Little Miss Witch: Revenge of the Tainted Angel

"Li Chuntao, let's get married." 

Marriage? He wanted to marry her? 

She was beyond shocked, as she felt her brain short-circuited, rendering her speechless. 

"I'm not sure how to convince you that I love you and I wanted to be with you. If you want to torment me, to punish me, I'm offering you my life. Do as you please, as long as you don't abandon me again." 

Shen Zichen told her, because regardless of how many times he apologized and how many times he said he loved her, he knew that Li Chuntao would have a hard time believing him.

"I'm giving you the rest of my life and I hope it's enough for you to believe me this time." He declared. 

Li Chuntao froze and held her breath. After a long silence, she still didn't react, which made Shen Zichen feel uneasy in his seat. Dear Lord, if Li Chuntao rejected his marriage proposal then he was truly doomed. His eyes started to rim red. 

"W-what did you say?" Li Chuntao asked him as her mind still couldn't process what he said. 

Shen Zichen's lips pressed on a thin line and repeated what he said. He was already at the end of his wits!

"I said I'm willing to give you the rest of my life, if it will make you believe that I love you." 

The pain in Li Chuntao's heart was instantly replaced with joy. She couldn't help but admit she was entirely caught off guard and was completely shocked by his words. To spend the rest of her life with him… this… she had never dared to imagine it. 

She had already lost Ying, the only one left from her small family of four. And now, thinking of starting a new life with Shen Zichen, as his wife, she would have a family she could call her own again. 

The man she loved for so many years was now willing to spend the rest of his days with her. Such an enticing proposal that she couldn't find a reason to deny him. 

At that moment, Li Chuntao realized that no matter how she tried to convince herself to let go, to forget the love she had for him, she was still completely helpless and utterly lost when it came to him. 

He was willing to entrust his heart and share his whole life with her and Li Chuntao was feeling overwhelmed by his sudden proposal. She berated herself inwardly for being so foolish to believe him again. 

But can anyone blame her? Can someone really blame her heart for not being able to let go of Shen Zichen, and to love another man other than him? 

"En, let's get married." She murmured with a slight blush in her cheeks. The snowstorm outside the car was forgotten as her heart was beating faster and faster inside her chest. 

It was now Shen Zichen's turn to be speechless. He wasn't hearing things, right? Li Chuntao really agreed to marry him, right? 

"You agree? You really agree?" He asked as he looked at her expectantly. 

Instead of answering, Li Chuntao only hummed and looked away, trying to hide the blush in her face. 

"Then let's go to your Uncle and inform him about our marriage." 

Li Chuntao had no idea how long they had been driving since the moment Shen Zichen insisted on going to the Li Mansion. When he said he wanted her as her wife, all thoughts and words she mustered up to say were thrown to the wind. 

Before she knew it, she and Shen Zichen had already arrived at the Li Mansion. Because they suddenly arrived, unannounced, Li Yuren and Zheng Yue were both surprised to see them together, especially because they both knew that the two had a fight. 

"Uncle Yuren, we need to discuss something with you and Aunt Yue," Shen Zichen nervously looked at Li Yuren's impassive face then shifting his eyes to Zheng Yue. 

Li Yuren didn't say anything but looking at him and Li Chuntao, his eyes lingered on his niece before he nodded. 

"Let's go to the study." He then extended his hand to his wife, which Zheng Yue willingly accepted. The woman gave Shen Zichen and Li Chuntao a warm smile before letting her husband lead them to the study for privacy. 

Once the door of the study closed, Li Yuren sat on his chair with Zheng Yue standing next to him. Shen Zichen and Li Chuntao sat on the couch side by side, with their back straight under Li Yuren's gaze. 

It wasn't lost to him how his niece's eyes were rimmed red and Shen Zichen's coat was over her shoulders. 

"What brings you here tonight?" Li Yuren asked them. 

Shen Zichen swallowed the invisible lump in his throat and took a deep breath. He'd never been this nervous since the day he took his licensure exam years ago. 

"Uncle Yuren, I'm here to ask you for Chuntao's hand." He announced his intention. 

Li Yuren's eyes sharpened, while Zheng Yue gasped and covered her mouth in surprise.

Li Yuren looked at his niece who hadn't said a single word since they arrived. 

"I wanted to ask her parents for permission, but since they aren't around anymore and you are the one who practically raised Chuntao… Uncle Yuren, please allow me to marry her." Shen Zichen lowered his head as his fists clenched hard on his thighs. He had never been intimidated by Li Yuren's presence before this very moment. 

"Chuntao, what about you? Do you want to marry him?" Li Yuren asked his niece. Before anything else, he must know what Li Chuntao wanted. 

"Y-yes…" 

When Li Chuntao didn't hear anything, she lifted her gaze and met her uncle's inquisitive eyes. 

"Yes, Uncle," she said firmly this time. "I want to marry Brother Zichen!" She said, loud and clear. 

"You aren't pregnant?" Li Yuren's voice became colder, sending shivers down Shen Zichen's spine. 

Li Chuntao shook her head. "No, Uncle. I'm not." 

She knew what he was implying with his question. It was also almost impossible for her to get pregnant when she'd only had sex with Shen Zichen once, and that too with her on contraceptives, since she came back from overseas. 

Li Yuren was silent for a long time, deliberating the sudden turn of the events. He only wanted the best for his nieces and he already failed with Ying. Ying and Chuntao were already at the right age to decide for themselves, but unlike Shen Zichen, Mu Jianyu never sought him for his blessing for his marriage with Ying. 

"Then… when do you plan to get married?" 

Did he really have a choice? If Shen Zichen could really take care of Chuntao this time, who was he to ruin their happiness? 

"In a week. I also need to discuss this with my parents." 

Li Chuntao turned her head and looked at Shen Zichen's face in shock. 

A week? Wasn't that too fast to get married? 

Li Yuren hummed while his wife clapped her hands in excitement. She couldn't wait to start the preparations with Old Madam Li. Maybe she could give Lu Xinyi a call later to work on the wedding plans. 

After exchanging some words, Shen Zichen bid goodbye and headed outside. The Li family sent him off, just outside the main door. 

"Zichen," Li Yuren called him out. "You better take care of Chuntao from now on or else…" 

Shen Zichen nodded.. He understood the warning clearly.