, and first as husband and wife." He blushed at the mention of 'husband and wife'. The lady had the same reaction too. She giggled.

Once they boarded the car, he pulled her close and gave her an extremely pa.s.sionate kiss. Then, he added, still blus.h.i.+ng. "I made a reservations at the Four Seasons Hotel for our celebratory lunch. I also reserved a suite there for tonight."

'It's our wedding night.' His palms at the steering wheel were beginning to sweat.

"Okay." Xue Jinxu's face was flushed red. She could not contain her emotions, that she covered her face with both her palms. She was shy and conscious after the awareness of what would happen that night.

"Should we postpone the get-together with Wenbin and Guangxi?" He suggested. His flushed face had not recovered yet.

"No, let's proceed with it. We should inform them somehow~" She said sweetly, dotingly, proudly. She checked her rings again.

"I felt like I'm still floating on clouds. It was so fast! You came home yesterday for only a visit. Now we're officially married! Oh my! Oh my!"

He only laughed at her remarks. "I don't have to leave soon. Since the first results were out, I only have to check on the farms once in a while."

"Good to hear, dear~" She said sweetly. "Let's make up for all the lost time." Her almond eyes could not contain the happiness.

"Let's join a cruise! Our company had a new cruise program for the summer! It will take sixteen days long. Can we join?" She asked the husband's permission first. She was so excited. "It could be our honeymoon." The maiden was blus.h.i.+ng again. She was bashful and lovely.

"Sure! That's a good idea. Fine with me. As long as the wife is happy."

He was currently driving. Once the stoplight turned red, he caressed the side of her face, pulled himself nearer, and gave her a sensational kiss on the lips.

Had it not for the honking of the cars behind would he realize that the stoplight had turned green again.

Upon reaching the Four Seasons Hotel, they were ushered towards the function room where they reserved for lunch. A special five star lunch awaited them. They filled their stomachs with good food, and their hearts with so much love, as if it's still not full to the brim yet. Once in while Xue Jinxu puts bits of food on Chen Linyun's plate, and once in a while he did the same. At times, the bite-sized food did not reach the plates, but went straight to the spouse's mouth. They fed each other lovingly, dotingly.