Chapter 635: Loss of Control
This offer came as a total surprise to Xinghe and Mubai.
Mubai was the first to laugh. "Perfect, I have no issue with that."
"..." Xinghe was silent; was she supposed to accept it just like that?
Elder Xi didn’t wait for her to answer and announced on his own, "Then, it’s settled. We’ll invite everyone to the wedding. It’s been such a long time since our Xi family has celebrated something and this marriage is definitely something worth celebrating."
Elder Xi petered off to a series of guffaws. There was nothing Chinese elders loved more than an auspicious event in the house. Mubai shared in his grandfather’s excitement but frowned when he noticed Xinghe’s lack of emotions.
After Elder Xi went to rest, Mubai held Xinghe’s hands and asked, "Are you okay? Do you still refuse to marry me?"
"I just haven’t thought about marriage, that’s all," Xinghe answered truthfully.
Mubai’s nervous heart calmed down for quite a bit. "Why don’t you think about it now? I won’t force you. You can give me a hint after all these things are over and I will pop the question. With your permission, we will remarry, if you still need time, I will also respect your decision."
He had always been too kind to her. But this only made her decision more difficult.
When Xinghe asked herself, there was really nothing that prevented her from saying yes other than her earlier marriage with him. She was satisfied with their current relationship and she was afraid marriage would change everything.
She wasn’t afraid of being hurt or that Mubai would cheat on her, but she was afraid to lose control, to lose herself in the web of a committed relationship...
Xinghe was naturally an emotionally subdued person, she was really afraid she wouldn’t be able to get used to a committed relationship. However, she also couldn’t see herself picking someone else other than Xi Mubai to spend her life with, so rejecting his proposal didn’t seem right either.
Xinghe nodded. "Thank you, I will give you an answer then."
She would make use of the time to mentally prepare herself first.
Mubai smiled wickedly as he pulled her in for a gentle hug. He spoke into her ear. "No problem, take your time to think about everything; there’s no need to rush, and I don’t want to pressure you into a decision. I hope you’ll continue to be you. No matter your decision, I will accept it as long as it’ll make you happy."
Xinghe lowered her head slightly, her heart bursting with warmth and kindness.
Mubai was willing to go to such lengths to care about her feelings so she should respond in kind. She would take his perspective into consideration as she tried to come up with an answer. Hopefully, it would be one that could satisfy them both...
...
As the Shen family and Tong family dealt with the Lin family, Xinghe and the Xi family finally had a chance for a breather. Xinghe was also given the time to work on the president’s mechanical heart.
The Xi family had recently opened a lab in City A to expand their artificial limb business. This was where Xinghe spent her daily life. However, no one knew about this other than Mubai and Lu Qi.
Even the president thought they were still looking for the perfect material. The Lin family thought the president’s illness was still going to claim him because all the materials they had found were incompatible after all.
The president’s physical condition continued to deteriorate, and this was the only good news for the Lin family.
The pressure kept coming, but right before their breaking point, the Lin family stumbled across a solution to help them survive this unmitigated disaster.
Translator’s Thoughts
Lonelytree Lonelytree
Bonus Chapter sponsored by BunnyCatWitch with her short story on Shu Mei. Want to read the short story? Sponsor a future chapter? Chat with other readers? Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/5fsVhEc