CH 57

Extra. Proposal

Translator’s note: Yes, there is a flashforward extra in the middle of the story  Why? Don’t ask me. Perhaps the author wanted to reassure the readers that everything is going to end well 

June is the most beautiful time of the year on Dolce Island!

Blue skies, white clouds, sandy beaches, the sea, beautiful women, and partying constitute the most attractive part of Dolce Island.

In the afternoon the sun was shining brightly but it couldn’t stop the enthusiasm of the tourists. Bikini-clad beauties were everywhere on the golden sands playing beach volleyball, while men were scattered around watching them with smiles on their faces. In the azure blue sea, everyone was either enjoying the coolness of the water, playing with each other, or riding motorboats in circles with huge white waves behind them, causing bursts of noise.

Compared with the hustle and bustle here, the other side of the beach was much quieter. Colourful umbrellas were neatly arranged in rows, and there were leisurely faces under those umbrellas.

Under one of the white umbrellas, Shen Xi, naked apart from purple floral beach shorts, was lying lazily, holding his notebook and playing a game casually.

“Hi, handsome, want to play together?”

A beautiful blonde walked up to Shen Xi’s side and bent over, her breasts trembling slightly as she pointed at the volleyball in her hand and smiled in invitation.

Shen Xi smiled and shook his head, declining the invitation and gesturing at the game in his hands.

The beauty gave Shen Xi a disappointed look and turned to leave. Not far from Shen Xi, several girls dressed in bikinis pointed at Shen Xi and joked  at the girl who had just returned.

“Rebecca, is that handsome guy blind? Or did you not shake your boobs at him?”

The girl known as Rebecca looked a bit depressed, “Of course I did, they were about to fall out, okay? He can’t see, what can I do?”

The girls laughed at Rebecca’s comment, but when they saw that Shen Xi did not respond to their laughter, they could only shake their heads at each other and move on to their next target.

Shen Xi, who was fully engaged in the game, was unaware of the girls’ comments about him, but all this was not missed by the handsome man not far away.

The man looked at Shen Xi with a smile in his eyes, his gaze lingering on Shen Xi’s naked upper body as he quickly walked up to him, “Hi, handsome, do you need some company?”

Shen Xi didn’t even bother to raise his head and simply refused, “No.”

The smile on the man’s face intensified; he was not intimidated by Shen Xi’s refusal at all, “I can do a lot of things, I’m good at raising a family, cooking and warming up a bed. Don’t you want to try?”

The words seemed to attract Shen Xi’s attention. Shen Xi took advantage of the gap in the game to look up at the man with his face stern, “Too ugly!”

When the words “too ugly” came out, Fang Luowei, who had been sleeping beside Shen Xi, couldn’t help but snort, opened his eyes and nodded to the man in front of him with a smile.

The man couldn’t help but laugh out loud, reaching out to rub Shen Xi’s hair with a doting expression, “Still angry?”

Shen Xi hummed and did not say anything. Fang Luowei held back his laughter and moved briskly to sit up, “You guys continue, I’m going for a swim.”

Li Mingxuan nodded at Fang Luowei and obediently sat beside Shen Xi, encircling his entire body in his arms, “Good boy! Don’t be angry!”

Shen Xi looked at Li Mingxuan sternly, but unexpectedly his chin was cupped. Li Mingxuan gave him a hot light kiss, and a smile slowly spilled out of Shen Xi’s eyes as their lips locked.

The afternoon flew by and night soon fell on the beach. Most of the tourists chose to go back to their hotels to rest, but there were still quite a few people remaining on the beach. Once Li Mingxuan appeared, Fang Luowei had the good sense to disappear, and even when it was time for dinner he simply sent a text message saying that he would eat alone and leave them to their own devices.

Bonfires were lit one by one, the people on the beach sitting around them in groups, drinking beer and chatting casually. Of course, there were also tourists like Li Mingxuan and Shen Xi who were far away from the crowd, and whenever they met someone, they just nodded and smiled.

Li Mingxuan held Shen Xi’s hand in one hand and a huge bag in the other as they walked slowly along the night beach. The sea breeze blew gently over the two of them, bringing along the merry sounds of the crowd far behind them. The two men walked in the shallow waters of the tranquil sea, and the waves lapped gently at their feet, indescribably comfortable.

Neither Li Mingxuan nor Shen Xi said anything; they just intertwined their fingers and quietly enjoyed the tranquillity of the moment.

The two didn’t stop until they could no longer hear the laughter of the crowd. Li Mingxuan bent over, took out the folding tent from his bag and kissed Shen Xi’s forehead affectionately, “I’m going to set up a tent. There is food in the bag.”

Shen Xi nodded, took a can of beer and lay down on the soft beach with his limbs sprawled out. Looking up at the dark blue sky dotted with countless shining stars, Shen Xi felt his mind was at peace.

After his rebirth, Shen Xi had never imagined that his heart would have such peace. There was no more bitter resentment, no more dark memories, no more unending calculations. Time had slowly healed all the scars of the past. As he lay quietly, listening to the gentle whisper of the waves, looking at the vast, endless starry sky, with Li Mingxuan by his side, Shen Xi closed his eyes and smiled faintly.

The familiar sound of footsteps stopped beside him, followed by a cold kiss falling on his lips.

“Thinking of something?” Li Mingxuan asked with a smile as he leaned down and kissed Shen Xi tenderly.

“Thinking of you!” In the night Shen Xi’s eyes were amazingly bright. There were no more emotions in them that Li Mingxuan couldn’t understand like before, there was just his own figure filling the entrity of them.

Li Mingxuan felt his heart instantly filled with boundless joy and couldn’t help but lower his head to capture Shen Xi’s lips once more. This time Li Mingxuan did not rush into Shen Xi’s mouth to attack, but carefully traced Shen Xi’s lips with the tip of his tongue.

Li Mingxuan’s lips felt cold to the touch and carried a faint aroma of beer. Shen Xi cooperated by extending his tongue to hook the tip of Li Mingxuan’s tongue and tangling them tenderly.

After a long kiss, Li Mingxuan reluctantly let go of Shen Xi’s lips, rolled over and stood up, pulling Shen Xi up with him.

Shen Xi looked at Li Mingxuan’s actions in confusion. Li Mingxuan smiled and kissed him on the forehead, “Be good, close your eyes, I have a gift for you.”

Shen Xi laughed softly, but still obediently closed his eyes. With his vision blocked, his sense of hearing seemed to be amplified infinitely. Shen Xi vaguely felt Li Mingxuan leave his side. Soon the familiar scent appeared again, Shen Xi’s heart instantly surging with a vague sense of anticipation.

“Xiao Xi, are you willing to stay with me forever?”

After an endless wait, Li Mingxuan’s gentle voice suddenly rang out and, accompanied by the murmur of the waves, just hit Shen Xi straight in the heart.

Shen Xi opened his eyes. Under the soft moonlight, Li Mingxuan was kneeling on one knee in front of him, his expression fervent, his eyes full of a deep, unmistakable love. Li Mingxuan’s right hand was raised upwards, and in his palm lay two delicate rings, shining faintly in the moonlight.

For a moment, Shen Xi only felt as if his heart was not his own, beating violently. Many thoughts had passed through his mind during the wait just now, but the only one that had not occurred to him was this one.

Li Mingxuan was not anxious about Shen Xi’s silence. He just looked at Shen Xi patiently and said gently, “Xiao Xi, with me, you may never have children of your own, and we may not even be able to appear in public as a normal couple. We may never be able to have each other’s names in the spouse column, and for most people, we will be invisible. But I love you and I want to tie you to me selfishly. I cannot give you everything that the law recognises. All I can give you is myself. I love you and will love you more and more every day until we grow old together.”

Li Mingxuan’s words pierced Shen Xi’s heart like a tender sword, and the corners of his mouth began to turn up uncontrollably. Their eyes met; Shen Xi’s gaze was filled with laughter as he stared at Li Mingxuan and said in a soft voice, “I do!”

Accompanying these words was a huge smile that bloomed on Li Mingxuan’s face.

Getting up and exchanging rings, all the movements were done in one go. Li Mingxuan was satisfied as he grasped Shen Xi’s hand tightly, intertwining their fingers, the two rings fitting together tightly and seamlessly.

“Xiao Xi, I’m very happy.”

“En!”

Shen Xi gave a soft “en” and took the initiative to lean over and kiss Li Mingxuan, who quickly hugged Shen Xi and kissed him back hard.

In the midst of the intense kiss, both of their T-shirts were stripped off and thrown to the ground. The moment their skin touched, Shen Xi felt that the big hole in his heart that had been empty since his rebirth had finally been filled.

From a distance, all that could be seen was two figures entwined, undulating against each other.

Intermittent voices sounded faintly in the sea breeze.

“Get inside the tent.”

“Good boy, don’t worry, there’s no one around.”

“Mmm, be gentle.”

“Good boy, bear with me, it’ll be quick.”

“Cousin.”

“En?”

“I love you!”

“I love you too!”