Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 466 - 337. Let me tell you what love is (2 updates 1)
Shi Nian didn’t want to cry at this moment, but tears fell down uncontrollably, one after another, she wiped them away with the back of her hand but couldn’t stop them.
She thought of Dad again, thought of the various threats the family had received over the years without interruption. They were all from criminals caught by Dad or those about to be trapped with nowhere to run. She had been scared, had been tired of it, she had even asked Dad: Was catching those people at any cost simply to fulfill the mission of a policeman, to make justice triumph over evil?
Dad lovingly stroked her hair and responded: Yes. Police are enforcers of the law, symbols of justice, so officers must maintain social stability, ensuring that all people always believe that justice will ultimately triumph over evil.
But what officers do is not just that. Catching criminals at all costs is to uphold the fairness of the law, but isn’t it also...to pull those who have gone astray back on track?
Dad’s warm gaze fell on her face, Dad said: There are criminals in this world who aren’t necessarily bad people. Sometimes, they don’t want to commit crimes; it’s often just a moment’s lapse, and when they first start to stray, no one is there to give them strength and pull them back.
Dad said in his heart, that was his responsibility. He was eager to catch the criminals because if he could pull them back even one day earlier, it would reduce the opportunity for them to continue doing evil by one day and prevent them from going further down that wrong path.
Dad smiled under the light, saying, "Punishment is a means, but the purpose is rescue."
Dad said that’s why every prison wall in China has these eight characters: Reform and renew, become a new person.
Looking up, the sky was vast, the sunshine warm. It was as if Dad was still sitting in the shadow of the lamp, his eyes lovingly watching her. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
Shi Nian already knew what to do.
She hadn’t the opportunity to become a police officer in her lifetime, but she was a policeman’s daughter. All of Dad’s unfulfilled wishes rested on her shoulders.
She withdrew her gaze, yet couldn’t help but look towards the distance again...
For herself, whatever decisions she made were straightforward and not begrudging; but what about him?
She had already gone through a misarranged marriage with Xiang Yuan, and he had waited alongside her for a complete four years. And now, will she push him away again today to wear another man’s ring?
Even though he was still young, how many such heart-breaking four years could a waiting heart withstand?
And this decision before her didn’t just concern her, it also implicated him; it was a decision concerning their future together.
What should she do?
.
Huangfu Huazhang also sensed Shi Nian’s hesitation; he unconsciously glanced behind him, then saw Tang Yanqing approaching them.
The man in the police uniform stood straight in the sunlight, the sky above and bright sharp eyes below.
So dazzling even Huangfu Huazhang squinted his eyes involuntarily.
This young man before him, given his origins, his experiences, his age, was easily stereotyped and labeled by society as an aristocratic son, even crowned with the title "China’s First-born Son." Even Huangfu Huazhang couldn’t help but belittle him.
Thinking his halo was fully derived from his family background, believing his achievements were merely magnified and exaggerated by the outside world based on his background, he couldn’t help but think that this young man, having a harmonious family and being pampered, would have no real resilience and was no match for him.
In short, he never truly took this young man seriously. Even though he knew that the young man cared for Nian Nian and shared his unwavering devotion, he still reliably believed he held the winning edge.
However, through the years, witnessing what had unfolded, he gradually developed two new sentiments towards this young man:
One was respect, the other was fear.
Respecting the fact that after the incident four years ago, he astonishingly set aside all his youthful recklessness, cut all his ties himself, and cloaked himself like a monk. He vigorously pursued the truth of four years ago, striving...to control himself without rashly awakening her while she in a stupor within that mistaken marriage.
During those four years, Tang Yanqing transformed every day, and he saw it.
Perhaps outsiders only saw his rebirth after years of struggle, but only he saw the pain of shedding old skin and severed flesh.
And the fear? Like the term: young worth fearing, right?
This young man had eight years between them, so many struggles and bitter experiences; he once firmly believed there was a gap of not just eight years in their intellects, perhaps eighteen years, possibly eighty.
But over the four-plus years as every step was taken, especially during the recent eruptions of direct conflict, he realized he was wrong. The gap wasn’t even eight years. Tang Yanqing was continuously advancing, quietly and stubbornly nearing him.
At times, he believed Tang Yanqing was deliberately imitating him. The best way to become someone, to surpass them, initially involves imitation. At that moment, he was suddenly awakened; in order to stand on par with him, even surpass him, Tang Yanqing was willing to relinquish the image of a policemen, abandon the Tang Family background, abandon himself...this young man was willing to risk everything.
Thus the situation was as today, now.
He had already grasped Nian Nian’s hand, knelt before her, offering her a ring.
Everything was within a step, yet when he turned back, Tang Yanqing had quietly approached him, close, right beside him.
His dream was right before him, but his greatest threat was behind him; the distance between them was almost equal.
A dream and a nightmare opened their doors to him simultaneously.
But how could he let everything develop uncontrollably? So he gently shook Shi Nian’s hand, urging, "Nian, say yes to me."
.
Shi Nian lowered her eyes, as if rain had started falling in them, one tear after another, unstoppable.
But her expression already betrayed her true feelings. He looked up at her, then slowly smiled.
He knew she would agree to him, he knew despite her struggle, she would eventually agree to him.
Between him and Tang Yanqing, he would finally be the ultimate winner.
Tang Yanqing, after watching her marry Xiang Yuan for four years, would again witness her putting on his ring and becoming his wife.
This was what he conquered and what Tang Yanqing deserved.
She originally was his girl, as foretold over ten years ago. And Tang Yanqing was merely the rude and uninvited intruder who broke into their world, forcibly intruding into her heart.
This was unfair, so he deserved to lose once more.
He smiled and reached out to wipe away her tears, then slipped the ring onto her ring finger...
At this moment, the daylight was too dazzling, close and far, above and below were a blinding glow that Shi Nian could see nothing but the gentle yet glaring pearl light of the ring.
How long is the length of the ring finger? From fingertip to root, how long does it take in fractions of a second?
She was already too late to hesitate any longer, unable to look again at the man in police uniform.
When the ring’s coolness touched her fingertip, she gently closed her eyes.
But at this moment, her arm was suddenly gripped tightly, forcibly pulling her out from that glowing circle, and she herself fell into a warm and safe embrace.
In her ear was his lazy yet determined scolding: "Big cousin, that’s enough! You say you love her, you remind everyone and yourself that you’ve loved her for over ten years, but how many times was it not forced upon her? When have you ever patiently and equally asked her, whether she felt the same love for you?"
Huangfu Huazhang hesitated for a moment before standing up, his blue eyes glaring at Tang Yanqing as fiercely as wolves on an arctic tundra, "On what grounds?! I love her, she knows; I could abandon everything for her, she understands. In terms of a man’s love for a woman, who could do it better than me? She is a clever young girl; she knows my feelings for her, which is why she accepted my proposal; she was waiting for me to slip the ring onto her finger!"
Tang Yanqing held Shi Nian tighter, boldly meeting Huangfu Huazhang’s gaze: "Big cousin, you’re wrong! A man’s love for a woman isn’t just about abandoning everything for her. It’s not about even your declarations of love being expressed as some kind of condescending gift. Let me show you how a man should love a woman!"
Tang Yanqing lowered his eyes to look at Shi Nian, his expression gentle as water, "A man loving a woman means valuing her feelings more than his own. When she cannot open her heart to you momentarily, even in pain, you should see her stand beside another man, delicate and charming, with a charming smile."
