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Psst! We're moving!
One early morning in early September, Shen Tang went to the company as usual. Today, the earliest one to arrive at the company was no longer Qin Xing, but Yuanyuan.
Yuanyuan mopped the floor much more efficiently than Qin Xing. In forty-five minutes, all the public areas were mopped, and the tables, chairs, and glass were wiped sparkling clean.
“Sister Tang, good morning.”
“Morning.”
Yuanyuan specifically turned her head to look behind Shen Tang, her disappointed gaze not hidden. The bodyguard didn’t come upstairs with Shen Tang today.
Shen Tang opened the door with her fingerprint, teasing Yuanyuan: “Are you and Qin Xing addicted to working? Do you take turns on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday schedule?”
“Just consider it exercise. I’m afraid of dying suddenly from staying up late, so now I go to bed early and wake up early. It feels pretty good,” Yuanyuan began to mop Shen Tang’s office.
Several times, words reached her lips, but she hesitated.
She really wanted to ask Shen Tang why she came alone today.
Shen Tang poured a glass of warm water and started her busy day.
Yuanyuan pricked up her ears, listening for any other sounds outside, but still didn’t see the bodyguard come upstairs until Shen Tang’s office was clean.
She checked the time; it was only a quarter past seven.
“Sister Tang, I’m going downstairs to buy breakfast soon. Have you eaten?”
“No, isn’t it now assumed that Qin Xing brings breakfast?”
“I’ll buy breakfast this week. The weather’s cooler now, so walking isn’t hot. It doesn’t feel right to always make a boss like him run errands,” Yuanyuan asked casually, “Sister Tang, should I bring two portions for you here?”
Shen Tang was sending a message to Xiao Donghan: [When are you coming to Beijing?]
She looked up at Yuanyuan, “I can’t even finish one portion.”
Yuanyuan: “...”
Shen Tang stopped teasing her. “He went to the 4S shop today to service his car, so he’ll probably be back at noon.”
Yuanyuan was now used to Shen Tang’s teasing and no longer blushed or felt embarrassed as she used to.
Knowing where he was, she was content.
“Sister Tang,” she said seriously, “Starting today, I plan to learn Spanish.”
Shen Tang rested her chin in her hand. “You’re cooking a frog in warm water like this. When will it end?” She seriously discussed this relationship with Yuanyuan: “Have you thought about actively fighting for it, about confessing to him?”
Yuanyuan stood there, motionless, gripping the mop.
She thought for half a minute. “Never mind. I’m afraid he’ll reject me, so I’ll just keep interacting like this. Anyway, he won’t have a chance to meet other women for now.”
Just in those short few tens of seconds, she imagined the scene of her confessing to the bodyguard.
The height difference was deadly. She was 1.64 meters, more than a head shorter than the bodyguard.
Her knowledge was less than a tenth of his, and her income was a mere fraction of his. When he was free, he never wasted time, either learning languages or investing in finance.
Unlike her, who was either Browse Weibo or gossiping.
Looking at herself, she really had nothing going for her.
She didn’t know where she got the confidence to like him.
She hung her head, her mood as gloomy as the grey sky outside.
Shen Tang looked at her, encouraging her: “You haven’t even confessed yet, why are you already feeling inferior? Give it a try. Look at the difference between Jiang Chengyu and me, isn’t that a thousand times bigger than yours?”
Yuanyuan: “If I had your looks, even half of them, wouldn’t I be walking around like a crab every day, waving my claws sideways?”
“That’s all you aspire to.” Shen Tang returned to the main topic. “Where do you think you’re not good-looking? You’re fresh and lovely, naturally beautiful, a lotus emerging from water.”
“Sister Tang, let’s take it easy. It’s early in the morning, don’t exaggerate too much.”
Shen Tang laughed.
Yuanyuan’s mood improved considerably. She went out with the mop, still needing to buy breakfast for other colleagues in the company. Shen Tang received a reply from Xiao Donghan: [What’s up?]
[Recently, my good friend Wen Di and I are collaborating on a script.]
[Looking for my investment?]
He didn’t give Shen Tang a chance to speak: [No time. Even if I had spare money, I wouldn’t invest in you.]
Shen Tang: [Am I someone who lacks money? There’s a character in the script that I’d like to base on you. I’m wondering what your opinion is; we need your consent.]
Xiao Donghan: [You couldn’t trample me in real life, so your best friend is planning to bankrupt me in a script?]
Shen Tang: [...You’re too confident. In the script, you’re an employee, at most getting fired. We’re just using your other experiences and personality.]
Wen Di said she had written many sophisticated scoundrels in scripts, but when she saw Xiao Donghan in the restaurant that day, she suddenly felt that her previous depictions of sophisticated scoundrels were only superficial.
Xiao Donghan was the sophisticated scoundrel himself.
It was evening where Xiao Donghan was, and he was drinking and discussing business with friends. His friends saw his face turn ashen, thinking there was a business mishap, and everyone else wisely kept quiet.
Shen Tang: [Consider it.]
Ten minutes passed, and there was no reply from his side.
Shen Tang closed her phone and put it aside, knowing that such a thing couldn’t succeed in one go. Xiao Donghan already disliked her, so he wouldn’t easily agree.
Outside the window, the sun finally struggled out from behind the thick clouds.
Jiang Chengyu sent her an email, asking her to check her inbox and reply as soon as possible.
Shen Tang asked on WeChat: [What did you send me?]
After clicking send, she opened her email on the computer.
Jiang Chengyu: [Open your email and see for yourself.]
Shen Tang typed while entering her email password.
[I want to know now.]
This sentence sounded like an automatic voice, like she was pouting at him.
Jiang Chengyu: [Pick a month, then choose a day you like.]
Shen Tang opened the email, a long message:
See which day is suitable for getting married. I’ve marked the months with anniversaries and holidays for you to choose from among the remaining months.
January: New Year’s Day
February: Valentine’s Day, your birthday
March: The 8th, Zhengzheng says it’s Goddess Day
April: Spring Outing
May: May 20th, and Mother’s Day will be celebrated for you in the future
June: Children’s Day, and my Father’s Day
July: My birthday, I’ll also prepare a gift for you
August: Our proposal anniversary
September: (No anniversary for now)
October: (Wedding can be in this month, let the children be flower girls when they grow up)
November: 21st, our anniversary
December: Christmas
He also attached the calendar for September, with a few dates circled on it.
[See which day you like.]
Shen Tang: [You’re still letting me pick a month? The only one left is this month, so there’s no need to pick.]
Jiang Chengyu: [If you prefer other months, I’ll go along with you. If you choose September, then every month will have an anniversary.]
Shen Tang: [Choose September, I want to get married quickly.]
Jiang Chengyu: [Then tomorrow.]
Tomorrow was September 9th, and the date was set.
That night, Jiang Chengyu made a special trip back to the old residence to tell his parents the news of their marriage registration.
His father was also at home today, playing chess with his mother in the courtyard.
The easel nearby hadn’t been put away, and it was impossible to tell which corner of the courtyard it depicted.
In summer, there were many mosquitoes, so they usually played chess in the living room, rarely in the courtyard.
Today, mosquito coils were lit along the edge of the garden, and a unique fragrance permeated the air.
The night was thick. Even with all the streetlights in the courtyard on, the light was still slightly dim.
“Mom, why don’t you play inside?” Jiang Chengyu walked over.
Mrs. Jiang: “Isn’t this more romantic? Learn from you young people, otherwise you and Zhengzheng always complain that your dad and I are old-fashioned and don’t understand your public displays of affection.”
She pointed to the old-fashioned mosquito coil by the garden. “The brand and smell from our time haven’t changed a bit. I searched for ages to find this mosquito coil. Smelling this scent, your dad and I can remember the scene of our first meeting.”
Old Master Jiang glanced at his wife. She lit mosquito coils to prevent mosquito bites. As for why she insisted on playing chess in the courtyard, it was because the light wasn’t very good, so she could secretly take his chess pieces off the board and replace them with her own.
Of course, he wouldn’t expose her in front of their child.
“Aren’t you busy today?” Mrs. Jiang finally remembered to ask her son.
“It’s alright, not very busy.” Jiang Chengyu pulled up a chair and sat next to his mother. “I came back to tell you and Dad something.”
Mrs. Jiang looked at the chessboard, deliberating for a long while before placing her piece. “In the future, you can just call me if anything comes up. Go home early and rest after a long day; no need to make a special trip.”
“What is it?”
Jiang Chengyu: “Tangtang and I plan to register our marriage tomorrow.”
“That quick?” Mrs. Jiang suddenly felt her son had grown up. “I still had time to prepare a gift for you two. Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
Jiang Chengyu: “We only decided today. No need to specially prepare gifts. Tomorrow evening, after work, Tangtang and I will come over. A family dinner to celebrate will be enough.”
Mrs. Jiang put the chess pieces she was holding into the chess container and instructed the housekeeper to prepare ingredients for tomorrow night’s meal. “Have Chenglin cook then, and Chengyu can help.”
She then told her son: “Your elder brother and sister-in-law will coincidentally be home tomorrow night. It’s really a coincidence. Usually, your elder brother doesn’t even have time to eat at home a few times a year.”
With tomorrow night’s dinner arranged, Mrs. Jiang continued playing chess.
She removed a pistachio from the chessboard, placed her own chess piece, and then put the pistachio she used to mark a spot in another place to mark another spot.
Jiang Chengyu watched his mother play chess from the side. Before, there was only one pistachio marking a spot on the chessboard; today, there was an extra one.
“Mom, are you done with this easel?”
“No, I won’t use it anymore.”
“What’s wrong?”
Mrs. Jiang put down her chess piece. “One cannot be too greedy. To want to master all four arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—is asking a bit much. I’ve decided to give up on this one.”
Old Master Jiang silently added, The key is, you’re not proficient in the other three either.
From his father’s expression, Jiang Chengyu could guess what his father was silently complaining about. He smiled faintly and helped put away the easel.
After staying at home for half an hour, Jiang Chengyu returned to his own villa.
Shen Tang was at home, tidying the things they would need for their marriage registration tomorrow in the study.
“Husband.” She looked up briefly, placing both their household registration books into a document bag.
Jiang Chengyu had his suit draped over his arm, and his free hand wrapped around her waist. “Got everything?”
“Everything we need is here,” Shen Tang said, lifting the document bag in her hand.
She turned in his arms, facing him.
Tomorrow, they would become legally husband and wife. Even today, she still felt like it was a dream when she thought about it.
“Is there anything you want to say to me?”
Jiang Chengyu: “I’ll tell you after we get our marriage certificate tomorrow.”
The next day.
For most people, it was just another ordinary day.
Shen Tang and Jiang Chengyu arrived at the marriage registration office early. Besides days when she had to rush for filming or flights, this was the earliest she had woken up.
She wore exquisite makeup and a white shirt matching Jiang Chengyu’s.
During the photo shoot, Jiang Chengyu tidied her collar.
In her heart, not even the proposal felt as sacred as this moment.
Her name and his name were finally written on the same red certificate.
After receiving the certificate, Jiang Chengyu gave her a warm hug. “Thank you for being willing to be my wife. From now on, please guide and take care of me.”
Her longing for a home found its fulfillment in Jiang Chengyu.
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