I LOVE YOU, MY BELOVED

"I love you, my beloved."

One second… two seconds…. Three seconds…

Nothing happened after three seconds. I thought that meant the ritual had failed, and the truth had been revealed. Meng Bao didn't like me at all. 

I didn't dare to open my eyes. I didn't want to see the disappointment in my family's eyes and the confusion in Meng Bao's eyes. 

To be honest, all I wanted to do right now was to disappear from the world. I felt humiliated and ashamed to have brought someone that didn't love me to my household.

Meng Bao had played my heart well, and I fell with all that sweet words coming out of his mouth. 

I waited until Meng Bao, or at least my dad, to open his mouth and ended this awkward ritual. But I waited for a while until my dad said, "Shi Ying, open your eyes!" 

I immediately opened my eyes and saw Meng Bao looking down at the red string connecting our ring fingers.

"Wha—"