Jiang Yan still had her back to him, in a sea of blackness, her eyes were somewhat empty.

  Memories were always like a sharp blade, able to pierce her heart.

  *

  From that day on, Jiang Yan's attitude towards him had softened a lot, at least she was no longer as prickly as before.

  It was spring, and he was just as busy as before, but he always managed to find some time to spend with her.

  This year, he has been increasingly overwhelmed with work, roughly because of the hard swallow of a piece of Ruan's indigestible bone last year, and now the aftereffects are emerging, with stocks fluctuating unstably.

  He often smokes on the balcony, blowing in the wind, and one puff can last for several hours. He closes the balcony door tightly, afraid that the wind will blow in.

  The smell of his cigarette was stronger than hers, and she would sometimes feel choked when smelling it.

  Later on, he would hear her and then go take a shower before approaching her.

  He had just finished his phone call when Jiang Yan stood behind him, he didn't know when she came in, wearing only a thin camisole.

  Ruan Jiang was just about to hold her and go in, afraid she would catch a chill.

  She reached out and pulled his cigarette from his lips, pinching it off. She could always hear him coughing, and these days it was getting worse.

  It wasn't like this in the past, I suppose it's also because these years of smoking and drinking have taken a toll on my body.

  She frowned: "Ruan Jianglin, stop smoking."

  "Good."

  She looked at him with a calm and carefree expression, but couldn't help wanting to provoke him: "I don't want to be a widow, if you die I'll remarry."

  Ruan Jianglin smiled and tightened his arm around her shoulders.

  "Want to marry me?"

  She blinked her eyes and said, "You're thinking too much."

  Before that, Ruan Jianglin was a thorough non-marriageist, probably believing that marriage is the graveyard of love, or perhaps having a loyal responsibility to marriage, feeling that he couldn't do it, so he simply didn't get married.

  No matter what his views are, at least he had never thought of marrying a girl from any family before.

  But now he thinks, having Zhang Ben is also good, as long as it's her, that's enough.

  He's probably crazy, no, he was already crazy, when Jiang Yan left him eight years ago, he just looked normal on the outside, but his soul inside had gone completely mad.

  "Shall we go? I think it's beautiful, shall we go?" He responded with a laugh.

  Jiang Yan opened his hands and pretended to think, "Don't mention it, you're making it sound like Mr. Ruan is begging me to marry him, but isn't there also a Miss Cao waiting anxiously?"

  Ruan Jianglin knew it as soon as she heard it, and someone with a loose tongue was talking nonsense in front of her again, tearing people's mouths to pieces.

  "Which Miss Cao, I don't know." He deliberately changed the subject and went to kiss Jiang Yan.

  Jiang Yan hid, his lips were just printed on her neck, and another kiss mark was left, wasting her a lot of time to cover up.

  "Oh my, how many Miss Caos are there? I've even forgotten the names." She raised an eyebrow and intentionally made some sarcastic remarks.

  If it were in the past, he wouldn't have had the mind to listen to her say these things.

  Now he is patient, but afraid she will think wrongly, "No, just you."

  She tiptoed and jumped onto his back, pulling him down: "Don't smoke behind my back, listen to me."

  He bent down, embracing her, afraid she would fall over if she didn't stand steady. His nostrils were close to hers as they breathed in sync, his lips hooked up as he patiently replied: "Alright, I'll quit."

  She reached out and rummaged through his pants pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She waved them in front of him: "I've got them, any objections?"

  He smiled indulgently: "How dare you."

  Some people say that once a smoker hears the sound of a lighter, they will feel an irresistible urge to smoke, so Jiang took away his lighter as well.

  She also smokes, but not as heavily or fiercely as him, he's like he wants to shorten his own life.

  "If I find out, you're dead, Ruan Jianglin."

  As soon as she finished speaking, Ruan Jiang's hand, which was wrapped around her waist, pulled her forward slightly, and their lips touched lightly.

  He hooked his lips and kissed her, with a smile reaching the bottom of his eyes.

  It's been so long, Jiang Yan wasn't the first person to ask him to quit smoking, he couldn't quit before and didn't want to.

  Now he wants to quit, but he has to live a little longer for her. If she really remarries, Ruan Jianglin will be heartbroken and might even pull her down to the underworld after crawling out of it.

  He's not a good person, can't let go of true love nonsense, it's all just crap, don't even mention it.

  He loves one person, and whether dead or alive, they all belong to him.

  Moreover, he likes her taking care of him, which he didn't think much of before but now feels at ease with.

  *

  Ruan Jianglin has always been a man of action; having discussed this topic, he immediately took action.

  He didn't have Jiang Jin's design talent, so he found someone else to design the ring.

  Tens of patterns, none of them satisfied him, he should be too picky.

  Previously, a design team was hired, but he wasn't satisfied, so he then hired a private designer, who were all relatively well-known in the industry.

  But he was still dissatisfied, it's just that he was too picky, always with a deliberate feeling, like picking bones from eggs.

  The designers changed one after another, all saying that Mr. Ruan was difficult to serve, but they were actually envious of his future wife.

  They say that in his early years, he was a playboy who couldn't settle down, but now everyone sees him as not being like that, just saying the rumors were wrong.

  It's just a rumor, spread from one person to ten, and then from ten to a hundred, it's already gotten out of hand.

  Ruan Jianglin was actually quite uncertain, he was afraid that Jiang Yan would not agree.

  If he were rejected, he would lose face.

  But marriage is required, and he hasn't figured out a way yet.

  Always feel that those routines on TV are not good, if you put the ring in the cake, he's afraid of Jiang Yan choking, and always feels unhygienic.

  Also afraid that Jiang Yan wouldn't like it in a crowded place, after all she's a person with a calm and quiet personality.

  But then he thought, if it were just the two of them, would she think he didn't care enough about her, that he was taking her lightly.

  His ideas are always one step ahead of his actions. Even before designing the engagement ring, he's already thinking about the proposal method.

  He was such a proud person, probably never thought that one day he would kneel down for a woman.

  Before, he thought it was a bit ridiculous, probably because he used to be in the midst of a romantic affair and never had a sense of domesticity.

  If it were in the past, Ruan Jianglin would definitely have asked Mo Zibai and Ye Chen for advice, but he didn't want to, because they generally didn't like his girlfriend.

  He doesn't like others to look down on or belittle her, as long as he himself dotes on her.

  The ring will be made slowly, and the method will be thought out slowly. Anyway, it's just a matter of time before I take her back home.

  Earlier, Ruan Jianglin wanted to have a child with her, but later he didn't want to anymore.

  She has an old waist injury, probably from giving birth, which is not good. It's an old wound, one that he inflicted on her in the past when he humiliated her.

  Thinking of this, Ruan Jianglin felt it was unnecessary and didn't have to be that way, after all he wasn't particularly fond of children.

  As long as she is here, it doesn't matter whether I want or don't want.

  (End of chapter)