The other party quickly replied, "Of course, what time is your flight? Are you still mad at me?"
Meng Yao told him the flight number and sent a message, "We'll talk when we meet. Goodnight."
...
Hong Jiaxi placed his phone by the bedside and let out a long sigh. It seemed Meng Yao had finally wavered and would forgive him.
He lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and thought about proposing to Meng Yao when he picked her up at the airport tomorrow. He needed to design a creative and novel way to propose, hoping to succeed this time.
As long as she agreed to marry him and join the Hong family, he would slowly repay her for all the hurt, grievances, and pain he had suffered, bit by bit.
...
As soon as Meng Yao got off the plane and walked out of the arrival hall, she looked around for a while but didn't see Hong Jiaxi, who had said he would pick her up.
Curiously, she tried to contact Jiaxi but found his phone was unreachable.
This guy was really something. Yesterday, he had excitedly said on the phone that he would definitely pick her up, but now he was nowhere to be seen.
But it didn't matter. If he didn't come, so be it.
Meng Yao dragged her suitcase towards the airport exit. Suddenly, a crowd of people rushed towards her, forming a circle and surrounding her.
She was startled and froze. She saw men and women waving heart-shaped colored lights of various colors.
Before Meng Yao could even figure out what was happening, someone pulled the confetti popper in their hand, and petals rained down like a fairy scattering flowers.
Hong Jiaxi suddenly appeared, holding a large bouquet of fiery red roses. He walked up to her, knelt on one knee, and proposed, "Meng Yao, will you marry me?"
"Say yes! Say yes!" the people surrounding them began to chant in unison.
Meng Yao was completely stunned. She hadn't expected Jiaxi to propose to her so directly in public.
There were some things she hadn't decided yet. She had only asked him to pick her up because she wanted to talk to him properly again to confirm her own feelings.
She wanted to say she couldn't agree yet, but so many people were watching.
If Meng Yao couldn't refuse Jiaxi like this, she couldn't bear to let him feel awkward and lose face in front of everyone.
She was in a dilemma.
Seeing her hesitation, Hong Jiaxi's heart began to flutter. He raised his voice again and said, "Meng Yao, I love you! Marry me!"
The cheers and encouragement from the crowd rose and fell. Meng Yao had no choice but to say, "Get up quickly and let's talk. Stop kneeling."
"If you don't agree, I'll keep kneeling and propose to you," Jiaxi said, still holding up the bouquet, kneeling on one knee.
Meng Yao felt suffocated. If she didn't agree, she would be suffocated by the atmosphere around them.
"Get up, I agree." As soon as she said this, the crowd erupted in cheers, followed by another dense shower of petals.
Jiaxi stood up, handed her the flowers, hugged her tightly with joy, and spun her around. Everyone was offering their blessings.
Meng Yao's mind was a blur. It wasn't until the proposal ended and everyone dispersed that she finally began to calm down as she sat in Jiaxi's car.
Jiaxi drove and asked her, "What about the ring? Why aren't you wearing it? I'll take you home now, and we can tell your parents along the way. Let's see when both sets of parents are free and arrange a time for them to have dinner together to set the specific date for our wedding..."
"Jiaxi, wait. Let's not rush these things. I have something I want to talk to you about."
The smile on Jiaxi's face stiffened. He asked, "What do you want to say?"
"Don't take me home yet. Let's find a place to sit and talk." Meng Yao had regained her composure, and her mind was no longer in a mess.
Jiaxi agreed and drove the car to a coffee shop.
After they found a quiet spot and sat down, Jiaxi looked at her tenderly and said, "Meng Yao, you've lost weight these past few days. It must have been very hard working on projects on your business trips."
"It was okay. I've done similar projects in the research institute. I just passed on my experience," Meng Yao said, taking a sip of coffee to refresh herself.
Jiaxi took her hand and said, "What do you want to tell me? Do you miss me terribly? I've missed you too, but I was afraid of disturbing you. But it's all good now. You've accepted my proposal, and I don't have to worry day and night anymore."
Meng Yao withdrew her hand and said, "I agreed to you at the airport just to avoid embarrassing you. I still don't want to rush into marriage. Do you understand?"
"Yao, I don't understand!" Jiaxi was surprised that she was still hesitating and said excitedly, "We grew up together. Although there were misunderstandings and we were apart, we finally reconciled. This is heaven giving us another chance to grow old together. What else do you have to worry about?"
"I know what you're saying, but I feel like you've changed over the years we were apart, and I've changed too. We both need time to get to know each other again, to find that lost feeling from before, and to see if we're still suitable for each other?" Meng Yao emphasized, "Can you be more rational?"
Jiaxi felt hurt again. She had agreed to his proposal, only to immediately want to go back on her word. Fortunately, he had a backup plan.
"In my heart, you are the most suitable. There will be no one else. But you? You've never truly committed to me for life. Did you ever love me?"
"Jiaxi, of course I loved you. But now I just want to be cautious about marriage..."
"That's enough! Matters of the heart can't be judged by logic." Jiaxi looked at her with eyes full of love and asked, "Yao, what's wrong with you? Why do you always give me hope, only to cruelly destroy it?"
Meng Yao was speechless for a moment, not knowing what else to say to him.
She had hoped he would give her more time, but he kept pressing her, making her feel suffocated again.
She felt that Jiaxi wasn't bad. He was gentle and considerate, always putting her first, revolving his life around her.
But Meng Yao always felt that they could never go back to how they were.
And although Jiaxi was good to her, it always felt like something was missing from the past.
She believed that these things still needed time. They should spend more time getting to know each other again before making a final decision.
Meng Yao continued to drink her coffee, no longer wanting to say anything.
No matter what she said now, Jiaxi wouldn't listen.
She could only postpone the matter of their families meeting to discuss marriage and spend more time getting to know Jiaxi.
"I'm a bit tired and want to go back and rest. Let's go," Meng Yao said, standing up first, not wanting to hear his repeated declarations of love.
Jiaxi's eagerness to get married made her feel uncomfortable.
"Okay, I'll take you back then."
"No need. I'll take a taxi." Meng Yao didn't even want him to drive her.
Jiaxi insisted, "Don't worry, I'll just take you to the main entrance. I won't go in and say anything to your parents. Although I'm more anxious than you, I won't tell your parents without your consent."