A god-tier fishing spot, anglers lined up to give me money.

Seeing Yang Qi's expression, Chen Zilu had a mischievous thought in her mind.

She turned her head slightly, deliberately leaning closer to him, and lowered her voice so that only the two of them could hear her:

"Yang Qi, are you afraid of me?"

"Afraid of you?"

Yang Qi turned to look at her, his voice rising slightly before he quickly lowered it again, "What am I afraid of you for?"

"Then why are you looking out the window?"

Chen Zilu tilted her head. "There are flowers on the window? Even if there are flowers, are they prettier than me?"

"...Yes, there are girls who are prettier than you."

"Oh?" Chen Zilu nodded, tapping his knee twice with her fingers. "Then why are your ears still red?"

"It's too hot in the car."

Yang Qi turned back and continued looking outside.

"The air conditioner is set to 22 degrees Celsius."

Yang Qi opened his mouth, but found himself unable to find a rebuttal. After a long pause, he finally managed to utter:

"Mind your own business."

"That won't do." Chen Zilu smiled, looked away, and sat down obediently.

Seeing this, Yang Qi thought Chen Zilu had let him go and breathed a sigh of relief, when he felt a finger poking his arm.

Looking down, I saw Chen Zilu's hand coming over again, which was quite mischievous.

Yang Qi glared at her, and Chen Zilu blinked innocently, "What's wrong?"

"you……"

"What about me?" Chen Zilu chuckled, looking smug.

"It's nothing." Yang Qi turned his head back, thinking to himself, "Wasn't this girl quite quiet before? How come she's like a completely different person now?"

Seeing his angry but speechless expression, Chen Zilu felt even more determined.

He leaned forward a little more: "Yang Qi, tell me the truth, are you embarrassed to sit with me?"

"Who, who's embarrassed?" Yang Qi asked stiffly.

"Then why are you sitting so close to the edge? If you move any further over, the car door will be forced open."

Yang Qi stubbornly replied, "I'm used to it."

"I see..." Chen Zilu drawled out the last syllable, revealing a "I don't believe it" expression.

Looking at her expression, Yang Qi wanted to disappear into the ground.

Having lived for over 24 years, I've never been afraid of arguing with people, but today I was completely outmaneuvered by a girl.

He mentally berated himself: Yang Qi, can't you be a little more sensible?

They only said two sentences, and your ears turned as red as a monkey's bottom, and you even became mute...

But the more Yang Qi thought about it, the hotter his ears became.

Seeing that the two hadn't spoken yet, Lai Lingling took the initiative to start a conversation: "Xiao Qi, is the reservoir alright while you were gone?"

Unable to find a way to back down, Yang Qizheng quickly replied, "So, I need to find a place to go back. I won't be staying long anyway; I was going back this afternoon."

"Very busy?"

"Yes, I'm very busy. I have to go back after I finish eating."

Chen Zilu, who was listening nearby, suddenly interjected, "What if someone helped you? Wouldn't it be easier?"

Yang Qi opened his mouth, but before he could answer.

Lai Lingling interrupted, "If Zilu is willing to go, things will definitely be much easier for her."

Yang Qi glanced at Chen Zilu, who returned the glance without any politeness.

Yang Qi swallowed hard. "Mom, Zilu has her own work to do, so don't bother others."

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all." Chen Zilu paused for a moment, "Actually, I resigned this afternoon."

"What…?" Lai Lingling exclaimed in shock, "Does Liwen know?"

Chen Zilu shook her head. "My mom doesn't know yet."

Then, looking at Yang Qi, she mustered up her courage and said, "Auntie, I think Yang Qi is a good person."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qi seemed to freeze, staring at her in disbelief. "No, so you resigned for my sake?"

Lai Lingling was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Okay, okay, Lao Yang, did you hear that?"

"I'm listening." Yang Wenshang looked pleased. "Yang Qi, the young lady has already made her offer, aren't you going to do something about it?"

Yang Qi: ꒰⌯͒•_•⌯͒꒱Sweat....

Chen Zilu chuckled as she looked at Yang Qi's stiff expression. "Uncle, Xiao Qi is shy and has a thin skin. Don't talk about him."

As she spoke, she took Yang Qi's hand in front of the two of them.

Yang Qi looked at Chen Zilu who was leaning closer, and fell silent. He clenched his fist with his other hand and then relaxed it, but in the end, he didn't pull his hand away.

"Alright, alright, I won't interfere in your affairs."

Seeing this, Lai Lingling quietly shut her mouth and refused to look at the two of them.

.........

Half an hour later, we arrived.

Outside the window is a shop on a street corner, with a warm yellow signboard displaying four large characters: Barbecue and Hot Pot.

As the name suggests, it's a restaurant that offers both barbecue and hot pot.

"arrive."

Yang Wenshang parked the car, pulled the handbrake, and looked back at the back seat. "You two, get out of the car."

Yang Qi quickly opened the door and jumped down.

Chen Zilu got off the bus from the other side at a leisurely pace, and dusted off the corner of her clothes after standing still.

She turned her head to look at Yang Qi, who was standing two steps away, looking down at his phone and pretending to be very busy, and pouted.

Hmph, trying to hide? No way...

Take the initiative to approach and stand next to it.

Yang Qi frowned and tried to stand further away, but Chen Zilu threatened in a low voice, "If you walk any further, I'll just take your arm."

"Zilu, I..."

"Don't speak."

Ouyang Liwen, who was standing at the entrance of the store, looked at the spot where Yang Qi and Chen Zilu were standing.

His smile deepened as he gestured towards the shop, "Come in, come in and sit down! I've already booked a private room!"

Yang Qi looked up at the shop's sign and thought to himself, "Damn it, tonight's feast is probably not an engagement party. The guests don't have good intentions."

No... the enemy came prepared and caught me off guard...

"What are you standing there for?" Chen Zilu tugged at Yang Qi's sleeve. "Let's go!"

"oh!"

Yang Qi followed behind them, with Chen Zilu walking beside him. The two were less than half a step apart, and neither of them spoke.

But after taking only a couple of steps, his finger was gently hooked, and then again.

Yang Qi paused, "Walk properly."

"Hehehe..." Chen Zilu stuck out her little tongue, completely unconcerned.

Seeing her expression, Yang Qi's lips twitched. After a couple of seconds of silence, he asked, "Zilu, was this feast... a trap specially arranged for me?"

"you guess."

"I never would have guessed. Tell me, I'll buy you milk tea."

"I want the most expensive one."

"As you wish, as you wish."

Chen Zilu thought for a moment and said softly, "Well... it was originally just a regular get-together, but I heard you were coming this morning, so I changed it..."

At this point, her face began to flush, she stopped speaking, and her gaze shifted from Yang Qi's face to the tips of her shoes.

Yang Qi pressed on, asking, "Change it to what? Just tell me."

Chen Zilu looked up at him, her cheeks still flushed.

Yang Qi felt her eyes fixed on him, and a possibility crossed his mind. He tentatively asked, "Ours...?"

Chen Zilu nodded without speaking. After a moment, she said softly, "Actually, even if you hadn't come, we would have booked it during the Chinese New Year. It's just that we've moved it up now."

"What's wrong? Judging from your expression, you're not willing? Or do you look down on me?"

"No, no!" Yang Qi quickly waved his hand, "It was just too sudden, I wasn't prepared."

"It's okay, take your time."

Yang Qi rolled his eyes: "Wait a minute. After today, they'll be putting the wedding on the agenda. You believe it or not, it won't be more than six months."

"That's alright, it doesn't matter whether it's sooner or later."

"That makes sense... Let me process it."

Yang Qi rubbed his temples, feeling a buzzing in his head.

Upon entering the private room, unsurprisingly, the two were seated together.

The parents on both sides watched them with smiles, the seating arrangement was very clear.

"Come, come, Xiao Qi, sit here next to Zi Lu." Ouyang Liwen warmly pulled out a chair.

Yang Qi glanced at Chen Zilu, who was already seated in a chair with her hands neatly placed on her knees, showing no trace of the way she had been beckoning him in the corridor just moments before.

He forced himself to sit down, but before he could even warm the stool, Lai Lingling had already picked up her teacup:

"Liwen, since everyone's here today, I'll just say it straight."

"..."

For the next hour or so, the two families talked about everything from the bride price to the wedding date, from the house to the car.

Chen Yu was in charge of pouring tea, and Yang Wenshang nodded occasionally.

Ouyang Liwen and Lai Lingling talked like they were having a conference, and settled about 80-90% of the details of the wedding.

Yang Qi sat there like a wooden man the whole time, nodding when asked questions and burying his head in drinking tea when not speaking.

Chen Zilu was no better off, her head down, her fingers tracing patterns on the edge of the table.

Around 8:30 p.m., the dinner ended, and the two families had basically reached an agreement.

Yang Qi was enthusiastically "detained" by Ouyang Liwen, who said she had a spare room at her house and he could stay for the night.

Yang Wenshang and Lai Lingling drove back to their rented apartment. Before leaving, Lai Lingling smiled and said to Yang Qi, "Xiao Qi, have a good chat with Zilu."

Sitting in the car, Yang Qi stared out the window at the receding streetlights, his mind still blank.

I was supposed to deliver the Marrow Cleansing Pills to my parents today. But what happened? I didn't even get to deliver the pills; instead, I gained a fiancée…

"Xiao Qi, why are you looking so down?" Ouyang Liwen, in the passenger seat, turned around and looked at him with a smile.

"Auntie, no, I'm just feeling confused."

"Would you like me to rub it for you?"

Chen Zilu's voice came from the side. As she spoke, her hand was already on his temple, gently massaging it. Her fingertips were warm, and the pressure was just right.

Yang Qi turned his head to look at her, unable to bring himself to say no.

It was arranged by our parents and the matchmaker; things had already come to this point, and we had no choice but to accept it.

"Xiao Qi,"

Chen Yu, who was driving, glanced at him in the rearview mirror and said seriously, "I'm entrusting my sister to you. If you dare to let her suffer any injustice, I won't let you off the hook."

"Brother Yu, don't worry, I won't do anything like that."

"I hope you remember what I said today."

……

The next morning, Yang Qi, sporting two large dark circles under his eyes, sat on the steps in front of the Chen family's house, lost in thought.

I tossed and turned all night and couldn't sleep well. My mind was filled with thoughts of my "fiancée," Chen Zilu.

"Didn't sleep well?"

Chen Zilu came out, sat down next to him, put her hands on her sides, and looked up at the sky.

"without."

Chen Zilu chuckled and said, "Actually, I didn't either. I never expected that overnight, you would become my fiancé and I would become your fiancée. It's like a dream."

"I'm scared..." Chen Zilu reached out and grasped Yang Qi's hand.

Yang Qi naturally understood what she was afraid of, and patted the back of her hand: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..."

After a pause, he said, "Zilu, shouldn't we have a car for transportation? How about we go buy one at noon and drive back ourselves?"

"You have the money to buy a car?" Chen Zilu tilted her head to look at him.

"So, what kind of car do you like?"

"Hmm... Wuling, it's cheap."

"Chen Zilu, fearing it might damage Yang Qi's confidence, added:"

"A car is just a means of transportation; brand doesn't matter."

"OK."

Yang Qi didn't rush to buy any big brands just because he had that money; instead, he felt a sense of relief.

"Zilu, I'm not good at sweet talk, but I'll just say one thing—you won't let me down, and I won't let you down."

He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I'll tell you a secret: I've actually had feelings for you for a long time, ever since we first met."

Chen Zilu's eyes widened slightly: "Really?"

"Guess."

The answer was known simply by guessing the word "guess," and Chen Zilu was overjoyed.

She had always thought that she was in a one-sided love because Yang Qi ignored her and always felt that she wasn't pretty enough.

Unexpectedly...

"Then why didn't you say so sooner?"

"You're too good-looking, I feel like I'm not good enough for you." Yang Qi scratched his head.

"Also, how about we add each other as friends first?"

"Pfft..." Chen Zilu was amused by his words.

They chatted for so long, but didn't even add each other as friends. It's hilarious to say that.

"Yang Qi, if others knew, they'd laugh their heads off. By the way, why didn't you add me before?"

Yang Qi blushed and retorted, "It's all because you're too good-looking. How could I dare to have any improper thoughts about you?"

"You're just being stubborn."

The two sat side by side on the steps and took out their phones.

I added all the possible contact methods, including phone numbers, WeChat, QQ, Alipay, and short video platforms.

Chen Zilu's WeChat profile picture is a cat, and her contact name is "Zilu".

Yang Qi looked at her WeChat Moments and gave it a like.