"Is that so?" Miao Jing played along, "Then where is my treasure buried? How should I find it?"
"Fate will give you the best guidance," the little dark-skinned boy said mysteriously, "It will call to you in secret."
Miao Jing smiled and shrugged, casually poking her finger into a sand pile and pulling out a pebble.
The children sighed collectively, their sparkling eyes fixed on her with anticipation.
Shell fragments, seaweed, coral beads, small sea snails... Miao Jing dug through sandcastle after sandcastle. Finally, without warning, she hooked a gemstone from one of the sand piles. The children's eyes lit up as they screamed with excitement, completely overwhelming Miao Jing's astonishment and bewilderment.
A Colombian emerald ring, its color as vibrant as the sea, surrounded by a circle of brilliant diamonds. The ring's size and luxury were astonishing. Even covered in fine white sand, it couldn't conceal its dazzling radiance. So much so that after her initial shock, Miao Jing instinctively pressed it back into the sand before sharply turning to stare at Chen Yi.
He grinned, showing a roguish expression, and bent down in front of Miao Jing: "My luck's not bad. The sea god seems quite generous - I made a wish this morning, and by evening he's delivered a gemstone."
"You..."
Chen Yi dug out the ring and pressed it into her hand, then took her hand and led her slowly along the shoreline. The ring pressed between their palms, its texture and curve clearly perceptible.
They reached a quiet patch of pale blue water. Chen Yi guided her hands, still holding the ring, into the clear seawater, washing away the fine white sand. He lifted the hem of his shirt, wrapped it around her palms, and carefully dried both her pale, slender fingers and the dazzling, substantial ring.
The sunset hung over the sea, creating the most magnificent scene.
Miao Jing's heart trembled with nervousness as she stared intently at him.
"Right here then."
He looked up, his dark eyes filled with laughter, lightly touched her shoulder, and gave her a faint smile - a smile of indescribable charm and lightness. Holding her left hand, he smoothly dropped to one knee, naturally and fluidly kneeling before her. His back straight and proud, he lifted his head, his eyes reflecting coconut trees and calm seas piercing straight into her heart.
"Miao Jing, I want to get married." He held her soft fingers, his tone light yet serious as he proposed: "Will you marry me?"
She stared at him blankly, her heart surging like the tides. The situation was so dramatic that she didn't know how to respond. Emotions sweet and bitter swirled in her chest, her eyes growing sore and hot, her vision blurring.
"I never thought about marriage before. I thought I could never marry in this lifetime. But recently I've been thinking - thinking about whether we need a marriage certificate to prove our relationship. Actually, we really do - I want to legitimately and legally become your husband, I want someone to rightfully share my life, I want to leave my mark on someone."
"Marry me!"
Miao Jing's thick eyelashes fluttered, her expression deeply moved, her eyes already reddening.
She too liked the idea of someone kneeling before her with a ring, proposing with loving words, asking her to marry him.
Of course she would marry!! Who else could it be but him?
Someone nearby noticed the scene - the kneeling, the standard proposal ritual. People around the world love such spectacles. The children also rushed over excitedly, cheering and making noise nearby.
"Say Yes!"
Miao Jing took a deep breath and nodded: "Okay."He flashed a brilliant smile and slipped the ring onto her ring finger. The size was perfect—large, dazzling, and ostentatious, a truly unique piece.
Cheers erupted around them.
Mundane emotions deserved a mundane atmosphere.
"I used to think we’d never get married. Our past was so complicated—it felt like just being together was enough. I didn’t understand marriage or family… Chen Yi, we never experienced a normal family life…" She clung tightly to his shoulders, her tears soaking through his shirt. "But I also love wearing a ring on my finger. I love vows and promises."
Chen Yi held her tightly in his arms on the sunset beach.
Chapter 52: The Honeymoon
San Andrés Island marked the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.
The engagement ring had been in preparation for months, sent to a jewelry store for design and setting. Chen Yi had only picked it up just before their vacation and brought it to the island for the proposal.
Such a large emerald was, of course, incredibly valuable. When Miao Jing asked where the money came from, Chen Yi didn’t reveal everything—some came from his job, some from the billiards hall and the casino. Miao Jing twirled the ring on her finger. It was clearly not something she could wear out in Bogotá; it would have to remain a collector’s item in a safe.
Back in Bogotá, the two visited a jewelry store and bought two uniquely styled wedding bands. They slipped the rings onto each other’s ring fingers, then headed to the embassy to register their marriage and become a legally recognized couple.
They weren’t necessarily overwhelmed with emotion, but the experience felt novel. The staff congratulated them, saying, "Congratulations to our Chinese bride and groom!" and asked the husband and wife to take a photo together. For a moment, both of them froze, speechless.
They simply couldn’t bring themselves to call each other "husband" or "wife" in front of the other.
After officially tying the knot, Chen Yi boldly posted photos of the red marriage certificate and their wedding rings on his social media, without revealing the bride’s photo or name. He captioned it with just two words: "Married."
The words he’d spoken during the proposal had taken all his mental effort to come up with. Any more sentimental phrasing was beyond him.
When he picked up his phone half an hour later, it was flooded with comments and likes—
"What the hell!?"
"Congratulations?!"
"Who’s the lucky lady?"
Bo Zai, who knew the truth, replied, "It’s Miao Jing." But thinking better of it, he deleted the comment within thirty seconds.
After the billiards hall fire, Chen Yi had suddenly gone abroad, explaining publicly that he’d suffered heavy losses and needed to make money overseas. Only Bo Zai and Officer Zhou knew that Miao Jing had taken him away. Their relationship was anything but ordinary—overseas, they were openly together as a couple.
That deleted comment was seen and quickly spread, stirring up a storm in Chen Yi’s former circles.
Miao Jing?
Since when? How did this happen? Wasn’t Yi Ge indifferent to her before? Their relationship seemed pretty cold, didn’t it?
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