TAHDO Chapter 68

Liang Yan held the small, hard circular ring in his hand.

It wasn’t a flashy design, simple and elegant but if you looked closely, you could still see the delicate engraving work on the inside.

He didn’t know much about rings, but even he could recognize that this was a well-known brand, and a tiny stone was set into it.

It even had a diamond.

He felt a little dazed.

The two of them were still sitting in the hall waiting for the equipment to be adjusted. Staff members passed by with polite smiles, yet his Alpha suddenly took out a ring and placed it in his palm.

Ji Qiu really hadn’t changed at all.

Forever acting on impulse.

Liang Yan gently brushed the inside of the ring with his fingertip and quietly asked, “When did you buy this?”

As soon as he asked, he felt it was unnecessary, most likely Ji Qiu had rushed to buy it right after hearing the news, and had probably measured the size while he was asleep.

Who knew what this man had been preparing all this time.

Working, taking care of him, and preparing all this on top of that.

Ji Qiu gave an answer exactly as he had expected.

After saying what he’d said earlier, Ji Qiu added, “I asked Sister Tong for advice on the style and brand. I ended up choosing this one—I figured you wouldn’t dislike it!”

“Don’t worry! I… I didn’t spend too much! I just wanted to give you the best I could afford…” As he reached the end, Ji Qiu began to mumble awkwardly.

Liang Yan looked at him for a moment. Seeing him still a little dazed, he couldn’t help but reach out and pinch him.

“What are you spacing out for?”

“Eh? Eh??” Ji Qiu snapped back to reality. “Yan Yan, what’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

Sometimes Liang Yan really wondered how someone so smart could become so stupid at moments like this.

He glanced at the busy staff nearby, feeling a little embarrassed. But the sincerity in Ji Qiu’s eyes made him unable to say anything harsher.

He stuffed the ring back into Ji Qiu’s hand. Under the man’s stunned gaze, he rolled his eyes and held out his own hand.

“You want me to put it on myself?”

“Oh—oh, oh!” Only now did Ji Qiu realize what dumb thing he’d done again. But this was not the time to whine, so he obediently complied.

The size was perfect. It suited him well.

Just as Ji Qiu was internally celebrating, feeling so happy it was like his soul had ascended, a female staff member finally walked over.

After learning that Ji Qiu was an Alpha, the staff had found it a bit unusual, but still treated them kindly. She had planned to come tell them to get ready, but instead saw the previously expressionless Omega in black looking a bit startled, while his Alpha had flushed cheeks and eyes that refused to look away.

She hadn’t seen clearly at first, but when she got closer she realized what was happening: the Alpha in a white suit was nervously and excitedly holding his partner’s hand, carefully slipping a silver-shining ring onto his finger, then breaking into a goofy grin.

And the Omega looked at him with a bit of helplessness, but even more gentleness and affection.

She stared at them for a long moment and suddenly felt that the new year would be beautiful—

Just like the countless couples who had come to register.

She watched them with a smile until another staff member started urging her. Only then did she walk over.

“Um… I know I shouldn’t interrupt right now,” she said hesitantly, “but the people scheduled after you have already started arriving. So maybe you two could…”

Hearing that, Liang Yan’s face suddenly flushed.

He tugged at Ji Qiu’s clothes. “Let’s take the photo.”

Seeing Liang Yan’s uneasy expression, Ji Qiu realized he was embarrassed. He quickly squeezed his hand. “Okay, okay.”

“Wait.” Just as Ji Qiu was about to pull Liang Yan over, he was stopped again.

“Hm?”

“Your bow tie is crooked.” Liang Yan cleared his throat, leaned in with pursed lips and red cheeks, and re-adjusted the tie for him.

It was similar to what happened when they left the house that morning, yet also different.

The Omega’s fair, slender fingers moved at his collar, a subtle ring now resting on one of them.

After checking the bow tie again, Liang Yan said, “Alright, let’s go.”

Something stirred in Ji Qiu’s heart. Before Liang Yan’s hand could move away, he grabbed his fingers.

Only then did he say, finally at ease, “Let’s go.”

From this moment on—

He had completely become his Omega.

“Look over here!”

The photographer waved at them.

The two exchanged a glance before looking at the camera together.

Their photo was quickly uploaded to the computer.

The two of them: one in black, one in white were smiling blissfully.
The taller one’s eyes were curved almost into crescents from how wide he was grinning, while the other wore a softer smile, dimples showing faintly on his cheeks, making him look sweet.

They smiled in the photo.

And outside the frame, their hands were tightly intertwined.

The remaining procedures were finished quickly, and it didn’t take long before they received their certificate.

In a burst of wild joy, Ji Qiu finally returned to his usual goofy self:
“Yan Yan!! I can finally return your household register to your dad!!”

Liang Yan couldn’t be bothered with him.

He loosened the bow tie around his own neck. “Wait here, I’m going to the restroom.”

Ji Qiu nodded happily and waited nearby.

While Liang Yan was away, Ji Qiu sat there flipping their photo over and over, staring at it endlessly.

Liang Yan didn’t like taking pictures, and Ji Qiu didn’t have the habit either, so strictly speaking, this was their first photo together.

And it happened under these circumstances.

Ji Qiu reached out and poked Liang Yan’s little dimple in the picture like a fool.

Just as his fingers were tracing the embossed seal on the certificate for who-knows-how-many times, someone called out to him from behind.

“Hey, hey, Alpha over there—wait a second.”
The same staff lady who had been assisting them earlier finally had a moment free. She waved him over. “Come here for a moment.”

Ji Qiu obediently walked over.

“Just now… were you proposing? Giving him a ring?” She had wanted to ask earlier but hadn’t had time. Now curiosity got the better of her.

Ji Qiu recalled the scene and nodded. “Well… yes, but also… not exactly.”

She looked at him, confused.

“I asked him once before if he’d marry me. He said yes, but it was sudden at the time, so I didn’t have a ring prepared. So I’m just making up for it now.” Ji Qiu was in a great mood and answered honestly.

The staff lady’s expression became complicated.

Seeing her face, Ji Qiu even puffed up proudly and added, “I prepared for days! I even picked today on purpose—our registration day! Isn’t that super meaningful?”

“…Mm.”

Liang Yan still hadn’t come out, and the worker’s expression still seemed off.

“So you suddenly asked him if he wanted to get married, and now you’re in the Civil Affairs Bureau slipping him a ring, and you consider that ‘making up for the proposal’?”

Ji Qiu nodded enthusiastically.

“…Alright,” she said numbly. “That’s fine too. Just means your Omega really loves you.”

When Ji Qiu confessed before, he said “I like you.”
But now that they had their certificate, hearing someone else say “He loves you” carved the truth much deeper.

The shift from “like” to “love” softened his heart inexplicably, as though something small had taken root and begun to bear fruit.

Like… and love.

Ji Qiu blinked, feeling a warm, tingling sweetness inside.

But the staff lady didn’t know what was going on in his head and continued, “But… it’s just that it wasn’t very romantic.”

Ji Qiu immediately stiffened, whipping his head around in disbelief.
“What—? But I picked a special day! I chose our certificate day on purpose! Th-that’s… not romantic??”

The lady hadn’t expected someone who seemed smart to be this dense. After thinking a moment, she said carefully:

“…Do you think handing him a ring in the middle of the civil office hall is romantic?”

At the very least, shouldn’t you wait until you’re home and the atmosphere is right?!

Ji Qiu seemed half-aware, half-confused. “Oh… but I just couldn’t hold it in. I really wanted to put it on him…”

The lady sighed, utterly frustrated.

“I know. For some people, romance or ceremony isn’t necessary. Some even think it’s cheesy or unnecessary…” She patted his shoulder. “But other people’s stories are theirs. How you define those things in your life….that’s up to the two of you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Liang Yan step out of the restroom, dressed in all black, making his figure look even more elegant and defined.

“There’s no point in me saying anything else,” she said with a smile, bidding him farewell. “Good luck. Live your story well.”

Ji Qiu nodded gratefully, thanked her, then took his Omega’s hand again and walked forward toward the fresh new life that belonged to them.

But the staff lady’s words still lingered in Ji Qiu’s mind, making him think.

This question lingered in his mind for a long time, refusing to leave.
For a genius Alpha who entered school as the top student in the entire Southwest region, this was almost incomprehensible.

So as they walked back together, he finally asked.

“Yan Yan,” Ji Qiu asked tentatively, “am I… not romantic?”

“Hm?” Liang Yan felt that this word didn’t even exist in Ji Qiu’s vocabulary. “Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

Someone like Ji Qiu, who had never been associated with romance slowed his steps slightly and said, embarrassed, “It’s just… it feels like everything I do is sudden. And I never prepare anything.”

Liang Yan slowed down with him, staying silent.

For some reason, he suddenly recalled a few things from before.

From way back—back when he still thought Ji Qiu was just a silly idiot.

Ji Qiu always liked sticking close to him.

He would message him saying the red spider lilies near the gym had bloomed, asking if he wanted to go see them together.

He remembered late autumn too, that day when neither of them understood their own feelings yet.

But for no reason at all, Ji Qiu had sent him a photo.

The accompanying text was simple:

It looked beautiful. I wanted to share it with you.

Golden ginkgo leaves filled the frame, brilliant but gentle, ancient yet radiant in a soft way.

That was probably the romance of this cowardly fool.

Liang Yan turned his head to look at him.

Ji Qiu’s eyes were bright, whenever they met his gaze, there was always a spark of light there.

On Ji Qiu’s phone screen was the page for reserving takeout dishes from a certain restaurant—he planned to pick them up later and bring them home for Liang Yan’s dinner.

“No,” Liang Yan said with a slight curve of his lips, dimples carrying a faint tenderness. He couldn’t resist brushing a fingertip over the Alpha’s nose and, while Ji Qiu looked confused, whispered, “It’s good. Really.”

“Come on.”

He patted Ji Qiu, took his hand, and quickened his steps.
“Let’s go home.”