The banquet was held in the Blue Hall of Stockholm City Hall.
All the award winners would give speeches in turn at the banquet.
Xie Dingyuan maintained his usual concise style: “…Thanks to the motherland, and thanks to her.”
After speaking, he turned to look at Jiang Fuyue beside him.
Good-natured laughter and applause broke out at the scene.
When it was Jiang Fuyue’s turn, “…Thanks to the motherland, and thanks to the family, friends, teachers, and partners who have always supported me.”
After stepping down, Xie Dingyuan grabbed her, his eyes looking aggrieved: “I thanked you.”
“So?”
“…You didn’t.”
Jiang Fuyue seemed to have expected it long ago. Unhurried, she smiled: “I did thank you.”
“Did you?”
“Yes. I thanked family, friends, teachers, partners… aren’t you my family?”
The man froze for a moment, then broke into a silly grin, “Hehe… I am!”
The two walked to the lawn outside the banquet hall, with the starry sky in the distance and lights nearby.
“Yueyue…” Xie Dingyuan suddenly called her.
“Hm? What is it?”
“This year on your birthday, I didn’t give you a gift…”
“Why bring this up all of a sudden?”
A few days ago, on her birthday, Xie Dingyuan had personally made a cake, the cream smoothed perfectly, even a dream for someone with obsessive tendencies.
“I thought that cake was the gift.”
“It wasn’t,” under the lights, he shook his head, “I didn’t give it because it wasn’t ready yet.”
“What is it? So mysterious…”
The next second, the man took out a square crystal box, about half a palm in size, resting in his hand.
The man in a tailored suit, under the dazzling starry sky, he opened the box and knelt on one knee.
Jiang Fuyue was so startled she stepped back half a step, but the man firmly pulled her, not allowing even the slightest retreat.
“Yueyue, marry me.”
No drawn-out, sentimental confession, just three firm, resounding words: marry me.
Inside the crystal box, a hexagonal star-shaped diamond ring quietly refracted light.
At some unknown moment, Jiang Da and Han Yunru, the Xie family elders and several sisters, Old Master Han and the three uncles, plus Han Ting and Jiang Chenxing, had all appeared on the lawn.
Although Jiang Da had known beforehand, he still felt a pang: “How did it suddenly become a proposal… our Yueyue just turned 22.”
Han Qishan snorted: “His calculations are quite precise, just waiting for our girl to turn 22 and reach the legal marriage age.”
Han Shen glanced at Han Ting: “Brat, learn from this!”
Han Ting: “?” What does this have to do with me?
The Xie family kept their eyes down, quiet as chickens. After gaining such an advantage, it was only right to keep a low profile, otherwise they might get beaten.
Guests who had originally been inside the hall saw the commotion here and rushed out in a swarm.
“Say yes, say yes, ”
Everyone began to cheer and applaud.
Jiang Fuyue looked at the man before her, proud as he was, even kneeling, his straight back did not bend.
“Have you thought it through?”
Thought it through, marrying me, joining hands with me for life, from black hair to white, from youth to old age?
Xie Dingyuan: “From the moment I fell in love with you, the rest of my life has had no multiple-choice questions, because there’s only one answer, and that is you.”
“Okay,” she said.
The crowd:
“She agreed? Did she agree?!”
“I think so? Jiang said ‘okay’!”
“I heard it too!”
“No need to say anything else, applause, screams, don’t stop!”
“……”
Jiang Fuyue laughed: “What are you standing there for? Next, shouldn’t you put the ring on me?”
“…Oh! Right! The ring!” He suddenly snapped back, fumbling.
At the moment the ring slid onto her finger, Xie Dingyuan’s hand couldn’t help but tremble.
As he pushed it to the base, he secured the love of his life, and her entire future as well.
“Yueyue, I love you.”
“Me too.”
The two embraced tightly under the starlight.
Family and colleagues all sent their blessings.
The next day, before the buzz of Xie Dingyuan and Jiang Fuyue attending the Nobel Prize ceremony had faded, news of Professor Xie’s proposal exploded across the internet again.
Videos were recorded by many guests present, posted overseas, and then spread back domestically.
【Oh my god! Are they finally getting married?!】
【Starry sky, lawn, family, friends, I run toward you with all my glory. Professor Xie is too good at this!】
【This couple is sweet from beginning to end, no angst, no misunderstandings. Every time they’re photographed or trend, it’s just another way of showing affection】
【Fans of the Yuan-Yue CP are too blessed, shipping them turned real, sweetness turned into marriage】
【All entertainment industry CPs should learn from these two, stop doing those toxic fan tactics】
【At the moment of our greatest glory, we make a vow of eternal union, from then on, across mountains and rivers, hand in hand】
【I once loved science, now I love science and you, this line fits both of them perfectly】
【Wuwu… crying! So envious of this kind of mutual love, they’ve both become the best versions of themselves】
【Everyone’s congratulating, and I’m just stuck on the fact that Sister Yue just turned 22 (legal marriage age) and already got taken by Professor Xie?】
【Finally someone said what I was thinking, the professor is so sly!】
【After guarding the flower for so long, of course he’d pick it once he could, any man would. The professor just did what any man would do, brilliant!】
【Sister Yue became what every woman wants to be; the professor did what every man dreams of, perfect match!】
【Congratulations! Throwing flowers! When’s the wedding?! Can it be livestreamed?!】
【Can I expect a mini professor or mini Sister Yue? Their child must be super smart!】
……
Not only netizens celebrated, official accounts quickly sent their blessings too.
Huaxia Science & Technology V: 【Joy shared, warmth understood. As vast as heaven and earth, may you spend long days and months together! Blessings!】
Chinese Academy of Sciences V: 【Research and love both flourish, may you grow old together】
Qiming University V: 【We are Sister Yue’s maternal family, if Professor Xie dares to bully her, the whole school will rise up!】
Institute of Biochemistry: 【Like paired wings taking flight, like intertwined branches, congratulations to our deputy director, waiting for red envelopes!】
Wujin Building Official V: 【Couple’s laboratory arrangement!】
……
On December 12th, Xie Dingyuan and Jiang Fuyue returned home with their families.
Reporters and fans, having caught wind, crowded the airport until it was packed tight.
Staff: “I’ll arrange for you to go through the VIP passage…”
“No need.”
Jiang Fuyue and Xie Dingyuan spoke at the same time, exchanging a glance, perfectly in sync.
Both families followed staff through the priority channel, while Jiang Fuyue and Xie Dingyuan appeared hand in hand in the airport hall.
“They actually showed up?!” Reporters found it unbelievable.
The two stood side by side before the cameras,
Xie Dingyuan: “We have fifteen minutes for interviews. Please ask questions in order.”
Jiang Fuyue: “To the fans present, so as not to disturb other passengers or disrupt airport order, please stay quiet and don’t push.”
As soon as they spoke, the scene was immediately brought under control.
Interviews and photos proceeded in an orderly manner.
Security personnel all breathed a sigh of relief,
“These scientists really are different. Those celebrities just slip away through VIP and leave a mess for us to clean up. Some fans even cause trouble.”
“If everyone were like these two, we’d save so much effort!”
“They’re highly educated intellectuals, Nobel Prize–winning scientists, our country’s most valuable talents. Can those barely-educated celebrities even compare?”
“Sigh, why are people so different?”
“Different backgrounds, uneven intelligence, varying character, mismatched values… in the end, everyone has their own fate.”
“That’s not quite right, those standing at the peak carry greater responsibility, but those of us on the mountainside aren’t useless either. If we hold our posts and do our duties well, we’re just as admirable!”
“……”
As December passed, it was soon New Year’s Day of 2055.
Now that Jiang Fuyue and Xie Dingyuan’s relationship was settled, the two families stopped being formal and simply gathered together to celebrate.
It also spared the two of them from being put in a difficult position.
That day, Shi Qingzhi and Qin Yuancheng also arrived.
Han Qishan and Xie Zhendong had only been nodding acquaintances when they were young, not close, not distant, just ordinary friends. Who would have thought that in their later years they would become in-laws?
The happiest was Han Qishan, once the relationship was established, he was technically a generation above Xie Zhendong.
He couldn’t be more pleased.
Both families drove early to the restaurant, it was an old-established venue with antique-style décor. Xie Dingyuan had reserved two floors.
Aside from dining rooms, there were also chess rooms, a café, and massage rooms for entertainment.
If indoors felt boring, they could go outside to the large courtyard to admire plum blossoms in the snow or fish by the cold river.
Jiang Fuyue was selecting wine with Xie Dingyuan when her phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number: “Hello?”
“Sister Yue, it’s Fan Ye.”
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