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Because of the kindness and non-interference from Cheng Xiaonan’s family, from New Year’s Eve until the seventh day of the new year, it was almost always just the two of them alone at home, with only one exception—
On the sixth day of the new year, the morning before returning to work.
Ji Ran suddenly showed up. After all, she was a woman, and even when upset and breaking down, she was still more thoughtful than Shen Shen.
Afraid of startling Yu Qian and Cheng Xiaonan, she didn’t just press the code to enter.
She knocked on the door, standing there with red eyes: “Yu Qian, Brother Nan, I... I might have to disturb you for a while.”
Before she even finished speaking, tears fell, splashing onto her pointed leather shoes.
Yu Qian pulled Ji Ran inside and, with Cheng Xiaonan, stayed with her, listening to her cry out her story. Only then did they learn that Shen Shen had gone to a class reunion and returned very late last night.
When Ji Ran was tidying up in the morning, she found a lipstick mark on the scarf Shen Shen had worn out yesterday.
This matter was hard for outsiders to advise on.
Cheng Xiaonan rarely saw Ji Ran cry like this. He sat beside Yu Qian, secretly nudging her leg with his knee, glancing at her, silently asking, “What should we do?”
What could they do? They had to ask Shen Shen what was going on with the lipstick on his scarf, right?
The two looked at each other for two seconds.
Immediately, Cheng Xiaonan picked up his phone and got up, going to the balcony to make a call: “Still in the mood to sleep? Get over here! Ji Ran is crying here.”
Ji Ran heard Cheng Xiaonan making the call and cried out, “Tell him not to come! I don’t want to see him!”
Seeing Ji Ran in this state, she definitely hadn’t eaten breakfast.
Yu Qian silently opened a bottle of bird’s nest drink and placed it in front of Ji Ran, also giving her a small spoon, telling her to drink some first to fill her stomach.
She said they would go out for lunch after Shen Shen came over and cleared things up.
“Clear what up? What’s there to reunite for at a high school class reunion? And they even had a joint reunion with the next class. Shen Shen, Brother Nan, and I were all in the same class, so why didn’t I go? Why didn’t Brother Nan go?”
“Is it just him who has many friends? Was it really a reunion? I think he went off to fool around, went to see those girls from high school!”
“He came back in the middle of the night yesterday, dead drunk, and collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep, so angry I couldn’t sleep well.”
“If he can’t explain the lipstick on the scarf clearly, I don’t think we need to get married!”
Cheng Xiaonan pulled up a chair and sat down: “Don’t say such harsh words yet, let’s hear what Shen Shen has to say.”
________________________________________
Shen Shen didn’t live far and arrived relatively quickly. Ji Ran had just finished half a bottle of bird’s nest drink when the sound of the password being entered came from the entrance.
Actually, Shen Shen was still confused. He probably drank too much at the class reunion yesterday and wasn’t fully awake when Cheng Xiaonan called, saying Ji Ran was crying at his house.
Shen Shen was also completely bewildered and rushed over without even washing his face.
Upon entering, Shen Shen didn’t bother greeting Yu Qian and Cheng Xiaonan; his eyes were solely on Ji Ran, sitting on the sofa with swollen red eyes—
She was hunched, as if bearing immense grievance. Perhaps hearing him enter, she suppressed all her sobs back into her chest, her slender, frail shoulders trembling twice.
Shen Shen quickly moved closer to her: “Ranran, what’s wrong? Why are you crying? Did my mom say something to you when you did your nails yesterday? Don’t mind her; she’s going through menopause and just likes bright red and purple colors. Do whatever color you like; the nails aren’t for her to see...”
Cheng Xiaonan walked past Shen Shen, kicking him: “Stop blaming Auntie. It has nothing to do with your mom. Ji Ran said there’s a woman’s lipstick on your scarf. Explain yourself.”
Shen Shen scratched his head and said to Ji Ran: “What lipstick? If there is any, it’s yours! I haven’t been in contact with any other women.”
“Get lost, get lost, get lost! I never use that color of lipstick! Only old women use it!”
“No, I’m really wronged. I truly haven’t been in contact with any women!”
Shen Shen raised three fingers and swore, “If I have anything with another woman, may I be struck by lightning!”
Ji Ran ignored Shen Shen, turned her back, and continued to eat the bird’s nest drink, holding back tears.
This kind of situation was not suitable for outsiders.
Cheng Xiaonan pulled Yu Qian and pushed open a hidden door. The two went up to the attic, leaving the space to the arguing couple.
Yu Qian stepped onto the stairs, asking with some concern, “Are they okay?”
“Shen Shen probably wouldn’t cheat; he doesn’t have the guts. He doesn’t even dare to raise a female cat, afraid Ji Ran would get jealous. This is probably a misunderstanding.”
Cheng Xiaonan walked to the attic door, leaned against the door frame, and squeezed Yu Qian’s wrist. “Don’t worry about it. He deserves it. What’s the point of going to a class reunion? He just had to show off. Let him explain it himself.”
Ji Ran had mentioned that Cheng Xiaonan was in their class.
Yu Qian casually asked, “Why didn’t you go?”
“It’s boring. Good friends have already gathered privately, and we’ve even given gifts to the teachers. The rest are just acquaintances from school; we barely talked in school, and it’s been so long since graduation. Haven’t seen each other in eight hundred years, who’s who might not even be clear. What’s the point of gathering?”
Cheng Xiaonan didn’t particularly like such gatherings.
As someone who didn’t drink, why would he watch those not-so-familiar old classmates get drunk and dance wildly?
It was better to stay home with Yu Qian and watch a movie, or even process work emails while watching Yu Qian do yoga, which was more interesting than a reunion.
Some friendships were meant to stay within the school.
To remain in the past, along with those hard years of exam preparation.
No matter how many times they gathered again, there wouldn wouldn’t be those shared days of struggle.
Cheng Xiaonan said, “Besides, I was so popular in high school. If I went, and some girl rekindled old feelings for me, wouldn’t my sister get jealous?”
Yu Qian returned his gaze with a faint look: “How popular?”
Under her gaze, Cheng Xiaonan felt a bit guilty: “...Just kidding. In high school, my deskmate was that guy Shen Shen. How would I have had a chance to interact with girls?”
Cheng Xiaonan sat on a low cabinet, held Yu Qian’s hand, and kissed it: “Are you jealous?”
Just then, Shen Shen, who had finally finished coaxing Ji Ran, came upstairs.
He happened to hear Cheng Xiaonan say that. Before he even reached the top of the attic, his sarcastic voice arrived first: “It’s only right for Yu Qian to be jealous. Brother Nan was so popular with girls back then! The school heartthrob! Shen Shen and I, his deskmates, always received tons of love letters and such, asking me to pass them on to him. In three years of high school, not a single one was for me, all for him. Ji Ran being so suspicious is too hasty. If you ask me, Yu Qian should be jealous of you, make you kneel on a washboard...”
Shen Shen didn’t finish the rest of his sentence.
He came up and saw Cheng Xiaonan, and he immediately cowered.
Cheng Xiaonan “tsk”-ed: “Done coaxing her? If you’re done, scram. We’re going to eat with Ji Ran.”
“Eat what? I’m coming too! I didn’t do anything wrong, why wouldn’t you take me to eat?”
Shen Shen grumbled, even naming a restaurant: “Hey, should we go to that grouper place near the school? Haven’t we taken Yu Qian there yet?”
The scarf incident was indeed a misunderstanding. Just now, the high school Chinese teacher had even asked in the group chat who had mistakenly taken her scarf.
Shen Shen explained helplessly: “No, no matter what, I can’t be having an affair with the Chinese teacher, can I?”
________________________________________
During the meal, Shen Shen and Ji Ran had returned to normal, resuming their usual bickering mode.
After the meal, Ji Ran was still a bit embarrassed, after all, it had been a false alarm.
She touched her slightly swollen tear troughs and said, “Since we’re already out for dinner, I might as well announce it: Shen Shen and I have set our wedding date for May 28th. The invitations aren’t finished yet, but we’ll send them to you when they are.”
Yu Qian nodded: “Congratulations.”
“You and Brother Nan should hurry up too. Don’t let my kids be running around while you two still haven’t had your wedding.”
Yu Qian glanced at Cheng Xiaonan. He was rather impatiently listening to Shen Shen talk about the class reunion—which guy bragged again, which girl married a rich man and showed off at the dinner table, which teacher gained weight...
Perhaps truly unwilling to listen, Cheng Xiaonan took a slice of watermelon from the after-dinner fruit platter and shoved it into Shen Shen’s mouth: “Shut up, let me have some peace.”
Yu Qian retracted her gaze.
It seemed they had never formally discussed “marriage” or “wedding.”
She was indeed slow to warm up in relationships. She had never planned to get married, nor had she ever thought about whom she would marry.
In this regard, Cheng Xiaonan had always accommodated her, following her pace.
Even his family made her feel very secure.
________________________________________
The divided hot pot steamed with the fresh aroma of mushrooms and spicy broth. Cheng Xiaonan picked up a slice of fish and swished it in the boiling soup.
As he reached out his hand, he was scalded by a splash of soup from the hot pot. He frowned, threatening the meatballs cooking in the pot: “Behave yourself.”
But he didn’t pull back his chopsticks until the fish slice turned white and firm, then he picked it up and placed it in Yu Qian’s dipping sauce dish for her to eat.
It was at this moment that Yu Qian first thought about the question of marriage.
If the person she were to marry was Cheng Xiaonan, it didn’t seem bad at all.
Cheng Xiaonan had that enviable quality of not easily scarring. The burn on his arm from before had long healed, leaving no dark marks.
After New Year’s Eve, when the whole country returned to work, the wound on the back of his hand also began to heal, scabbing and flaking off.
________________________________________
This morning, Yu Qian said she was going to the traffic management station to pay a fine, which surprised Cheng Xiaonan a little.
After all, Yu Qian had been driving a red sports car since he knew her, and her driving skills were good. She wasn’t an impatient road rager; she drove steadily, making it hard to imagine her getting a violation.
Moreover, they lived together and commuted together, so Yu Qian’s car rarely had a chance to be driven out.
At the entrance of the traffic management station, Cheng Xiaonan happened to receive a call and didn’t accompany Yu Qian inside.
When Yu Qian came out, Cheng Xiaonan had just put away his phone, opened her car door for her, and then asked, “How many points off?”
“6 points, 200 yuan.”
“That’s a lot. What could cost 6 points?”
“Driving against traffic.”
“Huh? Drove against traffic?”
Cheng Xiaonan closed the car door on Yu Qian’s side, got into the driver’s seat himself, buckled his seatbelt, and then said, “I haven’t seen you go anywhere, how did you drive against traffic?”
Yu Qian was also buckling her seatbelt, stating calmly: “The hospital.”
At first, Cheng Xiaonan didn’t react, then he suddenly looked back, thinking she had gone to the hospital because she wasn’t feeling well.
After a few seconds, he remembered that the last time Yu Qian went to the hospital was on New Year’s Eve, when she heard he was injured.
Cheng Xiaonan paused the action of starting the car, unbuckled the seatbelt he had just fastened without bothering, and leaned over to kiss Yu Qian.
“I told you it was a minor injury, asked you not to worry.”
________________________________________
Like Shen Shen, who loved Ji Ran with clear affection and expressed all his emotions openly, without hiding even a trace of his love.
When she found the lipstick mark on his scarf, she would shout and cry, showing all her concern and grievance without reservation.
So sometimes, Shen Shen would ask Cheng Xiaonan, “Brother Nan, do you know what Yu Qian is thinking every day? I feel like she’s the type of woman I’ll never understand.”
Whenever this happened, Cheng Xiaonan would push away Shen Shen’s head, which was leaning in to whisper, and tell him it was because his brain capacity wasn’t enough.
Cheng Xiaonan understood Yu Qian.
He understood her slow-to-warm nature, her suppressed emotions, and knew deeply that she was neither cold nor harsh.
She was warm, with a soft heart.
His most beloved.
Yu Qian had never told him how anxious she was on the way to the hospital that day.
But an experienced driver like her actually drove against traffic.
It was enough to show all her worry and distraction at the time.
Her love was like the early spring breeze, gently caressing, close to body temperature.
Not intense, yet warm.
Making one’s heart flutter.
________________________________________
The Chinese violet cress (Orychophragmus violaceus) blooms in April. Cheng Xiaonan drove Yu Qian to the suburban reservoir where he and his friends used to barbecue.
The week before they went, it rained in the suburbs. When they arrived, the woods were filled with moisture, and Chinese violet cress bloomed everywhere, like an oil painting shrouded in mist, truly beautiful.
Morning dew still clung to the blades of grass. Cheng Xiaonan parked the car beside a shallow mudflat. He turned his head to look at Yu Qian, feeling as if the past seven years had been a world away.
The last time he came was before Yu Qian went abroad.
Those few days, he happened to be in a bad mood. He had just heard Han Chu’s voice message on Yu Qian’s phone and got stuck on the idea that Yu Qian liked straight-A students, not him. Yu Qian also coincidentally didn’t contact him for several days.
With all these factors combined, Cheng Xiaonan was like a walking refrigeration unit at school every day.
He had a blank face and didn’t talk to anyone.
Even the homeroom teacher had joked, saying that Cheng Xiaonan’s aura was more intimidating than his own.
It was Shen Shen, his deskmate, who couldn’t stand it anymore. He insisted on dragging Cheng Xiaonan out on the weekend, saying he would take him to clear his head.
A few boys rented a barbecue grill, bought a large stack of skewers, and had a picnic at the designated barbecue spot by the reservoir.
Cheng Xiaonan had no interest in the skewers or chicken wings, nor was he keen on fishing in the reservoir. The boys rode motorcycles in the open space, but he didn’t even glance at them.
Several times, he lowered his head to look at his phone; Yu Qian hadn’t sent him a single punctuation mark.
Cheng Xiaonan was annoyed and swore that if she ignored him, he would absolutely not initiate contact again.
But he inadvertently looked back and suddenly saw the Chinese violet cress in the woods behind him, a mix of deep purple and light purple, blooming densely, like an oil painting.
That day, he instinctively picked up his phone, found the chat box, and wanted to take a photo to send to Yu Qian, but he restrained himself in the end.
He thought to himself self-deprecatingly, I’m just a backup; she wouldn’t care even if I sent it.
Shen Shen and a few other boys carried a whole case of beer from a dilapidated small shop not far away. They had already opened a row and called out to Cheng Xiaonan: “Brother Nan, don’t you want a drink?”
“No.”
Later, he couldn’t help but look back, glancing at the woods behind him a few more times, thinking with some compromise:
Let Yu Qian contact him.
When she contacts him, he’ll ask her to come here, barbecue for her, buy her drinks, and show her the beautiful Chinese violet cress in the woods that looks like an oil painting.
He waited and waited...
Yu Qian went abroad.
For so many years, Cheng Xiaonan never came back.
The old barbecue spot on the shore now had a sign prohibiting open fires and barbecues.
Cheng Xiaonan rolled down the car window, letting the spring breeze carry the fresh scent of grass and trees inside. He pointed to a wooden pavilion not far away for Yu Qian to see: “That used to be a really rundown small shop, no signboard, just ‘Shop’ written in white paint on the brick wall. It’s actually been renovated quite nicely now.”
Yu Qian looked in the direction he pointed; it was indeed nice.
Someone was even standing in the pavilion, taking selfies with their phone.
Cheng Xiaonan suddenly smiled, as if remembering something.
“What are you smiling at?”
“Before you came back to the country, I dreamt of bringing you here. Now, it’s like a dream come true.”
________________________________________
In a few years, Cheng Xiaonan had expanded “Eleven” significantly, and its reputation gradually spread.
So he began to try to convey his company’s information to foreign countries, and to Yu Qian’s surrounding photography and modeling circles, based on his understanding.
However, Yu Qian had already passed her most financially constrained period and was very laid-back about work.
Later, through various resources, relying on Old Cheng’s connections and his own network, Cheng Xiaonan made a new attempt: he sought out the designers who were familiar with Peter Pan.
Gradually, Peter learned about “Eleven,” and a few months later, Yu Qian herself finally personally submitted a resume to “Eleven.”
The day Cheng Xiaonan saw the resume, he finished work early and returned home.
He finished building a small Lego set, but still couldn’t contain his excitement. After falling asleep, he dreamt of this forest filled with blooming Chinese violet cress.
“You just dreamt of coming to see the scenery?”
Of course not.
The dream was much more exciting than just sitting quietly in the car watching flowers. He dreamt of pressing her into the fluffy flower bushes, unbuttoning her...
Cheng Xiaonan turned his head and coughed, not elaborating.
While walking around, they met a local old man.
The old man said that this area was being planned for redevelopment, and it was uncertain if this forest would be renovated this year. He heard it was going to become a small forest garden.
“Will these flowers still be here?” Yu Qian suddenly asked.
“That’s hard to say. These things aren’t valuable; they’re just common weeds and wildflowers, and their blooming period isn’t long, only in spring. If the government allocates funds for renovation, they’ll surely plant more ornamental flowers. If not roses or lilies, then it should be scarlet sage or chrysanthemum morifolium.”
The old man had been watching this forest for decades and probably grew tired of it. His tone was full of anticipation.
He hoped it would be reorganized and become more upscale.
But for Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian, the Chinese violet cress held more significance.
Cheng Xiaonan leaned down and whispered to her: “Good thing you came back last year, otherwise you might not have seen it.”
Everything was just in time.
Good.
________________________________________
Before heading back, Old Cheng called, asking Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian if they wanted to come home for lunch. The auntie had bought fresh oysters and salmon, which could be made into sashimi.
Cheng Xiaonan agreed: “Alright, a little later. We’re at the suburban reservoir. It’ll probably take 2 hours to drive back.”
“What’s there to see at the suburban reservoir? Your grandma called today and said not to think it’s warm just because it’s April. The temperature is dropping these days, so don’t take Little Qian running around. Dress warmly in spring and cool in autumn; don’t wear anything too thin.”
“To see the Chinese violet cress.”
“What Chinese violet cress? Is there a flower exhibition in the suburbs?”
Cheng Xiaonan said no, it was a kind of wild flower growing in the woods, purple, blooming in large patches, quite beautiful.
Old Cheng listened to his description and said scornfully on the phone, “I thought your Chinese violet cress was some rare species. Is it that little four-petaled flower in the woods? We used to call that ‘Zhuge cai’ when we were kids. Your great-grandmother often picked it and cooked it for us. What’s there to see?”
“Dad, if my mom said the Chinese violet cress was beautiful and wanted to see it, would you also tell her it’s not rare and just a wild vegetable?”
“No, I wouldn’t. I’d tell her that no matter where she wanted to go, I’d accompany her.”
Cheng Xiaonan scoffed, saying Old Cheng was biased.
________________________________________
After hanging up the phone, Cheng Xiaonan looked back and saw Yu Qian returning from the woods.
She was wearing an orange-toned trench coat and high heels, walking unhurriedly, with flower bushes and trees behind her.
Like the only warm-toned flower in a sea of green and purple.
Perhaps a rose.
There were insects chirping and birds singing in the forest. The morning sun in spring was just warm, not scorching.
Cheng Xiaonan noticed the dew marks on her coat hem and leaned over to brush them off: “Were you in the woods?”
“Yes.”
Yu Qian held up a palm-sized notebook, saying she picked a few flowers.
Cheng Xiaonan didn’t think much of it, assuming she just wanted to press them in the notebook as a memento.
But half a month later, a package was suddenly delivered to him.
He was in the conference room dealing with work at the time, and the express box sat beside him, unopened.
He now tried his best to finish all his work during office hours so he could have free time to spend with Yu Qian when he got home.
It wasn’t until after work, when Cheng Xiaonan rubbed his neck and turned off his laptop, and sent a message to Yu Qian about having dinner together, that his attention finally turned to the package.
He hadn’t bought anything online recently, had he?
But the express box clearly had his name on it.
Thinking it was something else sent by his family, Cheng Xiaonan lazily slumped in his office chair, only stretching out his arm to grab the package, glancing at it a few times, then opening it.
Inside the box was a card, surprisingly with Yu Qian’s handwriting:
To my boyfriend.
It was the first time Cheng Xiaonan had received such a formal gift from Yu Qian. He immediately sat up straight, even feeling a little nervous.
Inside the black gift box was a custom black crystal bracelet:
Tiny black crystals strung together, with a single flattened resin bead in the very center, inside which was a dried Chinese violet cress flower.
That patch of Chinese violet cress might disappear, but she had kept a memory for them.
Tied to the black crystal bracelet, he wouldn’t have to wait for spring; he could see it with him in all four seasons.
Who said Yu Qian couldn’t love?
She clearly knew how to spoil her boyfriend.
Cheng Xiaonan wore the bracelet with his diamond watch, treasuring it immensely.
He looked at it for a long time, still unable to put it down.
He dragged Shen Shen, who was about to leave work, into the conference room and had him take a photo of him, striking a “heart” pose, perfectly showing off the bracelet on his wrist.
He sent the photo to Yu Qian, who quickly replied. She didn’t mention the photo at all, only saying she had another set of photos to shoot and wouldn’t be off work for another hour.
Cheng Xiaonan didn’t want to talk about anything else now; he just wanted to talk about love with her, sending several messages consecutively:
[Love the gift.]
[Sister, you’re really good at spoiling people.]
[Serious question.]
[I can’t resist a bit, can I come over and kiss you now?]
Yu Qian was probably busy and didn’t reply in time.
She was at the A-zone photography base, so Cheng Xiaonan simply didn’t wait and drove over directly.
When he arrived, Yu Qian was getting her makeup done. He leaned against the vanity table, not saying a word, just watching Yu Qian with deep, intense eyes.
His gaze was so ardent that it made the makeup artist a little uncomfortable.
The makeup artist quietly asked Yu Qian, “Teacher Yu, should I go out for a coffee and come back?”
Yu Qian opened her eyes, which had just had eyeshadow applied, and looked at him: “Cheng Xiaonan.”
“Alright, alright, fine, I won’t look, I won’t look. I’ll just wait for you here, okay?”
After that, he really stopped looking at Yu Qian and lowered his head to play on his phone.
But his posture was inexplicably awkward—
He held his phone really high, insistent on showing off the watch and bracelet on his wrist.
When someone came over to greet him and say, “Hello, Mr. Cheng,” he would lift his wrist and say, “Hmm, hello.”
Many of the backstage staff were straight men. One big brother came over, carrying a camera: “Excuse me, excuse me, hey? Is that Mr. Cheng? Here to accompany Teacher Yu again?”
“Yeah.” Cheng Xiaonan raised his wrist.
The cameraman walked a few steps, then turned back: “Mr. Cheng, what’s wrong with your arm? Why are you always holding it up like that? Is it a sprain? I have a spray here, pain-relieving, works great. Want some?”
Cheng Xiaonan “tsk”-ed, and shook his wrist: “New bracelet, can’t you see?”
“Oh my goodness, I really didn’t notice, it looks really good, hahahaha.”
Cheng Xiaonan’s face was full of pride: “Teacher Yu gave it to me, how could it not look good?”
His showing-off demeanor made Yu Qian find it amusing.
________________________________________
After Yu Qian finished her photoshoot and removed her heavy makeup, emerging with light everyday makeup, Cheng Xiaonan, taking advantage of no one being around, suddenly leaned in and kissed her lips: “Thank you.”
Yu Qian had actually ordered one for herself too. She showed her wrist to Cheng Xiaonan.
“It’s a couple’s one too? I’ve found you’re really good at this now, haven’t I?”
Yu Qian’s pursuit of “beauty” and “fashion” was still very high. After all, the environment she grew up in was like that. She was actually a tiny bit dissatisfied with these two bracelets.
Because the dried flowers were ones she had pressed in her notebook herself, without professional dried flower production processes, the petals were slightly deformed.
The Chinese violet cress belongs to the Brassicaceae family, having only four petals. Her dried flower petals weren’t as full; they had shrunk a bit, resembling plump, purple crosses.
Cheng Xiaonan, however, thought it was the most beautiful bracelet he had ever seen.
He said, “This is pretty good. Religious people have their representative symbols. I don’t believe in gods or Buddhas, so this shape will be our representative symbol from now on...”
“Representative symbol.”
“Mm.”
Cheng Xiaonan raised his wrist, his eyes filled with bright smiles: “From today on, you are my faith.”
________________________________________
That evening, the thick curtains were tightly drawn, leaving only a night light on indoors.
After a workout, Yu Qian had already showered and fallen asleep. Cheng Xiaonan took a shower, came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, and walked to the bedside to lightly kiss Yu Qian’s forehead.
He put on the bracelet lying on the bedside table and looked at it for a while under the light, his chest constantly filled with an unquenchable flutter.
Cheng Xiaonan took his phone and left the bedroom, standing in front of the living room’s French windows to call Old Cheng.
In the middle of the night, Old Cheng sounded quite displeased: “If you keep calling me at this hour, I might go down to accompany your mother in a few years.”
Cheng Xiaonan, however, wasn’t joking around today. He stared at the sparsely starry night sky of the Imperial City and spoke very seriously: “Dad, I can’t wait anymore. I want to get married; I want to marry Yu Qian.”
He had had this idea for a long time, and he had already been planning the proposal and engagement.
For the wedding diamonds and jewelry, he had already commissioned a designer for the styles as soon as he confirmed his relationship with Yu Qian, just waiting for completion.
He thought he could plan it step by step, slowly.
Just like he waited for Yu Qian for seven years, strategizing and gradually pursuing his goal.
But he was growing more and more impatient.
When they were kissing intimately in the bathroom, he almost impulsively asked.
Will you marry me?
Old Cheng was earnestly advising him on the phone, feeling more sorry for Yu Qian than for him.
He said a girl only gets proposed to once, and he shouldn’t let her suffer a disadvantage; he should prepare well before proposing.
“When I proposed to your mother, I prepared for a full year and a half. I gave her all the romance imaginable in that era. Think about it, how many big events are there in a lifetime? The girl chose you, and you’re not without the means, so why would you do her injustice?”
Cheng Xiaonan also understood this principle, sighing: “I’m holding back, aren’t I?”
________________________________________
When choosing the diamond ring, he chose an extremely complex style, and for the diamonds, he selected the best quality ones.
Finding suitable loose diamonds and then purchasing them from abroad alone took nearly four months.
By the time the loose diamonds arrived in China and the design was finalized, it would probably be late summer before the ring and matching necklace would be in his hands.
When he placed the custom order, the designer had told him that choosing this style would involve a long wait.
At that time, Cheng Xiaonan had said, “I’ll wait, no rush.”
Now he wished he could go back in time and strangle himself.
Cheng Xiaonan looked at the night sky for a while, thinking to himself:
I’ll wait until the jewelry is in hand before proposing.
I can’t leave Yu Qian with any regrets.
This impulse was suppressed, and soon the days turned to May.
Shen Shen and Ji Ran’s wedding date was approaching, and they began to busy themselves with various wedding-related matters.
Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian were also pulled in to help a lot.
The more he helped with these things, the more impatient Cheng Xiaonan became to marry Yu Qian.
That day, Ji Ran was trying on her wedding dress, and she took photos asking everyone how it looked. Cheng Xiaonan suddenly remembered that he hadn’t ordered a wedding dress for Yu Qian yet.
Inside, Shen Shen’s relatives and friends were all busy with Shen Shen and Ji Ran’s wedding. Cheng Xiaonan himself took out his phone and stepped into the hallway to call Peter: “Teacher Peter, I need a favor.”
Among all the designers, Peter understood Yu Qian best.
He knew what styles of clothes suited her and her preferences.
He was the most suitable person to design Yu Qian’s wedding dress.
Peter asked, “When do you plan to use it?”
“The sooner the better.”
________________________________________
On the day of Shen Shen and Ji Ran’s wedding, some of Cheng Xiaonan’s and Shen Shen’s mutual friends from high school and college attended.
Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian sat at the friends’ table, facing no less gossip and inquiries than Shen Shen and Ji Ran.
Among them was a male classmate who had been good friends with Cheng Xiaonan and Shen Shen in high school, but later moved abroad for development and they rarely met.
This time, returning to China for the wedding, he hugged Cheng Xiaonan upon seeing him: “Brother Nan, I’ve missed you so much.”
When this classmate discovered that the beautiful woman at the table was Cheng Xiaonan’s girlfriend, he immediately launched into a furious rant—
During the banquet, Cheng Xiaonan cared for Yu Qian as usual, occasionally helping her with food or pouring drinks.
For common sights like Shen Shen and Ji Ran, it was nothing unusual.
But this classmate was completely dumbfounded.
He opened his mouth several times but held back.
Finally, after Cheng Xiaonan helped Yu Qian wipe her hands with a wet wipe, he leaned into her ear and whispered a few words, then burst into laughter.
The classmate couldn’t hold back anymore and blurted out: “Brother Nan, has someone possessed you?”
“Huh?”
“No, I mean, your dating style is so f***ing different from your usual self!”
The classmate looked at Yu Qian, “Sister-in-law, do you know what he was like in high school? He was so aloof, usually barely spoke to us...”
Cheng Xiaonan really didn’t talk much to others.
In high school, when they went out to eat, he was always the one who spoke the least at the table.
Only once, this classmate was showing card tricks at the dinner table. Cheng Xiaonan was unusually interested and eagerly asked how it was done.
At that time, this classmate even teased him, saying, “Brother Nan, you’re not trying to learn my skills to impress girls, are you?”
Cheng Xiaonan held a deck of playing cards, skillfully shuffling them between his fingers.
He lowered his head and chuckled, saying, “Not a sister, an older sister.”
________________________________________
Shen Shen’s wedding venue was well-done; it was a lawn wedding, and on the day itself, the weather cooperated, with pleasant temperatures and bright sunshine.
The more Cheng Xiaonan watched, the more he felt like he really, really wanted to get married.
Occasionally, at the company, he would overhear female models talking about their dream weddings. Cheng Xiaonan himself never imagined he would look forward to a wedding so much.
When he went to the restroom, he couldn’t resist several urges and still pulled out his phone to text the jewelry designer he had commissioned, urging him for an update on when the set of jewelry would be completed.
The jewelry designer replied with a hint of grievance:
[Mr. Cheng, even if you urge me every 3 days, I can’t go any faster. We’re really trying, but this set of yours is too intricate.]
[The earliest it will be ready is next month, please wait a bit longer.]
[QAQ Our team even worked overtime last night, truly no slacking!]
As he put away his phone, Cheng Xiaonan happened to walk into the restaurant.
Shen Shen and Ji Ran’s family banquet had a total of 78 tables of guests. In the sea of people, he spotted Yu Qian at once.
She was wearing a spring high-couture gown today, in her favorite cool apricot color.
Sitting at a table with his friends, Yu Qian didn’t seem awkward. She listened attentively as they joked, and generously returned their smiles.
As she nodded, the champagne-colored crystal ear cuff swayed gently at her neck. There was a faint hickey on her neck, which she had already concealed with makeup.
Cheng Xiaonan stood not far away, watching for a while, his desire to marry becoming more and more irrepressible.
During the appreciation dinner that evening, he uncharacteristically took a sip of red wine.
Old Cheng, as Shen Shen’s godfather, went on stage and said a few words.
As he stepped down, he happened to see Cheng Xiaonan looking displeased: “You brat, what’s wrong? You’ve been drinking?”
“I want to get married.”
Old Cheng chuckled, saying that anyone who didn’t know would think he had an ugly son; he wasn’t without a girlfriend, how could he be so desperate to get married?
Cheng Xiaonan glanced at his dad: “Weren’t you impatient when you were preparing to propose to Mom?”
“...I was impatient, too. I dreamt of marrying her quickly.”
Cheng Xiaonan laughed, directly putting the blame on Old Cheng.
He said, “See, this impatience of mine must be inherited from you.”
________________________________________
After Shen Shen and Ji Ran’s wedding, June arrived in a blink of an eye.
The roses in the imperial capital’s green belts were blooming profusely with large buds, and the entrances of various beverage shops displayed billboards featuring ice cream and iced drinks.
Yu Qian sat in Cheng Xiaonan’s car, her gaze unconsciously falling on the scenery outside the window.
Her phone vibrated. It was Peter calling, saying a new outfit had just been designed and he hoped Yu Qian could help him try it on.
Yu Qian asked, “So when are you coming back to China?”
“These clothes aren’t convenient to bring back to China. I’m hoping you can come here to try them on.”
There was no music playing in the car, so it was relatively quiet, and Cheng Xiaonan heard clearly what was said on the phone.
Yu Qian didn’t notice that Cheng Xiaonan, who was driving, had the corner of his mouth turn up for a moment.
“I go abroad to try them on?”
Yu Qian felt a bit puzzled. “Why can’t they be brought back to China? Pan Ergou, did you do something wrong? Are you stuck abroad?”
“Bullshit, what could I, a fashion designer, possibly do wrong?”
It was common for the two of them to argue on the phone if something wasn’t right, but today, Cheng Xiaonan interjected at the right moment.
He said, “Going abroad is fine. You seem to have a job this month that requires overseas filming. I’ll go with you.”
Yu Qian looked back. For some reason, she seemed to see an uncontrollable joy in Cheng Xiaonan’s eyes. I will continue to work hard!
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