Today is the Parsons School of Design student graduation fashion show. The brand founded by Xu Qingqing and Le Jiaojiao will also hold its fashion exhibition again in a few days.
Xu Qingqing is graduating, so of course her friends and family wouldn't miss it, and her significant other was present throughout the entire event. However, the leading lady in question was incredibly busy, from checking the clothing and venue to personally applying makeup for the models...
After the successful conclusion of the graduation show, Xu Qingqing was busy taking photos with classmates, family, and teachers. She had only exchanged a few words with her grandparents before having to rush off with Le Jiaojiao to inspect their brand's upcoming fashion exhibition, making final preparations for its opening in a few days. They had spent the entire previous year preparing for this, so both of them took it very seriously.
Although there were some minor and major incidents along the way, interspersed with disruptions from the system, Bai Youlan, and the Lin family, none of these things affected Xu Qingqing's school life.
She and Le Jiaojiao began establishing their brand one year after enrolling and started planning the fashion exhibition in their second year. Under such circumstances, Xu Qingqing's campus life became extremely hectic. Sometimes, even when Xie Lianqing came to take her out on a weekend date, she looked more exhausted than he did after his hours-long flight, so they would often just rest at home for a day before making any plans.
Many people say not to start a business with a close friend. Moreover, both Xu Qingqing and Le Jiaojiao have their own family backgrounds to support them, so starting a brand alone wouldn't be difficult. But considering various future circumstances, they still decided to stick with their original plan.
In Xu Qingqing's words: "We were already rivals to begin with; things couldn't get much worse, right?"
Fortunately, Xu Qingqing and Le Jiaojiao managed to divide the work and cooperate quite pleasantly. They occasionally argued and fought, during which Le Jiaojiao would get so angry she'd slam the table, and Xu Qingqing would fully utilize her sprinting advantage to make a quick escape.
Afterwards, Xu Qingqing complained to Xie Lianqing: "You know what? Within a month, she single-handedly smashed two tables! Our assistant was so scared she wanted to quit, deeply worried about her personal safety... Now, every time Le Jiaojiao loses her temper, a whole group of us in the office scramble to bolt out the door."
At the end, Xu Qingqing added quite proudly: "Haha, and I'm the fastest runner."
Xie Lianqing was driving and let out a soft hiss at her words. He raised an eyebrow but didn't expose the fact that she herself was the chief culprit who drove Le Jiaojiao to lose control every time.
During the times he wasn't around, Le Jiaojiao really had a hard time, having to take his place as the main target of this drama queen's torment.
Xu Qingqing lay sprawled in the car, chattering away about recent events, and couldn't help but tilt her head to look at Xie Lianqing, asking, "When did you arrive today? You only just notified me now."
It had been Fashion Week recently, and Xu Qingqing had been running around every day, researching and drawing inspiration from various big and small fashion shows. She had just come out of one show today when she saw her boyfriend waiting for her outside.
Xie Lianqing had driven himself. He was leaning against the car, posture relaxed and expression leisurely. During Fashion Week, this street was filled with attractive men and women coming and going, but among the crowd, Xie Lianqing was in no way inferior. In fact, his demeanor made many people linger.
Xu Qingqing even saw someone approach with a phone, wanting to follow Xie Lianqing on Instagram and asking if he was a model.
She immediately stopped in her tracks, standing not far away with her arms crossed, watching the scene. Fortunately, Xie Lianqing was sensible enough to explain to the others that he wasn't a model and politely declined their offers.
Only after seeing those people leave disappointed did Xu Qingqing come bouncing out.
Xie Lianqing didn't say much about her bait-and-switch behavior and simply took her to a restaurant for dinner.
After getting in the car, Xu Qingqing noticed a bouquet of blue bellflowers on the seat, and her expression became stunned. It wasn't because she received flowers—after all, Xie Lianqing almost always prepared a bouquet for her every time they met; it had already become their customary dating habit.
What surprised Xu Qingqing was that the bouquet consisted of blue bellflowers.
Back when Xie Lianqing proposed to her, she had also received many flowers. When Xu Qingqing panicked and fled from the restaurant, she was holding a single blue bellflower in her hand.
That flower later accompanied her all the way back to China, eventually withering at the Xu family home.
Looking at the flowers in her arms, Xu Qingqing thought she would never receive blue bellflowers again in her lifetime.
She narrowed her eyes at Xie Lianqing and questioned, "Why did you suddenly think of giving me bellflowers?" She suspected he was planning something.
Xie Lianqing was driving and replied calmly, "Don't you like them?" He remembered that back then, when Xu Qingqing fled the proposal scene, she didn't forget to take that one flower with her, so she must have liked it a lot.
Sure enough, Xu Qingqing quickly answered, "I do quite like them."
It just felt a bit strange. It was only then that Xu Qingqing realized that today, because she was attending a fashion show, she was wearing a light blue slip dress. And back when she fled the proposal scene, she was wearing a blue cocktail dress.
Although the color and style weren't exactly the same, Xu Qingqing couldn't help feeling it was an odd coincidence, especially combined with this bouquet of blue bellflowers.
Xu Qingqing was lost in thought.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, she realized Xie Lianqing had brought her to her favorite restaurant in this city from before.
Xu Qingqing hadn't been here in a long time. Two years ago, Xie Lianqing had booked this place to propose to her. After she ran away, she had refused to come back ever since.
Even though she lived in this city, just a half-hour drive away, and sometimes passed by this street, she still never went in.
Now, after two years, Xu Qingqing was once again being led inside by Xie Lianqing.
She had already guessed what was about to happen.
The restaurant's decor was exactly the same as she remembered, seemingly unchanged. But Xu Qingqing knew that trends constantly evolve. The restaurant owner now might not be the same person, and it would be perfectly normal for the interior decoration to have been altered. It was absolutely impossible for it to be exactly the same as two years ago, without the slightest change.
After Xie Lianqing led Xu Qingqing into the restaurant, even someone as composed as him felt a bit nervous. Especially since the female lead was a scatterbrain who, while holding a bouquet of flowers, still hadn't discovered the real surprise hidden within.
This surprise was originally meant for the female lead to find herself. But given that Xu Qingqing seemed to be sleepwalking through the entire event, Xie Lianqing had no choice but to personally retrieve the ring hidden inside one of the bellflowers from the bouquet.
He knelt on one knee, reciting the proposal speech he had prepared for so long, his emotions shifting from apprehension to helplessness. Finally, raising his voice slightly with a smile, he said, "Miss Xu Qingqing, could you please save the daydreaming for later? Right now, will you marry me?"
Xie Lianqing felt both helpless and amused. Before proposing, he had imagined many possible scenarios he might face and prepared countermeasures and plans for each one.
Because of the shadow cast by Xu Qingqing's previous flight from his proposal, Xie Lianqing had even felt some worry and nervousness this time. However, now all those emotions had vanished. Looking at Xu Qingqing, holding the bellflowers and seemingly lost in a daze, all he felt was the urge to laugh.
Xu Qingqing really was something else! Daydreaming during a proposal scene—all the lines he had memorized were going unused.
Xie Lianqing's eyes had just begun to gleam with a smile when, in the next second, he saw Xu Qingqing, who had been lost in thought, suddenly begin to shed tears. Her quiet sobs quickly escalated into heart-wrenching sobs.
Xie Lianqing: …!!!
He immediately rose to fetch tissues for Xu Qingqing, drawing her into his arms to wipe away her tears. "There, there, don't cry."
Xu Qingqing ignored him, thoroughly immersed in her own cathartic weeping. Xie Lianqing sighed softly and finally ventured, "My mistake?"
Xu Qingqing hugged him, burying her face in his chest, her voice soft and muffled. "Why did it have to be like this? What made you think of coming here?"
Xie Lianqing turned the question back on her. "Don't you like it?"
Xu Qingqing loved blue hyacinths. She loved this restaurant. Why should she reject and push away everything she loved because of one mistake from the past?
Where it began, let it end there. The romance from two years ago hadn't reached its conclusion, but fortunately, there was still a chance to make it right now.
Xu Qingqing understood the meaning behind Xie Lianqing's arrangements. She stared at him, dazed. Just as Xie Lianqing thought she was about to say yes, this little troublemaker suddenly asked, puzzled, "Aren't you going to play the violin for me?"
Last time, Xie Lianqing had specifically played the violin for her!!
Xie Lianqing looked at her, raising a questioning brow in confusion. Then, grasping the meaning behind her words, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He let out a long sigh, called a waiter to bring a violin, and said, "Alright, I'll play for you. I'll play the violin for you every day from now on."
After the proposal, because she had been crying, Xu Qingqing went to the restroom to freshen up her makeup. When she emerged happily and returned, she found Xie Lianqing waiting for her outside.
Xu Qingqing bounced over to him, asking cheerfully, "What are you doing here?"
Could it be that Xie Lianqing was so excited after just proposing that he couldn't bear to be apart from her for even a moment?
Oh dear, it was all because her charm was simply too overwhelming! She had the renowned CEO Xie utterly spellbound.
While Xu Qingqing was basking in her own pride, Xie Lianqing glanced at her with an amused smile and said, "I was afraid that if I didn't keep an eye out, my fiancée might make a run for it halfway through again."
In truth, Xie Lianqing wasn't actually worried about that. It was just that after Xu Qingqing went to the restroom alone, the restaurant owner had hurried over and asked him, "Aren't you afraid your fiancée will run away this time?"
Xie Lianqing: …
Meanwhile, as Xie Lianqing and Xu Qingqing chatted casually, the enthusiastic restaurant owner and his staff were also watching the scene unfold from a discreet distance.
The restaurant owner could still vividly recall the incident from last time when Xu Qingqing had fled midway.
Because it had been the most mysterious and luxurious proposal ceremony ever held at his restaurant, and the man and woman involved were both exceptionally striking, their auras complementing each other perfectly.
At the time, he had been certain the couple was destined for a beautiful ending. However, the young lady had later run off, and the gentleman who had proposed had sat by the restaurant window, lost in thought for a long time.
Having witnessed that conclusion, the restaurant owner, feeling disappointed, assumed the relationship was over. He never expected that two years later, the same gentleman would seek him out again, requesting once more to use the venue for a proposal.
In fact, the restaurant no longer rented out for private proposal events, but he agreed anyway.
He wanted to see the ending, too.
