Five years after my wife's death, she came back!

A warm touch came from her fingertips; Shang Chenyan was holding her fingers.

The man's rough fingertips traced her knuckles, slowly moving upwards along the lines of her palm, wanting to intertwine their fingers.

In that instant, those memories that Shi Ying had deliberately ignored all came flooding back to her mind.

She and Shang Chenyan had only known each other for a month, yet he managed to rescue her from robbers, let her move into his home, pick her up from a concert on a rainy night, take her to the hospital in the middle of the night, wait for her to finish her IV drip, and bring her food and drinks.

He has done far too many things that cross the line of ordinary friendship.

Unfortunately, she had been misled by his gentle and refined appearance, always thinking that he did everything out of good manners and out of guilt for causing her to be kidnapped.

But now, he has completely shattered that illusion.

Shang Chenyan grasped her wrist; beneath the thin skin on her wrist were throbbing blue veins, and he could clearly feel the pulse beating.

He knew what kind of turmoil his words would cause, but he had no choice.

She's leaving; right now she's just leaving their home, but what about the future?

Will she disappear again someday in the future? Will she never remember her past before she disappears?

When that day comes, he will regret not having confessed his feelings sooner.

She doesn't reject him, does she? Ten years ago she would have fallen in love with him, and ten years later he will find a way to make her fall in love with him again.

Ten years ago, she was the one chasing after him.

Ten years later, it was his turn to approach her.

The noise from next door stopped, and only silence remained on the cramped windowsill.

"And what about your wife?" Shi Ying suddenly asked.

She raised her head, looking directly at Shang Chenyan, her eyes filled with undisguised mockery: "One month is enough for you to forget the Mrs. Shang you've been thinking about for five years and fall for me?"

"Such feelings are far too cheap."

Shang Chenyan's eyes reddened, feeling as if her words were a knife stabbing into his heart.

"But... I just want to cherish the people in front of me."

He didn't know how much longer she would exist, so he wanted to cherish every day he could see her.

The man's deep voice struck her heart like a small hammer, and Shi Ying quickly looked away, not daring to look into his eyes.

She broke free from his hand and ran frantically out the window.

Running headlong from the corridor to the lobby, Shi Ying nearly bumped into someone. Pei Yanchuan clutched his stomach and took two steps back: "Shi Xiaoying, can't you watch where you're going?"

"Sorry..." Shi Ying turned her head away awkwardly and sniffed when she saw it was him.

Pei Yanchuan leaned closer: "Are you crying? Who upset you?"

"No." For some reason, even though she hadn't met Pei Yanchuan many times, he seemed very familiar with her, and Shi Ying felt very comfortable being with him, like an old friend.

She pushed him away: "You bumped into me and hurt me."

Pei Yanchuan put his hands on his hips: "Shi Xiaoying, be reasonable. You're the one who barged in and bumped into me."

Shi Ying raised her chin: "Don't you know that forces act in pairs?"

When Shang Chenyan walked over, he saw Pei Yanchuan jumping up and down in anger.

They're still the same; they argue as soon as they see each other.

When Pei Yanchuan saw him coming, he snorted at Shi Ying, "Let your boss deal with you."

Shi Ying bit her lip somewhat awkwardly.

"The auction is about to start, and I'm still looking for you two."

Shang Chenyan walked over to Shi Ying, acting as if nothing had happened, his voice still gentle: "Go sit down."

Shi Ying didn't want to sit; she wanted to run away.

But Pei Yanchuan didn't give her a chance to speak. Seeing that she didn't move, he simply pulled her to her seat.

He and Shang Chenyan sat on either side of him, one on his left and one on his right.

As the host was giving his opening remarks, Pei Yanchuan leaned over and whispered, "Did you two have a fight?"

Shi Ying didn't detect any concern in his tone, only a strong sense of gossip and excitement.

She glared at him, annoyed.

"You're so stingy. Every time you two argued, you always asked me to mediate..." Pei Yanchuan muttered a couple of words, but his words were drowned out by the applause from the audience.

Several items were displayed on the stage one after another, but Shang Chenyan showed little interest in any of them. He glanced at the girl beside him and noticed small bumps on her arms, so he asked, "Are you cold?"

Shi Ying froze and shook her head.

Shang Chenyan took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders: "Where's your shawl?"

"I don't know where I lost it."

"You're so forgetful." The man's voice wasn't scolding, but rather filled with helplessness. "Are you really moving out? I'm worried about you living alone."

Shi Ying felt that he wasn't even pretending anymore, and she glared at him angrily: "We're moving now."

"Alright." Shang Chenyan straightened her clothes. "If you run into trouble, remember to come to me."

"I'll be fine on my own, so there won't be any trouble..." Shi Ying muttered softly.

"But I want you to contact me more often."

Shi Ying bit her lower lip and cursed fiercely, "Shameless old man."

But she couldn't help but think of the month she had lived at his house. She didn't have to worry about anything, and he often fed her all sorts of late-night snacks. Every day after she got home, she was only responsible for laughing and joking with Shang Nian.

Looking back, it was truly a pleasant experience.

Moreover... Shi Ying gripped the edge of her suit jacket tightly; she truly didn't dislike him at all.

Even though he was drunk that night, Shi Ying only felt flustered and incredulous, and never felt a trace of disgust.

Instead, she had an indescribable feeling that made her want to escape.

Suddenly, the audience's chatter grew louder, interrupting Shi Ying's thoughts.

She looked up and saw a pink diamond on display on the stage.

The host introduced, "This pink diamond is named 'The Glowing Rose.' It comes from an African mine and resembles a rose blooming at dawn..."

The host used some technical terms that Shi Ying couldn't understand. She was in the first row and could clearly see the diamond's soft, luminous glow.

Shang Chenyan's gaze didn't linger on the diamond; he kept his eyes on the girl beside him. Shi Ying's familiar gaze abruptly pulled him back to six years ago.

Six years ago, in Jiangcheng.

The day after graduation, Shi Ying was dragged by Shang Chenyan to get their marriage certificate.

She took the red marriage certificate back to the apartment where they were temporarily staying, glancing at the man with some frustration: "I feel like I got the short end of the stick."

Shang Chenyan poured her a glass of water, walked over, and sat down beside her: "What's wrong? Did you lose money?"

Shi Ying stretched out her bare hand: "You didn't propose, and you didn't give me a wedding ring."

"Shouldn't the wedding ring be brought out on the wedding day?" Shang Chenyan looked at her amusedly. "Besides, who stopped me from proposing? Who said she'd be shy with too many people watching?"

Shi Ying picked up a cushion and hit him: "Does that mean I won't ask for anything? Why aren't you usually so obedient to me?"

Shang Chenyan pleaded repeatedly, "It's my fault, it's my fault. Look in that box, isn't it the ring you wanted?"

Shi Ying stopped and saw that there was an extra box on the table compared to when she left.

Her eyes lit up, and she bent down to pick it up.

As soon as he opened it, Shi Ying heard Shang Chenyan's laughter. Inside was a plastic Barbie doll ring that his neighbor's child had left behind a few days ago when he came to play.

"Shang Chenyan, you bastard!"

Shi Ying chased after him and hit him, but Shang Chenyan quickly hugged her, saying, "I was just kidding."

Under her angry glare, Shang Chenyan produced a small box from somewhere and knelt on one knee in front of her: "This is what I prepared for you."

Shi Ying opened the box with some skepticism, and the diamond ring inside almost blinded her.

Shang Chenyan took her hand, put the ring on her finger, and gently kissed her palm.

Shi Ying was stunned. She had only casually mentioned that she liked pink diamonds, but she never expected that Shang Chenyan would actually buy a pink diamond and make it into a ring.

Shang Chenyan wrapped his arms around her waist, pressed the still-dazed girl down onto the sofa, and lowered his head to kiss her.

Shi Ying dodged him and asked, "When did you buy it? How come I didn't know?"

"Three years ago, I happened to be in Europe when I came across that auction."

Shi Ying was dizzy from his kisses.

Was he already planning for their future three years ago?