Chapter 1: marry me
The hall had not yet recovered from the humiliation of Su Qingyue's broken engagement when Jiang Yuheng stepped forward.
A few guests shifted aside instinctively, making way for him. His presence had a way of commanding attention without requiring it. He was one of the most influential men in the city, and even among people accustomed to wealth and power, few were comfortable approaching him without a reason.
Qingyue was still standing beneath the crystal lights, her former fiancé, Shen Zhehao, and the woman he had chosen standing several feet away.
She had endured the whispers, the sympathetic looks and the poorly concealed curiosity. She had no intention of allowing the evening to reduce her to a spectacle.
Then Jiang Yuheng stood before her.
“Would you marry me?”
For a moment, the surrounding conversations seemed to fade.
Qingyue looked at him, caught off guard by the unexpected proposal. She knew his name, of course. Everyone in their business circle did. Jiang Yuheng was a man whose decisions could move entire industries, and his reputation was hardly one that encouraged casual familiarity.
But she had never imagined he would approach her like this, much less make such an offer in front of an entire hall.
Before she could gather a response, Tang Ruolan stepped closer.
“She will.”
Her answer came so quickly that Qingyue turned to look at her.
Ruolan stood beside her, her expression firm. She had watched her best friend endure enough humiliation for one evening. If the man standing before them was offering Qingyue a way to leave this place with her dignity intact, Ruolan wasn't going to let the opportunity pass while everyone waited for her to break down.
“She will,” Ruolan repeated, then glanced at Qingyue. “If she wants to.”
The last part was quieter, meant only for her friend.
Qingyue looked at her for a brief moment. Ruolan's expression softened, leaving the decision entirely in her hands.
Then Qingyue faced Jiang Yuheng again.
He hadn't withdrawn his offer or shown the slightest embarrassment at Ruolan's interruption. He simply waited, his attention fixed on Qingyue.
She took a breath.
“Then I accept.”
A fresh wave of whispers travelled through the hall.
Shen Zhehao's expression changed. He had clearly expected Qingyue to leave in tears, perhaps after making a scene or demanding an explanation. He hadn't expected her to accept another man's proposal so calmly, especially not Jiang Yuheng's.
Jiang Yuheng, however, seemed entirely unaffected by the commotion.
He reached beneath the collar of his shirt and drew out a fine chain. A ring rested against his chest, hidden beneath his clothes. He unclasped it, then slipped the ring from the chain.
The movement was simple.
The reaction it caused was not.
Several older guests recognised it immediately. Their expressions changed as they exchanged startled looks.
It was the Jiang family's heirloom ring.
The matching pair had been kept within the family for generations, entrusted to Jiang Yuheng and his younger sister, Anran. They were not ordinary pieces of jewellery, and certainly not something the family expected to see used casually.
Anran, who had been standing among the guests, stared at her brother in disbelief.
“Brother…”
Her voice was barely audible.
She looked from the ring in his hand to Qingyue, then back at Yuheng. She knew exactly what he was doing. So did the guests who had recognised the heirloom.
A few people began whispering.
“Isn't that the Jiang family's ring?”
“He actually took it out?”
“I thought those two rings were family keepsakes.”
“Is he giving it to Miss Su?”
The murmuring spread, but nobody approached to ask him. Not even the older guests who might ordinarily have felt entitled to question such a decision.
Jiang Yuheng paid them no attention.
Qingyue, meanwhile, looked at the ring without recognising its significance. She noticed the fine craftsmanship and the unusual design, but she had no knowledge of the history attached to it.
She held out her hand.
Yuheng placed the ring on her finger.
It fitted.
Across the hall, Shen Zhehao had gone quiet. He recognised the ring, and the sight of it on Qingyue's hand seemed to make the situation more real than the proposal itself. He had known what the Jiang family heirlooms represented. He also knew that Jiang Yuheng would not part with something so personal without a reason.
Anran was still staring.
Her brother had just given away the ring entrusted to him by their family. He hadn't consulted anyone, offered an explanation or even looked towards the elders who were now whispering among themselves.
And yet, nobody dared stop him.
Yuheng lowered Qingyue's hand gently after placing the ring. His expression remained composed, as though the uproar behind them had nothing to do with him.
“Let's go,” he said.
Qingyue glanced once at the ring before looking back at him. She still didn't understand why its appearance had caused such a reaction, but she could feel the attention in the room pressing against her.
Ruolan moved to her other side, a satisfied smile finally appearing on her face.
As they turned to leave, Chen Yu approached from the edge of the hall. He had been watching the proceedings with the same restrained surprise as everyone else, though he quickly recovered when Yuheng glanced in his direction.
“Mr. Jiang,” he said, falling into step beside them.
Yuheng gave a brief nod.
Behind them, the whispers continued. Anran remained rooted in place, still trying to process what her brother had done. Shen Zhehao watched Qingyue walk away with another man, the woman he had chosen beside him suddenly forgotten by the people around them.
Qingyue didn't look back.
She left the hall with Jiang Yuheng, the heirloom ring on her finger and the knowledge that, whatever had just begun between them, her life had taken a turn nobody in that room had anticipated.
