The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 841 - 840: Proposal

Ren Jingshu hadn’t slept much all night either, partly due to physical discomfort and partly because the person lying beside her made her feel uneasy.

Although she was curious about Zhao Yun’s departure before dawn, once he left, she relaxed, closed her eyes, and soon fell asleep.

When she woke up again, it was already after ten in the morning.

Zhao Yun, who had left early, was already back, quietly lying on his side next to her, silently watching her.

Remembering last night, Ren Jingshu’s cheeks flushed with a faint warmth.

Zhao Yun felt a bit embarrassed as well, "Jingshu, good morning."

"Mm, good morning."

She didn’t ask where he had been in the morning and, despite feeling unwell, she sat up and said to Zhao Yun, who was still gazing at her, "Turn around."

"Oh."

Zhao Yun obediently turned over, his back to her.

Ren Jingshu reached out, picked up the clothes on the bed, and began to put them on.

Hearing the rustling of clothes stop, Zhao Yun couldn’t help asking, "Are you dressed yet?"

"Mhm."

Zhao Yun turned back around and saw her taking a towel and a cup to head out for washing up. He couldn’t help but say, "You should take a break from rehearsal today, rest for a day."

Ren Jingshu glanced at him, "I’m fine."

Although her body was sore and hard to bear, to a dancer, this was nothing out of the ordinary.

After she left, Zhao Yun rolled over, sat up from the ground, swiftly wrapped up the bamboo mat and bedding into a cylinder, and stuffed it under the bed. Then he opened his backpack and took out a small jewelry box, hiding it under the pillow.

When Ren Jingshu came back from washing up, Zhao Yun pulled her to sit on the bed while he knelt halfway in front of her, took out the jewelry box from under the pillow, opened it, and presented it to her.

"Jingshu, this is for you."

Looking at the ring in the jewelry box, Ren Jingshu was silent for a while before speaking, "What do you mean, are you proposing?"

"Would you like to?"

Ren Jingshu fell silent again.

Zhao Yun’s face clearly showed nervousness, "I wanted to buy you a bigger and better one, but the store only had this, other styles had to be custom ordered, and I couldn’t wait. Jingshu, I love you, and I want to spend my whole life with you."

"I might be clumsy and not good with words, but I’ll do everything in my power to treat you well, to take care of you. I will work hard playing basketball, make a lot of money, and give you the best life."

The young man’s confession was sincere and fervent, like a flame in the cold winter, hard to resist.

Ren Jingshu looked at him, "You don’t need to work hard for me. You should work hard for yourself, and I will also give my all for my own goals and dreams. Zhao Yun, on the road ahead, I hope that we can walk side by side, hand in hand, and head toward the mountains and seas together."

After saying that, she extended her right hand.

Zhao Yun picked up the ring about to put it on her, then suddenly remembered something, "Is it the right hand? I thought it was the left?"

Ren Jingshu looked at him expressionlessly, "Are you going to put it on or not?"

"Yes!"

Zhao Yun hurriedly slid the ring onto her ring finger.

Ren Jingshu’s skin was fair, her knuckles delicate and long, the dazzling diamond ring on her finger looked as beautiful as a piece of art.

Zhao Yun, following his instincts, bent down to kiss the back of her hand.

"Jingshu, I love you."

Ren Jingshu lowered her gaze to the ring on her finger for a couple of seconds, then smiled slightly, "I love you too."

Zhao Yun embraced her, "I can’t wait for you to graduate, so I can marry you and bring you home."

Ren Jingshu gently hugged him back, "I haven’t thought about getting married so soon."

She was one year away from graduating from her current school.

Zhao Yun released her, his face full of indulgence, "Then when do you want to get married?"

"I don’t know, haven’t thought about it."

"Then you can start thinking about it now. Once you have it figured out, tell me, and I’ll start preparing our wedding. Where do you want to have the wedding? Fengcheng or your hometown, or perhaps go abroad? Do you prefer a Chinese or Western style?"

Zhao Yun bombarded her with questions in quick succession, leaving Ren Jingshu at a loss as to which to answer first, so she decided not to answer any of them.

"We’ll talk about it later."

"What do you want to do right now?"

"Eat."

"Good, what do you want to eat?"

"Anything."

As the clear frontrunner, Zhao Yun was the first to share the news of his successful proposal with everyone around him.

Zhao Dafa, not one for many words, directly bought a 100-square-meter luxury apartment near Ren Jingshu’s school, registering it under the names of Zhao Yun and Ren Jingshu as an engagement gift for the two of them.

Pei Ziheng, as a good brother, naturally wouldn’t stand by without doing something as well.

He waived the half-million Zhao Yun owed him for acquiring the Dreamsong Dance Troupe and gave Zhao Yun an endorsement contract. From then on, Zhao Yun became the spokesperson for Future Technologies, receiving a substantial endorsement fee every year.

Before returning to his team, Zhao Yun transferred the ownership of Dreamsong Dance Troupe to Ren Jingshu.

Thus, Ren Jingshu became the true owner of Dreamsong Dance Troupe.

However, since she was still in school and had no time to manage the troupe, she left Si Weijian in charge as the director.

...

On the farm.

Pei Tang wandered around the thickly foliaged and huge loquat tree, laden with golden yellow loquats, her face filled with wonder.

"Uncle Yan, this loquat tree is so special; it’s taller than all the other loquat trees in the orchard and has the most fruit. They hang in clusters, just like the grapes at my house."

Watching the lively and adorable girl, Yan Yi’s face revealed a fondly indulgent smile.

"It is indeed different from the other loquats."

"Why though? All the other loquat trees are in the orchard, but this one is planted on the lawn."

Standing by, brothers Yan Ruili and Yan Ruize simultaneously cast curious glances at Yan Yi.

They visited the farm every year and were equally curious about why this particular loquat tree was planted here. When they asked people at the farm, they were told it was Yan Yi’s wish.

But Yan Yi never told them the reason.

"This loquat tree has a story behind it."

Upon hearing there was a story, the three children eagerly pulled up little stools and sat next to Yan Yi.

"A long time ago, a beautiful girl visited the manor. The host personally picked some loquats for the girl to taste, but she found them sour and, being too shy to say so, she quietly buried the loquats in a hole here."

"Unexpectedly, the next year, a loquat sapling sprouted from that very spot. Over time, the sapling grew bigger, began to blossom and bear fruit, and eventually became what it is today."

Pei Tang rested her cheek on her hand, her face full of curiosity, "But it’s not sour. The loquats from this tree are even sweeter than the ones from the other loquat trees. Why is that?"

Yan Ruili and Yan Ruize nodded in agreement.

Out of all the loquat trees at the farm, the fruit from this one was the sweetest and the largest. They picked loquats from this tree every year to bring home for their grandparents to taste.

Yan Yi continued to satisfy the children’s curiosity: "The first year, the fruit it bore was very sour and small. We brought in a gardener to graft quality branches, fertilized and watered it, and took good care of it. The next year, it didn’t bear much fruit, but what it did was very sweet. Over the years, as it grew, the fruit became larger, sweeter, and more abundant, leading up to now."

After finishing the story, Yan Yi looked at the children with a smile, "From this story, what have you learned?"