Chapter 274: The Promises They Kept

Jingwei held Zhiyi’s hand while she waited for him to continue.

She had folded her paper so neatly that its edges lined up beneath her thumb, but he could see where she had pressed too hard with the pen.

He wanted to read every word, but having her standing in front of him made it difficult to think beyond the fact that she had come to marry him.

"I don’t want you wondering whether you have to do anything differently after today," Jingwei said, rubbing his thumb over her fingers. "You don’t have to start dividing up your time or worrying about whether you’ve stayed with me long enough. I asked because I love being with you. I’d like more of it, but I’m not going to start counting."

Zhiyi glanced toward Hanchuan, who sat close enough to reach her. Her husband smiled and rested his hand against her back.

"You can put the schedules away, sweetheart," Hanchuan told her. "We’ve managed to live together for four years. We’ll manage being married."

"I hadn’t made a schedule," Zhiyi replied, looking back at Jingwei. Her mouth curved as she added, "But I did wonder about dinner."

Jingwei laughed, and some of the nervousness left him. Behind Hanchuan, Zeyu leaned back in his chair with a grin, apparently pleased to hear that dinner had made its way into the ceremony.

"We’ll still be eating together," Jingwei assured her. He lifted her hand to his mouth before reaching for his page. "And I’ll still save you the chair beside mine."

The room grew quiet as he unfolded the paper.

He had written it at the kitchen table, stopped halfway through, and begun again after realizing how much of it sounded like instructions for surviving an emergency.

There were plenty of things he would do to keep her alive. She already knew that.

"I used to think I was giving you a choice by leaving you alone," Jingwei began. He looked up from the page, wanting her to see his face. "If you wanted to sit with me, you could come over. If you wanted to hold my hand, I’d let you. It took me far too long to realize I was making you do all the asking."

Zhiyi’s fingers moved against his. Jingwei remembered her standing beside his chair with a book held to her chest, waiting until he looked up before asking whether he was busy.

He had wanted her to stay every time.

"I won’t keep doing that," Jingwei promised. "I’ll come and find you. I’ll tell you when I miss you, and I’ll ask you to stay instead of hoping you’ll guess. When I need a moment, I’ll tell you that too, so you don’t have to wonder whether you’ve upset me."

He lowered the paper, no longer needing it for the rest.

"I love you, Zhiyi. I want to be your husband, and I want you to enjoy being my wife. There’s more I could promise, but I think you’d rather see me do it."

She smiled at him, then looked down at her own page.

The first fold opened easily, but the second caught beneath her fingers. Hanchuan reached over and straightened it for her before letting his hand rest briefly against hers.

"Take your time," Hanchuan murmured. "You know what you want to say."

Zhiyi nodded and turned back to Jingwei. He kept hold of her free hand while she found the beginning, noticing the way her shoulders relaxed after Hanchuan spoke.

"I like that I can come and sit with you without having a reason," Zhiyi said. "Sometimes I bring something to read, but I usually want to talk to you instead. Even when I don’t have anything to say, I’m glad you’re there."

Jingwei smiled as she glanced up to check his face. He wanted to tell her he had noticed the unopened books, but she was already looking down at the next line.

"I feel safe with you," Zhiyi continued. "You don’t get impatient when I need time to think, and you don’t make me feel foolish when I ask you to explain something. I want you to be comfortable with me too. You can tell me what you need, even if you think I should already know."

She paused, running her thumb along the edge of the page before finishing.

"I love you, and I want to keep finding you after dinner. I want to sleep beside you and leave things in your room because I know I’m coming back."

Jingwei drew her hand against his chest. He had pictured her saying yes again, perhaps laughing when they put on the ring, but he hadn’t prepared himself for how badly he would want to hold her before they were finished.

Hanchuan stood beside them and took the papers from their hands.

"I think you should keep these somewhere you can find them," Hanchuan said, setting them together on the table. He opened the ring case and held it out to Zhiyi. "You’ll both want to read them again."

Zhiyi lifted the band from its lining. Jingwei offered his hand, watching her guide the ring over his knuckle until it rested where his father had once worn it. She touched it with one finger, then looked up at him.

"I’m glad it fits," Zhiyi said softly. "I wanted you to be able to wear it."

Jingwei bent and kissed her, drawing her close as her hands settled against his chest. The paper, the chairs, and the camera stopped bothering him once she leaned into him. He let the kiss last until Zeyu cleared his throat behind them.

"I’m happy to wait," Zeyu said, smiling when Jingwei finally looked at him, "but someone should tell me before the icing starts sliding off the cake."

Hanchuan laughed and reached for Zhiyi as Jingwei eased his hold. She tucked herself against her husband’s side while he kissed her forehead.

"Happy, sweetheart?" Hanchuan asked, brushing his thumb along her cheek.

Zhiyi nodded, smiling between the two men. Hanchuan kept his arm around her as he turned toward the others.

"Then let’s get a picture before Zeyu feeds everyone," Hanchuan said. "Shichen, set the timer. You’re supposed to be in it too."

Jingwei stood on Zhiyi’s other side while their friends gathered around them. She reached for his newly ringed hand, holding it alongside Hanchuan’s against her waist. He was still looking down at their hands when the camera clicked.

Later, while the others argued over the photograph, Hanchuan caught Jingwei’s shoulder and drew him aside.

"Come upstairs with me before dinner," Hanchuan said, his smile lingering as he glanced toward Zhiyi. "She’s left half the things she’ll want tonight in our room. We’ll get them before she notices they’re missing."