Le Yan remarked that “it’s getting late” and added that she would wait in the car first. Looking as though she had stumbled upon a restricted-view scene, she immediately turned to head downstairs. Midway, however, she turned back and pointedly reminded them, “Xie-ge, we have to leave in fifteen minutes at the very latest…”

She paused for two seconds before continuing, “Don’t delay too long with Shi-ge. You have to walk the red carpet with the crew later. Uh, cough… just mind yourselves a little…”

With that, she vanished in a flash.

Left behind were two men hugging each other, exchanging helpless, silent glances.

Considering that time was indeed tight, Shi Linchuan straightened up. Since his thoughts had already been exposed, he stopped telling Xie Jinghe to close his eyes. Instead, he silently pulled the hand that had been resting in his trousers pocket, extended it in front of the other man, and slowly opened his palm.

Xie Jinghe’s eyes widened in fixed attention.

Lying in the man’s palm was a small, round, red velvet box.

The box looked neither new nor old; its surface was intact, though the velvet color was slightly faded.

Shi Linchuan glanced at Xie Jinghe’s expression and noticed that the man had practically stopped breathing. The anxiety lingering in his own heart inexplicably lightened a bit. He raised his hand to open the top cover, revealing the small items hidden inside—

Two men’s rings.

Plain bands set with diamonds, with the initials of their names engraved inside the rings.

Every single feature matched Xie Jinghe’s fantasy of a wedding ring.

He raised his eyes and gazed at the man for a long moment before reaching out to pick up one of them. He rubbed the engraved names inside the band twice with utmost affection, then stared at Shi Linchuan with those bright black eyes. Looked at like this, Shi Linchuan clicked his tongue in slight discomfort and casually said:

“The design is a bit dated. Just make do with it.”

Xie Jinghe frowned in disagreement, his expression resembling a protective parent hearing someone criticize their child’s looks, as he argued fiercely, “How is it dated? It looks great.”

He extended his index finger and gently tapped the surface of the ring.

“…It even has diamonds.”

Then, he blurted out a commercial slogan, “A diamond is forever, classic for eternity—haven’t you heard that before?” Having said that, he retracted his index finger and held his ring finger high in the air.

His intention was crystal clear.

Hearing his tone, Shi Linchuan almost thought Xie Jinghe was seeing a diamond for the first time in his life. Even though the man had collaborated with a top domestic luxury jewelry brand a few years ago, he was now marveling over a pair of three-year-old, outdated diamond rings.

The diamond was tiny and not worth much money.

It wasn’t a luxury brand, nor was it crafted by a top designer.

It was merely something he had picked up casually at a shopping mall back then.

That was the first time in Shi Linchuan’s life he had chosen a ring for someone—it was picked as a prop to complete a proposal mission, devoid of any special meaning. Yet, after buying it, he couldn’t help but think indignantly:

Why should he?

Therefore, he didn’t give this pair of cheap rings to Xie Jinghe as described in the original story. Instead, using the man’s identity as an actor as an excuse, he gave him a relatively expensive diamond pendant, which Xie Jinghe treasured so deeply he couldn’t even bear to wear it daily.

Three years later.

Shi Linchuan ended up taking it out after all, as if pulling out his own heart that had been hidden away for three years. With a calm and composed expression on his face, he slid the slightly smaller ring onto Xie Jinghe’s left ring finger, gently touching the scar across the other’s palm in the process, and suddenly said:

“The very first moment I saw it at the counter back then, I felt…”

“I liked it very much.”

He seemed to be talking about the diamond ring, yet also seemed to be talking about the person wearing it. His cold demeanor softened a bit, and his deep voice sent a tremor through Xie Jinghe’s heart. With trembling hands, Xie Jinghe put the other ring on the man, unable to utter a word for a long while.

It was Shi Linchuan who reminded him, “Fifteen minutes are up. You should head out.”

Xie Jinghe walked downstairs, looking back with every three steps. After getting into the car, he couldn’t help but stare blankly at his own hand, unable to tear his eyes away. Le Yan spoke a few words to him, but he didn’t hear them clearly; even if he heard them, he didn’t remember them; and even if he remembered them, he had no time to process them.

He just kept giggling like a fool.

The gaze he used to look at his fingers was filled with affection to the absolute extreme, like ripples of spring water.

Le Yan: “…”

After two seconds of silence.

She suddenly said, “Xie-ge, your ring looks really nice.”

“Linchuan just gave it to me, I think it looks exceptionally nice too,” Xie Jinghe immediately raised his eyes to look over, holding that hand up while supporting the wrist with his other hand. “He treats me so well.”

Le Yan: “…”

Ah, such a familiar response.

It seemed she had triggered some automatic reply mechanism for people madly in love.

Thinking of this, Le Yan unconsciously smiled along and couldn’t help echoing, “I think so too. Shi-ge really treats you quite well.”

Then, she asked out of curiosity, “Are you two going to remarry?”

Xie Jinghe caressed the ring, froze for a moment upon hearing this, and shook his head. “I don’t know. Time was too tight just now; Linchuan didn’t mention it, and I didn’t have time to ask…”

As soon as he finished speaking.

He and Le Yan looked at each other, and he chuckled foolishly twice more.

“It doesn’t matter, though.”

“Whether we get married or not doesn’t really matter…”

“I just… really like being with Linchuan.”

·

Compared to Xie Jinghe’s reluctant departure, where he wished he could turn back and run home, Shi Linchuan was much more decisive.

He returned to the dressing room and changed into a suit as well, which made his tall, upright posture stand out even more. As he moved, the ring on his finger caught the light and drew attention.

Shi Linchuan couldn’t help looking at it too.

When he got into the car, Pei Yue immediately noticed the extra accessory on his hand, raised an eyebrow, and teased with a drawn-out tone, “Planning to remarry?”

Looking at the scenery rapidly receding outside the window, Shi Linchuan rotated the ring on his right ring finger back and forth. He remained silent, but an inexplicable emotion surged in his heart, making him unable to sit still.

…An auspicious start, yet plagued with minor hitches.

He felt a bit nervous.

However, Shi Linchuan hadn’t expected that earlier little blunder to be just the beginning of tonight—halfway through the drive, the road ahead suddenly jammed, leaving them stuck with no way to advance or retreat. Soon, a traffic officer came over, knocked on the car window, and said three cars had been involved in a rear-end collision, so they had to wait for the road to clear.

Estimated time: two hours.

After the traffic officer left, Shi Linchuan took a deep breath, his expression remaining cold. Pei Yue, watching him, felt a slight headache. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she said:

“Boss, relax, relax. The award ceremony is very tedious. Just walking the red carpet takes who knows how long. Rather than worrying about missing it, you’d better worry about what to do if Xie Jinghe doesn’t win an award this time…”

This was clearly a joke.

But Shi Linchuan wasn’t amused; instead, he grew increasingly restless.

Eight o’clock sharp in the evening.

It was time for the award ceremony to begin.

Shi Linchuan was still stuck on the road, so he had no choice but to use his phone to enter the official live stream room. Under the high-definition lens, the glamorous men and women looked exquisite, posing perfectly in front of the camera with flawless expressions.

He watched idly, his focus drifting.

Until that man entered the venue with his film crew, flashing a very polite, faint smile toward the camera.

Unlike the stream of praise popping up on the screen—such as “Ah, I’m dead,” “Claiming this gorgeous Jinghe,” and so on—Shi Linchuan’s mind only recalled the man’s eccentric behavior at home and the way he had been reluctant to leave earlier, almost crying with red eyes. Shi Linchuan felt amused.

It was as if he had never grown up.

Or rather, he had regressed as he aged.

Of course.

Shi Linchuan had no right to criticize Xie Jinghe for anything either. His own state was far from optimistic—a few days ago, just to go out on a date with Xie Jinghe to watch a movie premiere, he had even skipped work once.

Back when he was still doing tasks, he had accompanied Xie Jinghe to a few movies as well. He had acted like a proper human on the surface, but inwardly sneered with disdain, thinking that the people on the silver screen were melodramatic over nothing, unable to control their tears or laughter—it was utterly sappy to the extreme.

Simply incomprehensible.

Truly disgusting, sickening, and making him want to vomit.

…Actually, he didn’t really want to vomit.

He just felt that kind of love wasn’t real at all.

It felt fake.

Just like the love between him and Xie Jinghe—it had all been fake.

At this very moment.

Shi Linchuan reflected on everything over the past three years. Glancing out of the corner of his eye at his profile reflected on the car window, he suddenly realized that while staring at the person on the screen, he was actually smiling silently as well. It was like ice and snow melting, as if spring had returned to the earth, the wind curving the corners of his mouth into a clear, gentle arc.

Yet spring had long passed.

It was now midsummer.

In the yard belonging to him and Xie Jinghe, the saplings stretched their branches, lush and green. The seasonal flowers bloomed competitively in brilliant colors, and green vines gently wrapped around the feet of the rattan chair in the yard, refusing to let go.

The air carried a clear sweetness.

Everything was so real.

Shi Linchuan closed his eyes, unable to resist extending his finger to stroke a certain face on the screen a few times, attempting to soothe his nervous mood.

Summer had arrived.

Flowers covered the ruins, blooming all over the mountains and plains, and his love could no longer be hidden.

Shi Linchuan really wanted to ask Xie Jinghe:

—Would you be willing to live in my castle?