Gu Sheng obediently sat in the seat Zhou Shiyi had arranged for him.

Zhou Shiyi was afraid he’d be uncomfortable, so he placed several cushions for him, with a body pillow behind his waist.

Still holding a long body pillow in his arms, basking in the sunlight.

Watching Zhou Shi Yi bustling about, he felt completely content in his heart.

In the small town in the south, right after New Year, the temperature has already started to rise.

Basking in the sun at this time was extremely comfortable, and Gu Sheng had a smile on his lips, continuously gazing at Zhou Shiyi.

During the holiday, the two of them made rapid progress in their relationship, developing at an astonishing pace.

After spending this entire holiday together, how could Grandmother Zhou not see what kind of relationship the two of them had.

Grandmother Zhou pulled Zhou Shi Yi to the side and asked, “Are you really sure about this?”

Zhou Shi Yi nodded and said solemnly, “I’ve made up my mind. I’ve decided it’s him.”

Grandma Zhou called Gu Sheng over and gently patted his hand, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.

“Grandma, what is this?”

Gu Sheng looked at the box that Grandma Zhou was pushing toward him, somewhat surprised.

“This was bought by our Xiaoyi’s mother before he was born. She said if it was a girl, it would be her dowry. If it was a boy, it would be kept here, and when Xiaoyi grew up, it would go to his future daughter-in-law.”

Although Gu Sheng would never normally wear this jade bracelet, it was at least Grandma Zhou’s acknowledgment of him.

In the end, Gu Sheng accepted the bracelet.

Upon reaching the upstairs, Gu Sheng couldn’t wait to put things down before tightly embracing Zhou Shiyi.

“Grandma is so good to us, isn’t she?”

Zhou Shiyi hugged him back and said, “You’re all wonderful.”

After returning to school, Wang Henian suddenly discovered that after a holiday, the two of them seemed to have gotten even closer.

It was a feeling that couldn’t be clearly explained to others, but Wang Henian just felt it—that atmosphere of being unable to get a word in edgewise was growing thicker and thicker.

Especially after discovering that when the two of them were in the dorm, they sometimes wouldn’t deliberately mention their partner, but just a glance, a tiny gesture, was enough to make Wang Heyear cry out about the dog abuse and say he couldn’t bear to watch.

In the next semester, Zhou Shiyi participated in a combined bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral program and officially became a member of the laboratory under that old professor.

Zhou Shiyi’s previous investment projects had also yielded returns, and after the end-of-semester exams in his first year, Zhou Shiyi found a place outside campus.

The two of them moved out during their second year.

Normally in the dormitory, being considerate of their roommates’ feelings, they had to find time to hold hands and embrace each other on the way back to the dorm.

However, since their relationship had reached the final step, these physical touches usually left them feeling unsatisfied.

After finding a house, the two of them moved in and began their cohabitation.

Their relationship was known throughout the entire academy. From the initial disapproval at the beginning, to the blessings that came later, everyone hoped they could go even further together.

Once, Gu Sheng’s sensitive period came early, so Zhou Shiyi requested a week of leave for both him and Gu Sheng.

Gu Sheng was an alpha, and during his sensitive period, he could take a week off. After that, as long as he made up the study hours online, it was fine.

As his partner, Zhou Shiyi was entitled to the same treatment.

When Zhou Shiyi went to ask the old professor for time off, the professor, upon hearing it was for this matter, readily granted Zhou Shiyi a week’s leave.

It was during their third year that the two of them went back to meet Gu Sheng’s parents.

Nian Meilan had always known that Gu Sheng was in a relationship, and she often asked about how well the two of them got along.

She had hinted many times, both directly and indirectly, asking Gu Sheng to bring the person home.

She had always been worried about Gu Sheng’s health condition, but since Gu Sheng was away most of the time and rarely came back, she only dared to call and ask.

She didn’t expect Gu Sheng to bring his partner back, and she had assumed the other person might be an omega, but unexpectedly Gu Sheng brought back a beta.

Nian Meilan was somewhat shocked, unable to regain her composure, especially upon seeing that beta, who looked so familiar.

She finally remembered that this was a classmate whom Gu Sheng said she was particularly close to.

Nian Meilan only realized belatedly that this classmate was actually Gu Sheng’s partner, and they had been together for three years already.

Thinking back carefully, Nian Meilan finally connected the subtle oddness she had noticed in their interactions years ago.

How could there be a classmate with whom one has such a close relationship, clinging together every day, going to school together, not returning home during holidays either, going to a classmate’s house and staying for half the entire vacation, coming back still distracted and absent-minded?

Nian Meilan was still reeling from the shock, and Father Gu was also startled.

Gu Yuan was quite receptive instead: “You’re back. Why don’t you bring your partner inside and have a seat?”

After dinner, Gu Sheng endured Gu Jinyan’s gaze of admiration and was called into the study by Nian Meilan and Father Gu.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Nian Meilan emerged from the study with red-rimmed eyes.

Gu’s father frowned, seemingly lost in thought.

Nian Meilan came out of the study, took Zhou Shiyi’s hand, and said, “Good child, I hope you can take good care of our Shengsheng. If you two encounter any difficulties in your daily life, you must tell us, alright?”

“Auntie, rest assured, I will definitely take good care of Gu Sheng,” Zhou Shiyi solemnly made the promise.

Nian Meilan had been somewhat distracted all along, and seeing Gu Sheng would make her cry sadly again.

Gu Jinyan stood to the side watching with wide eyes, secretly giving Gu Sheng a thumbs up. She wanted to ask how Gu Sheng had managed to convince the two of them.

Don’t be fooled by Gu Father’s silence now; the fact that he’s letting Nian Meilan step forward instead of speaking himself also represents a certain attitude.

Zhou Shiyi turned back and saw that Gu Sheng’s eyes were also red, but overall his emotions were relatively stable.

Zhou Shiyi, in a corner where others couldn’t see, held his hand, giving him strength.

Gu Sheng turned back and squeezed his hand firmly in return.

In the evening when resting, Zhou Shiyi and Gu Sheng slept in Gu Sheng’s room.

Gu Sheng nestled in Zhou Shiyi’s arms, feeling somewhat regretful.

“Do you think I shouldn’t have said those things to them?”

Zhou Shiyi rested his chin on top of Gu Sheng’s soft head. Over the years, Gu Sheng had grown increasingly fond of this posture. Although the two of them were roughly similar in build, Gu Sheng always preferred to be held snugly in Zhou Shiyi’s embrace.

“What did you say?”

Gu Sheng, however, said nothing.

Zhou Shiyi sighed inwardly. How could he not see it? Just now Gu Sheng appeared very calm on the surface, but his reactions were always half a beat slow. Clearly, that conversation earlier had also had a significant impact on him.

But Gu Sheng didn’t say anything, and Zhou Shiyi didn’t want to press him either. He respected Gu Sheng’s choice.

Zhou Shiyi held him close, cradling him in his arms, while Gu Sheng gently nuzzled against his chin. The two of them fell asleep in each other’s embrace like this.

Early the next morning, Gu Sheng vaguely heard Zhou Shiyi on the balcony taking a phone call.

He came in from the balcony and saw that Gu Sheng’s eyes were somewhat swollen, as if he hadn’t fully woken up yet.

Zhou Shiyi went over and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“Why don’t you sleep a bit longer?”

Gu Sheng touched his forehead and wrapped himself up in the blanket.

“I’ll sleep in a bit.”

Zhou Shiyi looked at him and said, “Alright then, put your left hand out.”

Gu Sheng didn’t know what he was about to do, but still extended his hand.

He saw Zhou Shiyi drop to one knee, pull out a box, and open it while Gu Sheng was still in a daze, revealing the ring inside.

“Gu Sheng, will you marry me?”

Gu Sheng suddenly froze, hardly daring to believe it. It wasn’t until Zhou Shiyi took out the ring and looked at him with it that Gu Sheng extended his hand, letting Zhou Shiyi slip the ring onto his finger.

Feeling something new on his finger, Gu Sheng looked at the platinum plain ring and covered his face with the blanket.

“Ah ah ah, Zhou Shiyi, why are you proposing now? I haven’t even washed my face yet!”

Gu Sheng had never imagined that Zhou Shiyi would propose to him, and especially not at this moment.

Zhou Shiyi was momentarily stunned, then let out a soft laugh. He had wondered what was bothering Gu Sheng, but hadn’t expected it to be this reason.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think it through. Let me ask Yi again later.”

“No way! Once you’ve given it to me, it’s mine. How could I give it back?” Gu Sheng dug himself out from under the blanket, his face flushed with embarrassment.

Zhou Shiyi stood up and helped Gu Sheng tidy his disheveled hair from sleep.

Actually, it wasn’t just this.

Before taking Zhou Shiyi to meet his parents, Gu Sheng had already prepared matching rings, but he never expected Zhou Shiyi would take the initiative first.

Under Zhou Shiyi’s comfort, Gu Sheng’s anger suddenly subsided.

“I have something to give you as well.” Gu Sheng jumped down from the bed and rummaged through the things he had brought back yesterday, pulling out a velvet box. He opened it in front of Zhou Shiyi.

Zhou Shiyi saw the ring and was momentarily stunned: “You prepared one too?”

“Mm.” Gu Sheng looked at the ring with some displeasure, but since he was beaten to the punch, he had nothing to say about it.

He saw Zhou Shiyi take off the ring on his left hand, and Gu Sheng’s heart tightened. He quickly stepped forward to stop him.

“What are you doing? Having second thoughts?”

“No, I wanted to switch the ring to the other hand.” Zhou Shiyi felt a bit helpless and amused.

He took off his own ring from his left hand and put it on his right hand in the same position, then placed his left hand in front of Gu Sheng.

Gu Sheng was momentarily stunned, then put the ring he had custom-made for Zhou Shiyi onto his finger.

As he slipped it on, it fit perfectly—clearly Gu Sheng had secretly measured Zhou Shiyi’s ring size beforehand. Gu Sheng then put his own ring on his right hand.

Gu Sheng looked at the two rings and suddenly smiled.

Zhou Shiyi’s ring was also custom-made, so it fit Gu Sheng perfectly when he put it on.

“Finally smiled,” Zhou Shiyi said, ruffling Gu Sheng’s hair.

“So you did this to make me happy?” Gu Sheng raised an eyebrow.

“Not entirely.”

Seeing that Gu Sheng seemed confused, Zhou Shiyi took a deep breath and looked at him, saying: “Our laboratory has produced a result in the field of alpha and omega suppressants. However, it’s still in the experimental stage right now. We’ve just gotten the first phase results, and I’ve registered you for it.”

Gu Sheng paused for a moment. Gu Sheng’s susceptible period had always been a barrier standing between his family and Zhou Shiyi’s family. If this matter wasn’t resolved, even though they were now together driven by their love for each other, there would certainly be many concerns down the line.

“Mm.”

This time it was Zhou Shiyi’s turn to raise an eyebrow. He said, “Don’t you want to know under what capacity I registered your name?”

“As a family member,” Zhou Shiyi smiled slightly. “Only family members can participate in this project. As a family welfare benefit, I wanted to let you experience our experimental results first.”

Gu Sheng recalled hearing Zhou Shiyi on the phone earlier, and the inexplicable way he had slipped a ring onto his finger right after the call ended.

“So you’re doing this without asking, forcibly tying me down?”

There was actually nothing wrong with that assessment. Zhou Shiyi indeed thought that way.

Before Gu Sheng was completely healed, Zhou Shiyi wanted to keep him bound to his side. Even if it was just to wait for the experimental results to come back and be the first to experience the outcome, Gu Sheng would be bound to Zhou Shiyi.

This could be considered Zhou Shiyi’s small thoughtfulness, but as Gu Sheng looked at that ring, he suddenly understood Zhou Shiyi’s true intention.

He gently pulled Zhou Shiyi close and said, “Okay.”