Bingdis, with a bamboo stick still in her mouth, spoke to me as casually as if we were discussing the weather, but what she said was like a thunderclap: "Shall we get married?"

My first reaction was... no reaction, because it was too much information to process! I stood there dumbfounded, with only a few words rolling in my mind: Let’s get married... Let’s get married... Let’s get married... Just as these words were crazily scrolling in my brain, Bingdis poked me with the bamboo stick to snap me out of it, and I blurted out: "Let’s get married."

"Oh, you agreed? Okay, I’ll go tell my dad." Bingdis nodded satisfactorily, clapped her hands, and was about to stand up. That’s when I finally snapped out of my thunderstruck daze, quickly grabbing her hand: "Wait a minute!! What did you just say?!"

"Getting married," Bingdis stood up, dusting off imaginary dirt from her clothes, and looked at me strangely, "Didn’t you just agree? Oh, getting married so soon seems a bit rushed; we can start by dating first..."

I finally snapped out of my daze and noticed all the eyes around us were focused here; clearly, it wasn’t just my imagination—I really heard what I heard! I instantly jumped back nearly five meters, holding two skewers of grilled kidneys in a defensive stance, looking at Bingdis as if she were some eldritch entity: "What manner of monster are you?! How did you transform into Bingdis?!"

Bingdis frowned, utterly confused: "Are you insane? This is a serious matter, you know!"

The problem is that you yourself don’t look serious at all! Isn’t this type of conversation supposed to be brought up solemnly in a romantic atmosphere? Why did this female hooligan start talking about marriage while holding a bamboo skewer like she was discussing dinner plans? How am I supposed to take this seriously... No, that’s not the point; the point is what nerve of hers short-circuited to spring this on me! Does she even know what she’s saying?

I felt my state of confusion never easing, and by now everyone else had gathered around: Either a Divine King or True God was present, and at the very least, a Demigod—do you think those ears are for decoration? Even if Bingdis had whispered to me, I bet everyone on the square could still hear. The people at the edge of the square hadn’t come over, but looking at the complete silence around us, I knew everyone heard what happened!

Bingdis, the infamous woman of steel across the Three Realms, the roaming terror amongst the Divine Race, the walking meteor hammer, unmanaged for eons until just now, proposed while gnawing on a bamboo stick here!

Sandora, Qianqian, and Lin Xue were all present, along with a group of curious family members and idlers of the Divine Race, quickly enclosing the vicinity tightly. Qianqian was the first to pounce over and immediately bit into my arm, the crunch almost audible with a sound of bone grinding, prompting me to shout out: "Hey, no biting! It’s not my fault! I didn’t say anything!"

"No matter who started this, biting you first can’t be wrong," Lin Xue crossed her arms with an odd smile as she approached from behind, looking at Qianqian still hanging on my arm and slightly shaking her head, "I just had some spicy sauce and don’t want to make you get a heat stroke, so I won’t bite you for now."

I nodded: "Oh, thanks... No, wait, listen to me! Actually, just now..."

"We’ve been listening," Sandora waved her hand, casually handing me a big piece of grilled meat to block my mouth, then looked at Bingdis with a curious expression, "Finally making a move on someone else’s bread, huh? I was wondering when you’d finally figure it out."

"You’re not surprised?" Bingdis scratched her head, "I thought you’d definitely rush over to fight; I even prepared my weapons."

Bingdis was surprised; I was even more surprised! Because I found that almost everyone around us looked unsurprised, including Qianqian, who hung on my arm for half a minute and then went back to flipping grilled veggies, as if the bite was just to make a point. The rest of the family were either chatting, eating, or exchanging glances hinting at an exciting show, and some just glanced over then turned back to their naps. Xiao Xue, the most noticeable imp, gleefully waved at Bingdis, raising a fist in an encouraging gesture... something feels off here.

Indeed, everyone had gathered around, but most of them seemed to bear an attitude of "Oh, it’s finally happening? Let’s go take a look," merely here to watch. They had curiosity and were joining the fun, but none of them expressed surprise or disbelief!

At this moment, noticing many stares concentrated on this spot from the square, Lin Xue suddenly raised her voice and shouted around: "What are you all looking at! Haven’t seen other people’s daily dramas? If you’re so curious, go get a partner yourself!"

Finally, the many gazes dispersed, and at this point, Sandora and Bingdis had been staring at each other for half a minute. The Queen, Sandora, looked Bingdis up and down with an amused expression, just like discovering a new continent, and even Bingdis, steadied by her woman of steel reputation, seemed a bit unable to take it: "Hey, what are you staring at? Let me tell you, I’m oriented quite normally, don’t think that messing around with me can stop me from being with your bread, my worldview isn’t something you can imagine..."

I think this worldview indeed isn’t something anyone can imagine.

"I just didn’t expect you to figure it out without anyone prompting you," Sandora wasn’t surprised by the situation at all, or rather her only surprise was that Bingdis managed to "figure it out" today, "How did you suddenly wake up to it?"

Bingdis finally realized the situation wasn’t playing out as she imagined, showing a rare sign of unease: "Well... how would I know! I just suddenly realized I like your bread, so what of it! Bring it on if you don’t like it!"

"Wait a minute! The person involved hasn’t given their opinion yet," I suddenly realized I had become the one being ignored by everyone and felt like I had to speak up or be forgotten, "What’s with your reactions? Why do you all seem like you expected this?"

"Because we did expect this day," Lin Xue sighed softly behind me, though it didn’t sound sad, more like an exasperated chuckle, "Whatever for you, but Bingdis... she’s strong in many ways, but a total idiot in feelings. Since last year, we’ve been privately betting on when she’d figure out her feelings, and we didn’t expect her methods to be so... well, no one else could copy them."

I stared around in disbelief, confirming Lin Xue hadn’t gone crazy, nor were the others joking, but still found it hard to process this development: "But your reactions shouldn’t be like this, I feel like I’m the only one in the dark, like you all planned this?"

Lin Xue patted my shoulder: "What else can we do? Don’t forget how you tricked me; sometimes fate is unavoidable. More importantly... look at a certain imp’s attitude here. We may have known sooner, but that imp had already spilled the beans long ago."

I instinctively looked up, and immediately saw Xiao Xue trying to sneak away into the crowd!

Then instantly, I understood everything: This girl was from the future, she knew what Bingdis’s future was like, and not only did she not tell us, but she had already disclosed it to everyone at home?!

Which means... everything happening before my eyes is real?

Why had I not seen any sign of it before!

"So, what do you plan to do?" It was my first time realizing how much pressure being around non-normal people could exert, "Hey, I’m asking you! Why are you all leaving... Sandora, you really have to eat at a time like this?"

"Keep eating, keep eating; it’s no big deal, just do whatever you were doing," and as expected, it was Xiao Xue, the resident troublemaker, who came out at this moment, not taking her dad’s emotional turmoil seriously at all, "Hasn’t it always been like this over the years? At most, my Ice Mother chose to reveal things today—Dad, you handle the rest, okay?"

Me: "..." How am I supposed to handle this! I’m still confused!

But everyone else really dispersed just like that, even Sandora and the others just gave me a blank look before each going back, leaving only me and Bingdis here feeling all sorts of bewildered in the wind, oh, it’s not just us, Big Sister and those two elders from the Divine Race didn’t leave either, but I suspect they stayed just to watch the spectacle.

Speaking of which... what happened to the promised storm of blood? What about the love-hate drama? The promised chaotic scene where I’m nobody both inside and outside? Can you guys still have fun with this kind of attitude in the future — not to mention that the plot in front of me can’t continue, hello!

The current situation is very clear, and it’s that everyone in the family actually knew long ago (shockingly a year ago!) that Bingdis would have such a scene sooner or later. Plus, since it was spilled by some naughty kid in the future, the family didn’t doubt it at all and have been eagerly watching the development of things between the two of us. But what I still find hard to understand is... Sandora and the others accepted it so calmly? Even though it’s a "pre-determined fact" revealed by a future naughty kid, with normal views, this would be a family-shaking major event, right?

"Practice makes perfect, that’s why Bingdis is really the master," Big Sister suddenly chuckled softly beside me, she sees more clearly than anyone, "Although she’s an emotional idiot, she’s surprisingly capable. She used four years of getting along to become a natural part of this family, although she didn’t say anything, she’s already forcefully made herself family by her sheer will. So after Xiao Xue gave us the lowdown, everyone was surprised for a moment but immediately felt everything was quite normal. She’s been in this state with you and with everyone for a long time now, the only difference now is that she herself has realized it."

In the end, Big Sister sighed faintly: "High combat power but a real emotional idiot, why are these precious characters only popping out of our family..."

"Is that right?" I scratched the back of my head, barely managing to patch up my worldview, while Bingdis on the other side, after hearing what we said, blinked confusedly: "What did your sister say? Why doesn’t it make sense to me? Does this have something to do with combat power? Is fighting necessary for romance?"

"Hang on a second!" At this moment, a flash of inspiration hit me, and I finally realized the most important thing, immediately cutting off Bingdis’s nonsense loudly, "Don’t say anything yet, let me think about this!"

Maybe my voice was too loud, people who had gone their separate ways turned their heads, and dozens of curious eyes concentrated on me all at once, which was quite pressuring, but I still managed to say the second half of the sentence seriously: "Bingdis, sorry, I need to sort this out and can’t respond to you yet—give me a moment, it won’t take long."

Finally, Bingdis showed a bit of girlish modesty: "Oh, it’s okay, if you don’t agree, I’ll just find a chance to push it through."

Me: "..." Being modest really is useless, isn’t it! How can this rogue goddess speak such nonsense without any sand in her words?

But still, I maintained a serious attitude and did indeed go to a quiet place, bowing my head and pondering. At this point, many people at the scene were puzzled. Moments later, Yelsen was forcibly sent over by the crowd to probe the situation, he sat next to me and bumped my shoulder hard a couple of times: "They sent me over to confirm a bit... you really aren’t agreeing?"

"I don’t know, I’m thinking about it now," I replied without turning my head, "Let me think."

"My sister said that if you are hesitating now, it’s either because you’re being pretentious or you’re truly sincere," Yelsen showed no sign of leaving, on the contrary, he sat even more solidly, "Big Sis is actually a good woman... don’t glare at me, if I don’t say that I’d definitely get knocked down by Big Sis in seconds. But no matter what, it’s undeniable that Big Sis is the best blossom of the Divine Realm, I’m a junior so I don’t know much, but even with my little knowledge, I know this is the first time anyone’s heard her confessing to someone, how precious is this opportunity, why are you hesitating? Your family isn’t saying anything, are they?"

Hearing the words "best blossom of the Divine Realm", I wanted to ask if a cannibal flower counts as a flower too—but that’d kill the mood, so I didn’t say it. What I said when I spoke was serious: "I’m not being pretentious, I’m being cautious, this has nothing to do with whether Qianqian and the others agree or not. Bingdis isn’t joking, having known her for a few years, I can tell, so I have to take this seriously. Getting flustered just because a beautiful girl shows goodwill is just deceiving, I don’t want to deceive her—I also don’t want to deceive myself."

Yelsen looked slightly surprised: "Ah, my sister was right as expected: she said although you have several partners, you’re actually a good person. Any normal man faced with such a situation would be glad to nod long ago, but you’d surely need to battle with yourself for a while."

Me: "...Thank your sister, but what’s with the long-distance ’Good Person Card’? Did I offend her?"

Yelsen only chuckled without saying a word, while I looked over at Bingdis not far away, intending to let looking at her clarify my heart, but soon I found it’d have been better not to look: The protagonist of this incident, with her utterly unreplicable carefree mentality, was competing with a bunch of naughty kids for meat skewers, she seemed to have already forgotten about the confession just now...

"Found your answer?" Yelsen teased deliberately after seeing the expression on my face.

I remained silent, merely reminiscing over all the time spent with Bingdis, sorting out my feelings bit by bit.

Nodding requires courage, confirming one’s true heart, and if you can’t genuinely respond, you’d rather shake your head and walk away, this is a responsibility. But I discovered a problem: previously, confirming feelings with Sandora and the others went smoothly, yet with Bingdis, things became subtle; no matter how I recollected, Bingdis always appeared in my mind as a genuine buddy.

I understand why this rogue goddess didn’t get into a relationship for billions of years, everyone who knows her ultimately ends up being her buddy!

But as I slowly calmed my heart, stopped thinking about what kind of role Bingdis played, and focused on my feelings for her, finally, that buddy image began to fade, ultimately... solidifying as a woman, whose temper is a bit quirky, but who has journeyed through trials and tribulations with me over the years, qualifies as both mentor and friend, who has offered a lot but does not have a status.

I feel I shouldn’t be pretentious any longer.

So I strode over to Bingdis and pulled up the rogue goddess who was squatting on the ground competing with Little Baobao for skewered meat: "I’ve figured it out, I’ll treat you well from now on..."

Bingdis turned to look at me: "What did you say? Oh, that thing earlier, wasn’t it already settled? So there’re still so many follow-up steps to dating?"

Me: "..."

Can’t this rogue goddess let the atmosphere get romantic properly? And can there be a limit to her being inexplicably adorable and slow to react in emotional matters, is that alright!

"This is truly an unprecedented confession," Sandora’s voice came from behind. I turned and saw Her Majesty the Queen looking at me with a meaningful smile, and my pressure started rising. "Confessing in front of all leaders and a bunch of High Order Gods from the Xyrin, Star Domain, and Huron series, and then mindlessly gobbling food, and throughout the process, I was present... Ah Jun, ah Ah Jun, being with you really does never lack quirky happenings."

"Well," I couldn’t help but speak, "to..."

"Don’t apologize, never apologize, else it would really look bad," Sandora shook her head, "she can be seen as an acceptable fellow, else do you think Lin Xue and I would nod? Bingdis is indeed formidable, understanding that not letting the fat water flow into outsiders’ fields, she bluntly made herself ’one of us’ before confessing... tch tch. However, I still have to say, I’m not heartless, things are case-specific, Bingdis, Lin Xue and the others and I can accept, doesn’t mean you can mess around again, got it?"

What else can I say at this point? Apart from nodding, there’s nothing I can do.

How come something so serious looks like it’s turning into a farce now! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)