After Elisa finished listening to him, she sighed with relief, her eyes reddening. She clenched the candy in her hand and stared silently at Louis.
Louis was startled, gently pulling her closer, “What’s wrong? Why are your eyes red?”
“I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”
Louis laughed, “After searching for so long to find you, how could I not want you? It’s just that now the White Group is gone, I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect you in the future, let alone I might burden you…”
Elisa wasn’t a brave person; she was more like a snail. Instead of facing the outside world, she preferred to harden her shell. At the slightest hint of harm, she would retreat into her shell.
After experiencing death once, she had built many emotional walls and was unwilling to believe in marriage and love again. But Louis was an exception. He always stood in front of her, protecting her, and embracing her. He had never thought of abandoning her.
Now that the walls had collapsed because of him, many things had changed deep within her. She would not give up anything related to “Louis”. She believed in him more than she believed in herself. She would never let Hamish see the results he desired come to pass.
“It’s always been you protecting me, so let me protect you in the future, and I can also give you a home.”
Louis had been mistaken for someone else, becoming a child of a bodyguard. His childhood was just as parentless as Elisa’s. The Burns family treated him well, but a servant was always a servant. When necessary, they would have him risk his life to save Hamish.
He had grown up in an orphanage and had played the fool for many years. Louis had always longed for a home, so he bought a house in Bankshire as soon as he earned his first bit of money. The home he wanted wasn’t just a house; it was a house where Elisa lived.
With Louis’s abilities, he could ensure his family’s material needs, but lacking influence would make the road ahead more difficult. But if Elisa encountered danger again, he could give nothing except his life.
Louis tried to conceal his disappointment as much as possible, but Elisa still noticed it. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up, “You’ve been busy for so long, you haven’t been out for a long time. Come with me outside to relax and get some fresh air.”
“Okay.” He couldn’t be too busy to take it for granted, and he might end up making himself sick.
Louis had previously said he would exercise to put on some muscle, but now he looked even thinner.
Elisa held the car keys; she drove, and Louis didn’t ask her where they were going. Wherever she wanted to go, he would follow.
Soothing music played in the car. It was a bit chilly in November, but the warm air from the air conditioner made one feel drowsy.
Louis’s eyes were bloodshot, looking as if they were inflamed.
“Take a nap, I’ll wake you when we get there.”
Louis obediently closed his eyes, and after a while, belatedly responded with a “Mm.”
Watching him close his eyes, Elisa controlled the steering wheel with one hand, while the other opened the car drawer and looked at the two crimson household registration booklets inside.
After driving for almost an hour, they arrived at their destination. Elisa carefully parked the car on the side and then went to wake Louis up.
She patted his face, “Louis, wake up, we’re here.”
Louis drowsily opened his eyes, his deep brown eyes watery and full of confusion.
“Where is this?” He maintained a sleeping posture, his neck sore and stiff from sleeping, causing discomfort when he turned his head.
Elisa reached out to tidy his messy hair, pressing down the piece that was standing up in the middle.
“Come out and see.”
Louis unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, and before his feet touched the ground, he saw three words outside.
– Household Registration Office.
He immediately froze, sitting on the edge of the seat, his feet forgotten in mid-air.
He turned back, only to see Elisa smiling at him, holding two household registration booklets in her hands.
The Household Registration Office, household registration booklets, what else could they be for?
Louis’s chest constricted, followed by a strange emotion overflowing from his chest, as if boiling water scalded his heart. The intense heat spread through his entire body, making his palms sweaty.
“Maybe it’s a bit late today, but the Household Registration Office hasn’t closed yet. We might just be the lucky couple to register today.”
“Elisa…” Louis’s nose felt sour with the surge of emotion.
“Yes?”
“I haven’t proposed to you yet.” He wanted to give Elisa a complete and proper emotional experience. From confession to dating, proposing, giving a ring, engagement, and then marriage.
“That doesn’t matter.”
“I haven’t brought a ring either.”
“After we finish the formalities, you can go back home and get it for me to wear. We can wait until we’re less busy to have the wedding, and the wedding photos too, besides…” Elisa paused, smiling happily, “All I want is you, not these external things. As for my parents, they took you to the cemetery last time. As for Aunt Burns and them, they gave me this household registration booklet.”