CHAPTER 676: CHAPTER 612: HE STILL LOVES ME (2)

"Start over? Since you agreed to let me develop my career in the entertainment industry, why must I leave Xingyue?"

Su Haoyang frowned and said, "My mom is doing this for your own good! No matter how great Xingyue is, it can’t even squeeze into a second-tier company! Splendid Culture is top-tier! Do you think it’s so easy to get in there? If it weren’t for my mom’s networking, you’d never even dream of reaching Splendid’s doorstep in your lifetime!"

"You’re looking down on me?" Xu Mengjie’s vision blurred with tears. "Do I need a chance that treats me as a bargaining chip? Su Haoyang, what did you say to me back then? You said your mom had thought it through, wanted us to be together! You said marriage! You said you’d give me a home! And now? There’s not even a shadow of a home, and you’re all eagerly trying to ’arrange’ me elsewhere! Is this the home you’re giving me?! A home that treats me as a cash cow, a stepping stone?!"

"It’s not like that, Mengmeng!"

Su Haoyang knew she was upset and quickly grabbed her shoulders, urgency in his eyes trying to make her believe.

"Of course, we’ll get married! Of course, there will be a home! Mom said we’re holding the engagement ceremony next month! Really! We planned to do it at home, but my mom felt that wasn’t respectful enough, so she booked a venue and even started making invitations to give you a grand event. How could I lie to you?!"

"Venue? Invitations?" Xu Mengjie was shaken by him, her chaotic emotions shattered by this sudden promise.

She looked at Su Haoyang’s handsome and anxious face, and the humble longing for love and the future that lingered in her heart began to stir.

"...Really?"

"Absolutely!" Su Haoyang saw her waver and immediately let go of her shoulders, took out his phone, and quickly swiped on the screen, "Look! Look here! The preliminary design of the venue! In the garden at the foot of the mountain, a glass house decorated with string lights at night... And the invitation design! I specifically chose pink and gold, with our names printed on it..."

He pushed the phone screen towards Xu Mengjie.

On the screen, several exquisite renderings—

A nighttime garden, a transparent glass house adorned with warm yellow string lights, dreamy and surreal, and a preview of an electronic invitation, with embossed gold writing saying "Su Haoyang & Xu Mengjie Engagement Ceremony."

"My mom’s been busy with this for days, arranging everything! Taking you to see Mrs. Liu today was also to pave a smoother path for your future, so after the engagement and marriage, you can have a decent and satisfying career, not completely dependent on the family’s whims! She may be a bit hasty, and the method might have led to a misunderstanding, but her intentions are definitely good! It’s for the future of our little family!"

He watched as the anger in Xu Mengjie’s eyes gradually got replaced by confusion and a faint glimmer of hope, his heart silently mocking, yet his face appeared more tender and affectionate.

He knelt on one knee, held Xu Mengjie’s cold hand, and looked up at her with sincere eyes, "Mengmeng, I love you. I swear to you, the engagement ceremony next week will definitely happen as planned! You will become my rightful fiancée! If you really don’t want to join Splendid Culture, then we won’t! At worst, I’ll earn money to pay back that five million penalty to my mom myself, so you don’t feel indebted to us! As long as you stay by my side, be my bride! Okay?"

Immense grievance and a sense of "finally being understood," "finally reaching happily ever after," surged in Xu Mengjie’s heart, and she could no longer hold back. She squatted down, hugged Su Haoyang, and burst into tears.

"Haoyang... sob... I’m sorry... I was just... I was too agitated just now... I’m just... so scared... I’m afraid of losing you... afraid all this is fake..."

Su Haoyang held her tightly, gently patting her back, his voice so tender it could drip water, "Silly, it’s all real. Next week, you’ll be my fiancée. Don’t be afraid, I’m here. As for Splendid Culture, if you want to sign, sign. If not, then don’t, it’s all up to you."

He skillfully shifted the narrative, emotionally binding "signing with Splendid" to "engagement," as if refusing to sign was a betrayal of this "true love."

Leaning in Su Haoyang’s arms, Xu Mengjie was washed over by a massive wave of "happiness," her rationality long defenseless.

She sobbed, her voice thick with a nasal tone, "I... I’ll sign... for you, for our future... I’ll sign..." At this moment, she only felt that signing with Splendid was a way to prove her "maturity," that she was worthy of the Su Family and this "love," and was a return for her "sacrifice" for Su Haoyang.