“Pfft!” Jiang Xiaobai said disdainfully, “Who wants your money? I’m capable of earning money as well. Alright, since you’re so generous, I’ll pay more for our wedding. I won’t take your money and contribute nothing!” She understood that it couldn’t depend solely on the man to pay for the wedding.
Xiao Su frowned upon hearing that, but Jiang Xiaobai didn’t care about it and pulled him into the shop. “Why don’t we describe how we want the rings to look like and let the artist sketch them out first? What do you think?”
“Okay.”
They were done with visualizing their ideal rings three hours later. When they left the shop, Jiang Xiaobai realized that they had delayed the shop’s closing time by more than thirty minutes. It was an established brand after all. Even if the sales assistants had to go home later, their service remained impeccable.
Currently, Jiang Xiaobai was so hungry that she held his arm and said coquettishly, “It’s so cold. Let’s have hotpot.”
“Alright.” Xiao Su never expected that they would spend so much time at the shop. Men just wanted to buy the things they liked in the shortest time, but it was a different case for women. After shopping around with her, Xiao Su found out that there was a lot to learn in buying stuff.
It was late in the night, and the hotpot restaurant was still crowded. However, they were lucky to snatch the last table available. After they were seated, the people who came after them had to line up. While they were waiting for the dishes to be served, Jiang Xiaobai caught a glimpse of the glittering ring on her finger. She swayed her finger at him and suggested, “How much did you pay for this ring? Should we return it?”
Xiao Su was startled upon hearing that as such a thing never crossed his mind before. Coming to his senses, he replied, “How can you return the thing I’ve given you? Unless you don’t want me anymore, then you can do that.”
Unless I don’t want him anymore? It sounded inauspicious, hence Jiang Xiaobai hurriedly covered the ring with her other hand and said seriously, “Forget it. I’ll just keep it since I’ll have a new ring, but I won’t give it back to you forever.” With that, she extended her hand and poked his finger. “Hey, remember that since you’ve made that decision, you can’t regret it forever. After the wedding, even if you don’t want me anymore, I won’t let you go.” She was trying to make Xiao Su understand that marriage was no joke, and that it was a promise for life.
Xiao Su remained silent for a moment and grabbed her finger. “As long as you don’t dump me, I won’t betray you forever.” He rarely made any promise, but when he did, he would keep it for life.
The atmosphere was wonderful. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were inside a hotpot restaurant, Jiang Xiaobai would throw herself at him and kiss him.
Just then, the waiters started serving dishes and interrupted the romantic moment. Jiang Xiaobai had no choice but to withdraw her hand. When the hotpot was boiling, they started having dinner seriously.
During the meal, Jiang Xiaobai found that the restaurant’s dishes were excellent, and the soup was just as great as the one she made herself. Xiao Su took care of her by dipping the dishes into the pot and placing them on her plate.
Having nothing to do, Jiang Xiaobai questioned, “When are we going to tell our parents that we’re going to marry?”
“I’ll let you decide.”
The certainty of the marriage prompted Jiang Xiaobai to act differently this time. She decided not to discuss it with him and made the decision on her own. “Should we tell them about it tomorrow morning?”
“Sure.”
Jiang Xiaobai was joyfully thinking about how the rings would look like after they were made. However, she suffered from insomnia on the same night as she rolled around on the bed. Xiao Su, who was beside her, couldn’t sleep as well. He was quiet while she kept turning over. Eventually, the man stopped her from moving aimlessly. “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Xiaobai shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just excited, and my stomach feels weird.”
“Your stomach feels weird?” Xiao Su pressed his lips together and placed his hand on her stomach. “Are you on period?” He blushed in the dark when he asked that question. Although they were in an intimate relationship, that question was too personal.
Jiang Xiaobai gave it a thought and reckoned that it was about time her period came, but she never felt so painful before.
“Do you want a glass of warm water?”
“Yeah.” Jiang Xiaobai gulped down the glass of warm water and went to sleep, but when midnight came, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and awakened in agony with her body drenched in cold sweat.
Xiao Su, who was hugging her, could feel her cold sweat as well. Jiang Xiaobai was then stricken with diarrhea. Not only that, she vomited so much that her legs had turned limp.
Xiao Su directly covered her body with his own coat and lifted her up. “Let’s go to the hospital.”
Jiang Xiaobai had no more energy to speak or move. She was so weak that she couldn’t open her eyes as she lay in his arms.
They soon reached the hospital. After an examination, the doctor diagnosed that she suffered from food poisoning after consuming unclean food. Jiang Xiaobai was then put on intravenous infusion as she lay on the bed with a blanket provided by the hospital. When the intravenous infusion was finished, Jiang Xiaobai regained some of her energy. Looking at Xiao Su, who had been watching over her, she parted her pale lips and inquired, “Do I look ugly now?”
After a pause, Xiao Su reached out to stroke her blemish-free forehead. “Don’t think about it. Close your eyes and have a sleep. I’ll watch over you.”
Instead of closing her eyes as told, she stared at him. “We ate the same food, but why am I the only one suffering from food poisoning?”
After giving it a thought, Xiao Su answered, “Maybe my immune system is stronger.”
Jiang Xiaobai pursed her lips when she heard that. “I’m so tired. This incident happened on the same night I proposed to you. Do you think it could be a punishment from the Heavens? Is the fortune teller right to say that we’re not suitable for each other?”
Xiao Su didn’t like it when she said she was ugly, and he felt utterly helpless when he heard her say that they were not suitable for each other. Leaning in to her, he warned in a lowered voice, “Stop spouting nonsense if you don’t want others to see me kissing you in public.”
He was so close that Jiang Xiaobai could see the pores and hair on his face. Chuckling, she said gently, “Why should I be afraid? I’m not afraid of anything. It’s just that I look ugly now. If you don’t mind it, come on and kiss me.”
Xiao Su stared at her without saying a word. He then slowly lowered his head and kissed her pale lips.
