1. Marriage Proposal

Everything settled down a month after Lin Qingyan’s case. By then, Xu Xu was already six months pregnant.

Meanwhile, Ji Bai had just begun hatching plans for his fourth marriage proposal.

Initially, Ji Bai did not believe in gods, Buddha or fate, but one day during lunch with Zhao Han, he mentioned that all of his three proposal attempts were interrupted by “corpses”. (Of course, on his second attempt, Xu Xu straight up told him that she did not want to get married, but Ji Bai did not want to tell Zhao Han the truth.) Zhao Hang, on the other hand, seemed utterly shocked when he heard this. “Captain, you need a change of fortune.”

Ji Bai raised his eyebrow and looked at him. “How can I change my fortune?”

Zhao Han thought for a while, then his eyes lit up. “How about this… this weekend I’ll be going to Luo Han Temple with Man Man to have a vegetarian meal. Luo Han Temple is known to grant wishes very well, so you should bring Xu Xu along.” He looked serious as he added, “Captain, it’s better to believe than to do nothing.”

Ji Bai pondered the thought for a while, then he smiled and agreed.

That weekend, Zhao Han and Man Man led Ji Bai and Xu Xu into Luo Han Temple. When they arrived, they were greeted by lush green trees, beautiful flowers, an enchanting brick courtyard, and the thick smell of incense.

Joss sticks were laid out on the empty space to the right of the Buddha while a monk sat behind the statue arranging scented sachets on the table.

“These are wishing charms.” Man Man said, “You must get one.”

The scented sachets were quite interesting. They were made of brocade cloth and covered with a fish pattern before being sealed with golden threads. When opened, you would see that the sachets were filled with a sandalwood-infused paper which one would write their wishes on.

Due to Xu Xu’s pregnant stomach, she could not bend over, so she patted Ji Bai’s shoulder and signaled for him to turn around. Then, she pressed the paper against his back and concentrated hard as she wrote down her wish stroke by stroke.

“To grow old together.”

With his back facing her, Ji Bai’s handsome relaxed as the corner of his lips slowly curled into a smile.

When she finished writing, Ji Bai tried to take a look at her paper. “What did you write?” Xu Xu quickly folded her paper in half and stuck out her tongue. “Didn’t you hear what Man Man said? It won’t be fulfilled if others see it. Anyway, are you done writing yours?”

Ji Bai chuckled and took the pen from her. Then he scribbled his wish on the paper before placing it back inside the embroidered sachet.

Luo Han Temple had quite a few statues of Buddha located all around the compound. After Zhao Han and Man Man strolled around for a while, they left to go pay respects to a Guanyin statue while Ji Bai and Xu Xu paced about the main hall. Since it was still early, there were not many people around. The tall, gold-colored statue of Buddha towered imposingly in the middle of the hall. It was solemn and powerful, its presence alone gave the whole room a respectful ambiance.

Xu Xu suddenly spoke up. “Hold me while I pay my respects.”

Ji Bai supported her as she slowly knelt down on the prayer mat in the center of the hall. After this, Xu Xu pressed her palms together and closed her eyes to pray quietly, ‘First, I pray for my father, brother, and Third Brother’s health. Second, I pray that our child will be born safely and will grow up to be strong and healthy. Third, I pray that Lin City will have fewer murder cases. Hmm, it seems like I have no other wishes.’

Ji Bai stood beside her and looked down at her kind expression.

The main hall was so quiet and the sunlight seemed to be keeping a respectful distance away, only shining on the grounds outside the hall. The fragrance of incense wafted through the air as the steady dripping of water could be heard coming from the edge of the hall. Time seemed to slow down at the moment, and the two of them felt cut off from the rest of the world as they prayed for their futures in front of the golden deity.

Meanwhile, Ji Bai’s wish was obviously about…

After paying her respects, Xu Xu stood up. Ji Bai then knelt down and did three bows and nine kowtows following standard procedure. After this, he shut his eyes and pressed his palms together, then fell silent.

When he reopened his eyes, Xu Xu thought that they were going to leave. However, instead of getting up, he remained seated and turned to look at her instead. “Xu Xu, I’ve just made a wish to Buddha.”

Xu Xu was surprised; her confusion was clear to see. “Huh?”

Ji Bai explained in a leisurely manner, “Everyone says that the Buddha at Luo Han Temple is the most generous one around. How about we test the rumors and see if my wish is immediately granted?”

Xu Xu narrowed her eyes and looked at his tall, muscular body and his cleanly-shaven face. Her heart skipped a beat as a smile slowly spread across her face.

In the blink of an eye, Ji Bai had gotten down on one knee. He faced her and grasped her hand to kiss it gently, then he stared at her with deep, thoughtful eyes.

“Will you marry me, Xu Xu? I’ll love you forever.”

He silently bit his lip and prayed inwardly, ‘Buddha, please let her be mine forever.’

There were crow’s feet around Xu Xu’s damp eye as she grinned and waved her hand with the diamond ring still on it in front of him. “Why did you ask the Buddha for something that you’ve already got? The ring… haven’t you noticed that I’ve never taken it off?”

The look of love in Ji Bai’s eyes deepened as he chuckled in disbelief.

“Oh.” He got up and looked at her as his dark eyes beamed with love.

Xu Xu smiled as well, her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Ji Bai got up and lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it repeatedly while gazing at her delicate skin. Xu Xu ‘s hand trembled from his bombardment of kisses, so she tried to pull it back, only for him to grip it even tighter.

After this, Ji Bai knelt again and paid his respects to the Buddha. Then, he hugged her and they walked out of the main hall hand in hand.

By now, the courtyard was filled with people, and the mild warmth of the sun tickled their skin. While Xu Xu was wrapped in his arms, she smiled and asked, “What did you ask Buddha for?”

Ji Bai had actually prayed that their child would be born peacefully, but upon hearing her question, he smirked and replied, “Didn’t you say that I shouldn’t have prayed for something that I’m confident about? I changed my wish.”

Xu Xu stared at him intently, then he lowered his head and whispered into her ear, “We must celebrate our official engagement tonight. You know, we haven’t been intimate in a very long time, and although we can’t XXOO when you’re pregnant, we can still XX or OO…”

Xu Xu’s face instantly heated up as she pushed his chest away. She didn’t whether to laugh or get embarrassed. “How can you think of these things in front of the Buddha?”

Ji Bai smiled and glanced at her before replying leisurely, “Desire and lust are all parts of human nature, the Buddha won’t find fault in me. I’ve caught so many criminals, so I’m sure he’ll only bless me and grant me my tiny wish.”

When they got home that night, Ji Bai went to shower, leaving Xu Xu in the study room alone. She took out her residence permit and placed it neatly together with his which he had already prepared earlier.

With a fluttering heart, she walked into the living room, only to see an embroidered sachet on the floor beneath the coat rack.

Since both their coats were hanging on the rack, she did not know who the sachet belonged to. Xu Xu looked at it for a split second before picking it up and impulsively reading it.

“To grow old together.”

Oh, it was hers.

Just as she was about to tuck it back into her pocket, she hesitated and opened it to take a second look.

The writing on the faintly yellow note was energetic and bold. It was clearly Ji Bai’s.

Xu Xu retrieved her own embroidered sachet from her pocket, then placed the two papers side by side. As she looked at them, she could not help but laugh.

She smiled to herself, ‘We’re so in sync. It’ll be completely unreasonable for me not to marry you.’

While Xu Xu was lost in her own thoughts, Ji Bai finished showering. He neatly wrapped his lower body in a towel before returning to the master bedroom energetically.

He leaned against the headboard of the bed and placed both his hand behind his head. Then, he stretched slender out his body and called out in a relaxed manner, “Wifey, quickly come over and grant me my wish.”

Xu Xu burst out laughing before putting the sachets back and pacing slowly back to the bedroom. “Coming.”

2. Receiving the Certificate

The following morning, the two of them went to the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Each of them held a little red booklet in their hands and were grinning like fools as they walked out of the building.

When they got back to the car, Ji Bai said, “I’ll give my parents a call.”

Xu Xu nodded. “Sure.”

Ji Bai had mentioned to his family before that he would be receiving the certificate in the following days. He had finally got his reward today, so his voice was filled with happiness as he made the call.

“Mother, Xu Xu and I have received our certificates. Mhmm, I haven’t been very busy lately and I’ve been healthy. Xu Xu too. What about father? I’ll talk to him.”

A moment later, he passed the phone to Xu Xu. “My father wants to talk to you.”

Xu Xu smiled and took the phone. “Uncle.”

Before Father Ji could reply, Ji Bai had reached his hand out to pinch the bridge of her nose. “You should change the way you address him.”

Xu Xu’s face heated up. She couldn’t get used to calling him father in such a short period of time.

Father Ji heard what Ji Bai said, so he laughed. “Take your time, take your time. Have you been eating well lately, Little Xu? Let Ji Bai handle everything, just focus on taking care of your health.”

Xu Xu replied softly, “Alright… father. Take care of yourselves too.”

Father Ji smiled. “Will do.”

While Xu Xu and Father Ji talked, her handphone rang, interrupting their conversation. When she took it out, she saw that the caller was Xu Juan, so she threw her phone to Ji Bai and signaled for him to pick it up.

Ji Bai accepted the call, his voice as bright and cheery as the first breeze of spring. “Brother, it’s me, Ji Bai. Xu Xu’s on the phone right now.”

On the other end of the phone, Xu Juan was startled.

Since the two of them were roughly the same age, Ji Bai had always called him by name. What had happened recently for him to refer to him as brother instead?

Thankfully, Xu Juan quickly snapped back to reality and suddenly blurted out, “Have you received the certificate yet?”

“We just got it.”

By now, Xu Xu had already hung up, so Ji Bai passed the phone back to her.

Xu Xu gave Xu Juan a brief run through on the process of receiving the marriage certificate, then hung up. After this, Ji Bai hugged her shoulder. “Let’s call our father.”

Xu Xu confused. Didn’t they just speak to his father?

Then she realized that he was referring to her father; he had addressed him as ‘father’ so smoothly that it had caught her off-guard.

Xu Xu put her phone aside then held his face in her hands before tugging at his cheeks. “Your facial muscles are so much thicker than mine…”

Ji Bai grabbed hold of her restless hands and held them firmly in place, his face was filled with joy because of his childish partner. “Madam, you flatter me.”

He closed the car windows and kissed her for some time.

Eventually, they stopped. Then, Xu Xu smiled and looked at him. “Third brother, let’s go to the Harbour Restaurant to eat…”

Ji Bai cut her off and narrowed his eyes. “What did you call me?”

“… Husband.”

“Ah.” He responded softly, his dark eyes shimmering like stars under the sunlight. His voice was low and coy as he commanded, “Say it again.”

Xu Xu’s heart trembled a little as she focused on his jokingly aggressive face. She could not shift her eyes away from him. “Husband.”

“Ahhhh.” He answered crisply. Then, he started the engine and turned his head sideways to look at her again. “Say it a few more times, don’t stop.”

Xu Xu could not help but laugh as she continued. “Husband, husband, husband…” Repeating this N times without stopping. “Are you satisfied now?”

Their car snaked its way through the national highway and infinite stream of traffic. Looking from afar, they watched the sunlight hug Lin City, illuminating the exquisitely designed skyscrapers that scraped the prosperous city’s skyline. He suppressed his joy and focused on driving as she leaned against his shoulder while watching the clouds pass by outside. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

Ji Bai could not stop smiling as he thought to himself, ‘It’s the middle of spring and we’re full of hope, in love, and inseparable. Don’t fear the coming storms, love, for I promise that I will never turn my back on this profound, uncontainable love.’