You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

There were three rows of seats on the lawn.

There were no reporters or Jiang Sheng's business partners present. The people who came here were all family and friends that Jiang Che and Su Qinghe had personally written into the guest list.

After Jiang Zhenshan stepped onto the main stage, he did not take the prepared speech prepared by the emcee. Instead, he handed his cane to Jiang Dahai and stood between the two young men.

"We invited everyone here today to bear witness for A-Che and Qing-He."

The conversation on the lawn stopped when the old man spoke.

After everyone quieted down, he continued, "How they live their lives from now on is up to them to discuss. What the family can do is provide support and remind them to be responsible for each other."

The old man turned around and gave his seat to the two of them.

"You wrote the marriage contract yourselves, now read it aloud to everyone."

Bai Yuning brought over a wooden tray with two bound marriage contracts placed side by side on it, each with the other's name written on the cover.

Jiang Che first picked up the one written for Su Qinghe.

He revised these words many times when he wrote them down last night. But when he actually stood in front of Su Qinghe, he realized that the words on the paper could not contain the whole story of his life that he wanted to tell.

"Qinghe, I used to think too simply about protecting you. I always thought that by making decisions for you first and then cleaning up the troubles, you would suffer less."

"You've told me time and time again that companionship means being by my side, not leaving me behind."

"From today onwards, I am willing to lay out all my plans for you, and I will also tell you about my fears. When we reach a crossroads, we will discuss our path together, and when we encounter difficulties, we will face them together."

"I will respect your choices, take care of your health, and accept your care. I will accompany you to complete your studies, work on the platform you like, take good care of Xiaoman, and make our home a place you would want to return to."

"The marriage agreement is the proof, Jiang Che."

After reading the last sentence, Jiang Che closed the marriage contract and handed it to Su Qinghe with both hands.

Su Qinghe held it in her arms as if it were a precious treasure.

When it was her turn, the corner of the paper trembled gently between her fingers.

Jiang Che took a half step forward, supported the back of her hand with his palm, and waited for the paper to settle before stepping back to his original position.

Su Qinghe opened her marriage contract.

"Jiang Che, I once walked through a period when I couldn't see the road ahead, and on many nights I doubted whether I was worthy of being loved."

"You took me home and helped me through those dark days."

"I'm willing to tell you what I like, tell you what I'm afraid of, ask you first before I worry about you, and hold you back when you want to take risks on your own."

"From now on, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, in a happy and fulfilling way, spending every day that belongs to us."

"The marriage agreement is the proof, Su Qinghe."

After uttering the last word, she closed the marriage contract and extended her hand to Jiang Che.

Jiang Che took the marriage contract, stacked the two copies together, and then took her hand back.

Bai Yuning walked to the two of them with the ring box in her hand. Just as she was about to remind them of the procedure, she noticed that Jiang Che was still holding onto the two marriage contracts and wouldn't let go.

"Let's put the ring on Qinghe first; the marriage contract won't grow legs and run away."

Jiang Che handed her the marriage contract and picked up the women's ring.

The ring was a style they chose together. It had no complicated settings; the platinum band was set with only a small diamond, and the inner ring was engraved with the date and their names.

Su Qinghe extended her left hand to him, and the jade bracelet slid slightly backward along her wrist.

Jiang Che held her finger and slowly pushed the ring to the base of her ring finger.

The size is just right.

When it was Su Qinghe's turn to put the ring on him, it got stuck on the second joint.

She tried pushing it forward twice, and Jiang Che cooperated by closing his fingers and patiently rotating the ring until it was finally pushed into the right position.

Applause erupted from the audience once again.

Jiang Zhenshan stood between the two of them again and took the two marriage contracts from Bai Yuning.

"Very well, the engagement is settled. From this day forward, may our two families be of one mind and may our two lives walk together."

The old man raised his palm and patted each of them on the shoulder.

"The ceremony is complete, let's eat."

Applause came from all around the lawn.

Jiang Che turned to face Su Qinghe. Before she could put the ring box away, he gently pulled her into his arms.

She rested her forehead on his shoulder, her fingers gripping his shirt tightly.

"Ah Che, did I mispronounce a word just now?"

"No, she reads it better than me."

My hands were shaking.

"I know."

Why didn't you come and hold my hand sooner?

"Grandpa was standing next to me, and I was afraid he would hit me with his cane and say I was disrupting the process."

Su Qinghe leaned on his shoulder and laughed for a long time before slowly letting go.

"Now you can hold hands."

Jiang Che took her hand in his and placed their two hands, both wearing the same ring, side by side.

"From now on, I'm not relaxing."

……

After the lawn ceremony, the family dinner was moved to the banquet hall in the main building of the manor.

There were no fixed seats for men and women at the long table. Jiang Che and Su Qinghe sat in the middle, with their closest family and friends on either side.

After Jiang Zhenshan took his seat, he poured himself a glass of wine and stood up with the glass in his hand.

"Let me introduce it to you again."

The old man raised his hand, gesturing for Su Qinghe to stand up as well: "From today onwards, Qinghe is the granddaughter-in-law of the Jiang family."

"At home, you don't have to treat yourself like a guest. When you go out, the Jiang family won't let you face the storms alone."

Su Qinghe picked up the teacup with both hands and gently touched it to Jiang Zhenshan's lips: "Thank you, Grandpa."

Jiang Zhenshan tilted his head back and finished the wine in his glass. After sitting down, he poured himself a second glass.

Song Huilan reached out to protect the bottle. "Two glasses are enough. Does the doctor's advice still count?"

"My granddaughter-in-law is visiting today, so what's wrong with having an extra drink?"

"Now that your granddaughter-in-law has joined the family, you should set an example for her by following the doctor's orders."

Song Huilan took the wine bottle to her side and gave him a cup of warm tea instead.

Jiang Zhenshan stared at the teacup for a moment, then finally picked it up and took a sip.

Jiang Che suppressed a laugh, while Su Qinghe placed a piece of steamed fish into the old man's bowl.

"Grandpa, eating more vegetables is just as good."

"Qinghe is still the most sensible one."

Jiang Zhenshan had just finished speaking when he added, "Unlike some people who just sit on the sidelines and watch the show."

Jiang Che picked up the serving chopsticks. "Grandpa, what would you like to eat? I'll get it for you now."

"It's too late."

……

The family banquet lasted until the moon was high in the sky.

Before leaving, everyone took another group photo on the lawn.

Before Jiang Zhenshan and Song Huilan returned to the old house, they called Jiang Che to their side again.

"Engagement is just the beginning; don't think that putting on a ring means you've finished the job."

Jiang Zhenshan gently tapped the top of his shoe with his cane.

"Qinghe still needs to recover and hasn't finished her studies, so there's no need to rush to set a wedding date. You two should focus on making sure you're on your own paths first."

"I know."

"It's no use just saying you know; you have to do it."

The old man then turned to Su Qinghe, his tone softening: "If you've been wronged, come to Grandpa. There's no need to save face for him."

Jiang Che said helplessly, "Grandpa, you can't teach her to tattle on the very first day of your engagement, can you?"

Song Huilan adjusted Su Qinghe's cloak and casually added, "If Qinghe doesn't say anything, you'll easily get carried away. It's good to have someone keep an eye on you."

Su Qinghe took Song Huilan's hand and earnestly promised, "Grandma, I will keep him in check."

"That's right."

After seeing the two elderly people off, Bai Yuning finally took off her high heels, carried them in her hands, and walked down the steps.

"The steward is off work. Leave the mess to the manor staff. Don't call me."

Jiang Che handed her a pair of slippers that had been prepared beforehand: "Sis, you've had a long day."

"It's rare to hear you thank me so sincerely, I should record it as proof."

Bai Yuning changed her shoes and then turned around to hug Su Qinghe.

"The marriage contract was written so well that my sister almost cried and ruined her makeup in the audience."

"I wrote it five times, and I still feel like there are a lot of things I didn't write."

"Then let's leave that for later. There's plenty of time; there's no rush to finish it all in one day."

Bai Yuning released her and then pinched Jiang Che's arm: "Take good care of my sister-in-law. If she stays up all night and ends up in the hospital again, I'll move into your house and keep an eye on her."

"Don't you live next door? What difference does it make whether you move or not?"

"Yes, but it's a two-minute walk to the next house. If I move there, they can yell at me to my face."

Once the last car drove out of the manor, the main building finally quieted down.

The staff were tidying up the banquet hall. Jiang Che didn't go over to disturb them, but instead led Su Qinghe along the lawn path towards the back of the manor.

There was a double swing there, facing the night view of the east side of the city.

After the two sat down side by side, the swing swayed gently in the evening breeze, the city lights in the distance spread along the horizon, and the warm lights of the main building fell at their feet.

Su Qinghe leaned on Jiang Che's shoulder, raised her left hand, and examined the ring on her ring finger by the moonlight.

"Ah Che, I want to write a new book."

"Write what?"

"Record every day from today onwards."

She turned her palm over and intertwined it with Jiang Che's fingers.

"Write down the happy things, write down the arguments, write down raising Xiaoman, building the platform, graduating, getting a job, and where you will move to in the future, write it all down."

"Then I'll be the first reader."

"Then you can't rush me to update."

"I can provide the materials."

"Most of the material you provided is about bullying me."

"You have to respect the facts when writing a book. I've been taking care of you every day."

Su Qinghe looked up and gently bumped him on the shoulder.

"The first article you wrote was about how you measured the wrong ring size, which made me wear it on stage for ages."

"Su Qinghe, rewriting history on the very first day of your engagement?"

I'm stating the facts.

"My finger swelled up because I ate half a sandwich this morning."

"Can half a sandwich make your fingers thicker?"

"Okay, Bai Yuning gave me a large portion of sandwiches."

Su Qinghe leaned against him and laughed for a long time, the swing swaying back and forth with their movements.

When the laughter subsided, she looked down and touched the ring again: "I used to think that perfection meant making up for everything I had lost."

Jiang Che didn't interrupt, but simply pulled her closer to him.

"I only learned today that a vacancy doesn't have to be restored to its original state, and people can build a new home elsewhere."

"So, what are you planning to name your new book?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"I'll think about it slowly; anyway, the readers have already pre-ordered."

Su Qinghe turned around and gently grasped the collar of his suit jacket with her fingers.

"Does the first reader have to pay a subscription fee?"

"want."

"How much?"

A kiss every day.

"Jiang Che, you're overcharging."

"You can file a complaint, and I'm the one who will handle it."

Su Qinghe stopped arguing with him and raised her face to get closer.

Jiang Che lowered his head and kissed her.

The evening breeze rustled through the lawn and flower trellis, the swing still swayed gently, and two marriage contracts lay quietly beside me, the names on the covers pressed close together.

Moonlight fell on their clasped hands, reflecting a warm glow on their engagement rings.

They have many tomorrows ahead, and many more pages to write together.

(End of the book)