"Hmm?" An Yang turned around and looked at Ji Weiwei.
Ji Weiwei asked, "So, what exactly was your purpose in telling me all this today?"
"Didn't you say you'd think about it?"
"Think about it?"
Ji Weiwei froze.
An Yang nodded and calmly gazed into her eyes. "Think it over carefully. Do you want to live an ordinary life, growing old, falling ill, and dying—experiencing neither more nor less than anyone else, and living a life equal to everyone's? Or do you want to live forever, stay by my side, and face more trials and wonders together with me?"
"Huh?" Ji Weiwei froze again.
An Yang had made himself extremely clear. Whether she was prepared or not, his words had caught her completely off guard.
Thus, in her panic, Ji Weiwei's cheeks flushed. Her usually carefree personality had been reduced to a young girl's affected shyness, and she suddenly found herself too embarrassed to look An Yang straight in the eye.
She turned her gaze aside and avoided asking any questions whose answers she already knew. Instead, she said, "I... I think I'm a little confused."
An Yang smiled and looked away. "I understand. You should take your time and think it over."
Ji Weiwei nodded, then lowered her head and squeezed past him toward the café's exit, her hesitation and awkwardness making her look like a conflicted young girl.
She had once jokingly said that An Yang kept his home banner from falling while colorful flags fluttered outside, and had even asked whether he wanted to add her as one of those flags. But back then, all her courage and ambiguity had come from the fact that they both knew it was only a joke.
Now that he was serious, she was at a loss instead.
After walking two