Romantic proposals

He and she had started dating in college, having been in love for seven or eight years. Nearing graduation from their master’s programs, he proposed to her. Unexpectedly, she declined. Her reason was that his home was in Taizhou in the south, while hers was in Harbin in the northeast, a distance of 3000 kilometers.

Marriage seemed impractical. She wanted to marry someone closer to home, to conveniently take care of her aging parents, being their only child. Her reasoning was quite sensible.

But was he ready to give up like many college lovers who go their separate ways after graduation? He was unwilling and reluctant to let go. He asked her, “What do you mean by ‘close to home’?”

She replied, “A place reachable by bicycle.”

He was silent.

On their last day in college, as they were parting ways, he asked her again, “If I can reach your home by bicycle, will you marry me? Is that true?”

She solemnly nodded.

He said nothing more, embracing her before they parted. For many college lovers, this goodbye might be forever. With tears in her eyes, she watched his familiar figure slowly disappear.

The next day, he left campus, heading back to his southern home from Harbin. He didn’t go to the airport or the train station; instead, he rode a bicycle. Yes, he planned to cycle from her home in Harbin to his home in Taizhou, 3000 kilometers away.

He carried only a backpack, with a red flag bearing his classmates’ signatures attached to his bike to encourage him to “head south bravely.”

Two days later, she received a WeChat message from him, a photo. In the photo, he was dressed in cycling gear, squatting next to a road marker, holding a sign with six big characters: “Will you marry me?”

She burst into tears. She hadn’t expected him to ride a bicycle home.

Over the next month, she received a photo from him every couple of days, all taken at various road markers, each time holding the same sign, “Will you marry me?” These photos were taken by strangers he met along the way. From Shuangcheng to Fuyu; from Dehui to Mishazi; from Fanjia Village to Nanwei Village; from Shijiabao to Maojia Town; from Wolong Town to Yishan Town; from Tanling Township to Xianren Village… heading south all the way.

They passed through villages and towns they had never heard of before. He didn’t linger in cities or stop to admire the scenery; he had only one goal in mind: to keep going and cycle back to Taizhou.

It was July, the hottest time of the year. She noticed that in the first photo he sent, he still looked like a fair and tender scholar, but by the later photos, his face had turned black as coal.

She was heartbroken.

After 31 days, he finally reached his home in Taizhou. At the nearest road marker to his house, he took the final photo, still holding that sign: “Will you marry me?”

She had promised to marry someone whose home could be reached by bicycle. He proved with his actions that although his home was 3000 kilometers away, it could indeed be reached by bicycle.

Even her parents were moved. They told their only daughter, “There aren’t many young men like him nowadays, not afraid of hardship, so determined. If you want to go to him, go ahead!”

She flew from Harbin to Taizhou. At the airport, they hugged each other tightly.

She found a job in Taizhou. In the year 20xx, after knowing and loving each other for many years, they got married. At the wedding, he sang a song for her: “Giving my youth to the glorious city behind me, paying the price for this dream, leaving my love for the most sincere girl beside me…” The song “Elopement” seemed to sing the story of their love.

Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “