Jiang Zhiyi tightened her grip on Qian Ran’s hand.

With one hand full of items, Qian Ran used the hand that held hers to rub her hand gently with his thumb, soothing her.

“You’ve met my parents, and you know their tempers.”

Jiang Zhiyi understood this in her heart, but she still couldn’t help feeling anxious.

“Who is it?”

Footsteps came from inside, and the next moment the door opened. It was Qian Ran’s mother.

She saw Qian Ran and Jiang Zhiyi standing together and looked at Jiang Zhiyi with curiosity. “Zhiyi, when did you come back? How did you end up here with Xiao Ran? Come in, come in!”

As she spoke, she reached to take Jiang Zhiyi’s hand. When she lowered her gaze, she noticed the two were holding hands.

Her movement paused immediately, her expression turning to one of astonishment as she looked at Qian Ran, then back at Jiang Zhiyi.

“You… what is this?”

Qian Ran smiled and raised the hand holding Jiang Zhiyi’s. “Mom, as you can see, Zhiyi and I are dating. We plan to get married in the future.”

Qian Ran’s mother froze for a moment but quickly regained her composure, her face lighting up with joy as she looked at Jiang Zhiyi with endless affection.

“Oh! This is great news! Zhiyi, come in quickly! Xiao Ran didn’t mention this to us at all; I had no idea. If I had known sooner, I wouldn’t have worried about him getting married.”

Qian Ran’s mother was so happy that she didn’t know what to do. Hearing their conversation, Qian Ran’s father also wore a beaming smile.

Qian Ran’s father was genuinely good-natured; he liked to smile at everyone and loved helping people.

He was a true good person. In contrast, Jiang’s second uncle’s smiles always carried other meanings, and he was more tactful.

In the Qian family, Qian Ran’s mother was the one in charge.

She hurriedly poured water and served fruits and snacks, placing various seeds and candies in front of Jiang Zhiyi.

“Zhiyi, eat! I remember you loved these snacks when you were a child, and I prepared plenty since it’s the New Year.”

“Thank you, Aunt Qian.” Jiang Zhiyi felt her nerves ease; Qian Ran’s parents still looked familiar to her.

She picked up a snack she loved and started eating, feeling just right because she hadn’t had much breakfast and was now hungry.

“I heard you’re working as a reporter now?”

“Yes,” Jiang Zhiyi nodded. “I worked in Yangcheng and abroad before. After the New Year, I’ll be working in Beijing.”

Qian Ran’s mother beamed even wider. “That’s great! You grew up in Beijing, so working here will be familiar. You won’t have to worry about being bullied.”

Jiang Zhiyi nodded, smiling and agreeing with everything Qian Ran’s mother said, which made her very happy.

Qian Ran, being the quiet and gentle person he was, spoke even less at this moment.

He only chimed in when he needed to add something, mostly focusing on making sure Jiang Zhiyi and his mother had enough to eat.

As they chatted, the topic turned to marriage.

Qian Ran’s mother used to sigh and lament whenever the subject of her son’s marriage came up, but now she was all smiles that couldn’t be hidden.

“Nowadays, marriage is all about what you kids think. Your father and I respect your decisions. You can do whatever you want; we’re not in a hurry.”

In her heart, Qian Ran’s mother thought that as long as her son had a partner, getting married was just a matter of time. There was no need to rush.

“As long as the two kids have a good relationship, they’ll want to get married when the time is right.”

“Mom…” At this moment, Qian Ran spoke up. “I will discuss this with Zhiyi.”

“Okay, okay.” Qian Ran’s mother noticed that Jiang Zhiyi’s face had turned red; young people often felt shy discussing marriage, which was completely normal.

“Zhiyi, why don’t you stay here for dinner? I remember when you were little; you loved eating the meals I made. Just tell me what you want today, and I’ll whip it up for you.”

Qian Ran’s father nodded happily from the side. “Usually, when Xiao Ran and I want to eat your special dishes, we have to see if you’re in the mood. But today, we’re lucky to have Zhiyi here.”

Qian Ran’s mother replied, “Of course not! Can you compare with Zhiyi?”

Jiang Zhiyi wasn’t picky about food; she had no choice but to eat everything when she was a child.

After spending a few years abroad, she had grown even less picky since any refusal could lead to hunger.

Qian Ran’s mother said, “Then I’ll just prepare it and you can watch, dear. Xiao Ran, make sure to keep Zhiyi company.”

When Jiang Zhiyi offered to help, Qian Ran’s mother declined, saying Qian Ran’s father was more than enough assistance.

Once the two elders went into the kitchen, Qian Ran asked Jiang Zhiyi, “Want to watch TV?”

Jiang Zhiyi shook her head. “I don’t want to watch; I want to talk to you.”

She hugged Qian Ran’s arm and leaned against his shoulder.

Qian Ran gently touched her head. “Tired?”

Jiang Zhiyi shook her head. “Not tired; I just want to lean on you for a while and chat.”

“Then let’s go to my room.”

“Okay.”

Qian Ran’s room was usually tidy since he took care of it himself.

However, after working with Jiang Zhida in Yangcheng, he spent less time here.

His room had a lot of books and various things he enjoyed during his school days.

Jiang Zhiyi spotted something familiar and pointed to it with a grin, asking, “Did you play with spinning tops when you were little?”

Qian Ran turned to look, nodding. “There wasn’t much fun stuff back then.”

There was only one chair in the room, so Qian Ran let Jiang Zhiyi sit on the bed.

Jiang Zhiyi patted his bed, which was covered with a lot of soft bedding.

“Are you living here now?”

“You know, I spend most of my time in Yangcheng. I just come back to tidy up this place, and I don’t really stay.”

Qian Ran opened the cupboard and took out a bag of snacks for Jiang Zhiyi.

Jiang Zhiyi glanced at the cupboard. “You can’t possibly have all snacks in there, right?”

Qian Ran laughed. “Most of it is snacks. You can pick whatever you want to eat.”

When they were working in Yangcheng, Jiang Zhiyi knew that Qian Ran liked to stock up on snacks.

When he felt tired from work, he wanted something to eat. If he hadn’t been exercising regularly, he would have undoubtedly put on a lot of weight.

However, Qian Ran maintained a good figure.

Despite being over thirty, he didn’t have the greasy look that other men his age often had; instead, he remained fresh and handsome, with a more mature charm that was even more attractive.

Jiang Zhiyi indeed went over to choose some snacks, finding her favorite little cakes to eat.

However, she didn’t eat too much since they would be having dinner soon.

“Zhiyi, I want to talk to you about something.”

The little cakes were small enough to swallow in one bite. After finishing one, Jiang Zhiyi asked, her words a bit unclear, “What is it?”

Qian Ran swallowed hard, his expression serious as he looked at Jiang Zhiyi, causing her to stop eating instinctively due to his earnestness.

He held Jiang Zhiyi’s hand. “Zhiyi, I don’t know if you have any thoughts about marriage right now, but I want to marry you. If you’re willing, I can discuss with my parents today about when to visit your family to deliver the betrothal gifts. If you’re not willing, I can wait a little longer.”

He had been thinking about these words for a while now.

He didn’t want to wait any longer; he was afraid that if he delayed, he would lose the courage to speak up.

“Okay.”

Qian Ran had thought that if Jiang Zhiyi rejected him, he might feel disappointed but not too much, since she had already given him enough surprises today.

However, when Jiang Zhiyi really agreed, his first reaction was to freeze in place, thinking he had misheard.

“What?”

Qian Ran asked again, unable to believe it.

Jiang Zhiyi tilted her head, smiling at Qian Ran. “I said okay, let’s get married…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Qian Ran hugged her tightly. “Zhiyi, I’m so happy! I’ve never been this happy before!”

Before this moment, Qian Ran had never dared to think about the future with Jiang Zhiyi or whether they could get married.

Just the thought of it made him feel an uncontrollable ache in his heart.

Jiang Zhiyi nodded. “I’m very happy too.”

At lunch at the Qian family’s home, Jiang Zhiyi enjoyed herself immensely. The whole family took care of her, worried that she wouldn’t eat well.

Being a few years older than Jiang Zhiyi, Qian Ran always treated her like a child, and it had become a habit for him to take care of her.

After lunch, Jiang Zhiyi chatted with Qian Ran’s father and mother for a while before Qian Ran took her home.

At the entrance of Jiang Zhiyi’s building, Qian Ran held her hand, reluctant to let go. “I’ll come pick you up tomorrow. There’s a resort in the outskirts of Beijing that’s open for the New Year, and we can go there to have fun.”

“Okay, but don’t you have to visit relatives?”

Visiting relatives during the New Year is a tradition.

Jiang Zhiyi had already seen her relatives during the New Year’s Eve dinner, and the others were just friends and colleagues of her elders, so it didn’t matter if she went or not.

“It’s fine; we can wait a couple of days before going.”

Jiang Zhiyi replied, “Alright, can I invite others to go with us? I feel like it wouldn’t be lively enough with just the two of us.”

“Sure. Dazi should want to join us.”

While they were discussing who to invite for tomorrow, Jiang’s second uncle returned with guests and happened to see the two of them being affectionate.

He rubbed his eyes and looked again, confirming it was indeed Jiang Zhiyi and Qian Ran.

“Zhiyi!” Jiang’s second uncle immediately called out.

Jiang Zhiyi turned around, holding Qian Ran’s hand confidently as she walked up to her uncle. “Dad, this is my boyfriend; you should know him, Qian Ran.”

“Hello, Uncle Jiang.”

Jiang’s second uncle frowned as he looked at their intertwined hands.

Jiang Zhiyi didn’t let go; instead, she tightened her grip. “Xiao Ran, we agreed on this.”

“Right. Uncle, I apologize for being rude today. I’ll come visit you and Auntie another day.”

Jiang’s second uncle waved his hand, urging them to leave quickly.