It’s not easy making a living in the mountains, as it not only required a strong physique, but also knowledge of surviving in the wild and adept hunting skills. This resulted in the lack of capable hunters in the area, hence Xie MingLang was able to sell all of the pelts he prepared within an hour.
The man kept the money in the chest pocket within his shirt and stood up, before pulling up Gu MingYue and said, “Let’s go, daddy will bring you to a place.”
Gu MingYue did not know where the man wanted to bring her, and assumed that they were going to purchase some household items, hence, she followed behind him obediently, and without long, the two stopped in front of the main entrance of a family.
Xie MingLang walked up the stone steps and pulled onto the door knocker, knocking on the door gently. After a short while, someone opened the door from the inside and Gu MingYue realized that it was a clean and cheerful middle-aged woman.
As soon as the woman saw Gu MingYue, her face lit up instantly and her two smiling eyes curved into a crescent-like shape as she greeted them cheerfully, “Brother Xie, you’re finally here.”
Xie MingLang nodded slightly in response, before pointing towards the confused-looking Gu MingYue, “This is my daughter, Xie Yi.” He introduced.
The middle-aged woman glanced at Gu MingYue from head to toe with widened eyes, before smacking her lips and said, “Such a charming young lady, you have no idea how many young men would cry and beg just to take her as their wife~ Don’t worry, you can count on me, I will definitely find her a wonderful husband.”
Gu MingYue finally realized that this middle-aged woman was actually a matchmaker.
In fact, she had not expected Xie MingLang to bring her here with the plan to marry her off. To be honest, it was a ridiculous idea, because the two of them had seen each other naked and slept together every night…
Their relationship had already reached the point of no return, and she was no longer a pure and innocent young lady, but this man was still in denial and was trying to deceive himself to find her an actual young man to spend her life with…
Gu MingYue was at a total loss for words.
At this point, Xie MingLang’s current action was just a selfish wish to stop himself from breaking the bottom line of human morality. He must’ve somehow convinced himself that as long as they don’t take the final step, even if they’ve possibly done everything else, it would still not be counted as taboo.
But, there was no way Gu MingYue would allow the man to make such a move.
Meanwhile, after considering the middle-aged woman’s words for a few minutes and struggling internally, Xie MingLang finally nodded his head in agreement and reached into his pocket for some downpayment for the matchmaking services.
However, before he could do so, he was held down by a pair of smaller hands.
“Daddy, I don’t want to marry anyone else.” Gu MingYue glanced at him with clear black pupils that reflected the man’s figure and said in a firm tone.
“Ah, Miss Xie, every lady’s wish is to get married, and you’re already of age! Furthermore, even if your father allowed you to do so, the government would not allow it… Do you wish to get your father in trouble?”
Gu MingYue turned a deaf ear to the woman’s ramblings and just stared at the man’s face with firm and stubborn eyes.
Of course she knew that it was illegal for a woman in this era to not marry a man and stay single after they are of age, and doing so might end up causing her entire family to be imprisoned.
However, she was not afraid at all, because at such chaotic and war-filled times, it was not possible for the government to have perfect control over the household registrations, and since this Xie Yi used to be an abandoned child, there was a high chance that she was not even registered in the first place.
Not to mention that she lived deep within the mountain valleys, so nobody would find out even if she decided to live out her days there with Xie MingLang.
Xie MingLang had been hesitant on this from the start, and the determination that he had forced upon himself was easily broken down under her unblinking gaze. He did not even try to convince himself further, and instead, shook his head at the middle-aged woman.
And under her astonished gaze, Xie MingLang led his little daughter home.
Prior to this, Xie MingLang had actually visited the matchmaker several times, but no matter how many young men the middle-aged woman presented, Xie MingLang could not help but feel that they did not deserve his wonderful daughter at all.
And after much struggle, he finally decided to bring her here personally so that the matchmaker could take a good look at her and possibly find an honest and capable good husband for Gu MingYue. In fact, Xie MingLang was extremely confident about his little daughter’s looks and believed that, compared to himself, an actual young man would actually do her better.
But when they were at the market and he noticed all the young men were peeping and ogling at Gu MingYue with admiring and sometimes, filthy eyes, with a sinking feeling, Xie MingLang finally realized that it was too hard to bear the fact that the man who would spend the rest of his life with her would never be him…
So, when Gu MingYue reached out to stop him from paying, the man who already had his determination shaken, took advantage of the situation instantly and decided to follow the selfish thought of keeping her by his side for as long as possible.
Such possessiveness can no longer be regarded as a father’s unwillingness to let go of his daughter, and on this bright and sunny morning, Xie MingLang finally recognized his true feelings for her…
“Daddy, can Yi Er marry daddy instead?” Gu MingYue walked behind the man and asked with her voice full of innocence and longing.
He came to an instant halt and turned towards the smiling little girl, and like an unrestrained live volcano that was about to erupt soon, he quickly dragged the girl to a dark alley.
In the alley, with one forearm against the wall behind the little girl’s petite and soft body, he tilted her face up by the chin and glanced intently at the little girl’s beaming face with eyes as dark as ink.
“What did you say.” Xie MingLang’s eyes were full of sorrow and joy, mixed with relief and uncertainty, “Please repeat what you said just now…” He murmured in a low voice.
“Yi Er wants to marry daddy.” Gu MingYue responded in a firm tone, “Yi Er wants to be with daddy forever.”
“Silly child.” Xie MingLang’s scorching breath fell on her face, while the tip of his nose rubbed against her smooth cheeks tenderly as he whispered lightly, “You still do not understand the meaning of marriage.”
“Yi Er does not want to marry anyone else, because Yi Er wants to be by daddy’s side forever. The thought of leaving daddy hurts Yi Er’s heart…” Gu MingYue’s elegant brows curved into a miserable frown as she continued in a sad voice, “And for some reason, Yi Er’s heart would always beat fast when we are together, similarly to our ‘treatment’ sessions, Yi Er’s illness seems to have worsened……”
“Poor girl.” Without realizing it, Xie MingLang’s lips were curved frivolously as he appreciated her expressions in an attentive manner.
“Daddy made Yi Er ill, and only daddy can cure Yi Er…” The little girl’s voice was anxious and filled with concern.
“Daddy will definitely heal you.” Xie MingLang leaned down and kissed the honey-sweet lips softly, “But healing… does not prevent you from marrying… D…Daddy will still heal Yi Er regularly……”
“If marrying means that Yi Er cannot be with daddy all the time, then Yi Er would rather not marry at all!” The little girl suddenly wrapped her arms around the man’s neck and buried her face within the creek of his neck, “If Yi Er must marry, then Yi Er will just marry daddy.”
“Alright.”
“Hm?”
“I said, alright, marry me.” The man’s back was facing the sun, and it was not possible to see his face clearly, but his eyes were shining brightly, like a fire burning among thorns. Thousands of thoughts that had been flickering through his mind came to a pause after Gu MingYue announced that she would marry him, and it all combined into a single YES!
“Even if you regret it later on, I will never ever let you go.”
Yandere moment at the end uwu