Unlike the rest of the mansion, there were no Christmas decorations in the indoor forest. There were, however, beautiful fairy lights hanging on some of the trees and shrubs, lightly swaying here and there like leisurely fireflies.
Iris and Jin Liwei, along with the butler, led everyone through the main trail to the centre of the indoor forest. Before long, they all saw the koi fish pond. There were gasps as their eyes feasted on the scene in front of them.
Small red candles were burning on top of lily pads floating on the pond. They cast a captivating illumination on the clear water, reaching underneath where the colourful koi fish swam curiously along the firelights.
Aboveground, two rows of bigger and taller candles lined up the edges of the mini bridge leading to the islet in the middle of the pond. A carpet of red rose petals covered the entire bridge.
Jin Chonglin stood just outside the pond while holding a video camera and recording everyone's arrival. He flashed them with his killer smile before nodding at his older brother.
Jin Liwei nodded back. He and Iris instructed everyone to stand a little farther away from the main trail and to keep quiet. While doing so, they all glanced at the islet in the middle of the pond.
Lu Zihao stood there together with two of his sworn brothers. He was busy listening to Wang Yingjie who was busy speaking to someone on the phone. Yu Mo circled around them and recording everything with a handheld video camera like Jin Chonglin.
Moments later, Jin Liwei shushed everyone. All the murmurings stopped. It didn't take long for footsteps to be heard.
"What's happening?" a female voice asked in a tiny, nervous voice.
"Relax," another female voice soothed her. "Everything will be fine."
Finally, everyone saw the new arrivals. Jiang Ying Yue and Lin Yehan were leading a blindfolded Long Jinjing. Long Tengfei and Yang Jiahui followed behind them.
Lin Yehan was also holding a video camera and recording the event. He gave a signal to his sworn brothers before looking at Jiang Ying Yue. She nodded and together with Lin Yehan, they both led the blindfolded Jiang Ying Yue on the bridge while Long Tengfei and Yang Jiahui joined the rest of the spectators.
Jiang Ying Yue transferred Long Jinjing's hand to Lu Zihao before retreating.
"Zihao?" Long Jinjing asked, her voice a whisper.
"Hm, it's me," he replied.
She sighed in relief, her nervousness decreasing by half due to his presence alone. Although she couldn't see anything, she could hear the gentle splashes of water and smell the fresh earthy scent of nature. She knew that they were in the indoor forest. But that was it. She didn't know what was going on.
After she and Lu Zihao spoke to Long Tengfei and Yang Jiahui earlier, Lu Zihao excused himself, leaving her to have some heart to heart talk with her father and stepmother. Later, Lin Yehan and Jiang Ying Yue arrived and blindfolded her, saying that she was among a small group of randomly chosen ones who were selected to win a big Christmas surprise.
She didn't doubt their claim for one bit because her sister Iris and brother-in-law Jin Liwei had always been excellent in throwing parties and making their guests enjoy themselves. Maybe this was another one of the couple's ways to liven up the atmosphere and make the Christmas gathering memorable for everyone.
Back to the present, Long Jinjing stuck close to Lu Zihao's side, taking comfort in his presence. Her excitement was quickly trumping over her nervousness.
Lu Zihao's lips touched her earlobe, causing her skin to flush red, before his devilish whisper asked, "Are you ready?"
She nodded like a pecking chicken. Finally, the cloth covering her eyes was removed. At first, she didn't notice anything amiss. She blinked her eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness. Then she hesitated when she saw the setup around her.
"W-what…."
Before she could form a coherent thought, Lu Zihao knelt in front of her and opened a small velvet box. A diamond ring shone inside.
Her hands covered her gasping mouth.
"Long Jinjing, will you marry me?"
It felt like fireworks went off inside her mind. Her IQ fell to amoeba-level. It took a few moments before her consciousness returned.
"Jinjing?" the still kneeling Lu Zihao continued to ask her.
She stared at him like a stupid idiot.
He frowned but didn't move from his kneeling position and continued to wait for her reply.
She wasn't aware because her IQ was currently at the level of an amoeba but the spectators were almost dying from anxiety watching the proposal playing in front of them. She didn't notice the restless Grandpa Lu who was being stopped by Grandma Li from running towards the islet to assist his own grandson's proposal.
The seconds ticked by and Long Jinjing still hadn't replied. Lu Zihao couldn't hold it anymore.
"Are you not going to accept my proposal?"
The frown remained on his face but others couldn't see any additional emotion. Nobody detected his sweaty palms or the slight trembling of the hand holding the velvet box containing the diamond ring. To others, he remained steady despite the long wait for his lady's response to his proposal.
It was a slow process but Long Jinjing finally recovered some of her IQ. Not much but at least her mind wasn't at the level of amoeba anymore.
"I…Ni—Zihao, you…" she stammered.
He raised an eyebrow and lifted the small velvet box closer to her.
"B-but we're already engaged," she said. "Didn't I already propose to you before? And you already accepted it. Why are you p-proposing to me?"
Lu Zihao sighed. "I want to give you a proper proposal. So? What's your answer? Will you marry me?"
"But you should already know my answer."
"Dammit, Jinjing! Yes or no?"
"Yes!" Tears flowed down her face. "Oh yes, I'll marry you!"
The frown disappeared from Lu Zihao's face replaced by a faint but genuine smile. He quickly slid the diamond ring on Long Jinjing's finger before standing up and sweeping her in his embrace and kissing her in front of the cheering spectators.
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Chapter Title:Proper Proposal
