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Qing Hang confessed under the national flag, and Cheng Wanyue kissed him amidst the bustling crowd in the square.
Huo Zhi captured their silhouettes against the backlight, while the faint scent of the rose lingered on Cheng Yanqing’s hands.
Cheng Wanyue thought to herself that even at eighty, she would remember this day.
The national flag never fades, and love burns eternally.
So she agreed: “Alright, Qing Hang, let’s be together.”
Now they could walk hand in hand through the streets like everyone else, share a cup of hot soy milk at a breakfast shop, turn their rented apartment into a home, and embrace freely when parting ways.
That afternoon, they returned to Nanjing. Despite only sleeping four hours, Cheng Wanyue was in such high spirits that even her cat, Meiqiu, seemed slightly annoyed.
She left the rose at home—it might dry up by the time she returned.
Cheng Yanqing wasn’t surprised. After all these years, it was about time she and Qing Hang reached a conclusion. Sitting in the passenger seat, Huo Zhi teased her, and Cheng Wanyue casually mentioned that her first kiss happened in high school.
Of course, Cheng Yanqing didn’t know this. He stepped hard on the gas pedal, silently cursing Qing Hang for being two-faced.
After resting for two hours along the way, they arrived at Cheng Yuzhou’s house at 6:30 AM. At this same time yesterday, they were still at Tiananmen Square.
Zhou Yu’s only remaining relative was her aunt. During the summer vacation when Cheng Yuzhou transferred back to Baicheng No. 1 High School for the college entrance exam, he saved a drowning boy by the riverside. That boy turned out to be Zhou Yu’s cousin, now in his second year of high school, who had also come to send Zhou Yu off on her wedding day.
One bridesmaid was Zhou Yu’s college roommate, Chen Huan, and the two groomsmen were childhood friends of Cheng Yuzhou’s—people Cheng Wanyue knew well.
There were many details to prepare for the wedding, and Cheng Yuzhou had been working tirelessly, leaving early and returning late. His family was equally busy.
The photographer was already arranged—Huo Zhi was far more professional than any external wedding company.
After waking up, Cheng Wanyue accompanied Zhou Yu for her makeup trial. Although she had been present during the entire process of taking wedding photos, and Zhou Yu and Cheng Yuzhou were already legally married, seeing the wedding dress and suit laid out together still gave her a strange feeling.
The girl who used to jump rope with her under the apricot tree was getting married in two days.
Zhou Yu hadn’t seen Qing Hang since high school. “Wanyue, what time is Qing Hang arriving? One of Cheng Yuzhou’s friends is driving to pick him up.”
“I’ll check,” Cheng Wanyue said, picking up her phone to message Qing Hang.
He rarely checked messages while working, replying only when he had free time. She had grown accustomed to this and didn’t wait anxiously, checking whenever she remembered.
Zhou Yu changed out of her toast dress and went over to hug Meiqiu. “Auntie has already tidied up the room. My parents said last night that they’d pave the way for us and give Uncle an early hint.”
Cheng Wanyue wasn’t nervous. “Do you think they’ll have a hard time accepting it?”
“Not really. Qing Hang isn’t an outsider. Uncle has always liked him—they just never thought about it in that way. Are you still mad at Qing Hang?”
“Just a little before he confessed. Now I don’t care anymore.”
Zhou Yu knew Cheng Wanyue had always been carefree. With her proud nature, she wouldn’t allow Qing Hang’s feelings for her to be tainted by even a hint of guilt.
Guilt and self-blame were like two ropes—if entangled, even the coldest-hearted person would feel bound.
But now that they were officially together, those issues no longer mattered.
She had endured the pain. The one truly suffering all along had been Qing Hang.
“So did you tell him about your hospitalization?”
“Not in detail. It’s in the past. Yu, I resented him for years, but he didn’t have it easy either. Grandpa was very ill, and he didn’t even have a place to stay—he slept on benches in the hospital corridors. While I was in my ward, he was there too. Just like when you broke up with Cheng Yuzhou, and he didn’t seek you out because of me. When faced with difficult choices, family comes before love.”
Grandpa was irreplaceable. What Cheng Wanyue couldn’t let go of wasn’t that Qing Hang hadn’t visited her when she was sick—it was his abrupt departure and eight years of silence.
During those years when she resented him, he hadn’t fared much better.
“If I didn’t love him, I could have played the role of a cruel woman, tormenting and manipulating him for revenge. I’ve never claimed to be a good person, and moral condemnation isn’t new to me. But I do love him.”
Cheng Wanyue patted the round head of Meiqiu. “If he’s unhappy, I feel it too.”
“Who says you’re not good?” Zhou Yu’s expression was earnest. “Wanyue, you’re precious.”
Cheng Wanyue glanced at Zhou Yu’s neckline. “Have you gained a bit of weight?”
Zhou Yu coughed twice and whispered in her ear, “...just a little.”
Cheng Yanqing and Huo Zhi were making noise in the courtyard while Zhou Yu and Cheng Wanyue were laughing in the room. Neither upstairs nor downstairs was quiet. When Cheng Yuzhou pushed the door open, Cheng Wanyue had just calmed down.
Meiqiu was shy, but luckily there was Nuomi. The two cats looked somewhat related and were both lively.
Zhou Yu asked, “What’s wrong? Did something not go smoothly?”
Cheng Yuzhou replied, “The band we booked can’t make it.”
“Why?”
“The lead singer has appendicitis and needs surgery.”
“Leave it to me,” Cheng Wanyue finally found something useful to do. “Big things I can’t handle, but this won’t be a problem.”
As she spoke, Cheng Wanyue picked up her phone to contact her friends. She knew many musicians, but after contacting them, she realized none were in Nanjing during the National Day holiday.
For some reason, a face suddenly popped into her mind: Chi Yue.
On a whim, Cheng Wanyue logged onto Weibo and discovered that Chi Yue had sent her a private message. Moreover, half an hour ago, he posted a tweet showing his location as Nanjing.
It turned out that the earring she lost had snagged on his clothes.
Cheng Wanyue replied to the private message first: “The earring is mine. Thank you.”
About half an hour later, Chi Yue responded: “How should I return it to you? If it’s convenient, let’s add each other on WeChat.”
Since Cheng Wanyue wanted to ask for his help, she gave him her WeChat account.
After adding him on WeChat, Chi Yue asked where she was located.
Just as Cheng Wanyue was about to send her location, Qing Hang called. She answered immediately.
“Hello, hello, welcome to ‘Your Moon, My Heart.’ Your girlfriend is me, and I am your girlfriend.”
Whatever Qing Hang said on the other end made her laugh so hard she rolled around on the couch.
Zhou Yu and Cheng Yuzhou exchanged glances, silently got up, and left the room for her. However, as soon as they stepped out, they bumped into Yang Huimin, who was standing frozen at the door.
Yang Huimin’s expression was intriguing—it was obvious she had heard everything—but Cheng Wanyue, sprawled on the couch, remained oblivious.
Cheng Yuzhou closed the door, and Yang Huimin directly asked him, “Has Yueyue started dating? When did this happen?”
“They’ve only been together for a short while. You’ll meet him at the wedding, and she plans to bring him home for dinner.”
Yang Huimin was astonished. “She’s bringing her boyfriend home for dinner? She’s never done that before. Is she serious this time?”
Cheng Yuzhou didn’t specify who it was. “We all know him. His character is impeccable.”
Zhou Yu chimed in, “Auntie, Wanyue seems really happy.”
Yang Huimin was both pleased and worried. “If she’s dating someone, her father and I are happy too, but we’re concerned she might only look at appearances and not at character. If we disagree, she’ll be hurt. If we agree, she might end up hurting in the future.”
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