Ning Anmiao let her hands hang by her sides. Her hands hidden under the wide sleeves tightened involuntarily. She heard her voice trembling slightly. "How could you remember..."
Inside the box lay a small hand rosary made of pure white jade without any impurities. The pendant of the rosary was a red-bean die.
The white jade beads made the red-bean die look even more vivid. Reflected by the light on the lake, it looked like a treasure from a myth.
Her memory was instantly pulled back to several years ago when she was a student.
She had once pored over the collection magazines of the past few years in search of inspiration for classical clothing design. At that time, she had caught sight of this small hand rosary in the magazine at first glance.
Hand rosaries were quite common, but this one was personally crafted by Abbot Qing Shu, a master from a Tang Dynasty temple. It even had a Dharma name, the Acacia Bean Hand Rosary.
"Exquisite dice are inlaid with red beans. Do you know the deep-seated yearning in my heart?"
"You often stared blankly at the photo of this hand rosary for a while during school days," Lu Yan said in a deep voice. "I wanted to buy it for you as a gift back then."
"It's just that the original owner of this hand rosary had no intention of selling it in the past few years. I could only wait."
"Fortunately, I didn't have to wait too long." After he finished speaking, the corner of his lips lifted slightly, as if he didn't mind this long wait at all.
Ning Anmiao was stunned.
It had been at least five years since she first saw the photo of this hand rosary.
Lu Yan had remembered it all these five years.
Yet he said that it was fortunate that he didn't have to wait too long.
She really wanted to ask if, instead of five years, it were fifty years, would he still wait?
Just as Ning Anmiao was lost in wild thoughts, Lu Yan had already walked towards her.
He approached her step by step, with determination in each step. Finally, he trapped Miaomiao against the railing on the side of the bridge.
She sniffed and stared at the hand rosary without saying a word.
The magazine at that time introduced this Acacia Bean Hand Rosary starting from an ancient love story, symbolizing the yearning and love of a man for the woman he gave it to.
At this moment, she had actually become the young girl in the story.
She carefully took the box, looked at the shiny Acacia Bean Hand Rosary, her heart pounding. She carefully put it into her pocket.
"Thank you. I like it very much." Ning Anmiao felt her face burning. Looking at Lu Yan in front of her, she felt as if she could hardly breathe.
Lu Yan looked at her face, his eyes growing deeper. He pursed his lips. "The love from five years ago has just been delivered now. I wonder if it has expired."
He was so close that he could clearly hear Ning Anmiao's heartbeat.
"Miaomiao, since I gained self - awareness, I've been waiting."
"Waiting for what?" Ning Anmiao uttered the syllables.
Lu Yan slightly lifted his chin. His noble aura radiated from his whole body, making him extremely dazzling. "Waiting for a reason to live."
His voice grew hoarse. "Emotionally lacking, from a single - parent family, with a shameful illegitimate - child status... I always thought my life was a complete mess. Maybe suicide wasn't a bad option."
With each word he said, Ning Anmiao's heart tightened.
"Lu Yan..."
"Once I thought I was waiting to give my mother a stable life as a way to repay her for raising me. I thought this would be the end of my life."
"But Miaomiao, when I met you, I finally knew what I was waiting for."
He stood in front of her, his figure as steady as a mountain. He looked at her without moving, his eyes filled with boundless affection. "I'm waiting to spend the rest of my life with you. That's why I'm alive."
"My inferiority made me think I wouldn't be firmly chosen by you. I'm very sorry."
He said, "But now I know that even someone like me who is deeply mired in the mud can be loved and illuminated. That's the reason for me to keep living."
Lu Yan's tone was calm, but he couldn't hide his nervousness and uneasiness.
He rarely had such emotions. He was always in control of everything and handled things with ease.
But Ning Anmiao's presence had torn a hole in his well - ordered life, letting the light shine in.
Now, he was completely out of control and couldn't stay rational.
Hearing him say he was inferior, Ning Anmiao felt extremely heart - ache. She reached out to touch his forehead. "Don't be inferior. You're the best."
"With me, you're number one."
Ning Anmiao's clumsy yet frank way of comforting made Lu Yan want to laugh.
"I've always been number one," Lu Yan said indifferently, with his usual superiority in his tone.
He had always been aloof. His long - standing image of standing at a high place made people think he wouldn't be inferior or timid.
But in fact, in front of love, he was just a slave who bowed for love.
Ning Anmiao looked at him seriously. She took his hand and placed it on her chest. "I mean, you've always been number one here."
"Not only number one, but also the only one."
...
Lu Yan held his breath. His eyes softened bit by bit. Instinctively, he gently lifted her chin with his fingers and kissed her.
This time, Ning Anmiao's pupils only dilated for a moment, then she gently closed her eyes and responded to him seriously and hard...
After the kiss ended, Ning Anmiao's head was dizzy. Her legs were a bit weak, and her body could only linger in his arms.
Listening to the equally fast but steady heartbeat in the man's chest, a sense of satisfaction gradually spread from the tip of her heart.
She really loved him.
Fortunately, it was him she loved.
In this vast world, the atmosphere gradually became ambiguous. The surrounding area seemed so pink and romantic.
Ning Anmiao stood on the bridge. From the corner of her eye, she could see the river lanterns on the river gradually changing from pink to gold, twinkling from time to time as they drifted with the current.
"Why did they turn gold?" Ning Anmiao blinked her eyes, her gaze gradually softening as she watched the whole river shining. It was like -
"Like a galaxy," Lu Yan said in a deep voice. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. Her waist felt so slender and soft that he didn't want to let go.
Ning Anmiao's heart skipped a beat. "So that's how it is."
"The design is quite special. It highlights the name of the Galaxy. It's very ingenious," Ning Anmiao commented, showing her appreciation.
Hearing her comment, Lu Yan twitched the corner of his lips. He leaned his face close to her side face, his voice calm and gentle. "Have you ever thought about why I named the company Galaxy?"
Ning Anmiao paused. She hadn't thought about this question. "I don't know. Does it have any special meaning?"
The man chuckled softly. "It seems your knowledge of classical culture is not up to par."
"The Milky Way is vast, and the galaxy is misty." His eyes were calm, his expression composed. "Every time I say Galaxy, I think of you."
Galaxy and you.
Ning Anmiao's mind went blank. She gasped in surprise, never expecting that the origin of the company name was actually related to herself.
How romantic it was.