502: Marry Me

Marry Me

2Huang Guoqiang had already planned out a speech in advance and memorized it, but now he found himself unable to recall a single word. His mind had blanked out. His forehead was drenched in nervous sweat, and his hands trembled. 

"Director Huang, what do you want to say to Ms. Qi? Say it, quick!" whispered Xu Xiyan from beside him.

"I… Q-Qi… Liya… I… I…"

Huang Guoqiang was going nowhere with his seemingly endless stammering. Beside him, Xu Xiyan and Xiao Ke felt like they were about to die of suspense.

Xu Xiyan watched with increasing amusement as Huang Guoqiang stuttered and blushed. Who could have guessed that the famous director, so awe-inspiring with his confident, no-nonsense attitude on the set, would be gaping like a goldfish now?

"What are you trying to say, Director Huang?"

Qi Liya's grief faded into the background as she turned her attention towards the man before her. She was puzzled: what was Huang Guoqiang trying to do? Why had he suddenly brought her roses?

Huang Guoqiang felt that the love confession he had asked his screenwriter to write for him was too artificial and insincere. He could not bring himself to recite it.

He struggled for a long time before finally blurting out, "Little Qi, I'm an unsophisticated man, I don't know how to express myself with fancy, pretty words. This bouquet is for you, I want to tell you I… I-I… I love you. I want you to marry me!"

Qi Liya: "…"

She was caught entirely off guard. She had not expected Huang Guoqiang to suddenly confess his love for her.

Why was he proposing to her now, right after her surgery? She had just had her womb removed. Had he been kicked in the head by a donkey?

A wave of bitterness passed through Qi Liya's heart. She shook her head and said with a pained expression, "I'm sorry, Director Huang. You know of my… condition… I… I can no longer…. Doesn't it bother you?"

Huang Guoqiang understood her concern: she could not accept his feelings for her because she felt that she was no longer a complete woman. She no longer had a womb, and would never be able to have children of her own.

He was determined to set her mind at ease. "I know. I know what you lost, but it doesn't matter. Your health is the only thing that matters. It doesn't bother me at all, Little Qi. In fact, I feel like you should be the one turning your nose up at me. I had a failed marriage, a long time ago. I'm divorced, I have a 17-year-old son. I've been in love with you for a very long time, but I was too afraid to confess my feelings for you. I knew you would never be attracted to a middle-aged divorcee like me."

He strongly felt that he wasn't worthy of her, that he would be the one weighing her down in their relationship.

If it hadn't been for Jing Xi, who had seized the opportunity to try to bring them together, he would have kept his feelings to himself for the rest of his life.

Qi Liya listened to him confess his love for her. She was so touched by his sincere explanation she felt like crying tears of joy.

She had been aware of Huang Guoqiang's concern and love for her for some time now, but had pretended to be too dense to notice

Her previous romance with Peng Sicheng had wounded her terribly, and she had shied away from love ever since. Her heart had been closed off to everyone.

But the operation had opened her eyes.

She had lost the ability to be a mother, but instead of abandoning her, Huang Guoqiang was now asking her to marry him.

How could she not be touched by his love and devotion?

Her heart wasn't made out of stone. On lonely nights, she longed for a man she could depend on to love her and keep her company.

That man had finally appeared, but Qi Liya no longer had the confidence to take his hand. "No. You're a good man, but I'm no longer a complete woman. I'm no longer qualified to be a wife or mother. This is my problem, I don't want to drag you into this."

Huang Guoqiang knew she was a kind soul who wanted to spare him from the burden of her misery.

…

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