"Yu Meng, will you marry me?"
Looking at Zhan Mohan kneeling before her on one knee, holding the dazzling pink diamond that sparkled under the light, Wei Yu Meng's eyes gradually misted over.
Zhan Mohan was actually proposing to her.
The day they went to the Civil Affairs Bureau, she had seen someone propose and felt a regret about her own marriage, hoping Zhan Mohan would propose to her too.
But for the past half month, Zhan Mohan had been silent, and she thought he hadn't understood her meaning. She hadn't intended to ask for anything more; after all, they even had a child, and while such gestures were nice, life could go on without them.
She had thought she wouldn't get a proposal, so Zhan Mohan's arrangement came as a complete surprise.
She couldn't help but cover her mouth, tears streaming down her face, "Mo Han, I do."
Of course, she was willing to marry him; she had waited for this day for a long time.
Hearing her say yes, Zhan Mohan immediately took the ring out of the jewelry box and slipped it onto her finger, as if impatient, afraid she might change her mind.
When Wei Yu Meng pulled him up, he realized his palms were covered in a fine layer of sweat; he had actually been that nervous.
Wei Yu Meng exchanged a smile with him, carefully wiping away the sweat from his palm and holding his large hand.
They walked onto the stage together. Zhan Mohan couldn't help but lift her hand to his lips and kiss it gently, "From now on, you will still be my Mrs. Zhan."
They stood on the stage, with the guests invited to this birthday banquet seated below. Although most of them were there out of respect for the Zhan family, Zhan Mohan had now publicly proposed, and they would naturally show Wei Yu Meng deference in the future, addressing her as "Mrs. Zhan" wherever they went.
Despite this, Wei Yu Meng greeted everyone respectfully. Regardless of why they were there, this was her birthday banquet, and as the hostess, she had to meet all the guests.
Even with the Zhan family's current status, they didn't have to do this. But Wei Yu Meng wanted to, and Zhan Mo Han had no objections; it was always good for people to remember their roots.
Besides accompanying her to meet everyone, Zhan Mo Han also patiently introduced her to each person again, "This is my wife, Wei Yu Meng."
From this day on, no one in Pengcheng would dare to bully Mrs. Zhan.
While they were celebrating joyfully, Wen Yu Lan sat at the head table, finding everything she ate tasteless.
She had mocked Wei Yu Meng that morning, only to be proven wrong that evening. She was even invited to be a guest here, which felt incredibly stifling.
What's worse, there was no one here who shared her sentiments. Zhan Yi Chen, needless to say, was entirely devoted to Mu Lin Jing.
With even her own son not on her side, Wen Yu Lan naturally attributed all of this to Mu Lin Jing.
The Zhan Elder saw that she was uncomfortable and, to prevent her from saying anything foolish later, suggested she leave, "If you really don't want to stay here, you can go back first."
Although it was a clear sign of being disliked, she was too uncomfortable to care.
As she left the hall, she saw a police car parked at the side entrance of the hotel. A disheveled woman got out of the car. Although her head was covered, and her face couldn't be seen, her profile alone struck Wen Yu Lan as incredibly familiar.
Could it be... No, no, how could it be? She had been on the run for so long, how could she have been caught?
Wen Yu Lan shook her head, thinking she was overthinking things. Without further observation, she made a phone call and then hailed a taxi to leave.
Inside, Zhan Mo Han had almost finished accompanying Wei Yu Meng around.
A security guard whispered something in his ear, and he then pulled Wei Yu Meng aside, "Yu Meng, I have another arrangement today, upstairs. Would you like to see?"
"Okay," Wei Yu Meng nodded without hesitation, thinking another surprise awaited her.
As she went upstairs with Zhan Mo Han, several uniformed individuals were in the corridor after they exited the elevator. She knew then that this was no surprise.
They were led to the door of a room. Wei Yu Meng seemed to understand something and didn't rush to open the door.
"Are you ready?"
After a moment of silence, Zhan Mo Han asked her. She nodded, signaling Zhan Mo Han to open the door.
The door opened, and she saw the person.
Jiang Si Yu sat on the bed with her back to the door, her eyes fixed on the player on the wall. It was playing a short video clip of Zhan Mo Han putting the ring on Wei Yu Meng's finger during his proposal.
The hotel had previously agreed with Zhan Mo Han that once the proposal was successful that night, they would splice parts of the video and display it on the hotel's various screens.
Jiang Si Yu had been brought to the hotel after the proposal had ended, but she still saw this representative moment.
She had been sitting there, watching the video, so engrossed that she only realized someone had entered the room when Wei Yu Meng sat in front of her.
At this moment, she was unusually calm. Looking at Wei Yu Meng sitting before her, and Zhan Mo Han standing by Wei Yu Meng's side like a bodyguard, she no longer felt any pain.
"You won."
This was the first thing she said to Wei Yu Meng. The moment she tried to escape, thinking she had reached safety, only to be caught, she finally admitted her complete failure.
She had already smuggled herself overseas, but Zhan Mo Han wouldn't let her go. He had sent many people to find her, intending to eliminate her completely, leaving her no path to escape.
When she was brought back, she already knew Zhan Mo Han's intentions: to have her spend her life in prison, forever confined, out of sight of the sun.
Looking at her current state, Wei Yu Meng didn't feel any sense of triumph, only pity.
"You lost, you lost from the very beginning."
Jiang Si Yu became somewhat agitated then. "Why? You were clearly inferior to me in every way!"
Whether she accepted this outcome or not, it couldn't be changed, but after much thought, she remained unwilling to accept it.
"But I wouldn't harm others to achieve my goals. How can you believe that a relationship built on hurting others can be recognized? Mo Han doesn't appreciate ruthless women. He's never lacked outstanding and beautiful women around him. What do you think your unique selling point is?"
Wei Yu Meng saw things clearly. Perhaps she didn't understand why Zhan Mo Han loved her, but she knew what would make Zhan Mo Han detest someone.
Zhan Mo Han, sitting beside them, was delighted by her composed yet unwavering demeanor. Such resilience truly impressed him.