Chapter 9

The day I officially received the acceptance notice for the deferred graduate research program, Zhou Xiangyu finally reached the end of his patience.

That very night, he simply swept me into his arms, carried me onto his private jet, and flew straight back to Port City.

At his luxurious villa perched atop The Peak, he led me to an enormous floor-to-ceiling glass window. From this breathtaking vantage point, the entire Victoria Harbour skyline unfolded below us—glittering, dazzling, and so spectacular it almost took my breath away.

“Hsu Lian, beautiful, isn’t it? Don’t rush. There’s something even more beautiful for you to see in a minute.”

Zhou Xiangyu wrapped his arms around me from behind, his warm, masculine breath brushing against my sensitive ear.

Before I could fully process what he meant, a scorching kiss came crashing down.

His lips moved from my ear to my mouth, then slowly traced their way down the sensitive curve of my neck. An embarrassed moan escaped my lips before I could stop it. Heat rushed through my entire body as if I had a fever, and all I could do was squeeze my eyes shut and tremble in his arms.

His voice dropped into a low, coaxing murmur.

“Open your eyes, Hsu Lian.”

I obediently opened them.

At that exact moment, a thunderous explosion shook the night sky.

Fireworks suddenly burst into bloom right before our eyes.

Against the deep blackness of the night, golden trails of light poured downward like a dazzling meteor shower, illuminating the entire harbor in a breathtaking display. It was the most magical and magnificent sight I had ever seen in my life.

“Hsu Lian, marry me.”

As he kissed the fingers of our tightly intertwined hands, Zhou Xiangyu began another round of sweet persuasion beneath the flickering fireworks.

“If you’re worried marriage will interfere with your graduate studies, we can quietly register first. Once you graduate, we’ll have the wedding. Three years is a long time, and I can’t wait that long anymore…”

His voice turned soft and pleading.

“Come on, sweetheart. You love me, don’t you?”

Meanwhile, that shameless hand of his showed no intention of stopping.

He pressed me firmly against the cold floor-to-ceiling glass. The lotus jade pendant around my neck swung with every movement, brushing against the glass and making soft, suggestive sounds.

Dizzy from the overwhelming sweetness of the moment, I was almost too dazed to think. And yet, in a sudden flash of clarity, I gasped breathlessly and asked in indignation,

“Zhou Xiangyu… This glass wall… It wasn’t actually designed for watching fireworks in the first place, was it?!”

He froze for a second.

Then he suddenly laughed, the sound wickedly seductive.

His movements immediately became more intense.

“Of course it was. My sweetheart, you have to keep your eyes open if you want to see the fireworks properly.”

He gently lifted my chin, making me look directly at the countless brilliant bursts of light reflected in my eyes.

“It has to be like this…”

At that moment, I felt as though my own mind had exploded into thousands upon thousands of dazzling fireworks.

…

The truth was, before I agreed to fly back to Port City with him, I had received a strange phone call while working a part-time job.

It was Jiang Ye.

Over the phone, he begged me in a pathetic, tearful voice to meet him one last time.

But my choice at that moment was to wrap my arms around Zhou Xiangyu’s neck and whisper softly into his ear,

“I agree… I’m willing to marry you, Zhou Xiangyu.”

The man’s movements suddenly stopped.

And then, the storm that followed was fiercer, more overwhelming, and more consuming than anything before it, completely sweeping me away.

Amid the dizzying haze of happiness, I heard his hoarse whisper against my ear, filled with tenderness and reverence.

“Sweetheart, I love you. I love you more than anything in this world.”

…

Drifting somewhere between love and sleep, I had the most beautiful dream.

There was a tiny lotus flower.

Surrounded by the relentless tides and storms of life.

And in the end…

It finally found a peaceful island of its own—

a place to call home for the rest of its life.

(THE END)