Chapter 72 (End of Main Story)
By the end of May, the weather in Zhi’an was already warming up.
Nan Xu was staying with Wen Qiu and Nan Xiaocheng in the neighborhood next to Xie Hejing’s.
Xie Hejing came by almost three times a day—morning, noon, and night—without missing a single day.
The old men in the neighboring complex all knew him by now. Whenever they saw him coming from afar, arms full of bags, they would call out kindly, “Xiao Xie, here to see your girlfriend again?”
Xie Hejing would smile and reply, “Yes.”
“You’d better work hard, young man! Try your best to bring your girlfriend home this year and make her your wife,” one of them teased.
“I will,” Xie Hejing said, nodding with a grin. “That’s the plan for this year.” Then he walked around the fence and headed into the complex.
At first, Nan Xu didn’t want him visiting so often. But at the end of April, she hadn’t been feeling well and had to undergo a minor surgery.
She was nervous about it, so she couldn’t help letting Xie Hejing come by to keep her company.
Every time he came, he would joke around to distract her, easing much of her anxiety.
That was when Nan Xu gradually realized, she really couldn’t stay away from him for too long.
When the doorbell rang, it was Wen Qiu who opened it. Upon seeing Xie Hejing, she immediately smiled warmly.
“Hejing, you’re here. Have you eaten? If not, I’ll go make you something now.” Seeing the pile of things in his hands, she added, half-scolding, half-concerned, “Why’d you bring so much again? We still have plenty left from last time.”
“No need to trouble yourself, Auntie. I’ve already eaten.” Xie Hejing skillfully set the bags on the table. “My mom made me bring these, she’d get upset if I didn’t.”
Wen Qiu could tell exactly what he meant. He just wanted them to accept the gifts without fuss. So she didn’t argue. “Alright then, thank your mother for me.”
Knowing exactly who Xie Hejing was hoping to see, Wen Qiu tilted her head toward the back room.
“Jiaojiao’s still napping. You’ll have to wait a bit on the couch.”
“Sure thing, thank you, Auntie.”
The more Wen Qiu looked at him, the more satisfied she felt. She turned away to start putting away the things he’d brought, leaving Xie Hejing sitting on the sofa face-to-face with Nan Xiaocheng.
“Hello, Uncle,” Xie Hejing greeted politely.
“Mm.”
Nan Xiaocheng, unlike Wen Qiu, rarely smiled.
A brief silence fell over the living room. He didn’t bother watching TV either, instead fixing his gaze on Xie Hejing before asking, “Taking Jiaojiao out again?”
“Yes,” Xie Hejing replied evenly. “A new restaurant opened nearby. Last time I dropped her off, she mentioned wanting to try it, so I thought I’d take her there.”
Nan Xiaocheng snorted faintly. Ever since Nan Xu had moved in, Xie Hejing had practically been a daily presence. Aside from sleeping here, he might as well have been living with them.
And now he was taking her out again.
Just then, Nan Xu emerged from her room, freshly awake. She opened the door to see Xie Hejing sitting properly on the sofa, looking a little tense. She couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re early today.”
Usually, he arrived just as she was waking from her nap.
I missed you…
Of course, those words weren’t something he could say out loud right now. So Xie Hejing just blinked at her playfully and said, “I’m here to take you out for something to eat.”
Nan Xu had mentioned it casually before, not expecting Xie Hejing to actually come pick her up.
“Then wait a bit, I’ll go change,” she said.
Xie Hejing nodded.
A gentle spring breeze brushed past as Nan Xu came out again, now wearing a light blue dress with tiny daisies embroidered along the hem. She’d tied a matching ribbon at the end of her ponytail, fresh and lively.
She ran up to Xie Hejing and twirled around. “Do I look good?”
“You look beautiful,” Xie Hejing said, eyes filled with warmth.
“Hmph!” Nan Xiaocheng, snorted when he heard she only asked Xie Hejing.
Noticing it, Nan Xu smiled and ran over to him. “Dad, do I look good today?”
“My daughter looks good every day,” he said proudly.
Hooking her arm through Xie Hejing’s, Nan Xu headed toward the door. Suddenly remembering something, she turned to Wen Qiu, who was tidying up. “Mom, I won’t be home for dinner tonight.”
Nan Xiaocheng frowned, clearly about to object, but Wen Qiu gave him a calm, warning look.
“Okay, give us a call if you’re coming back tonight.”
“Okay!” Nan Xu replied sweetly.
A moment later, she frowned a little. Wait… why did Mom say to call if I’m coming back? Doesn’t she usually tell me to come home early?
But before she could ask, she and Xie Hejing were already out the door.
On the way, Xie Hejing asked, “Why aren’t you having dinner at home today?”
Adjusting her bag, Nan Xu completely forgot the odd exchange earlier. “Because I want to eat with you. I’ve been eating too light this whole month, I’m craving something spicy tonight.”
“Let’s go to the place we used to stay,” Xie Hejing said. “I’ll cook for you.”
That apartment had been a short-term rental, but it held too many memories. He was already thinking about buying it.
Hearing that she’d get to taste his cooking again, Nan Xu’s eyes lit up. She nodded eagerly.
But when evening came, she frowned at the table full of bland dishes.
“Didn’t you say you’d make something spicy for me?”
Xie Hejing calmly picked up some greens and placed them in her bowl. “I’ll make it for you later. You shouldn’t eat anything too spicy right now.”
Nan Xu knew he was right. When he’d offered to cook earlier, she had already suspected he wouldn’t actually make it spicy. And sure enough, she’d been right.
“Fine,” she muttered, chewing the tasteless vegetables.
“Oh, by the way,” she said after a moment, “don’t I still have a suitcase here? I should bring it back with me this time.”
She started to get up, ready to head to the main bedroom she used to stay in.
“Don’t go in there,” Xie Hejing said suddenly.
Nan Xu froze mid-step. “Why not? Is there something inside?” Her eyes brightened. “Wait, did you prepare a surprise for me?”
Xie Hejing: “…”
His surprises had never once gone smoothly, Nan Xu always managed to guess them beforehand. Still, he wanted to preserve what little surprise he could this time.
“No,” he said evenly, continuing to eat as if nothing was unusual. “It just hasn’t been cleaned in a while. There’s a lot of dust.”
“Really?” Nan Xu stared at Xie Hejing, clearly doubtful.
But his expression was perfectly calm, no sign of guilt anywhere. Resigned, Nan Xu picked up her chopsticks again. “Fine. Then later, help me open the window, okay? I’ll go in after the dust clears a bit.”
“Mm, eat first.”
After dinner, Nan Xu wasn’t in a hurry to leave. She sat on the sofa, watching TV.
Taking advantage of her distraction, Xie Hejing quietly slipped into the master bedroom. But to his surprise, just moments later, Nan Xu followed him in.
“I don’t believe…”
She froze mid-sentence, completely stunned.
Before her eyes was an entire wall covered in tulips, her favorite flower. On the side wall, a projector was playing a video.
It started from her childhood—then middle school, high school, university, and finally her working years.
Every stage of her life, carefully collected, edited, and cherished by him.
Nan Xu turned to him, eyes wide. “How do you even have so many videos of me?”
But before Xie Hejing could answer, the video shifted, and the faces of Wen Qiu and Nan Xiaocheng appeared on screen.
Nan Xu instantly guessed what this was. Her lips trembled, and her eyes filled with tears.
The video’s audio began to play.
“Jiaojiao, Mom found out a few days earlier that Hejing was going to propose to you, so I recorded this in advance,” Wen Qiu’s gentle voice said.
“I know you love Hejing, and everyone can see how well he treats you. Now you two are about to start something new and important. Mom just hopes you’ll follow your heart and always stay happy.”
. . . . .
“Jiaojiao, Dad will always support whatever you decide,” Nan Xiaocheng said, raising his fist to the camera as if cheering her on.
Nan Xu couldn’t help but laugh, it felt like she was about to participate in some kind of competition.
Then the video changed again, showing clips of her relatives and friends one after another.
By the end, her tears had pooled and spilled over. She threw herself into Xie Hejing’s arms.
“How could you not say anything? I told myself I wouldn’t cry on a day like this.”
Xie Hejing gently stroked her hair. “You would’ve guessed anyway. So now that you know, don’t cry, okay?”
Nan Xu sniffled and nodded. Then she extended her hand toward him. When he didn’t move, she raised it higher. “Hmm? You’re proposing without a ring?”
Xie Hejing chuckled softly. “I already gave it to you.”
“Already?” Nan Xu blinked in confusion. “When?”
He lifted his chin toward her suitcase.
Still skeptical, especially since she had zero memory of ever receiving a ring from him, Nan Xu walked over and knelt down.
The moment she unlatched one of the clasps, a flood of papers and photos spilled out.
Startled, she picked up one of the notes. It was a letter, from Xie Hejing.
More precisely, a love letter.
And the signatures at the bottom were all from different periods of his life.
Each letter matched the timeline from the video: from childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood.
Xie Hejing had written love letters to Nan Xu for every stage of her life, completing what once felt unfinished.
When the suitcase was finally opened, the thing placed right in the center was a diary. It was the one he’d given her before she went abroad.
Nan Xu had cherished it deeply, carrying it with her wherever she went, often jotting down her thoughts inside.
On the very first page, in bold strokes, were a few large words written by Xie Hejing:
——For Nan Xu
Nan Xu looked at him, puzzled. He gestured for her to keep turning the pages.
Her fingertips held the corner of a page as she slowly flipped through, seeing many entries she had written while overseas.
Her once-tense expression softened; she relaxed and sat right down on the floor.
Xie Hejing handed her a pillow, and she placed it on her lap as she continued reading through her own diary—sometimes crying, sometimes laughing.
At one point, she even gasped in disbelief at something she’d written, as if it were the words of a stranger.
The notebook was thick—filled with fragments of her life spanning several years—yet somehow still less than half used.
An hour passed before she finished reading her own words. Looking up at him, she asked, “What do you mean by all this?”
Xie Hejing sighed softly, no wonder she’d never noticed.
“Turn it around. Start from the back.”
At his words, Nan Xu flipped the notebook over and began from the last page. She soon noticed that each page corner had a tiny doodle—like a flipbook animation.
Her eyes followed the little figure across the pages, one by one, until it stopped on a certain scene.
The tiny person was kneeling on one knee, holding something in his hands.
Nan Xu, curious, poked at the page—and her eyes widened as she realized that part of the page was hollow.
She carefully widened the small opening and finally saw what was hidden inside.
There, quietly resting within, was a ring.
Nan Xu’s breath hitched. This diary had been with her for years—she’d never opened it from the back, never even noticed those drawings.
“This ring… how long has it been in here?”
“Since the day I gave you that notebook,” Xie Hejing said, pinching her cheek fondly. “Silly Nan Xu, all these years and you never found it.”
Nan Xu was completely stunned.
“So that means… years ago, you already—”
“I told you I wanted to marry you long ago. Did you really think I was joking?”
Nan Xu instinctively shook her head. She’d never imagined he would’ve hidden a ring for her that early on.
Xie Hejing took out the ring and gently slipped it onto her finger. With a touch of nervousness, he asked, “Nan Xu, will you marry me?”
Her eyes curved like crescent moons. “Yes.”
It was perhaps the most tender kiss Xie Hejing had ever given—careful, full of joy, and brimming with the quiet tremor of emotion when he saw the tears on her lashes.
His lips brushed softly against hers, and Nan Xu instinctively leaned back.
He placed his palm gently behind her head, deepening the kiss—a slow, affectionate promise.
At last, he was going to marry the girl he had always loved.
The three wishes Xie Hejing made on his birthday:
- Nan Xu wouldn’t be afraid of him.
- Nan Xu would completely fall in love with him.
- Nan Xu would marry him.
Now, all three of Xie Hejing’s wishes had finally come true.
At last, his world had welcomed its mistress.
Under the moonlight that poured into the night, Nan Xu lifted her hand and studied the ring carefully, letting the light dance across its surface.
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, but in the end, she asked only one question: “If something had gone wrong during my surgery last time… what would you have done?”
She still remembered that moment—when she was pushed out of the operating room and opened her eyes to see Xie Hejing’s tear-reddened gaze.
She had imagined such a scene before the surgery, but the reality of it had struck her far more deeply. That image had stayed with her ever since.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Xie Hejing said, “I would’ve gone with you.”
Just four simple words, but Nan Xu understood what he truly meant.
She lowered her eyes and listened quietly as he continued.
Xie Hejing took a deep breath. “But first, I’d make sure your parents and mine were taken care of. I’d find them a reliable place to live in comfort. I’d put part of my savings into a fund, make sure someone visited them regularly, or arranged for them to withdraw money every month…”
As he spoke, Nan Xu gradually realized that he wasn’t just saying this on impulse, he had clearly thought it all through, in painful detail.
Suddenly, she didn’t want to hear any more. Or rather, she was afraid to.
Because when it came to their relationship, Xie Hejing was utterly, hopelessly devoted—borderline insane in his love.
“That’s enough,” she said softly. “I get it. Stop.”
But he went on, perfecting his plan as if she hadn’t spoken. “That way, someone will always look after them, make sure they’re okay…”
“And then,” he finished, “I’ll come find you.”
Nan Xu shook her head. “I don’t want that. I don’t want you to come find me.”
She wanted him to live well—to keep living, no matter what.
But once again, she underestimated the depth of his attachment. He gave a small laugh. “I told you before, wherever you go, I’ll follow.”
Nothing could separate them. Not even life and death.
Nan Xu felt a flicker of fear, yet instead of pulling away, she leaned into his arms.
“We’ll both live well,” she whispered.
After a pause, she asked again, “If we are old and gray someday, will you still feel the same way?”
“Of course.”
Xie Hejing held her a little tighter. “I’ll make sure we’re buried together. And on our tombstone, I’ll have them carve a single line.”
Nan Xu couldn’t help but ask, “…What line?”
He smiled, lowering his voice.
“Shh. be quiet, we’re resting. Don’t wake my beloved.”
[End of Main Story]