Chen’er’s face flushed upon hearing this; the crying stopped, and she simply rested her forehead against Li Zheng’s shoulder, biting her lip in silence.

Seeing Chen’er’s lack of response, Li Zheng, unlike his usual patience, grew anxious. He used his hand to gently lift Chen’er’s head, his eyes fixed on hers as he pressed, "Chen’er, answer me, is it true?"

Chen’er glanced at Li Zheng and whispered, her cheeks coloring, "Did you really think I came back just to watch you get engaged to someone else?"

"Chen’er, then why did you come back?" Li Zheng held her head steady, making her face him directly.

This demeanor from Li Zheng caught Chen’er slightly off guard. He had never been this forceful with her before, nor had he ever pushed her to say anything or do anything in this manner. Yet, looking into his expectant eyes, her heart felt surprisingly sweet.

Though she had spoken with such bold confidence to her elder sister back home, facing Li Zheng now, she felt too shy to voice the thoughts churning in her heart, merely meeting his gaze with a crimson-flushed face.

Li Zheng, meanwhile, was no longer accommodating Chen’er as before; instead, a surprisingly aggressive aura emanated from him. Seeing she wouldn't answer, he didn't let go, his gaze unwavering. It seemed clear that if Chen’er didn't offer a satisfactory explanation this time, he intended to maintain this intensity indefinitely.

Finally, the pressure made Chen’er snap. She slapped his hand away, abandoning all restraint, and rattled off a torrent of words, "What do you mean, why? There is no why! I simply don’t like that you’re engaged to Lanhua, and I don’t like you talking to her. You claim I haven't agreed to be engaged to you—when exactly did you propose to me? You didn’t even ask me last time you were in town! You didn't ask me at all, so how can you say I refused?"

"Then I’ll ask you now. Chen’er, I have loved you since we were children. For all these years, I have loved only you. There has never been anyone else. I want to marry you. Will you marry me?" Li Zheng finally uttered the words he had long hesitated to speak, delivering them with firm conviction.

Li Zheng had deliberately forced these words from her. Truthfully, after orbiting around Chen’er for so many years, he had absolutely no certainty about her feelings for him. Every time he thought she showed a flicker of interest, Chen’er would invariably do or say something that left him repeatedly disappointed, making him conclude he had only imagined things.

He had even considered yielding to his parents’ wishes and simply marrying any suitable girl. However, after agreeing to his parents, Chen’er’s face appeared in his mind even more frequently than before. His thoughts were often consumed by the expression she wore when speaking to him that day, and the mere thought of a future where she wasn't by his side made him prefer solitude.

This morning, he had indeed run into Lanhua unexpectedly and spoken with her briefly. But ever since seeing Chen’er return, he couldn't recall a word Lanhua had said; his entire focus had been on why Chen’er had come back.

Even if he believed Chen’er didn't care for him, he still wanted to see her, to know how she’d been recently. When he saw her arrive at his house, although he was uncertain of her purpose, his heart suddenly felt full. He never realized how profoundly Chen’er influenced him.

But watching Chen’er enter the courtyard without even glancing at him once made his heart feel hollowed out. Later, when He'er mentioned Chen’er had something for him, and he saw He'er pushing Chen’er towards him, a surge of wild joy briefly erupted in his chest. However, once they were in the room, Chen’er’s demeanor plunged him back into despair.

This emotional oscillation—the constant swing between elation and misery—left Li Zheng feeling as if his heart might cease to function. He could no longer bear this agonizing cycle of fleeting joy and subsequent sorrow. Thus, he cast caution aside; he had to hear a definite affirmation from Chen’er, otherwise, he genuinely feared this torment would kill him.

This time, Chen’er did not prolong Li Zheng’s suffering. Although her face was so red it looked like it could bleed, she gently nodded toward Li Zheng, offering him the affirmative answer he demanded.

Finally, Li Zheng felt his previously unsettled heart settle back into place. He gently drew Chen’er’s head to rest on his shoulder, encircling her waist with his arm, and whispered in her ear, "Good. Then I’ll go tell my parents later, and have them send a matchmaker to your house in a couple of days."

Leaning against Li Zheng’s shoulder, Chen’er noticed the bloodstain on his face and suddenly remembered his injury hadn't been tended to. She immediately jumped off his lap, saying, "Don't move, let me see if the cut is still bleeding?"

Saying this, Chen’er picked up a silk scarf and began wiping his face. Since the blood had dried a bit, it wouldn't clean off easily. Wiping as she went, Chen’er muttered, "What should I do? I can't wipe it clean, and I can’t even see where the wound is. I’ll go get some water." With that, Chen’er hurried toward the door.

Li Zheng immediately pulled her back, chuckling. "Don't go out. If your sister finds out you smashed me up like this, she’ll definitely scold you again. There’s tea on the table; it’s still warm. Just wet the scarf and clean it for me. It’s only a small wound, it’s nothing serious. But, Chen’er, what is in that bundle you’re holding?"

"I don't know what it is. Why are you treasuring it so much, even though you’re injured from being hit by it?" Chen’er said, a wry smile playing on her lips.

"It’s the first thing our Chen’er ever gave me, so of course I treasure it. Besides, I have no idea if there will ever be a next time! Hand it over, let me see what it is?" Li Zheng looked at her and smiled.

Chen’er shot him a look, passed him the bundle, and went to wet the scarf. As Li Zheng opened the bundle and saw the contents, his face broke into a wide smile. However, when he looked up, his expression shifted to a teasing smirk: "Didn’t you say these things were ugly and that you’d thrown them away long ago? Why are you keeping them so close to you now?"

Chen’er angrily pinched his arm. "Hmph! I brought them out specifically to hit you with! I originally thought, since you and Lanhua were getting married, I didn't want these things anymore, so I was going to return them all to you. I meant to throw this at you in the carriage this morning, but it was too far. Now that I didn't mean to hit you, I actually did. But you deserved to be hit, daring to speak so intimately with Lanhua! If you had been in front of me then, I would have smashed your head until it was bleeding profusely."

Li Zheng took Chen’er’s hand in his, smiling. "Isn't my head already bleeding now? But the hitting is done. From now on, you are forbidden to get angry over Lanhua again."

This time, Li Zheng was cautious. Having been by Chen’er’s side for so many years, he understood her too well. He finally realized that Chen’er’s return today was entirely because of him, but she had unfortunately witnessed the scene of him speaking closely with Lanhua, which caused her anger. And the way she kept dwelling on that matter—Chen’er could be terribly exasperating when she fixated on something.