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On the morning they went to register their marriage, Cheng Xiaonan must have woken up extremely early.
When Yu Qian got up at 6 AM, he was already dressed and sitting on the living room sofa, buttoning his shirt cuffs.
Cheng Xiaonan rarely wore such a pure white, simply styled white shirt. His hair wasn’t styled yet, his bangs softly falling over his forehead, making him look even more boyish.
The newly planted poppies were well-cared for by the housekeeper and had bloomed again.
This time, they were a mix of yellow and orange, blossoming in the sunlight, making the entire living room appear exceptionally bright.
Cheng Xiaonan sat amidst this bright scene, turning his head in the morning light, and consulting with Yu Qian, asking her: “Online it says they open at 8:30. Should we go early? I’m really eager to get the marriage certificate.”
Due to family reasons, Yu Qian had never seen a marriage certificate before.
She actually had the same idea as Cheng Xiaonan; she also wanted to go to the civil affairs bureau early.
So she nodded in agreement: “I’ll go wash up first.”
Yu Qian came out after showering, and a white shirt was already laid out on the bed.
Actually, Yu Qian herself rarely wore white shirts; she preferred more stylish and mature designs. To her, white shirts seemed too girlish and plain.
But for the marriage certificate photo, only this could be worn.
When she took off her bathrobe, Cheng Xiaonan was standing in the bedroom doorway, leaning against the doorframe, watching her.
He probably wanted to get the certificate quickly, so even seeing her fresh out of the bath, looking so captivating, he merely tilted his head and cleared his throat, not daring to get closer and mess around.
Yu Qian unhurriedly put on her lingerie set, buttoning her shirt one by one.
When she turned to pull out a hip-hugging suit skirt from the wardrobe, Cheng Xiaonan finally couldn’t help but speak: “Sister, are you trying to stop me from leaving the house?”
Yu Qian asked: “Then what should I wear?”
Cheng Xiaonan was still staring at her skirt. After a while, he said: “Anything is fine, wear it.”
In the end, Yu Qian still changed out of that hip-hugging skirt. When she closed the wardrobe, Cheng Xiaonan provocatively started, “You can wear it tonight...” but before he could finish his sentence, Yu Qian pushed him out of the bedroom.
They ate breakfast together at the dining table as usual, except today they didn’t wash dishes together in the kitchen. Subtly, both had a hint of “rushing” urgency.
The car was parked in the underground garage. Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian got in. After helping Yu Qian fasten her seatbelt, he started the car. Amidst the faint sound of the engine starting, he asked her: “Ready to go?”
Yu Qian tilted her head, looking at him.
Cheng Xiaonan seemed to remember just then, pulling his own seatbelt and buckling it: “Ready to go?”
After asking, he licked his lips and chuckled to himself, “I already asked that, didn’t I?”
This “bad boy” who frequently snuck out of school campus through the wall actually had moments of nervousness.
________________________________________
On the way to the civil affairs bureau, Yu Qian received a call from Sun Yue.
The young assistant cheerfully yelled into the phone, “Qian! Are you going to register your marriage today? Congratulations, congratulations!”
Sun Yue’s main reason for calling was to invite them to dinner, saying that if they weren’t busy tonight, she and her boyfriend would treat everyone to a meal.
When she said the words “boyfriend,” Sun Yue’s voice noticeably softened, a little shy, but her excitement was palpable.
Yu Qian agreed.
After hanging up, Yu Qian was still a bit puzzled.
How did Sun Yue know they were getting married today?
When she opened WeChat Moments, her confusion was resolved—
Cheng Xiaonan had posted a picture on his Moments sometime before leaving the house. The photo showed his hand, palm up, with a slight sheen of sweat on his fair palm lines, sparkling like tiny gold dust sprinkled in the sunlight.
Interestingly, the reflective sweat was near his heart line. He captioned it: “Feeling quite nervous.”
After posting, he didn’t wait for others to ask him, immediately commenting on his own post.
Like an elderly person, he wrote in the comments section:
[Unified reply: Going to register marriage today.]
He even added an “er” sound (a common colloquial suffix in Beijing dialect).
It was hard to tell whether he was nervous or showing off.
Yu Qian looked at the photo again. In the background, she could vaguely see the blurred floor-to-ceiling windows and the poppies.
Cheng Xiaonan’s hands should have been the clean, well-cared-for kind, but a few days ago abroad, he helped in the kitchen and got a bit burned, leaving a reddish-brown scar on his thumb pad.
Yu Qian looked at the photo and suddenly remembered something from many years ago.
It was the second time she had seen Cheng Xiaonan.
The marks Cheng Xiaonan had left on her sports car with his skateboard weren’t serious. But because the car itself was quite expensive, getting it fixed at the 4S shop still cost a considerable amount.
Yu Qian at the time was not short on money, so she delayed contacting Cheng Xiaonan, feeling that asking a high school student to pay for such repair costs would be quite expensive.
After an unknown number of days, she was tidying up her bedroom in the evening when she found a note tucked under her compact mirror case. It was the phone number she had copied down.
She looked at the phone number, then remembered Cheng Xiaonan’s slightly red ears when he wrote the number on her arm, and the open and generous look in his eyes when he looked at her.
Yu Qian simply picked up her phone and sent him a message, asking when he would be free.
She figured she’d ask for less for the repair fee, and the matter would be over.
Cheng Xiaonan replied quickly, telling her to go to the school’s back street right away.
In his message, he casually said, “Meet at the old spot.”
A short while after Yu Qian arrived at the back wall, Cheng Xiaonan climbed onto the wall and squatted there to greet her: “Hi, we meet again.”
He jumped down from the wall, and only then did Yu Qian realize why a small section of the dense ivy clinging to the brick wall was sparse.
It turned out those naughty students had done it while climbing over the wall.
When Yu Qian asked about this, Cheng Xiaonan chuckled: “How could I, a good student, climb walls every day? Isn’t this just to pay you back quickly? It’s convenient this way.”
He rested his arm on the car window. “Besides, I’m so agile, how could I harm the ivy?”
Yu Qian noticed that he didn’t say “scratch” or “brush,” but used the word “harm.”
That day, the streetlights in the back alley shone faintly, and moths flapped their wings, fluttering towards the lampshade.
With the first autumn wind, one could vaguely hear cicadas chirping, mixed with the rustling of leaves.
The lights glowing within the campus were like square gems embedded in the building.
Cheng Xiaonan, wearing his Fuzhong school uniform, stood by her sports car and added her WeChat on her phone.
Then he very generously asked, “How much? I’ll transfer it to you.”
Yu Qian thought for a moment and quoted a number: “390.”
Cheng Xiaonan’s finger, which was operating the phone, paused for a moment, then he looked up.
The light from his phone screen fell into his pupils, reflecting a sparkle, and there was a galaxy in the boy’s eyes.
But this galaxy was filled with mockery: “390 yuan? Did you miss a zero? With your car, 390 might only fill it up with gas, and not even fully.”
Yu Qian hadn’t expected that a high school boy would be so knowledgeable about car repair costs.
She was indeed too lazy to make up a number and had simply missed a “0.”
The young man in front of her held both their phones, then lowered his head and pressed a few buttons on his own. Suddenly, he looked up again, his gaze meeting hers, and he smiled, revealing a slight dimple: “I broke your car, so compensation is what I should do. Don’t worry about saving me money.”
The way he said it made it sound as if she was giving him special treatment.
In reality, it was simply because he was a student, and she felt the amount would be too much for him.
Cheng Xiaonan offered two options:
Either he directly transferred 3900 yuan to her.
Or, he’d follow her stated amount and transfer 390 yuan, and use the remaining 3510 yuan to treat her to meals.
The younger boy at the time squinted his eyes, calculated, and said if they ate somewhere slightly better, at 500 yuan a meal, it would be used up in 7 meals, so he could treat her to dinner for a week straight.
If she wasn’t free, once a week for seven weeks would also work.
A bell rang from the campus, like a class dismissal bell.
Amidst the ringing, Cheng Xiaonan said frankly: “I actually hope you choose the second option. What about you, which one do you want to choose?”
Yu Qian didn’t have time to go out for meals consecutively.
Dragging it out for too long would also feel troublesome. She paused for a few seconds, waiting for the bell to stop, then, lacking sentiment, said: “Just transfer it directly, 3900.”
“Oh, alright then.”
Cheng Xiaonan didn’t say anything about her choice. He promptly lowered his head and fiddled with his phone.
Yu Qian heard a notification sound on her phone in his hand. He tapped it, presumably accepting the payment for her.
But he didn’t return the phone. He used his phone to dial her number, and her phone rang. Cheng Xiaonan looked up: “You don’t have my number saved?”
Yu Qian didn’t even know his name.
So she hadn’t thought to save it.
Cheng Xiaonan saved his number on her phone, then held the phone out to her. His name was displayed on the illuminated screen.
He still repeated, “My name is Cheng Xiaonan, Sister, what’s yours?”
“Yu Qian.”
Cheng Xiaonan also seemed to be saving her number: “Yu, as in the ‘remainder’ Yu? And Qian, which Qian? The ‘light color’ Qian?”
He handed his phone over again, “Why don’t you just write it for me?”
Perhaps his demeanor throughout this process was too open and straightforward, so Yu Qian didn’t refuse. She tapped a few times on his phone, typing in her name.
“Yu as in ‘poppy’? That’s quite unique. I haven’t heard of anyone with that surname at our school.”
Even though he knew her name, Cheng Xiaonan still called her “Sister” when he spoke again: “Hey, Sister, you’re pretty bold, aren’t you? You didn’t even check how much money I actually transferred to you?”
Yu Qian clicked back to WeChat and saw that Cheng Xiaonan hadn’t transferred the money according to either of the two options he had mentioned.
He had transferred 3400 to her, short by 500.
After all, he was a high school student. Having that much money was already a lot.
It was also possible that he didn’t have enough money, Yu Qian thought at the time.
Cheng Xiaonan, however, flicked the car window, which was half-rolled down: “How about I give you back 3400, and use the remaining 500 yuan to treat you to a meal? There’s no time like the present, let’s go now. You pick the restaurant, it’s fine if it’s expensive, it’s on me.”
“No need, I’m going back.”
“Don’t go yet. The debt isn’t fully repaid. If you leave, I’ll keep thinking about it, won’t study well, and it might affect my college entrance exam. Besides, even if you don’t eat, I have to. Or would it be too much trouble for you to drop me off at a restaurant? Then I’ll treat you to a meal?” It was then that Yu Qian realized he had come out with his backpack.
She remembered that Fuzhong was quite strict. At that time of day, climbing back over the wall with a backpack would be too easy to get caught.
It was from that meal that they slowly became familiar with each other.
Yu Qian no longer clearly remembered what they talked about that day.
She only remembered one moment during the meal: Cheng Xiaonan held out his hand to show her a cut on his clean palm, saying he got it from the corner of the wall when he climbed over.
Cheng Xiaonan smiled, eyes full of mirth, and said as if casually: “Tell me, isn’t this spot where I cut myself called the heart line?”
________________________________________
The Civil Affairs Bureau was located between the Second and Third Ring Roads, requiring them to pass through a bustling commercial district.
It was also during the morning rush hour, and traffic was jammed, moving slowly. Yu Qian put away her phone and glanced at Cheng Xiaonan. He pursed his lips, his dimples faintly showing, looking very pleased.
Perhaps noticing Yu Qian’s gaze, he took a moment to turn his head and look at her: “Is this traffic jealous that I’m getting married? Why is it so jammed? Well, good things come to those who wait.”
Because the car couldn’t get through the traffic light intersection for a long time, Cheng Xiaonan had some free time. He rested his hands on the steering wheel and said, “I told you I could recite poetry, do you remember?”
Yu Qian vaguely remembered.
It seemed that on New Year’s Eve, Cheng Xiaonan had recited Shu Ting’s “To the Oak,” and later he said he had also recited an English poem in college, which he would recite to her someday.
Cheng Xiaonan asked, “Do you want to hear it now?”
“Mm.”
The poem he knew was William Butler Yeats’ “When You Are Old.”
“How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face.”
“How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face.”
This poem was from the art festival in college. At that time, his class was forced by the department to put on a show.
A group of boys who only played games and basketball had no idea for a show. Only Cheng Xiaonan had a little talent; he could play the guitar and sang well.
But he wasn’t willing to perform, and after several attempts by classmates to persuade him, it was no use.
At that time, the girls in the class, for some reason, usually loved to sing and dance, but at the crucial moment, none of them wanted to go on stage. They turned to persuade him: “Cheng Xiaonan, you didn’t learn guitar just because you like guitar, did you? Isn’t there any girl you like in school? You go perform, and confess at the same time, kill two birds with one stone!”
Cheng Xiaonan glanced at them and said, “It’s not a girl I like.”
The girls were bewildered by what he said, looking at each other.
One girl paused for a moment, then suddenly stammered, “What do you mean? Oh my god, you, you like men...”
Cheng Xiaonan “tsk”-ed: “What nonsense are you thinking? It’s not a girl I like, it’s an older sister. She’s not even at our school, so what’s the point of me singing?”
Perhaps the delay in putting on the show had gone on too long. The class advisor said they would have a poetry recitation medley and forced the entire class to participate.
The poems were probably chosen by the girls in the class, all quite lyrical.
That year, Cheng Xiaonan stood on the metal steps of the stage, expressionless and emotionless, mechanically reciting all the poems with the crowd, then bowed and exited the stage.
To say those verses were moving, he didn’t feel it.
But today, as he recited this poem to Yu Qian, he was serious.
He truly felt that when she grew old, even if her face was covered in wrinkles, he would deeply love those traces of time.
Most importantly, for all the years to come, he would be by her side.
Yu Qian tilted her head slightly, listening attentively, appearing very serious.
As soon as the poem was finished, the previously congested traffic suddenly cleared. They smoothly drove through the green light intersection and headed towards the Civil Affairs Bureau.
________________________________________
After all, it was summer, and the temperature on a clear day was a bit unbearable. The sun fell on their white shirts, shining blindingly.
Cheng Xiaonan parked the car, helped Yu Qian open the car door, and held her hand.
The glass doors of the Civil Affairs Bureau were sparkling clean, and several couples were already waiting at the entrance.
Cheng Xiaonan quipped, “Once we get our certificate, we’ll be a legal couple. There’ll be no time to regret it then. How about you think about it a bit more?”
Seeing Yu Qian not respond, he grew a little anxious: “No, sister, are you actually considering it?”
Yu Qian nodded: “I thought about it again just now, no regrets. I’m quite looking forward to it.”
Cheng Xiaonan wanted to kiss her but was afraid of smudging her lipstick.
He could only restrain himself, pull her closer, push aside her hair, and kiss her behind the ear.
At 8:30, when the Civil Affairs Bureau opened, Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian walked in hand-in-hand with the other waiting couples.
After a short while, Cheng Xiaonan leaned over, helping her tuck a few stray hairs, ruffled by the air conditioner, behind her ear. He whispered to her: “How come some people come to get married looking so glum? The guy diagonally opposite looks like someone owes him a million.”
Cheng Xiaonan rarely gossiped about people; he was probably genuinely nervous.
A moment later, he leaned over again, whispering that he had forgotten to bring his hukou (household registration book) inside, it was in the car, and he’d go get it.
He ran out and ran back.
It was hot and muggy in Beijing summer, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
When he returned to Yu Qian’s side, there was a commotion from the restroom area.
Separated by the crowd, Yu Qian and Cheng Xiaonan didn’t know exactly what was happening, only seeing the glum-looking man Cheng Xiaonan had mentioned earlier, who had already shaken off his girlfriend and walked away with large strides.
The woman who was left behind cried and shouted for him to come back, but the man never looked back.
Someone walked past Yu Qian and Cheng Xiaonan, discussing. From what they said, it seemed the man had changed his mind and suddenly didn’t want to get married. The woman left behind was still crying, sobbing, her face pale. Someone offered tissues, and staff members were also trying to console her.
Cheng Xiaonan couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He held Yu Qian’s wrist and said that no matter what happened, he would never let her be so sad.
Yu Qian asked, “What if I’m the one who made a mistake?”
“What?”
Cheng Xiaonan reacted for a moment, then thought about it. Mistakes between couples, between husband and wife, were usually nothing more than betrayal, deception, or infidelity.
He said, “I’ll indulge you. I won’t cling or humiliate you in public. If you genuinely feel unhappy with me, we’ll discuss a solution, but please don’t cry. If you cry, I might just want to dig out my heart and give it to you.”
Yu Qian thought for a moment: “I would do the same.”
I would love you that way too.
“Isn’t it a bit inauspicious to say this on the day we’re getting married?”
“When did you become superstitious?”
“Perhaps, after falling in love with you?” Cheng Xiaonan said with a smile.
After submitting and reviewing their marriage documents, their marriage certificates were prepared and stamped with the steel seal.
As the steel stamping machine pressed down, Yu Qian suddenly felt as if something was also imprinted in her chest.
Cheng Xiaonan held her hand, and they smiled at each other.
Cheng Xiaonan had been posting frequently on his WeChat Moments lately. Before even leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau, he took a photo and posted it.
Shen Shen instantly commented, saying he guessed he’d see this marriage certificate post today.
Back in the car, Cheng Xiaonan opened the glove compartment, rummaging through it.
Yu Qian asked him what he was looking for, but he didn’t say anything.
The glove compartment in front of the passenger seat was stuffed with many items: several “Eleven” magazines, a few document folders, and many small odds and ends like hand cream and earphone cases.
After a long while, Cheng Xiaonan finally pulled out a kraft paper bag from under a stack of “Eleven” magazine samples.
Inside was a pair of certificate protective covers, sized for marriage certificates.
Yu Qian took it and felt the material.
Lambskin?
She turned her head and saw Cheng Xiaonan carefully slipping the marriage certificate into it, muttering to himself: “Got to keep this safe. This is the only pair of marriage certificates I’ll ever have...”
After covering it, this younger brother showed off: “How about it? Am I thoughtful?”
________________________________________
The evening meal was hosted by Sun Yue and her boyfriend, who had also invited Shen Shen and Ji Ran.
It was at a restaurant near Sun Yue’s home, not too expensive, but not cheap either. It was an old establishment, said to have been open for 7 or 8 years in that location.
Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian, after leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau, first went to Old Cheng’s place, had lunch with him, and then went to the cemetery. They printed out photos of their marriage certificate to burn for Cheng Xiaonan’s mother to see.
Cheng Xiaonan said, “Beautiful lady, see this? Your daughter-in-law, isn’t she pretty? I have to keep the real certificate safe, so I’m burning a photo for you to take a look.”
Returning from the cemetery, Old Cheng was a little low in spirits. Yu Qian and Cheng Xiaonan accompanied him for afternoon tea and chatted for a while, only leaving Old Cheng’s house at dusk.
Traffic was a bit congested on the way, and there was no parking space at the restaurant entrance. After circling a few times and finding a parking spot, they had already been bombarded with over 70 messages in the group chat by Shen Shen and his wife.
It was a small shop, a gecko about an inch long quickly scurrying in the weeds by the corner of the wall. The light box sign was slightly dim.
It had “Northeast Cuisine Home-style Dishes” written on it, with a few recommended dishes below.
Yu Qian felt that the shop looked somewhat familiar. She turned to look at Cheng Xiaonan.
Cheng Xiaonan said, “It seems like we’ve been here before, that winter?”
It really was a place they had been to.
Back then, Cheng Xiaonan was constantly thinking about staying close to Yu Qian, messaging her frequently to ask her out.
Starting in late autumn, the weather grew colder and colder. You couldn’t always ask someone to just walk the streets in the cold wind, could you?
So he often dragged Yu Qian to eat. They had been to Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as small eateries and fast food places.
This particular shop was one they had visited together at some forgotten time.
When they first came, it might have been a new shop. In the blink of an eye, seven or eight years had passed, and even the glass door had accumulated many scratches.
As soon as Yu Qian and Cheng Xiaonan entered the shop, Shen Shen, Ji Ran, and Sun Yue saw their matching white shirts and started to tease them:
“Couple’s shirts!”
“How does it feel to get married?”
“Heard Brother Nan was nervous?”
“Where’s the marriage certificate? Let us see it!”
“Have you set the wedding date?”
“Come, come, sit here, at the main seat!”
Finally, out of deference to Sun Yue’s boyfriend, who was meeting everyone for the first time, they stopped talking about their marriage registration.
Sun Yue’s boyfriend wore black-rimmed glasses, looking honest and gentle. He couldn’t quite keep up with some of the jokes and could only grin foolishly.
But he wasn’t entirely dull; he meticulously removed fish bones for Sun Yue.
Yu Qian looked a few more times, then lowered her gaze, finding a piece of deboned fish on her own plate.
Cheng Xiaonan lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, “No need to envy others, I’ll debone it for you too.”
Since it was a celebratory dinner for their marriage registration, even though Cheng Xiaonan didn’t usually drink, Shen Shen still poured him a large glass of baijiu.
He probably couldn’t hold his liquor well; the skin on his neck was flushed, and a faint, clear scent of alcohol lingered on his lips and teeth. As he held his glass or picked up food with his right hand, his left hand tightly clasped Yu Qian’s.
Yu Qian also had half a glass of baijiu. With a hazy tipsiness, she surveyed the restaurant.
A red string was tied to the air conditioner vent, swaying with the cold air.
The shop’s furnishings hadn’t changed much from Yu Qian’s memory years ago. Only a few of the complimentary beverage posters had been replaced, while some old ones remained, stained with cooking oil and faded yellow.
When they entered the shop, Cheng Xiaonan told her that he had worn this type of white shirt on the day of the art festival during his college years.
So, there was always this feeling that he stood on stage, recited a love poem, then got off the stage and went to register their marriage with her.
Shen Shen also said: “Such a restaurant gathering feels like we’re back in our student days.” When Yu Qian was a student, she didn’t have many friends and didn’t attend many gatherings.
But she felt that this atmosphere was nice. Even looking at the vintage enamel mugs on the table, with their unfashionable designs, she found them pleasing to the eye.
The restaurant had no private rooms; they sat at a large round table in the main dining area.
Two bottles of baijiu were already empty on the table. Shen Shen and Ji Ran opened another bottle and poured for everyone.
When the wine reached Yu Qian, Cheng Xiaonan gently raised his hand and blocked her glass.
“Oh, oh, already protecting her? We know Yu Qian’s alcohol tolerance; we’ve never seen her drunk. Brother Nan, why are you blocking it?”
Ji Ran, having had a bit to drink, also joined in the teasing: “We women can never be controlled by men! Not even after getting married! We are free women! Right, Yu Qian?!”
Actually, Cheng Xiaonan hardly interfered with any of Yu Qian’s decisions. Hearing Ji Ran say that, he felt a little helpless.
On the flight back from abroad, Yu Qian had caught a slight cold during the more than ten-hour journey.
He was just worried she’d feel unwell, which was why he had blocked her glass.
“I’m not interfering, just worried about her. She has a bit of a cold, afraid she’ll feel bad if she drinks too much.”
Cheng Xiaonan turned his head, wrinkling his nose: “Sister, I’m really being wronged here.”
Ji Ran was clearly drunk, collapsing into Shen Shen’s arms: “Honey, they’re showing off!”
Everyone was indeed excited that night and drank quite a bit.
Yu Qian, wearing thin high heels, stepped on a sunken tile when leaving the restaurant and lost her footing, nearly falling.
Cheng Xiaonan, though also half-drunk, steadied her firmly in an instant.
His own eyes were red from drinking, yet he still remembered to ask with concern: “Did you sprain your ankle? Should I carry you?”
Since they had both been drinking, they had to take a taxi home.
Yu Qian was slightly more sober than Cheng Xiaonan. She went into the kitchen to make two cups of honey lemon water.
When she came out again, Cheng Xiaonan was sitting on the living room sofa, the top three buttons of his shirt undone. His phone and watch were haphazardly piled with his wallet and driver’s license on the sofa.
But the two marriage certificates were neatly placed on the coffee table.
Only the floor lamp beside the sofa was on in the living room. Its clear white light fell on Cheng Xiaonan. He rarely drank, and the alcohol was probably hitting him now, making him feel a bit uncomfortable. He lay back on the sofa, unmoving.
His breathing was heavier than usual, and his Adam’s apple, exposed in the light, formed a sexy curve.
When Yu Qian placed the honey lemon water on the coffee table, he merely looked over, his voice deep: “Don’t bother, rest for a while. You drank quite a bit too.”
________________________________________
Actually, most of the time when she was with Cheng Xiaonan, he was the one taking care of her.
Only a few times would he feign pitifulness with minor ailments like fever or a cold, always measured.
If he truly felt unwell, like now, even when drunk, he would pretend to be strong and stay silent.
He wasn’t completely silent, though; he still managed to speak: “It’s really nothing. Haven’t drunk in a long time, just a bit light-headed. I’ll be fine after a while.”
As he spoke, he fumbled for a remote control on the sofa and turned on the air conditioner.
The stuffiness in the room dissipated somewhat. His phone rang; it was Sun Yue’s boyfriend calling to ask if they had arrived home safely.
Cheng Xiaonan chatted with him for a few minutes. The air conditioning made the room temperature pleasant, and by the time he hung up, he had recovered quite a bit.
He told Yu Qian, “Sun Yue’s boyfriend is alright; he’s quite thoughtful.”
Due to the alcohol, Cheng Xiaonan’s neck and earlobes were tinged with a faint red. Yu Qian glanced at him: “Want some honey water?”
At this point, Cheng Xiaonan was invigorated again. He burrowed deeper into the sofa, sitting more lazily, and shamelessly asked in return, “Will you feed me?”
Yu Qian narrowed her eyes, picked up the honey water, and took a sip herself.
She was wondering, how would he feed her?
Cheng Xiaonan didn’t give Yu Qian time to think. The sofa was only about three meters long. He sat in the middle, leaning towards Yu Qian, who was seated on the left.
His hand, warm from the alcohol, grasped Yu Qian’s wrist, which held the honey water. He pushed himself into the space between them and kissed her lips.
The kiss was a bit forceful, and Yu Qian instinctively leaned back.
The person who had been too drunk to speak moments ago actually remembered the lewd words he had spoken that morning. After the kiss, he seriously asked her if she would change into that skirt.
________________________________________
Fueled by alcohol, they were exceptionally restless.
The cicadas outside chirped incessantly, not stopping even in the dead of night. The moon quietly shifted its position, slowly emerging from behind the dense tree canopy, revealing half of its not-quite-round face.
Yu Qian slept for a while, opening her eyes when the sky was just starting to lighten.
Outside the window, the morning sun dyed half of the apartment building a warm orange. The spot beside her on the bed was still warm.
Had Cheng Xiaonan already gotten up?
So early?
Their two white shirts from last night were now hopelessly wrinkled. Her shirt’s last button had been violently pulled off by Cheng Xiaonan and was long gone.
Yu Qian sat up and watched for a while, then shifted her gaze elsewhere. Both their bathrobes were also crumpled in a heap, making her recall how eager they had been to tumble together after showering yesterday.
As far as her eyes could see, there wasn’t a single piece of clothing she could throw on.
Yu Qian got up, simply picked up a silk shawl draped over a chair, wrapped herself in it, and walked out of the bedroom.
Cheng Xiaonan was in the living room, just as he had been yesterday morning. However, today he wasn’t wearing a white shirt, only pajama bottoms. There was a long red scratch on his shoulder blade, likely from her.
He was holding the two marriage certificates, looking down at them intently.
“What are you looking at?”
Cheng Xiaonan turned at the sound, his gaze lingering on her thin silk scarf for half a second before he raised the marriage certificates in his hand: “No matter how I look at them, I just want to frame them.”
Perhaps thinking that if they were framed, he wouldn’t be able to touch them often, Cheng Xiaonan later came up with an idea. He took Yu Qian to a Lego store, bought a pile of Lego bricks, and planned to build a marriage certificate pattern.
Those few days, they rarely rested.
Cheng Xiaonan pushed a lot of his work to Shen Shen, and Yu Qian had no work scheduled either.
Throughout August, they stayed at home, learning to cook together, napping under summer quilts with the air conditioning on, and visiting supermarkets and flower shops.
They would also watch movies and variety shows, or snuggle in the attic, building Lego.
They sat on the attic floor, heads together, designing the marriage certificate pattern and selecting colors, slowly piecing it together.
After several days of building, it was finally complete.
They had bought a few too many red Lego bricks. Yu Qian used the remaining ones to build a small red heart in a blank space.
Cheng Xiaonan cherished this small red heart so much that he took a picture of it and set it as his WeChat album cover.
The wedding date was set for autumn, September 11th.
Eight years ago, when they first met, it was 8:11 PM on a certain September night.
On the day they registered their marriage, when the steel seal was pressed onto the certificate, Cheng Xiaonan said he checked the time, and it was also 9:11 AM.
It seemed they always had some kind of connection with the number “11.”
Cheng Xiaonan said this.
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Later, they were strolling in the neighborhood and found a small stray cat.
The cat looked half-dead, its dusty fur matted, eyes listless, and it walked with a shaky gait.
Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian put it in a cardboard box and drove it to a nearby pet hospital for treatment.
Yu Qian asked Cheng Xiaonan, “Are you allergic to pet fur?”
“Do you want to get one?”
Cheng Xiaonan was definitely not allergic, but he still quipped, “Even if I were, if you wanted one, I’d get one and take allergy medicine.”
They adopted the small stray cat and named it “11.”
When “11” was discharged from the hospital, the vet bathed it, and it turned out to be an all-white cat with a pair of blue eyes.
Cheng Xiaonan held “11” and said, “Although you’re beautiful, there can only be one most beautiful one in our family, and that’s your mom.”
Their house truly started to feel more and more like a “home.”
The cat tree and cat bed bought for “11” were placed by the living room’s floor-to-ceiling window. Sometimes, when Cheng Xiaonan returned from work, Yu Qian would be doing yoga on the mat in the living room, and “11” would be entertaining itself, wildly running around the poppy pots.
Upon hearing him enter, both the person and the cat would stop.
Yu Qian said, “Cold noodles for dinner tonight?”
“11” ran over and rubbed against his leg, letting out a drawn-out, gooey “Meow—”
Cheng Xiaonan picked up “11,” walked over, and kissed Yu Qian: “Just in the mood for something cool, it’s stiflingly hot outside.”
“Then I’ll go cook the noodles.”
Cheng Xiaonan followed her into the kitchen: “I’ll wash the cucumbers and tomatoes.”
By the weekend, they went to the Lego store again, bought materials, and built a Lego head of “11,” placing it in the attic.
That day was “11”‘s first time in the attic. Its tail stood up like an antenna, sniffing around everywhere, finally stopping in front of its Lego head, seeming to really like it.
As the sycamore leaves began to turn yellow, Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian’s wedding date drew near.
They had their invitations printed in the shape of sycamore leaves, with the sincere invitation written in the same purple as the Chinese violet cress flowers.
Cheng Xiaonan was someone who loved to show off his affection.
By September, everyone at “Eleven,” even the cleaning staff and temporary stagehands, knew that their CEO Cheng was getting married.
Upon entering the main “Eleven” office building, an entire wall was covered with wedding candies and chocolates.
The brand was carefully selected by Cheng Xiaonan after consulting with Ji Ran and Sun Yue. They were placed in small light purple silk bags and hung all over the wall.
Employees who took a wedding candy would remember to write some blessings on the wall.
Cheng Xiaonan took some pictures and sent them to Yu Qian, saying, “See? How many people say we’re a match made in heaven?”
Yu Qian was too embarrassed to say that the staff might just be sweet-talking because they had eaten his expensive candies and chocolates.
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For a few days, Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian weren’t in the Imperial City.
Anyway, the wedding preparations were complete, and September was the season for fresh seafood, which Yu Qian loved.
Cheng Xiaonan drove Yu Qian and their new family member, “11,” to the seaside for a leisurely trip. The two humans and one cat had a wonderful time.
On their last day at the beach, Shen Shen video called: “Brother Nan, are you coming back or not? The wedding is in a week, and you’re still messing around at the beach?”
Cheng Xiaonan, mindful of the cat sleeping on his stomach, slowly shifted to a more comfortable position on the hotel bed: “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Just come back already. Or if you don’t, stop posting so much on WeChat Moments. Your Moments are all about showing off your love, or pictures of Yu Qian. Yesterday, I forwarded a basketball video, and Ji Ran got angry, saying I don’t love her enough because I don’t post pictures of her.”
Cheng Xiaonan’s WeChat Moments were excessive now, nothing but showing off.
Yu Qian used to like his posts to acknowledge them, but now that he posted several times a day, she simply ignored him.
After hanging up the video call, the sound of water still ran in the bathroom.
Cheng Xiaonan clicked his teeth, thinking. He then picked “11” up from his stomach and placed it on the bed.
The lazy cat grumbled, rolled over, and burrowed into the quilt to continue sleeping.
Cheng Xiaonan got up, walked to the bathroom, pulled the door open, touched the tip of his nose, and then pushed the door further: “How about we have a romantic bath together?”
A wet towel came flying towards him, hitting him and throwing him out of the bathroom.
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Cheng Xiaonan was someone who usually showed off his affection openly.
However, the wedding itself didn’t have many guests, only close family and friends, with no business partners invited.
Before making this decision, Cheng Xiaonan asked Old Cheng: “If I say I don’t want to invite too many people Yu Qian doesn’t know to the wedding, and your business friends can’t come, won’t all the money you’ve given as gifts over the years be wasted?”
Old Cheng didn’t care much about such things. His only concern was—
“Nannan.” “Dad, can you speak properly? You calling me that makes me a little sick.”
“Dad dreamt of your mom last night. Your mom said that your daughter-in-law is too excellent, and you’re a bit unworthy, so you should hold onto her tightly and not let her disdain you and leave you.”
“No, Old Cheng?”
Cheng Xiaonan didn’t even want to call him Dad anymore. “I’m about to get married, can’t you say something nice?”
“That’s just what your mom said in the dream, what can I do?”
Cheng Xiaonan silently drank a few sips of coffee: “Dreams are the opposite of reality.”
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Despite saying that, the night before the wedding, not staying with Yu Qian, Cheng Xiaonan felt a bit uneasy.
He tossed and turned sleeplessly. After thinking for a while, he still made a call in the middle of the night.
Yu Qian and Peter were arranged to stay at Cheng Xiaonan’s aunt’s house. In fact, Cheng Xiaonan didn’t want to be separated from Yu Qian.
However, the elders were somewhat traditional and insisted that the part where the groom picks up the bride couldn’t be omitted. Cheng Xiaonan argued at the time: “Other girls stay in hotels or at their parents’ homes. What’s the deal with staying at my aunt’s house? It’s better to stay at a hotel.”
Staying at a hotel was so convenient; he could even sneak over for a kiss.
Being members of the Cheng family, they could see through Cheng Xiaonan’s little schemes.
Cheng Xiaonan’s aunt said, “Xiao Qian, I’m giving you this house as a gift. Your uncle will definitely agree. Just consider it your own home.”
Cheng Xiaonan’s aunt deliberately played a trick: “Or, Xiao Qian doesn’t she have her own house? It’s a bit far, but you shouldn’t be afraid of hardship when marrying a wife. Xiao Qian and Teacher Peter could stay there too.”
Cheng Xiaonan said no.
He would never agree.
Yu Qian’s old house was next door to Han Chu’s house, and he didn’t want to see Han Chu’s annoying face on their wedding day.
Putting aside whether he was a love rival or not, the fact that Han Chu had made Yu Qian sad despite her trusting him so much, just that alone, made Cheng Xiaonan utterly detest him.
In the end, Yu Qian and Peter still stayed in Cheng Xiaonan’s aunt’s vacant house.
Peter, being older, was afraid he wouldn’t wake up in time the next day, so he went to bed early.
Before going to sleep, Yu Qian received a call from Cheng Xiaonan.
“How is it? My aunt’s house, are you getting used to it?”
All the bedding in the bedroom was new, even the dressing table was newly bought by his aunt. The curtains were Yu Qian’s preferred cool apricot color, and there was a bottle of tomato-scented flameless diffuser, its simple botanical fragrance very soothing.
“Mm, Auntie changed a lot of things.”
“My aunt speaks boldly, but she’s actually very thoughtful. Don’t call her ‘aunt’ yet; she has to give you a ‘name-change red packet’ tomorrow. Don’t call her until she pays up, don’t let anyone trick you.”
Silence fell for a few seconds on the phone. Cheng Xiaonan then asked, “Hey, after we hang up, can we video call? I want to see you.”
The video call popped up. Yu Qian turned on a bedside lamp and answered.
Cheng Xiaonan sat on the sofa, showing her “11” running wildly around the room: “Where’s Peter?”
“He’s already gone to sleep, said he’s afraid he won’t wake up early tomorrow.”
“Oh, did you set your alarm for tomorrow morning?”
“Mm.”
Noticing Cheng Xiaonan’s aimless chatter, Yu Qian asked him what was wrong.
Cheng Xiaonan then said, “It’s all Old Cheng. He dreamt my mom said the daughter-in-law is too good, and that I’m not good enough for you. I think we’re quite well-matched, don’t you?”
On the eve of their wedding, both houses were quiet. They each held their phones, chatting aimlessly on video call.
They didn’t say any grand vows, just talked about daily trifles. They even talked about Shen Shen and Ji Ran arguing that day because Ji Ran spent over an hour doing a ‘smile lip’ makeup look, and Shen Shen said it looked like her lips were burned by an iron skewer from barbecuing, which almost made Ji Ran choke him to death.
Yu Qian chuckled.
Cheng Xiaonan looked at the time: “Let’s chat for another 5 minutes. You need to go to bed early; you’ll definitely be tired tomorrow. It’s all familiar relatives and friends, not strangers who just give a gift and leave. This crowd will probably make a fuss until late at night.”
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Weddings are always lively. Peter, acting as Yu Qian’s father, walked Yu Qian down the aisle to the stage and placed Yu Qian’s hand in Cheng Xiaonan’s.
Standing on stage, Cheng Xiaonan couldn’t resist. He embraced her and whispered in her ear: “Last night I dreamt you ran away from the wedding, saying you were going to Germany to study at Stanford. It woke me up angry.”
Yu Qian asked how he could have such a dream.
Cheng Xiaonan pouted and said: “It must be anxiety. Didn’t you fool me once back then? But it’s okay, now, never mind Germany, I can go to the North Pole too. I’m not a high school student anymore.”
The two openly whispered on stage, ignoring the officiant.
The officiant was one of Cheng Xiaonan’s classmates. He rushed up to them, gritting his teeth: “Can you two listen to the officiant?!”
Shen Shen shouted from below the stage: “They’re just like that! They might be showing off, just ignore them, keep saying your part.”
The officiant despaired: “What’s the use of me saying my part? If I ask ‘do you,’ will you say yes?”
Shen Shen continued to shout: “I can’t! If I dared to say yes, Ji Ran would kill me!”
There was another incident later.
Cheng Xiaonan and Yu Qian trusted “11” very much and let it be the ring bearer.
However, among the cold dishes served at the wedding that day, there was a Russian-style herring salad.
“11” had a small backpack containing the diamond rings on its back. Its little nose sniffed around, and even though it was only a 2-meter distance, it couldn’t resist. It walked to Old Cheng’s feet, rubbed against his leg, meowing for food.
In the end, Old Cheng presented the diamond rings on stage amidst peals of laughter.
Sun Yue and Peter were taking photos offstage. They saw Yu Qian cover her mouth with her white-gloved hand, her eyes curving into crescents as she laughed.
Sun Yue, easily moved to tears, started crying on the spot. She said, “Teacher Peter, do you see? Qian is smiling, she’s so happy!”
Peter wasn’t doing much better. He turned and found a tissue, pressing it to his eyes: “I see it, I see it.” The wedding really did go on until midnight, as Cheng Xiaonan had expected.
Back home, the day’s lively喧嚣 subsided. “11” curled up comfortably in its little bed and fell asleep.
Yu Qian and Cheng Xiaonan took off their formal wear and suits and went into the bathroom to shower together.
A high-end bathtub was different; it even had a massage function. They lay in it, enjoying the warm push and pull of the water. The fatigue from a busy day gradually dissipated.
Since it was a joyful occasion, they couldn’t avoid drinking some alcohol, and one shouldn’t soak in a bath for too long after drinking.
Cheng Xiaonan kept an eye on the time, stepped out of the tub, draped a bath towel over Yu Qian, and carried her out.
His eyes full of mischief, he kissed her forehead and chuckled: “Should we follow the tradition? Isn’t there supposed to be a bridal chamber on the wedding night? Isn’t that how they always show it on TV?”
Yu Qian hooked her arms around his neck and initiated a kiss.
This was a signal. Cheng Xiaonan reached for the curtain remote control, blocking out the streetlights, and enjoyed the intimacy with Yu Qian.
Late into the night, they showered again and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Yu Qian dreamt of Qu Liwen. In her dream, she appeared as a kind and loving mother at Yu Qian’s wedding. She even stood up when they exchanged rings, wiping away tears with a handkerchief, and leading the applause.
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