That night, the family held a small dinner party. Xilika said it was to welcome them back. An Ming sat down and drank, and halfway through, he started to get drunk and crazy. He stood up and punched his father in the face, knocking him unconscious.
"Old man, are you still a man? She is worried about you, what are you worrying about? If you have something to say, say it quickly. If you have something to say, say it quickly! Don't waste your time!"
An Ming started to go crazy after drinking some wine, as if he had blurted out all the complaints that had been buried in his heart for years.
"You little brat, are you doing something stupid today?"
"You are the brat! You are such a coward, I don't want you as my father!"
An Ming yelled and danced. After dancing, he laughed loudly, raised the wine glass to his mouth and took a big gulp of wine, and then continued to laugh after drinking it.
It was as if he had said everything he wanted to say and was already satisfied. The next moment, An Ming seemed to have lost all memory and fell backwards, snoring while holding the bottle of wine.
"He has no drinking manners. I will never let him drink again."
Wade rubbed the side of his face that was hurt, and when he saw An Ming falling down, he quickly supported him, hoping that he would not get hurt.
"...Can't you just behave yourself, little bastard? If I die one day, no one will clean up your mess."
He looked at Shirika who was standing beside him with a wry smile, wrapped An Ming in a towel blanket and threw him on the sofa.
Shirika also came over and touched An Ming's cheek.
"If you don't talk, you really look like a girl." She said with a smile, looking at An Ming's sleepy eyes.
"Then help him put on a skirt tomorrow and put on some light makeup. I think it will be suitable."
Wade was grinning slyly, as if he had thought of the mischievous child.
He seemed to hold a grudge against that drunken punch. I don't know who is the child, Sirica thought helplessly.
"Mr. Wade, you don't have to care about what An Ming said. I talked to him too much today."
Sirica was ready to give Wade a way out.
"Actually, I think he's right."
"Eh?"
Shirika raised her head suddenly.
"I'm such a coward. Shirika, I'm sorry for making you worry."
Sirica was stunned. This time Wade did not call her "Miss Sirica".
He scratched his stubbled face.
"I was actually planning to talk about this today, but that brat got there first." Wade smiled bitterly, "Please forgive me for this. I'm a rough man and I don't understand romance or atmosphere."
He looked at the messy restaurant because of An Ming's drunkenness. Such a place is far from a place for confession. Probably no girl would dream of such a scene. However, none of the three people present now have anything to do with romance.
"I want to ask you a question, a very important question," Wade approached Shirika, took her hand, knelt on one knee, and took out the prepared ring with his other hand, "Will you marry me?"
Looking at the prepared ring, Shirika's eyes widened. She had never imagined this scene. Since coming to the land of the West, all she had seen and thought about was living. Every day, she looked at the moon and counted the days until her death. It could be tonight, or it could be tomorrow...
She never thought that she might be proposed to, by a Westerner.
"I, I..." She shook her lips, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wade, I, I really..."
Wade slowly stood up, took her hand, and pulled her close to him. They were so close that they could feel each other's breath.
"Really can not?"
"It's already dangerous to keep me around. If you get any closer to me, you'll really die one day."
Shirika's eyes became moist.
"It's okay. I've actually prepared myself mentally. You know, what I do is killing people. The only difference between me and a killer is that I kill people for the Federation, while killers kill people in shady places. I've killed both good and bad people, and I've been hated by countless people. If I die one day, it must be because I was assassinated. Rather, are you really willing to accept a bad guy like me?"
Wade cast aside the childish smile on his face, leaving only maturity.
"Mr. Wade can be really mean sometimes." Sirica turned her face away slightly.
"...and, just think of it as being for this guy." Wade looked at An Ming.
"For An Ming?"
"I have talked about this child's past, right? He used to live for revenge, and now he doesn't even know what a normal life is like. I hope that one day he can get away from this kind of life, have a father, a mother, and a family that loves him by his side, live a normal life, and even go to school like a normal child and meet many people. But I can't give him such a life. I can only teach him how to kill and how to protect himself. He still needs a mother, a mother who loves and cares about him, a mother who will teach him what gentleness is. I hope this mother is you."
Shirika was almost persuaded by Wade, her eyes flickered left and right, full of hesitation.
Then Wade took a step forward and slowly approached Sirica's cheek.
Shirika knew what Wade was going to do, and she was a little flustered and hesitant.
Still somewhat happy.
The two of them got closer and closer, and then Wade gently pressed his lips against the wet and soft lips.
Shirika didn't push Wade away. She hugged Wade's hard back with her hands, closed her eyes slightly, as if she was using all the nerves in her body to feel the touch of her lips.
After a long time, the two separated.
"Now what's the answer?" Wade asked.
With a slightly red cheek, Shirika looked at Wade's smiling face with some dissatisfaction.
"I agree to be An Ming's mother, but Mr. Wade was too tough today. I decided to ignore you. Humph!"
Shirika slightly pushed Wade away, turned around and ran into the room, covering her slightly red cheeks.
"Hey, don't run so fast, be careful not to fall!" Wade followed.
Then the door closed.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Shirika and Wade's wedding took place three days later.
There was nothing to prepare, and there were only three people at the wedding. Neither party had family, so An Ming volunteered to be the parent of both parties and the master of ceremonies.
The wedding ceremony was simple and casual.
Because none of the three believed in the Church of St. Rosetta, An Ming read the wedding speech from a book.
On the wedding day, An Ming stood in the middle of the room, looking at the two people dressed up, and asked in a serious tone.
"Are you willing to marry her and swear to stay by her side forever, to uphold the eternal vows between the two of you. No matter pain, illness, or disaster, it will not separate you from each other until death comes?"
"I do." Wade answered proudly.
An Ming turned to Shirika again.
"You are willing to marry this man and swear that no matter how useless, decadent, or helpless he is, you will always be by his side..."
"Hello!"
Wade protested against An Ming's chaotic oath.
But An Ming ignored him and continued.
"... Whether it's the East or the West, whether it's war or assassins, they will not separate each other until death comes?"
As Wade listened, he immediately calmed down and turned his head to look at Sirica seriously.
"I do."
Shirika just gave him a shy smile and answered simply.
"Then please let the groom put the ring on the bride's finger and give her the kiss of vows."
Wade then pulled out the ring and slowly put it on Erica's slender finger. Then the two of them leaned their cheeks together and kissed each other slowly. But this time the kiss was short, like a bird touching the water.
"In my hometown, weddings are all grand. But it's nice to have a quiet one like this."
Erica said shyly, looking at the ring on her finger.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
It has been a month since the wedding.
Originally, An Ming should have found a way to wake up, but this time he made a lot of changes. Shirika even married her father for real, but the dream still did not end.
Moreover, the timeline of the dream reached a point where he had to stop thinking about escaping.
This is another time in his life that he will never forget.
"An Ming, why are you so serious today?" Xilika asked while sitting on the sofa.
"Actually, I was planning to leave today, but then I realized I couldn't leave like this, and I was thinking hard about what to do."
An Ming said calmly. He knew that even if he said so, Shirika, as a character in the dream, would not know what he was talking about.
Shirika tilted her head, naturally ignoring the first half of the sentence.
"Why don't you ask mom? She will help you solve any problem!"
Shirika said with a chuckle.
"Mom...Sister Shirika, do you believe in fate?"
"What a pity. I hope you can call me mom tomorrow." Xilika poked An Ming's face, then turned around and thought again, "Destiny? Actually, I believe in it very much. Do you know that many Orientals pay attention to fortune? In the West, divination was once considered pagan and the domain of demons. But in the East, divination is a skill to consult the heavens, which belongs to the domain of the true God. Generally, we call those fortune-tellers who can glimpse destiny 'heaven thieves'. Why are you suddenly asking about destiny?"
"Because I want to know if fate really exists, and if it does, can it be changed." An Ming paused, "Sister Xilika, if I tell you that you will die today, do you believe it?"
Shirika was stunned, looking at An Ming's serious expression, thinking for a moment, and then she showed that calm smile again.
"I believe."
"Will you run away?"
"You can't escape."
"Why?"
An Ming stood up in excitement unconsciously and bumped into the tea table. The cups on the table were shaken and ripples appeared in the black tea.
"Because this is fate."
Shirika was very calm, with a smile like a mask on her face.
"Will you accept this death directly? This is too sad."
An Ming felt that he was slowly losing strength.
"An Ming, you are wrong about one thing." Xilika said seriously and touched An Ming's cheek gently, "I said it can't be escaped because it can't be escaped. Fate is such a thing, no matter where you run to, you will eventually converge to one point. Even the queen can't escape her fate, how can I escape? But I didn't say I would wait to die. If fate says I will die today, then I will struggle with all my strength. Because now I have found happiness, I know that this western continent is infinitely vast, there are many things I haven't seen, and there are many things I want to eat and play with you. I still want to continue to hold you in my arms."
As Shirika spoke, she came over and held An Ming in her arms.
"So, I can't die yet."
Xilika's words echoed in An Ming's heart for a long time.
Then, that night, a fire broke out in the house.