Chapter 68:

Su Niannian wasn’t sure which words Gu Nan was referring to, but no matter which ones they were, anything she had said to him—she meant it.

“Yes,” she replied softly.

Su Niannian felt her breath against his neck, the warmth of her words making the air around them feel thick with emotion. Her proximity was like a quiet storm, a magnetic force neither of them could resist.

Gu Nan, in that moment, seemed to pause the world around them. His heart raced, not just from her closeness, but from the sincerity in his own question.

“I’ll marry you, if you say yes,” Gu Nan said, his voice steady, though his eyes revealed a vulnerability he had never shown before. “Will you marry me?”

His gaze never left hers, waiting for the answer that would shape everything.

Su Niannian’s heart stirred, a mixture of warmth and tenderness flooding her chest. She could see it now, clearer than ever before—the depth of his feelings, his commitment, his devotion.

The man before her, who had already given so much without hesitation, stood as her everything. His actions, from facing the wolf pack to now, were all silent declarations of love, a love without condition, without limit.

Her gaze softened as her hand, almost instinctively, reached up to touch his face. The weight of his love, the certainty of it, made her heart ache in the most beautiful way.

“You’ve already given me everything,” Su Niannian whispered, her voice thick with emotion, her eyes welling with unshed tears. “How can I not want to be yours?”

With those words, the room seemed to stand still, and for the first time, both of them felt the entire world around them fade, leaving only their shared moment of undeniable connection.

Tears welled up in Su Niannian’s eyes, her heart swelling with a mix of disbelief and overwhelming love. Thirty-seven days, countless sleepless nights, and endless thoughts of the man before her—it all led to this moment.

This was not just a question—it was a proposal. He was asking her to be his, to share a future with him.

And in her heart, she had already said yes a thousand times. She had imagined this moment so many times, yet now that it was happening, the weight of it all felt so real, so beautiful, it left her breathless.

With a trembling hand, she reached up and cupped his face, her voice barely above a whisper, but filled with all the love she had carried for so long.

“Yes,” she whispered, her words soaked in tears, “I will marry you.”

Gu Nan’s heartbeat quickened as well. He held her tightly, as if wanting to merge her into his embrace and never let go. In this moment, all of his doubts and worries disappeared, leaving only endless joy and fulfillment.

Su Niannian’s tears soaked into his chest, and Gu Nan lowered his head, gently kissing the top of her head. His voice was soft and filled with tenderness: “Thank you, Niannian.”

He knew that her promise, in this moment, was the most precious gift to him in the world. He no longer needed any other answers because her embrace had already told him everything.

Their heartbeats intertwined, and the warmth and love between them fused completely in this instant, as if there were only the two of them in the world.

She tightly embraced Gu Nan with both hands.

“Marry me!”

Just one word, but it was enough.

Gu Nan’s movements deepened considerably.

But he still controlled his strength. He didn’t want to hurt his little miss.

She had agreed.

No matter who the man was who taught her how to tie the pig’s trotters, no matter if, when she looked at him, she might have been thinking of another person.

She had agreed.

As long as she had agreed, even if someone better than him appeared in the future, he would never let go.

For a lifetime, in this lifetime, his little miss could only belong to him.

He didn’t care what secrets she had; he would give everything he had to love and protect her.

He would not let her suffer even the slightest harm.

He would treat her as a presence more important than his own life.

In this moment, holding his little miss in his arms, he felt that everything had become perfect.

Sitting in his arms, Su Niannian thought of the past and showed a very gentle smile.

At this moment, she had found him early on.

She was very fortunate that he still loved her just like he did before.

Her thirty-seven years were not wasted at all.

At this moment, nothing could separate the two of them.

She would be his wife, and he would be her husband.

Su Nian Nian would use everything to protect the man who loved her to the core.

She wanted him to always be happy, joyful, and healthy from now on.

She didn’t want him to lose his family and become lonely and helpless.

She didn’t want him to get sick and leave this world too early.

She would be his eternal companion.

Su Nian Nian could already imagine how happy their lives would be together.

“Okay.” Gu Nan’s voice was now somewhat excited and trembling.

The two of them just held each other for a long time.

Only when Gu Nan thought that there were still some things he needed to give to Su Niannian did he finally stop the embrace.

He pulled Su Niannian to sit by the bed and gestured for her to sit down.

Then he went to the cupboard and took a piece of old clothing, handing it to Su Niannian.

“What is this?” Su Niannian asked, confused.

The distance between them was very close, and she could smell a faint soap scent on the clothes.

“Open it and see,” Gu Nan gestured for Su Niannian to open it.

Su Niannian unfolded the clothing and found that it was wrapped in a considerable amount of money.

It was all in ten-yuan bills, tightly bundled together.

Today truly was a day full of rewards.

Was Gu Nan giving her all his savings?

“Gu family, women manage the money.”

Gu Nan’s meaning was clear as day.

It wasn’t that Gu Nan didn’t want to give the money to his mother, but these were the earnings he made from hunting and selling various things.

Although Gu Zhi (his mother) knew some of this, in the end, Gu Nan still hadn’t given the money to his mother to protect her.

Gu Nan worked hard to earn money, mainly to treat his mother’s illness.

Now that he had Su Nian Nian, and Su Nian Nian would take care of his mother’s health, there was no need for this money anymore.

It was also time to give the money to Su Niannian for safekeeping.

Especially since Su Niannian had bought a bicycle today; she probably didn’t have much extra money left.

Su Niannian counted the money in her hands.

There were three thousand three hundred yuan!

“So much?” Although Su Niannian knew it was a lot when she first received it, she was still a bit shocked after counting it.

Su Niannian pretended to be confused as she held the money.

This money was all earned by Gu Nan through hunting in the mountains, working tirelessly.

“I still have some left. I’ll keep it for when we get married, so I can buy things for you.”

“And this, I saw it at the cooperative shop when I went to buy a bicycle today,” Gu Nan pulled out a few pretty hair ties and clips from his pants pocket.

One of them was a childish pink hair flower. “This one is for Ningning. The rest are for you.”

Gu Nan handed everything he had in his hands to Su Niannian.

Su Niannian looked at him with joy.

“Then I’ll accept them all.”

Su Niannian wasn’t being polite—these were gifts from her man, so there was no need to be formal.

Then, Su Niannian took out a small box from her pocket.

It was a watch she bought at the cooperative shop.

“This is for you. See if you like it.” Su Niannian handed the watch box to Gu Nan.

Gu Nan took it, his eyes also filled with joy.

It was no longer just a towel, something everyone in the family had—this was something only for him from Su Niannian.

Naturally, he was extremely happy.

He opened it and froze for a moment.

There was no mistake, the box held a watch, but the dial was small, and the strap was thin. It didn’t look like a men’s watch at all.

This size seemed more suitable for a girl to wear.

Gu Nan couldn’t help but wonder if Su Niannian had bought it for herself, then suddenly decided to give it to him.

But despite that, he was still happy.

Su Niannian noticed the change in Gu Nan’s expression and found it a bit strange. She tilted her head and took a glance.

“Haha, haha, I took the wrong one,” she chuckled awkwardly, then pulled out another identical box from her pocket.

This time, when she opened it, inside was a stylish men’s watch.

“This one is yours, and this one is mine,” Su Niannian said, switching the two watch boxes between them.

Gu Nan’s smile grew even wider.

It turned out he had been overthinking earlier. The little lady had bought two stylish watches, one for herself and one for him.

But… wait, how could she pull out two such large watch boxes from such tiny pockets…?