Chapter 4: The Proposal

On campus, that toxic ex-and-side-chick duo was still busily parading their relationship while spreading rumors that I was a home-wrecker. Every now and then, Ngo Gia Nhien would drop by, dripping with fake sweetness: “I’m way too busy being in love to gossip about you. But really, I should thank you.”

I brushed it off, but Li Yao certainly didn’t. Hearing the whispers floating around the campus gates on our drive home, he nagged endlessly about protecting me the entire way back. The second we walked through the door, he bolted upstairs to change. When he reappeared, he was gleaming like a Christmas tree, draped in loud designer logos with a blinding, diamond-encrusted belt buckle.

“So, do I look like a successful man?”

“You look like… a walking cliché of new money,” I said honestly.

He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. “That kid is just riding his dad’s coattails; I built everything from scratch. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to court you properly, full romance protocol, so those loudmouths shut their traps once and for all. I’ve never been in love before, and I want to make it up to you.”

I stared at the sparkling diamond on his belt and fought back a laugh. “With this outfit? I’m definitely turning you down. You look ridiculous.”

“Fine, I’ll buy a Ferrari.”

“Even more ridiculous.”

—

Li Yao’s idea of “courtship”… honestly, it was a collection of every cheesy trope straight out of a middle school soap opera.

First came his strategy of “organized haunting.” Every single day, he’d hover around the campus gates, locked in an undeclared peacocking contest with Tu Dat Minh to see who could draw more attention. Watching two grown men strut around like male peacocks displaying their tail feathers was quite the spectacle, and thoroughly embarrassing.

Back at home, he would even demand a performance review:

“Well? Did I exude the charm of a mature, sophisticated man today?”

I was rendered speechless for a moment. Mature charm? Not a trace. He just looked adorably naive, like a grown man intentionally acting goofy to make a toddler laugh.

The grand finale, however, was the ultimate classic. He set up a massive heart out of glowing candles right in the middle of the campus sports field, hired a bar singer to serenade me, and brought along a dozen guys in black suits holding custom LED boards like a professional cheer squad. The sheer scale was so overwhelming I almost thought I’d accidentally stumbled into a concert.

Walking back from class, every few steps someone would hand me a single red rose. By the time I reached the field, I was holding an exact bundle of ninety-nine. Standing in the ring of candlelight, dressed in a sharp suit and holding our wedding ring, Li Yao flashed a bright, delightfully dorky smile.

“Tong Khanh, I’ve fallen for you for a long time now. Will you be with me?”

The suit-and-tie squad bellowed in unison: “Sister-in-law! Say yes!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Tu Dat Minh forcing his way through the crowd, his face flushed red with pure fury. I pulled my gaze away and reached out toward Li Yao.

“I’ve fallen for you for a long time, too. Thank you for treating me so seriously, and for letting me know what it feels like to be cherished and loved.”

—

That evening, we went out to a bar to celebrate. Just as we were having a good time, the manager rushed in to whisper something in his ear. Hearing the news, Li Yao flashed a thoroughly ruthless grin.

“Cut the cameras. Clear out the guests.”

It turned out Tu Dat Minh had gotten hammered and was causing a scene out front—practically handing himself over on a silver platter to the final boss right on his home turf.

The result? Tu Dat Minh was hauled straight to the police station, nursing a beating on top of having to pay for the damages. His father had to personally fly in to mop up the mess, dragging him straight onto a plane out of the country the very next day. Meanwhile, Gia Nhien lost her meal ticket overnight, getting blocked before she even had the chance to break up properly, leaving her with nothing to do but wallow in self-pity.

Hearing how it all unfolded, Li Yao sighed in wonder. “Who knew handling him was that simple? If I’d known earlier…”

I gave him a light smack. “If you’d known earlier, what? Don’t go looking for trouble.”

Because he’d been so gentle with me lately, I’d grown a bit bold. I even stumbled upon a little secret: he actually *liked* it when his wife hit him. The harder I smacked him, the happier he looked. The man was completely out of his mind, a total waste of such a cold, terrifying face.

“Happy wife, happy life. Tang Bieu, you hear that? Always listen to your wife,” he muttered, feeding a rabbit. Tang Bieu was a bunny he’d bought for me, under the pretense that “it looks like you.”

Looking at the pair in front of me, one big, one small, one giant man and one tiny bunny, one dark and one white, my heart suddenly melted into butter. That day at his mother’s grave, he’d said he finally had a family. Back then, I’d only listened, but now, I truly understood what he meant.

Leaning against the wall, I slowly teased him:

“Li Yao, I kind of want to try Sichuan spicy rabbit head.”

He immediately covered the rabbit’s ears with both hands, aghast. “How could you eat something this cute?!”

“How about I eat three, and you eat three?”

A slightly unhinged husband and a rabbit named Tang Bieu… Life didn’t seem so bad after all.