Tong Le didn't understand. "Wh-what?"
Mai Qi looked at him openly, "I said if I'm willing to accompany you in the underworld and live on the edge of the knife with you, will you accept me, or despise me for being your burden?"
"Why would I despise you for that?" Tong Le blurted out. Then, he was stunned by what he said.
Mai Qi laughed.
I laughed too. I didn't expect this day to come. Tong Le was easily led into a verbal trap by Mai Qi. However, it was because he cared about her that he was so easily tricked.
Tong Le stammered. "Mai Qi, I can't even tell when death will come for me. What will you do when that day comes?"
I felt like crying for the ancestors of the Tong Family. How could this man who was so handsome have such a lousy way with women?
Thankfully, his match was Mai Qi.
Mai Qi said disdainfully, "Then I'll die on the day you die!"
Damn! Mai Qi is the queen. I don't even know what to say.
Tong Le was as shocked as I was. His fingers tapped nervously on his knees.
"Mai Qi, you're Qu Hao's sister. You, you can have any kind of life you want..." Before he could finish, Mai Qi's face drooped. Her lips turned downwards, and she complained, "So you do see me as a burden!"
Then, she stood up from the wheelchair. However, due to her injuries, she immediately fell. Tong Le was frightened and immediately rushed to help her. "Mai Qi!"
Mai Qi pushed him away and cried, "You look down on me! You look down on me because I might be a cripple. You look down on me because I'm not as smart as Nanxing and Jing Ni. You look down on me because I don't know anything!"
"No, that's not true. I don't look down on you. Mai Qi, it's not true. If anything, I look down on myself because I'm not worthy of you!" Tong Le explained hurriedly.
Mai Qi stopped crying and looked at Mr. Tong Le with tears in her eyes. Tong Le went forward to pick her up and place her back in the wheelchair.
Mai Qi hugged his neck and refused to let go. "You really don't look down on me?"
Tong Le nodded solemnly. Mai Qi made the decision for them. "Okay, then I'll marry you!" Then, she screamed, "Tong Le, don't drop me!"
"Oh! Sorry!" Tong Le quickly reacted.
I almost laughed out loud. Tong Le almost dropped Mai Qi after he heard her declaration of marriage.
What a pair!
Later, I asked Mai Qi why she decided to stand up from her wheelchair.
Mai Qi smiled and said it was because she still loved him. She didn't want to let go of this opportunity. After knowing Tong Le did have her in his heart, she took that step because she knew that if she didn't take that step on Tong Le's behalf, with his personality and character, they would miss out on a lifetime of happiness. All they would get was regret.
I admired Mai Qi even more.
She didn't order Tong Le to marry her, but she promised to marry Tong Le. With the power of agency on her side, she removed the last psychological burden on Tong Le.
She chose to marry him, to bear all of life's difficulties with him. As stone-hearted as Mr.. Tong Le was, he was moved.