Chapter 1408 (Title is a Spoiler)
Later, outside the café, Lin Yehan opened the car door for Jiang Ying Yue. She didn't climb in right away. Instead, she continued gazing at the second floor with worried eyes. Even though she couldn't see her son inside, she knew that he was there with his father. She didn't fully trust Long Hui, but she didn't want to hinder their father and son relationship either. All she could do right now was trust her colleagues to protect her son. "Ying Yue." Lin Yehan could only imagine what she must be feeling. Of course, he couldn't relate to her entirely because he had never had a child before. But he at least understood her concerns. She smiled at him before climbing into the front passenger seat. Lin Yehan glanced at the café before climbing into the driver's seat of his own car. Earlier, he was the one who drove Jiang Ying Yue and Little Jun to the café. The bodyguards followed behind them in two other separate vehicles.
He looked at her before starting the car. She looked distracted. "Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded. "Thank you for accompanying me, Yehan. I felt so much more confident because of you. Maybe…if I met Long Hui on my own, I might have not been so firm."
He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. It was rougher than his own hands with hard callouses, but to him, it was a symbol of her discipline and dedication to her job. He raised it and kissed it, making her blush.
"I'm glad to hear you say that, Ying Yue."
The flush on her face deepened.
He reached for her face with his other hand and caressed her cheek. "You did a great job laying down your boundaries to him."
She smiled. "This is the first time that I could speak to him like that without stumbling on my words. Xiulan, Dom, our other friends, and even Aunt Lan helped me build up my confidence. I feel so…incredible."
"You are incredible."
She chuckled. "Thanks."
"You're the most incredible woman that I've ever met."
Her entire face and neck were now wholly red from his words. "I doubt that, but thank you, Yehan."
"Believe me, Ying Yue. I do admire you the most as a woman, as a mother, and as a person. Your strength, both inside and out, kindness, and the way you always do your best to stick to your principles are something that I'm finding incredibly rare nowadays. Even when you're hurting, you still always manage to stand back up and continue fulfilling your duties and responsibilities."
"It's because I have a child, Yehan. So many times, I wanted to give up but couldn't because of my son. I don't want my son to lose me, his mother, so soon. I want to watch Little Jun grow up. I don't care about him achieving anything great. As long as he stays healthy and happy until he grows up, I'll already be satisfied."
"This is why I find you so incredible, Ying Yue." Lin Yehan's gaze on her was filled with soft warmth, gentleness and admiration. "You are so dedicated to your son, your job, your friends. I hope…that I can also be a recipient of that kind of dedication. I would be honoured."
She shifted her body on the seat to a sideways position to face him more easily. "I already agreed to be together with you, Yehan. You still don't feel my dedication to you?"
His eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "Really? You're dedicated to me?"
"Of course."
He smiled. After a few seconds, his smile turned into a wide grin. "I, too, am dedicated to you…and Little Jun too, of course."
Jiang Ying Yue flipped the hand he held and took his hand instead. "Remember the words I told you when I agreed to be together with you that night?"
"How can I forget?" He might have been a little drunk that night, but all the memories stayed intact in his mind. Nothing was erased by the alcohol. "You agreed to become a family with me."
She nodded. "I…Yehan…uhm…."
"Yes?" Lin Yehan didn't rush her. On the contrary, he felt a little amused that she would begin to feel shy again right now when she had been acting so fierce with that scumbag Long Hui earlier in the café. "Uhm…you still want to become a…family with me…right?"
He smiled. "Of course, Ying Yue. I stand by my promise when I courted you."
"T-then…" It took her a few moments before she could spit out what she wanted to say. "Then how about we marry?"
Lin Yehan was stunned. He was unable to react for some time. "Y-yehan?" Uncertainty filled Jiang Ying Yue's face at his reaction—or lack thereof. Then he laughed. "Ying Yue, are you proposing to me?"
"Y-you…you're laughing at me?"
"No. I'm not laughing at you. This laughter is from joy. Can't you see? So are you really proposing to me, Ying Yue?"
She pouted. "Call it a proposal if you want."
His grin couldn't get any wider. "Yes. I'll marry you."
Before she could say anything, he grabbed her and smashed their lips together. This kiss wasn't anything like the ones that they had shared before. It was harder, deeper. More intense. And more desperate. Lin Yehan showed her that he wasn't always a gentleman. He could also be a rogue. And Jiang Ying Yue loved it. She gave as much as she got. When the kiss ended, both of them were panting. Their eyes were dazed as they looked at each other with deeper intimacy. She leaned her head on his chest while his arms wrapped around her. Their positions were awkward because of the tight space in the car, but neither of them minded it.
"Yehan…."
"Yes?" He nuzzled her hair (made soft and fragrant thanks to the original best-selling shampoo and conditioner from Orchidia Beauty).
"Do you mind if I say that…I'm not sure yet if…I do love you?" she asked while waiting for his reaction. "I could ask you the same question. I'm also not sure yet if my feelings for you can be considered love already. Maybe I'm already in love with you. Or maybe I'm close to it. But what I do know is that I want to be with you and Little Jun. So maybe this is already love."
"You've never been in love before?"
He gave her ear a playful pinch. "I have. At least, that's what I believed. It's just that what I feel for you is so different from my past experiences. I can't compare it."
She nodded. "I know what you mean. What I feel for you is also different from my experience with…Little Jun's father. That's why I said I'm not sure if this is love. That one felt so fast, intense and, uhm, thrilling…."
"I get it," he said, chuckling. "Same here. My past relationships always started off with sexual attraction and developed from there. It was always exciting. But what we have now…."
"It's calmer," she continued his sentence. "Easier. More comfortable."
"Yes. Calmer, easier and more comfortable. Those are the right words. But I hope you don't find it boring because I don't."
She quickly shook her head. "No, of course not! I don't find our relationship boring at all."
"I'm glad." He dropped a soft peck on her lips. "Shall we go now?"
"Okay."
The car finally started driving away from the café.
Lin Yehan was in an excellent mood. He was able to distract his girlfriend from thinking about their meeting with Long Hui. And now, to his surprise, they even became engaged just like that.
Never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine being proposed to by a woman. So when he heard that his Fifth Brother Zihao had been proposed to by Long Jinjing, he thought that it was funny and amazing at the same time. But now that the same thing had happened to him, he almost couldn't contain his delight.
He had never been the type of man who felt emasculated by this gender role reversal. However, his experience as a sports shooting athlete back then exposed him to the prowess of females. There had been times when female athletes, both local and foreign alike, defeated him without mercy during training and co-ed sports events. For example, in the realm of sports shooting, there were quite a number of female athletes who bested the males. If the major competitions didn't separate by gender, he wouldn't be surprised if many of the overall champions were females. Unlike most other physical sports where males had the natural biological advantage, sports shooting presented a fairer stage to all genders. Not wholly unbiased but still better than other sports where a clear distinction of biological gender was needed. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please stop supporting piracy. Also follow the author on Instagram: @arriacross]
This was one of the reasons why he felt so excited about Iris' talent in shooting when he discovered it. But unfortunately, she didn't show interest in pursuing an athletic career in sports shooting, no matter how he tried enticing her.
Back to his original point, his experience dealing with formidable females in the world of sports shooting contributed to making him into the open-minded man that he was today.
He didn't feel awkward when Jiang Ying Yue proposed. As a matter of fact, he felt flattered and happy. This must be how women felt when their lovers proposed to them. He thought that many men were missing out on this kind of wonderful feeling. His grin didn't even stop as he continued driving. He glanced at his girlfriend—oh right, she was his fiancée now. "So when do you want to marry?"