Take her as my wife

The car was quiet for a few seconds.

After realizing what she had said, Jiang Ni's mind cleared instantly. She opened her mouth, but didn't know how to explain: "..."

It's all because she's been learning so much stuff lately... a jumbled mess, and just now she got completely mesmerized by his good looks. Sigh.

Just then, the traffic in front started moving again. She leaned back in her seat and abruptly changed the subject: "...driving."

Seeing that her ears were completely red, Tan didn't tease her about those three words on the spot. He chuckled and then drove obediently.

After driving for about twenty minutes, Jiang Ni realized where he was taking her—his rented apartment.

When I arrived at the apartment, it was 10:55.

After getting out of the car, the two walked hand in hand toward the elevator. Tan Wen was carrying the gift that Liu Jiaren had given to Jiang Ni and Jiang Ni's bag in his other hand.

As luck would have it, Qi Xiao went downstairs to meet up with his brothers for a late-night snack, and they bumped into each other again.

Qi Xiao immediately noticed their clasped hands, gave Tan Wen a "cool" look, cleared his throat, and extended an invitation: "Good evening, my friend's treating us to barbecue, wanna join us?"

Knowing he was just being polite, Tan declined, saying, "Thank you, Brother Qi, but we have other things to do. I'll treat you next time. Let's make another date."

"Okay, I'll be going now." Qi Xiao nodded to Jiang Ni again and brushed past them.

As soon as he stepped out of the apartment building, he took out his phone and texted Tan Wen: "You're pretty good at picking up girls, aren't you? You got her so quickly? Teach me next time, I'll pay for the tuition."

Tan Wen glanced at the phone casually and put it in his pocket, thinking to himself that he had been walking this road for almost three years, what a joke.

The elevator stopped, and Tan Wen led Jiang Ni to their front door.

At that time, Jiang Ni hadn't thought carefully about why Tan Wen wanted to bring her back to the apartment, so when the door opened and Tan Wen turned on the light to see the situation inside, Jiang Ni was genuinely surprised.

There were no tacky roses, nor old-fashioned heart-shaped candles. Instead, from the moment she stepped into the house, all the way to the small cake on the table, there were letters and a gift box.

Large and small, they are all different.

"I made the cupcakes myself," Tan said. "They're not too sweet. I've been learning from Aunt Zhou for two months, so I should be able to graduate soon."

Jiang Ni likes desserts, but doesn't like most cakes sold outside.

Liu Jiaren is also a complete novice in the kitchen, so naturally it's impossible for her to make a cake herself.

Tan Yan felt that a birthday cake was essential, and even though she never ate one, he would still insist on buying one to enhance the birthday atmosphere.

This time, she was finally able to eat a birthday cake she liked, not one that was just there to make up the numbers.

Jiang Ni's heart softened: "When did you do that? Didn't you say you couldn't take leave...?"

Tan Wen knelt down to unfasten the buckles on her high heels, responding to her question: "Two hours is fine. I had Yang Jiu prepare the materials for me first."

After changing her slippers, Tan Wen picked up the first letter and gift for her.

Jiang Ni only took the letter—it wasn't a newly written letter; the envelope was slightly yellowed, and the date was marked on it: January 25, 20xx.

"It was the first time you spent Chinese New Year at our house; I felt especially sad that day."

Jiang Ni had little recollection of what happened that day, so she asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Tan Wen leaned down and kissed her on the lips, explaining, "He kissed you because he saw you two kissing."

"I don't remember," Jiang Ni said, wanting to open the envelope to see what he had written, "but you definitely didn't see the rest."

Tan Wen grabbed her hand, stopping her from opening the letter: "Read it when you're alone, sister. I'll feel embarrassed if you read it now."

The word "sorry" had absolutely nothing to do with him. He was a master of witty banter. Jiang Ni thought to herself that he was being sarcastic, but she still obediently stuffed the letter back into his hand.

Tan Wen didn't ask her what she meant by "didn't see what came after." Jiang Ni wanted to explain further, but Tan Wen had already picked up the second gift and the letter. He put the two gifts away and only gave her the letter: "This was written the day you came back crying."

"This was my first time going camping with you, and I had a lot of fun that day."

"This is your 25th birthday..."

Finally, Tan Wen led her to the small tea table and handed her the latest letter: "This was written last night, it's exactly the tenth one."

Holding these ten letters in her hands, they suddenly felt heavy. Jiang Ni sorted them together.

She will use these words to travel through time.

I glimpsed the carefully hidden love of a boy when he was eighteen.

She glimpsed his journey from boyhood to manhood, and his unwavering devotion to her.

Jiang Ni looked at him solemnly and said, "I will read it slowly."

Tan Wen took the letter from her hand and placed it beside her, then told her to sit on a small stool: "The important thing now is to eat the cake first. Once it's past its shelf life, it won't taste good."

He helped Jiang Ni untie the ribbon and box, and placed the "27" year candle on her wrist. Then he lit it with the lighter he had prepared.

With the lights off, the warm glow of the birthday candles illuminated her delicate face. Tan Wen walked back to her side and sang her a birthday song while keeping time.

"Happy birthday to you……"

Jiang Ni closed her eyes, and just like when she was very young, she piously clasped her hands together and silently made a wish.

Because her eyes were closed, she didn't see Tan Wen's slightly reddened eyes when he looked at her.

This time, it was finally him who was by Jiang Ni's side.

After singing the last line of the lyrics, Jiang Ni blew out the candle.

The moment the room plunged into darkness, Tan Wen gripped the back of her neck and kissed her lips deeply. As his lips touched hers, Jiang Ni loosened her teeth, and Tan Wen opened his eyes, staring intently at her.

Jiang Ni suddenly felt her body lighten, and opened her eyes in slight surprise to find that Tan Wen had grabbed her waist and was sitting on his lap.

This position made her taller than Tan Wen. Tan Wen looked up, his gaze intense: "Sister, what do you mean by 'this time it was a tongue kiss'? Hmm?"

She knew he had noticed what Liu Jiaren had said back then, but she didn't expect him to be so patient, waiting until now to ask her.

"Literally," she wrapped her arms around his neck, thought for a moment, and then added two more explanations to please him, "I couldn't accept kissing with my tongue sticking out back then... so I've only ever kissed you like this."

Tan's question was like a sudden enlightenment.

No wonder she couldn't even breathe properly during their first kiss.

It wasn't because Tan Yan hadn't taught her; it was because she hadn't given Tan Yan any access.

"Why can I?" he pressed, wanting to ask more about the details of their sex life, but he didn't want her to recall her past with Tan Yan on such a happy day, so he held back in the end.

Jiang Ni didn't know why, so she made up a reason: "You're good-looking."

Tan was not satisfied with this answer at all, and looked up to bite her lip: "Perfunctory."

"No more kissing, we haven't eaten the cake yet," Jiang Ni said, not daring to move. She grabbed his ear with her hand and said cryptically, "Behave yourself, don't go into heat all the time."

Tan wrapped his arms around her waist, not ashamed, but proud: "I'm young, this is a normal reaction."

After finishing the small cake, it was almost 11:30. With a long trip tomorrow, Jiang Ni suddenly remembered something: "I haven't packed anything. How am I going to get to S City tomorrow?"

Tan asked as he looked for some of his own clothes for her to wear as pajamas: "I'll go back and pack for you now. What do you need?"

"Makeup remover, skincare products, clothes..." After giving his instructions, Jiang Ni reminded him, "Drive carefully."

"Okay, sister, go to sleep right after you take a shower." He noticed that Jiang Ni was a little sleepy, so he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "The sheets and blankets are all new—goodnight."

Tan Wen left with his mission. Jiang Ni took the clothes he had found to take a shower in the bathroom. When she was getting dressed, she realized that Tan Wen had only given her a black short-sleeved shirt, which barely covered her upper thighs...

Nobody would believe he didn't do it on purpose.

The most embarrassing thing was that Jiang Ni didn't have any clean underwear to wear.

She washed and hung up her underwear herself, and after walking a few steps, she felt a chill down there. She thought that it would be fine when Tan Wen came back, so she prepared to lie down on the bed to wait for him and read the letter he had written.

As a result, Liu Jiaren sent her two messages, disrupting her plans.

[Jiajia]: Hello Nini, do you like the gift?

[Jiajia]: Hide it first, and let your handsome little brother see it later.

Jiang Ni was immediately intrigued—was this gift related to Tan Wen?