“Wow, the wolf really came this time! A proposal text! My face is on fire!” Susie shouted, covering her face.
“Hey…it’s not even a proposal to you,” Nono gave her a glance. “Keep reading, who knows what’s gotten into him tonight.”
“A man suddenly losing his mind is the most romantic thing! He must be a Cancer!”
“No, he’s a perfectionist Libra!”
Caesar poured the last of his drink, along with the ice, into his mouth.
“…But it’s very possible that our engagement will not receive the blessing of my family. The Gattuso family’s chosen heir usually has their marriage arranged by the family, not themselves. But I don’t want them deciding my future. My future will be dazzling, and it will be with a dazzling girl of my own choice. Her last name may not be particularly notable, her hair is a dark red, she wears a four-leaf clover silver earring, and when she’s angry, she’s prickly like a hedgehog… But I want to spend decades, maybe even a century with her. I’m truly grateful for my bloodline because it allows me to have more time to be with her…”
Caesar silently smiled as he read this part. He began to admire his own writing talent; all those times writing novels online when he was bored hadn’t gone to waste.
“…This evening feels so lonely. It’s raining in Portofino, and a rainy Portofino is so beautiful. I’ve always wanted to bring you here, but you haven’t agreed to my invitation yet. A lot has happened today, which I’ll tell you about in the future, but for now, I just want to say that today, more than ever, I wish you were by my side. Even if you were just silently sitting there, or making some kind of dismissive face at me, mocking my current vulnerability, I’d still want to feel your warmth…”
He placed his glass under the grapevine and stepped into the rain. The downpour soaked him immediately. He got on a small motorbike and rode out of the heavy black iron gates.
“Wow, turns out deep down he’s a sensitive, tsundere little guy!” Susie cheered, waving her fist. “He’s even happy being bullied by you!”
“No, he’s not,” Nono stuck out her tongue, a blush appearing on her face. “Maybe something unhappy happened today. Most of the time, he’s still an overbearing, arrogant guy.”
“You’re blushing, you’re blushing!” Susie pressed her cheek against Nono’s smooth back, pinching her face.
“Hey, it’s a love letter. Isn’t blushing normal when reading a love letter?” Nono reached back to pinch her nose. “You’re supposed to quietly read someone else’s love letter!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll shut up. Look at you, happy enough to burst.” Susie hugged her neck.
“…I have so many friends. I know so many girls, and I’ve wondered, since I was young, what kind of girl I would spend my life with. It’s such a terrifying thing—only having one chance to choose. I must swear in front of everyone to love her and protect her, never leaving her. I think I’ve always been quite brave, but not brave enough to say in front of others that I will love a girl for a lifetime. Until I met you, you gave me that courage. Yes, Nono, I love you, and I hope I have the chance to love you for a lifetime…”
The motorbike broke through the storm, Caesar’s soaked golden hair flying like a banner against the wind, with his falcon, Anthony, by his side.
“…I know many people think I am a playboy or a young emperor, but I want to say that whether it’s a playboy or a young emperor, when he stands before the girl he loves, he is just a boy. This boy who loves you is named Caesar, not Caesar Gattuso—just Caesar. There are things I can’t tell you yet, but our engagement will not be welcomed by my family. However, if I have to choose, I will not hesitate to shed the ‘Gattuso family’ title, that dazzling robe. Would you accept this Caesar—still Caesar, just appearing as if he were naked…”
The motorbike came to a stop on the beach, and Caesar ran toward the cold waves, crashing into one wave after another with his powerful chest. He flung off the white evening jacket, kicked off his expensive crocodile leather shoes, tied his hair with a violet silk scarf, and dived into the water, swimming against the waves, heading into the deep sea.
“…Come with me, and we will seize happiness and glory together. My life will be a grand ship, and I hope to stand at the bow with you. When this ship docks, we will astonish the world together. I will hold your hand as we disembark and say, ‘This is Caesar’s bride!’”
With powerful strokes, Caesar battled the icy waves, feeling like an arrow gliding through the water. Nothing could stop him—the waves, his family, even his father! Because he was sharp enough!
Caesar suddenly broke through the surface of the water, glancing back. The stormy cliffs were now out of sight, and he was near the edge of the harbor, surrounded by nothing but pitch-black waves. The lighthouse’s white beam swept across, and the falcon’s call pierced the noise of the storm.
“Anthony! Fly! Fly to…” Caesar raised his arm and, using all his strength, shouted into the sky, “Fly to the highest place!”
In the black night sky, split by lightning, the falcon soared higher.
Thousands of kilometers away in Hailuogou, Sichuan Province, China, snowflakes fell onto the girls’ bare arms, melting quickly into droplets.
“It’s snowing,” Susie sank deeper into the hot spring, staring in awe at the delicate snowflakes. “So beautiful. I didn’t think it would snow this season. It must be a blessing for you, though the proposal letter does sound a bit like a war declaration…”
“Let’s conquer the world together, woman!” Nono also sank into the hot spring, curling up, hiding her mouth underwater, her eyes blinking like a child’s.
“But it’s really touching. Every word feels like it was written with all his strength,” Susie said softly. “If it were Lu Mingfei writing, it’d probably be something like, ‘I don’t mean much by it; I just think it’d be convenient for our kid to get a household registration in the future,’ something that dumb, right?”
“Hey…where did that weird thought come from?” Nono said quietly.
“You’re happily losing it, aren’t you, girl?” Susie said. “Say yes, go ahead, get engaged. You could have a grand wedding as soon as you graduate. I want to reserve my spot as the maid of honor!”
“Aiya, I need to act reserved at least a bit! And look at how sudden this is—I haven’t even brushed my teeth… Is this really the right time to accept a proposal?”
“Look at this smug girl!” Susie chuckled, pushing Nono’s head into the water.
Nono wasn’t prepared, and a mouthful of water went down her throat. Her vision suddenly went black.
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