The person she wanted to marry was not ‘maybe not him’—it had never been him. It wasn’t before, and until he said these words, he was still not her choice.

Luo Qi cried for herself once, on the day of her break-up.

The next time she cried was because of him.

“Luo Qi, do you want to marry me?” he said again for fear that she could not hear clearly over the sound of the rain.

The rain was so heavy that Jiang Shenghe’s back was now soaked.

Luo Qi raised her hand and grasped the umbrella pole tightly, pushing it to cover his head.

The moment she ran downstairs to chase him, she knew that everything that happened next could rapidly spin out of control. Unexpectedly, while she was still struggling with the huge gap in their family status and worrying about them not ending in marriage—he asked her to marry him.

His proposal pushed everything beyond ‘getting out of control’ and directly over the edge.

Seven years and seven months—longer than it took her to pay off her family’s debt.

For once in her life, when she was twenty-nine years old, she did something crazy.

She didn’t know what the future held.

She had no excuses.

Luo Qi’s hand slowly slid down the umbrella pole to where his hand was holding the handle, and her hand covered the back of his. Luo Qi said nothing, turning her head to look out into the night. In the heavy rain, she couldn’t see anything clearly.

Jiang Shenghe felt the warmth of her palm. After waiting for seven years, at this moment, he finally got his wish.

He lowered his head and was about to kiss her lips. The moment he pressed down, Luo Qi jerked away and hit her forehead against the umbrella pole. The person in front of her was the boss; she couldn’t be intimate with him with that distracting thought in her head.

The oppression he had given her before had left shadows, and she was unable to change her mindset in just a few minutes.

Jiang Shenghe apologized, “Sorry, I was abrupt.”

Luo Qi shook her head, “It’s only that I still treat you as my boss.”

Jiang Shenghe understood that her agreement to get the marriage certificate from him did not mean that she would immediately accept being intimate with him, so he let go of her waist.

Luo Qi took her hand away from his, walked around his side, and gently touched his back with the back of her hand. Water could be squeezed out of his clothes.

“Chief Jiang, please change your clothes in the car first. It’s easy to catch a cold.”

“Can you not call me that?”

“… okay.”

There was a suitcase in the trunk of the car, which was always ready for business trips. It has all kinds of clothes.

There was only one umbrella, and the two of them walked towards the car together.

Jiang Shenghe took out a shirt and a towel. He opened the door and got in the car. Luo Qi waited for him outside the car.

In fact, she could have borrowed his umbrella first and gone up by herself, but for some reason she didn’t want to, so she just waited for him outside the car.

When she rushed out to chase him earlier, she had also been caught in the rain, but she wasn’t as soaked as he was.

Jiang Shenghe changed his shirt as quickly as possible, got out of the car, and sent her upstairs.

From the first floor, there was only the sound of their footsteps.

When they reached her door, Luo Qi’s hand was empty. There was no key. She checked her pockets and found none.

Jiang Shenghe asked, “What are you looking for?”

“I may have dropped the key.” In her rush to get down, she couldn’t remember where she put the key after opening the door.

Jiang Shenghe looked at the door and said, “You left it on the door.”

Luo Qi looked at the lock and saw that the key was still inserted into the keyhole. She opened the door and pulled it out.

She hesitated whether to invite him in for a glass of water or let him go.

Jiang Shenghe could see that she was struggling, and he himself had no intention of entering the house.

The day to receive the certificate has not been finalized yet, so he asked, “When do you want to go get the marriage certificate?”

Deciding to be in a flash marriage was crazy, but it was no reason for Luo Qi to skip choosing a good date to receive the certificate. This was one of the most important days of her life. She looked at the calendar on her phone.

She chose two dates with better homophonic sounds, “925 or 927, you…” She promptly corrected to informal, “What do you think?”

Jiang Shenghe just wanted to get the certificate as quickly as possible, “The first one.”

He never thought that he would also worry about gains and losses¹, “Will you regret it?”

Luo Qi said, “I don’t know if I will regret it in the future, but I don’t regret agreeing to get the certificate with you now.” This life was too long, and who could guarantee that they would be able to get through it all their life.

Jiang Shenghe took her hand. She wanted to twitch but didn’t.

He opened the door and said, “Go in and change your wet clothes.”

Before closing the door, he said, “Thank you for giving me a chance.”

The door closed and the footsteps outside the door left.

Luo Qi leaned against the door. Just now, the boss held her left hand. On that night in Suzhou when he dragged her away, he had only held her wrist.

Just now, he held her hand, palms to fingertips.

Now the palm and back of her left hand was searing hot.

Luo Qi composed herself, took off her half-wet clothes and took a shower.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

After drying her hair and changing into pajamas, she came out of the bathroom still a little dazed. The painting leaning next to the door reminded her that Jiang Shenghe had really been here, and it was not a dream.

Luo Yu’s birthday wish for her came true.

Luo Qi found a cutter and carefully unwrapped the oil painting. This was the most meaningful birthday gift she received this year. There was really no place to put it in her small house, so she put it on the top of the piano.

The phone on the sofa vibrated. She turned around to see who was calling. The screen clearly displayed: Chief Jiang.

Luo Qi took a deep breath before answering, “Chief Jiang.”

“When you’re off work, just call me by my name.”

She didn’t dare.

She had a mental block against calling her boss by his name in front of him.

“Just try to say it. I will be your husband in two days, will you still call me ‘Chief Jiang’ at home?”

“…”

Luo Qi changed the subject, “Why did you call?”

“It’s okay.” Jiang Shenghe told her, “Just to let you know I’m home now.”

“Oh.” She was still not used to their change of status, and it was too awkward to suddenly talk to her boss. “Chief Jiang, I don’t know what to say. Give me some time first and I’ll get used to it.”

“You can say whatever you want, it doesn’t matter if you have nothing to say.” As long as the phone call was open. During the six years when she was with someone else, he didn’t even have the standing to call her when he wanted to.

Luo Qi racked her brains and wanted to talk more, “You don’t need me to work tomorrow, right?”

She counted silently: eight words, quite a few.

“You don’t have to work. But I’ll be at the office around nine o’clock, and I’ll be there all day.” Jiang Shenghe paused, “I’ll also be at work during my breaks. From now on, if you have nothing to do, you can stop by and see me at any time. I’ll be there.” 

“Luo Qi thought of the tavern, ‘Come, I’m Still Here’.

“Go to sleep now.” Jiang Shenghe waited for her to hang up the phone before he hung up.

The rain hasn’t stopped yet, and he wasn’t sleepy at all.

It’s all so unreal.

He thought about another thing: [Before we receive the certificate, do you want to tell your parents? There is still time to go tomorrow, I will accompany you to Suzhou.]

Luo Qi: [Let’s wait until we get to know each other better.]

She wasn’t mentally prepared yet.

Her mind’s a complete mess right now.

She has met his father before, and strangely enough, she was inexplicably afraid of him. She also knew what his family expected from his marriage, and her family would not be liked by them.

She had been so deeply hurt by her previous relationship that all she wanted to do now was to repay the debt, and she no longer has the energy or the mental fortitude to deal with objections against her family.

She sent another message: [Can you not tell anyone first?]

Jiang Shenghe: [Okay. Let’s wait until you are out of debt and have reached a higher level in your career before making things public.]

Seventh Year of My Secret Love for You translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: We’ve reached the halfway point of the story, and they’re finally getting married 😭

If you’re enjoying my translations, do consider buying me ko-fi. Thanks for your support! ❤️

A list of all advance chapters is HERE.
Chapter 36.2 — Getting A Marriage Certificate
Chapter 36.3 — Getting A Marriage Certificate
Chapter 36.4 — Getting A Marriage Certificate

Chapter 37.1 — The Boss In Front Of Her Is Her Husband
Chapter 37.2 — The Boss In Front Of Her Is Her Husband
Chapter 37.3 — The Boss In Front Of Her Is Her Husband
Chapter 37.4 — The Boss In Front Of Her Is Her Husband

1. Worried about gains and losses—to be insecure about something. You worry you cannot get want you want, and when you get it, you worry about losing it. In this case, Jiang Shenghe never thought he’d get Luo Qi in the first place so there was no need to think about whether he could lose her—but now he has that worry.
   
   The story behind the idiom is a master archer, famed across the land for hitting every target he aimed at. He was invited by the emperor to showcase his skills and gave him a set of conditions: if he succeeds in hitting the target, he would be awarded with ten thousand golden taels; if he misses, his fiefdom would be reduced by a thousand households. Worried about the gains and losses, the master archer couldn’t calm his heart and failed the exhibition, missing all his shots.
   ↩︎