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Psst! We're moving!
On the night of his successful proposal, Cheng Xiaonan posted on his WeChat Moments—
“She said yes.”
The accompanying image was a photograph:
Yu Qian, wearing the veil he had personally embroidered, stood with her back to the camera in Peter’s inner studio, her head slightly bowed. A few strands of hair scattered across her face, turning golden-brown in the light.
She was looking at the Chinese violet cress pattern Cheng Xiaonan had painstakingly embroidered on the sheer fabric.
Behind Yu Qian was a luxurious backdrop—
Peter’s designed wedding gown, a full set of jewelry on the table, and several pots of blooming red poppies like fire.
The sunlight streaming in from the window cast a bright glow over the scene.
There was a time difference of over ten hours between here and China; their night was midday in the Imperial City.
Initially, relatives and friends didn’t react immediately, as Cheng Xiaonan had been posting on his WeChat Moments too frequently recently, even more often than the chatty Shen Shen.
Several posts a day: things like the fried sausages Yu Qian made, Yu Qian learning to skateboard, the latte art coffee he made for Yu Qian, and so on.
Even high school classmates said that given Brother Nan’s personality, they thought he would marry and have children late in life, never expecting him to be so terrifyingly affectionate once he fell in love, showing off every day.
When everyone finally realized that this wasn’t just showing off, but a successful proposal, a string of blessings and likes appeared in the comments section of Cheng Xiaonan’s post.
However, Cheng Xiaonan’s post was impulsive.
He hadn’t expected that his family members, upon seeing the post, would disregard the late hour there and excitedly call him one after another.
Even when Yu Qian emerged from the steaming bathroom, wrapped in a bathrobe after showering, Cheng Xiaonan was still on the phone.
He had piled pillows at the head of the bed, leaning back lazily.
Perhaps finding the overhead chandelier glaring, he rested the back of his hand over his eyes, while his other hand loosely held the phone to his ear, occasionally responding with a few words.
He didn’t say much, but his eyes and brows were tinged with joy.
A senior relative on the phone said, “Xiaonan, you can’t lie about something like this. Did Xiao Qian really say yes? Will she marry you?”
Cheng Xiaonan laughed, a hint of childish pride in his tone: “Of course.”
Hearing Yu Qian come out, Cheng Xiaonan finally looked up and said to the person on the phone, “She’s out. We’re going to sleep. Let’s talk tomorrow.”
His long, crossed legs shifted. He got up, took Yu Qian’s wrist, and pulled her into his embrace.
Cheng Xiaonan leaned close to Yu Qian’s neck, his gaze burning, fixed on her collarbone, and slowly began to speak absentmindedly: “It was Grandma on the phone. The old lady was questioning me...”
The fresh scent of botanical shower gel emanated from her neck, but before Cheng Xiaonan could kiss her, his phone rang again.
He could only give Yu Qian a light kiss on the lips amidst the phone’s ringing before answering the call.
This time it was Old Cheng’s call. Everyone on the phone was in high spirits, delighted that Yu Qian had “one foot in the Cheng family” already.
By the time everyone realized they were abroad and stopped calling, afraid of disturbing Yu Qian and Cheng Xiaonan’s rest, it was already past 1 AM.
________________________________________
Looking out from the bedroom window, one could see a full moon hanging amidst the tree shadows, with unknown moths continually bumping against the brightly lit window.
The wind rustled the leaves, making a “shusha” sound. Cheng Xiaonan’s thumb gently rubbed a bruise on her knee: “When did you get this?”
“Yesterday.”
“Where did you bump it? It looks quite bad.”
Cheng Xiaonan surveyed the sharp edges of the furnishings around them, asking and thinking, feeling it was necessary to pad these table corners and window sills.
Yu Qian whispered in his ear that she had bumped it in the bathroom.
The way she said it made it hard not to imagine things; she wasn’t the only one in the bathroom last night. Cheng Xiaonan turned off the light, and with a light flick of his finger, the tie on her bathrobe loosened.
Yu Qian didn’t avoid him, quietly looking at Cheng Xiaonan in the moonlight.
Her long hair spread across the pillow like a seductive succubus in the dark.
Cheng Xiaonan couldn’t resist and leaned in to kiss her.
This commotion meant they didn’t sleep until early morning.
________________________________________
Close to dawn, Cheng Xiaonan had a dream. He dreamt of the day he and Yu Qian wrote Spring Festival couplets:
He pasted the “nian nian sui sui” (year after year, perpetually) that Yu Qian had applied glue to on the door. When he turned his head, Yu Qian was bowing her head, applying glue to the back of “sui sui nian nian” (perpetually, year after year) as well.
In the dream, she quoted Feng Yanji’s poem, saying to him, “First, may my lord live a thousand years; second, may my concubine remain healthy; third, may we be like swallows on the beam, meeting year after year.”
Cheng Xiaonan in the dream grew anxious, feeling he didn’t like this poem.
Living for a thousand years would only make him happy if Yu Qian could also live for a thousand years with him.
Cheng Xiaonan fussed illogically in the dream, thinking, No, how can she refer to herself as “concubine”?
Clearly, he only had her; she should be the legal wife, she should be a consort!
And just being “like swallows on the beam” wouldn’t do either!
They were in the Imperial City, the north! Swallows migrate south in autumn. If they were like swallows on the beam, wouldn’t they not see each other for an entire winter?
He was unreasonably picky in his dream, always feeling uneasy.
As the morning light enveloped the bedroom, Cheng Xiaonan was half-asleep, frowning as he fumbled for Yu Qian’s left hand. The diamond on her ring finger pressed against his palm, and he finally felt at ease, drifting back to sleep in a daze.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already 9 AM, the sunlight was bright, and Yu Qian’s sleeping face was right before him.
As his sleepiness faded, Cheng Xiaonan recalled his unreasonable nitpicking in the dream and found it amusing. He chuckled softly to himself before kissing Yu Qian’s forehead.
Yu Qian slowly opened her eyes to Cheng Xiaonan’s smiling face. She asked him what time it was.
“I don’t know, didn’t check. Let’s hug for a bit longer before getting up.”
Sunlight filled the bed. Cheng Xiaonan told Yu Qian how he had argued with a poem in his dream last night, and also spoke of his uneasiness.
Later, he pinched Yu Qian’s ring finger, adorned with the diamond ring: “Interview time. How do you feel about deciding to marry me? Happy?”
Yu Qian closed her eyes: “Happy.”
“Happy to marry me?”
“Mm.”
“Really happy?”
“...Mm.”
“How happy?”
“Cheng Xiaonan?”
“Alright, alright, no more questions. Time to get up, get up.”
________________________________________
Yu Qian received Sun Yue’s congratulatory call at 10 AM.
Sun Yue said she had worked overtime, and due to heavy rain and traffic jams in the Imperial City, she had just arrived home.
From the sound on her end, she had indeed just entered her home.
Yu Qian could hear Sun Yue happily shouting “Congratulations!” in a spacious area, along with the “thump” of her umbrella opening and the “smack” of her pulling out slippers from the shoe cabinet and dropping them on the floor.
“Your wedding dress is truly too, too beautiful! I really want to see you wear it! Qian, when are you coming back?”
Sun Yue excitedly exclaimed, “I want to treat you and CEO Cheng to a meal. If you don’t mind, there’s a really good small restaurant near my house. Their Squirrel Fish is especially fragrant, sweet and sour! And their Braised Prawns are not bad either!”
This girl loved high-calorie dishes, either deep-fried or pan-fried.
Her voice traveled across the ocean, coming from the phone like a storm of happiness sweeping over her ears.
Yu Qian held her phone in her left hand. The midday sun fell on the diamond ring on her ring finger, reflecting a beam of light. Hearing Sun Yue’s joyful voice, she also smiled happily and agreed to have a meal with Sun Yue when they returned.
Sun Yue didn’t rush to hang up. She mysteriously lowered her voice and said that if all went well, she would introduce someone to Yu Qian when she returned.
In the less than a year since Yu Qian returned to China, the young woman’s professional skills had rapidly improved, and she could already independently train new assistants.
Before Yu Qian and Cheng Xiaonan went abroad, she vaguely heard that Sun Yue had met a man she liked. If that was the case, perhaps their relationship was progressing smoothly and they had already become a couple.
“Is the weather good abroad? Listen to the heavy rain in Imperial City.”
A burst of noisy rain sounds came from the phone.
Yu Qian suddenly recalled when she first returned to China, staying in a hotel opposite “Eleven.” Lightning flashed and thunder rolled in the Imperial City. Amidst layers of rain and fog, “Eleven”‘s neon sign glowed white, like a mirage, ethereal as a dream.
At that time, she hadn’t yet entered the “Eleven” company building, nor did she know that the company’s boss was Cheng Xiaonan.
But did she truly have no related suspicions at all?
Perhaps it was when she decided to return to China, perhaps on the way back, perhaps the moment she checked into the hotel.
Thoughts she hadn’t wished to dwell on then now resurfaced for careful consideration. She had to admit, she had hoped to meet Cheng Xiaonan again.
After hanging up with Sun Yue, Yu Qian leaned against the window sill, her back against the glass heated by the sun.
In her line of sight, Cheng Xiaonan had just tossed his bathrobe aside, casually putting on his pants and shirt one by one in front of her. Then he applied shaving cream, and while shaving, squinted into the sun to look at Yu Qian.
He watched for a while, then suddenly asked, “Do you have something to ask me?”
“Why is it called ‘Eleven’?”
Cheng Xiaonan chuckled, saying, “You’ve been at this company for almost a year, and you’re just now asking me this? Why do you think it has that name?”
Yu Qian thought for a moment: “Regret?”
She forgot when, but it seemed Shen Shen had told her that many good words had 12 strokes, like “friend” and “lover,” so “11” might mean regret.
“What nonsense?”
Cheng Xiaonan finished shaving, bent down to splash water on his face, and hearing Yu Qian’s words, turned around, still with water droplets on his face, “What regret?”
Yu Qian said she heard it from Shen Shen, who apparently got it from Ji Ran’s deduction.
Cheng Xiaonan scoffed: “Her deduction? She’s never guessed the culprit correctly in any ‘Detective Conan’ movie. What kind of deduction is she capable of?”
Thinking of the mix-up when Shen Shen took the wrong scarf, Yu Qian also raised an eyebrow, thinking that Ji Ran’s deductions might not be very reliable.
“It’s 11 minutes past, 8:11 PM. I looked at my watch when I threw the skateboard out over the back wall from campus, and then I heard it hit your car,” he said, wiping the water droplets from his face.
Peter had already gone to the studio, saying he had work to do. It was just the two of them at home. After tidying up and having breakfast, Yu Qian told Cheng Xiaonan she wanted to go out for a walk.
Cheng Xiaonan thought Yu Qian wanted to relax, but then realized she was earnestly picking out gifts for his family members as a return for the valuable New Year’s gifts she had received.
“You don’t need to buy them anything. They’ll be happy just to have a meal with you.”
“How can that be?”
“Alright, then buy something. If I bought it, they might not even appreciate it much. But if my grandma receives something you bought, that old lady will be so happy she’ll laugh her dentures off.”
Yu Qian lacked experience living with elders. After thinking for a moment, she actually asked, “Will dentures fall out?”
“Usually not, but sometimes when she gets excited and uses too much force, they will fall out.”
Cheng Xiaonan said that one year, for his grandma’s birthday, his aunt bought her a trendy sea salt taro mud lava cake. His grandma blew out the candles too hard, and her dentures flew out, making a “plop” sound as they landed in the flowing taro mud. He said, “My family even has a video of it from my old phone. I’ll show you when we get back to China.”
Yu Qian speculated, asking if he was laughing so hard his hands were shaking while recording.
Cheng Xiaonan, however, said, “I wasn’t laughing that much. At that time, I hadn’t even confirmed you would return to China, so I wasn’t that happy. I only laugh so much my hands shake when you’re back, like now.”
He deliberately trembled as he handed Yu Qian an already opened bottle of mineral water. Yu Qian slapped his wrist, calling him a drama queen.
The drama queen himself showed no restraint: “My hands are shaking so much, how about I feed you with my mouth?”
________________________________________
Shopping, of course, wasn’t a man’s strong suit.
Even though Cheng Xiaonan was already a very stylishly dressed man, he wasn’t entirely good at picking out gifts for women.
Moreover, when it came to choosing gifts, he might only care about Yu Qian.
As for others, even when picking out something for Old Cheng, he was somewhat perfunctory, always choosing tobacco, alcohol, or tea.
So, for today’s outing, his only responsibility was to carry the bags.
Cheng Xiaonan carried a pile of shopping bags of various sizes and sat on a long bench. He used a folded advertising flyer to shield his forehead from the sun, watching Yu Qian across the street trying on a bracelet for his cousin at a vintage shop.
The shop was too small inside, and it was inconvenient for him to stand there with so many bags, so he had to wait on the bench across the street.
Behind him was a quiet shop. After a while, the wind chime on the shop door jingled, and a man sat down next to Cheng Xiaonan, asking him, “Hey, buddy, want a cigarette?”
“No, thank you, I don’t smoke.” Cheng Xiaonan briefly glanced at the man, then his gaze returned, sticking to Yu Qian.
She was wearing a very simple white dress today, carrying a classic Lady Dior bag, and wore sunglasses because the sun was too bright.
It wasn’t that her outfit was particularly unique.
After all, the sun was bright, and out of every 10 women walking down this street, 8 were wearing sunglasses.
But Cheng Xiaonan looked at Yu Qian and just thought she looked better and better the more he looked.
More beautiful than anyone else in this world.
When she turned around, something on her dress caught the sunlight and momentarily dazzled Cheng Xiaonan’s eyes.
When he looked closely, he realized Yu Qian was wearing a brooch from the jewelry set he had given her. It was also shaped like a Chinese violet cress, with a few small diamonds dangling from it, sparkling in the sunlight.
Cheng Xiaonan suddenly felt that just successfully proposing wasn’t enough.
They needed to get their marriage certificate.
He really wanted to go back to China to get their marriage certificate.
How about tomorrow?
Perhaps because he was holding too many shopping bags, the middle-aged man smoking beside him scrutinized him.
Then he couldn’t help but speak again: “Little brother, do you want to come into my shop and take a look? My goods are very complete.”
The shop behind their bench had an old-fashioned door and display window, giving a sense of a “century-old shop.”
But in fact, it was just deliberately made to look old; the metal on the door hinges still gleamed.
The man’s accent wasn’t standard foreign language; he might have come from another country to do business.
Cheng Xiaonan didn’t need to buy anything, so he just said, “No.”
“Bring your wife in to take a look. I’ve acquired quite a few vintage items here. What if you find something you like?”
The word “wife” successfully made Cheng Xiaonan pause his gaze, but he still refused, saying he wasn’t interested.
Yu Qian, having finished her shopping across the street, was about to cross the road when Cheng Xiaonan already stood up.
The shop owner sitting beside him also stood up. As Yu Qian crossed the road and was about to reach Cheng Xiaonan, the shop owner, with a businessman’s characteristic enthusiasm, immediately spoke: “Madam, would you like to come into my shop and take a look? I have many beautiful items; you will be very surprised.”
Since Yu Qian was the one being asked, Cheng Xiaonan didn’t refuse and quietly waited for Yu Qian’s answer.
When Yu Qian said “Okay,” the shop owner looked at Cheng Xiaonan almost provocatively.
But to the shop owner’s surprise, the cold-faced handsome man who had just repeatedly refused him had already walked to the door ahead of him, helping the beautiful lady beside him hold open the door curtain.
Shop owner: “...”
Where’s your persistence?!
________________________________________
It was a shop that completely mismatched its exterior:
The storefront looked simple and old, but the interior’s colors and decorations were lavish. Gleaming metal accessories were stacked in wooden lattice shelves. The goods sold ranged from clothing, small videos, and ornaments to belts and shoes, like a general store.
Moreover, they weren’t strictly categorized, placed very casually.
A brass mannequin standing next to Cheng Xiaonan wore a large Bohemian-style dress, a three-tiered wide-brimmed sun hat on its head, and layers of jewelry on its wrists and neck.
Its left hand extended forward, and surprisingly, there was a handful of cellophane-wrapped candies in its brass palm.
Over a dozen large European chandeliers overhead illuminated the cellophane with a gradient of colors. Cheng Xiaonan looked at the shop owner: “You sell candy here too?”
The shop owner said yes, he did sell candy sometimes; neighborhood children would come in to buy it. This chocolate-covered cherry jam candy was most popular around Halloween.
This shop owner was truly a very warm person. He told Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian that it was okay if they didn’t find anything they liked in the shop; they could sit down and have afternoon tea and rest.
“China, I’ve been to China. It’s a good place,” the shop owner gestured, saying he was a fan of Bruce Lee.
Yu Qian rather liked the casual style of this shop, just as she liked the small, cluttered supermarket not far from where they lived.
Cheng Xiaonan accompanied her to a window seat. The table was covered with a dark tablecloth heavily embroidered with large red flowers.
Looking closely, it was actually a poppy pattern.
By the time the owner had steeped the fruit tea and brought over a matching set of bone china tea ware, Cheng Xiaonan had already decided to buy that tablecloth.
The owner, delighted to hear they liked poppies, searched frantically through his less-than-30-square-meter shop and finally dug out a few cup coasters.
The base color was a mosaic of polished white shell pieces, radiating a faint golden glow. The poppy flower in the center, made of an unknown type of shell, was a beautiful pink infused with red. The shop owner didn’t go on and on, only saying that the color was natural, not artificially dyed.
Yu Qian nodded. After asking the price, she placed the tablecloth and coasters on the table, clearly intending to buy them together.
At this time, the sun was shining brightly outside, and few people came into the shop. The owner sat not far from Yu Qian and Cheng Xiaonan, chatting with them.
He said he was from Southern Europe and had been doing business here for almost 20 years.
The shop’s air conditioning was blowing towards their tea table. Yu Qian’s loose hair was a bit bothersome, so she lowered her head, rummaged through her bag for a hair tie, and gathered her hair into a bun.
“Wait, are you? Are you that model? The one who was in the magazine? I have your magazine!”
The shop owner suddenly asked excitedly. Yu Qian wasn’t sure if he had mistaken her for someone else, as there were many famous Chinese models in the international industry.
She only said that she was indeed a professional model.
The shop owner actually did pull out a magazine from over ten years ago from his shop. It featured a photo of Yu Qian from her first collaboration with a foreign photographer.
At that time, Yu Qian was just over 10 years old, with a tender face, wearing a fluffy dress, advertising for a children’s brand.
Cheng Xiaonan glanced at it and suddenly smiled.
His features, with sharp inner eye corners, made his gaze keen, but when he smiled at the magazine, his eyes were warm, though his words were mischievous: “Isn’t this Sister when she was little? Little sister?”
“Oh my goodness, it really is you!”
The boss excitedly asked Yu Qian to sign the magazine cover for him.
In truth, Yu Qian rarely signed autographs for others; she was a professional model, not a celebrity.
Consequently, very few people knew her name.
It was just a small favor, but the shop owner was very courteous. He said he wouldn’t charge Yu Qian and Cheng Xiaonan for the fruit tea and even prepared to find something in the shop to give them as a gift.
“Your brooch style is very unique, but my shop doesn’t have any items with that floral pattern...”
The shop owner’s tone held a hint of regret. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly slapped the back of his head excitedly, “Oh, right, there’s one thing I can give you as a gift. I hope you like it.”
As the shop owner spoke, he pushed open a door and went into the back room.
Only then did Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian see that behind a messy pile of clothes on a rack, there was actually a door.
Yu Qian watched, and just as she raised her hand, Cheng Xiaonan had already handed her a teacup.
He asked: “Do you like this kind of shop?”
“Yes, because it’s messy.”
It wasn’t a sarcastic description.
Perhaps because she was in such a good mood with Cheng Xiaonan, Yu Qian had recently developed a touch of childlike innocence. Seeing cluttered things, she actually thought of “Alice in Wonderland.”
Yu Qian took half a cup of tea. The shop owner had already run out with his treasure.
It was a set of wooden jewelry boxes, simply and exquisitely carved. It was easy to see how meticulous the carver had been.
The shop owner said that the jewelry boxes were sold to him by an 87-year-old man. When the old man came to the shop, he was in a wheelchair and couldn’t speak very fluently.
He sat in the same spot where Cheng Xiaonan was now, drank half a pot of fruit tea, and intermittently told his story.
In that era, there were too many loves that couldn’t be together due to war, and too many “had-to-bes.”
The woman the old man loved in his youth moved away with her family, and he was just a small carpenter. He meticulously made this set of jewelry boxes, hoping to give them to her if he ever had the chance to reunite.
However, years passed, and after searching for many years, when he finally heard news of the girl, it was the tragic news of her death in the war.
The old man originally intended to keep that set of jewelry boxes forever.
But he dreamed of the day he met her, dreaming he saw her at a glance in the crowd, still as young as she had been, with a bright and lovely smile.
“If I could do it all over again, I would still walk that street, and bump into her in the bustling crowd, and watch her blush and apologize to me.”
The old man sold this set of jewelry boxes to the shop owner at a very cheap price, with the only request: “Please sell the jewelry boxes to a deserving couple.”
The shop owner had always been reluctant to sell them, but he was willing to give them to Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian.
The shop owner said, “There is love in your eyes.”
The jewelry box had a name—Yesterday.
Engraved on the side of the box by the old man.
The shop owner found a vinyl record and played a very classic old song, “Yesterday Once More.”
The 3:30 PM sunlight streamed in from the window. The air conditioning blew across the objects, some antique, some genuinely old, accumulated over the years. The sweet and refreshing scent of fruit tea permeated Karen Carpenter’s gentle singing.
Cheng Xiaonan glanced at Yu Qian: “What are you thinking about?”
“Agreeing to have dinner with Han Chu the day before I met you was the right decision.”
“...I’m going to get jealous.”
Yu Qian thought of the day before she met Cheng Xiaonan.
That year, she was 21. The day before she met him, she was at home Browse the internet on an XP system desktop computer. The words on the forum were shocking, like invisible tentacles reaching out from the computer screen, dragging her down into a deeper abyss.
She felt she should close the computer, but self-torturously, she read more carefully, meticulously imprinting every word in her mind.
Later, Han Chu called, saying that Aunt Qu said she had no work these past two days, and told her not to stay cooped up at home. Aunt Qu was worried about her too. Why not go out? “I’ve already told Aunt Qu that I’m having dinner with you tomorrow, and Aunt Qu said you’d come near my school to find me.”
Yu Qian didn’t want to go out.
But then Qu Liwen also called, telling her not to forget to have dinner with Han Chu tomorrow.
In fact, for a long time, Yu Qian felt that by agreeing to that dinner, she had lost a neighborly older brother.
Now, thinking about it again, it didn’t seem to be the case.
After growing up, Han Chu and she were not on the same path. Regardless of whether she went to dinner that day or not, she would have lost an older brother.
If she could start over, she hoped everything would remain unchanged. She would still have that dinner, still argue with Han Chu, and still coincidentally drive to Fuzhong Back Street.
Most importantly, she would meet Cheng Xiaonan.
________________________________________
Hearing Yu Qian say this, Cheng Xiaonan tapped his fingers on the jewelry box a few times, as if recalling something.
He thought for a moment, then said, “I remember.”
Cheng Xiaonan was also recalling the day before he met Yu Qian.
It was a very ordinary Monday. During evening self-study, if the teacher wasn’t present, the classroom would be as noisy as a bustling market.
Cheng Xiaonan was sleeping with his head on his desk, vaguely hearing Shen Shen ask: “Brother Nan, going to play games? I’ve already checked, the homeroom teacher won’t be checking on us tonight. Skipping or not?”
Cheng Xiaonan had stayed up all night playing games the day before, too lazy to go out. He just lifted his eyelids slightly and sleepily said no.
“Then are you going tomorrow night? Over at No. 9 Middle School, they said they can only come out tomorrow night. How about we arrange to play together tomorrow night? They even asked if we wanted to drink together.”
Shen Shen was like a social butterfly; he knew not only the younger and older students from Fuzhong but also many from the neighboring No. 9 Middle School.
A group of boys, bad at games but addicted, always wanted to go to internet cafes but couldn’t win, so they constantly urged Cheng Xiaonan to lead them.
Cheng Xiaonan was sleepy and impatient with Shen Shen’s chatter, so he kicked his chair further away: “Shut up.”
After an unknown period, Cheng Xiaonan vaguely fell asleep. He heard Shen Shen carefully lean closer and negotiate with him: “Brother Nan, if you don’t want to drink... then it’s still the old rule? Tomorrow night we’ll eat first, then come out after evening self-study to find us?”
Cheng Xiaonan hummed in agreement.
Later, Shen Shen said something else, and Cheng Xiaonan just told him to scram.
Cheng Xiaonan poured tea for Yu Qian while bantering: “If I had known I’d meet you by going out, I wouldn’t have told Shen Shen to scram. I would’ve been squatting on top of the wall the night before, waiting for you for 24 hours.”
Originally, Yu Qian didn’t believe in fate, thinking it was superstition.
But sitting with Cheng Xiaonan in this cluttered shop, drinking afternoon tea, she suddenly felt that this encounter was different from their later reunion.
There were no artificial factors involved; it was truly just a coincidence, just fate.
A little earlier, or a little later, and perhaps she wouldn’t have had the chance to meet a boy named Cheng Xiaonan that year.
Time cannot be turned back.
But even if yesterday reappeared, they would not wish to change their current trajectory.
What they had now was already the best.
Yu Qian actively asked the shop owner for packaging and packed the jewelry box.
After leaving this shop, they wandered for a while longer.
________________________________________
On the way, they met a woman who claimed to be an astrologer. She followed them, saying she could predict their destiny, allowing them to avoid bad luck and take shortcuts.
This astrologer clearly wasn’t a legitimate one. She had a pile of colorful crystal strings on her arm, dressed like a witch, and carried a basket, probably also selling tarot cards and crystal balls.
She didn’t look like an astrologer; she looked like a swindler.
The swindler, with a pile of jingling crystal strings, followed Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian for several minutes, muttering constantly:
First, she said she could do relationship readings and help them resolve their worries. Then, she said she could do career and marriage readings.
Cheng Xiaonan listened, finding the swindler quite amusing.
If she was really that capable, she looked to be 30-40 years old, why wasn’t she enjoying a life of leisure instead of coming out to sell crystals on a hot day?
Can’t help others without helping herself?
Neither Cheng Xiaonan nor Yu Qian paid attention to what the swindler was saying, except for the very end. As they approached the intersection, the swindler suddenly began, “Your relationship is very smooth but...” Cheng Xiaonan didn’t let the swindler finish, turning around directly and pointing at her.
He frowned: “Swallow what you were going to say next. How much for the crystal bracelet? I’ll buy it.”
Cheng Xiaonan casually picked up a string of bracelets and paid.
The swindler didn’t sell it cheaply at all; one string of bracelets cost 800 RMB.
Yu Qian asked him why he bought it when he knew it was a scam.
Cheng Xiaonan weighed the “crystal” in his hand and said, “Even if it’s just glass, I had to buy it. If I didn’t, who knows what that swindler would say. We haven’t even registered our marriage yet; I don’t want to hear anything inauspicious.”
Amidst the bustling traffic, Cheng Xiaonan suddenly leaned in and kissed her.
A brief taste, just for 1 second, then they separated.
“Couldn’t resist,” he said.
When they returned to their place, Cheng Xiaonan was carrying over twenty large and small paper bags. Yu Qian walked ahead, talking on the phone with Peter.
The sunset stretched her shadow long. She told Peter to prepare dinner. Peter on the phone probably asked her what she gained from her day out. Yu Qian said she found a beautiful set of jewelry boxes.
Cheng Xiaonan looked down at the set of jewelry boxes in the paper bag. When Yu Qian hung up the phone, he suddenly asked: “Sister, I remember you don’t really like using jewelry boxes?”
Yu Qian used to travel frequently for work. Her everyday appearance wasn’t as varied as her professional one; she usually wore simple outfits. Although she had a lot of jewelry, she usually just tossed it into a velvet pouch.
Sometimes, when she pulled it out, necklaces and ear wires would be tangled together, which was indeed a bit messy.
The only exceptions were jewelry borrowed from brands, which she wouldn’t store herself. Instead, she’d hand them over to her assistant to be kept in the brand’s jewelry boxes, awaiting return.
She looked back in the sunset: “I don’t like them.”
But this set of jewelry was a gift from Cheng Xiaonan, and she still wanted to keep it carefully.
They would both make some changes for love.
Just like Cheng Xiaonan, who didn’t believe in ghosts or Buddha, would still spend 800 yuan on a string of glass beads from a “fortune teller.”
“What, you’re going to specially protect the jewelry I gave you?”
“Mm.”
Cheng Xiaonan smiled.
He suddenly got mischievous, ran past Yu Qian from behind, scooped her up in a bridal carry, and ran along the small road.
The two dozen paper bags in his hands rustled. Yu Qian’s hands naturally clasped around his neck. A few neighborhood kids were skateboarding nearby and cheered when they saw them.
Yu Qian, mindful of the many things he was carrying, said, “Put me down. It’s still a long way.”
“No, I won’t. I can carry you all the way, no matter how long it is, believe it or not?”
“Mm.”
“Just an ‘mm’? Why don’t you ever follow the script? I thought you’d ask me if I could carry you for a lifetime.”
Yu Qian finally smiled: “I’m not disabled.”
A gentle breeze rustled in her ears. Under the sunset, everything visible was warm orange. Cheng Xiaonan lowered his eyelids at this moment, looking at Yu Qian and asking, “Let’s go back to China, tomorrow. Is that okay?”
The question of whether to return to China, asked with such a serious tone, seemed overly affectionate.
Yu Qian guessed that this return to China was not so simple. She was also a perceptive woman. After thinking for a moment, she neither said yes nor no. Instead, she asked him, “What documents do we need to prepare for marriage registration?”
“Household register!”
Cheng Xiaonan carried her, running along the familiar road. When they entered the house, Peter was startled. He looked at Yu Qian, who was in Cheng Xiaonan’s arms, and his mouth fell open exaggeratedly: “Yu Qian, don’t tell me you’re pregnant.”
“No.”
Cheng Xiaonan said, “We’re going back to China tomorrow. What about you? Want to come with us?”
Peter asked in confusion why they were leaving so suddenly.
Cheng Xiaonan replied to Peter with a raised voice, “Going back to get married, of course we’re in a hurry!”
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