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Luo Mingjing and Shi Min came out with their marriage certificate, seeing Xu Qianqian and He Xi standing at the main entrance, both smiling happily.
Xu Qianqian craned her neck curiously: “Let me see your photos! I originally wanted to smile, a smile looks better, but I couldn’t help it and showed my teeth...”
Luo Mingjing simply handed her his marriage certificate generously.
Xu Qianqian’s first reaction: “Brother! Where are your eyes?! Why are you grinning so wide?! This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, couldn’t you have taken some nicer photos for it?!”
He Xi also quietly leaned over to peek. In the marriage certificate, both of them looked quite silly.
Luo Mingjing smiled without a word.
Xu Qianqian’s second reaction: “Huh? So the CEO can actually smile like that...”
Shi Min wasn’t one to smile much. Xu Qianqian always felt her sister-in-law was aloof and distant. Even after spending a long time with her, knowing she was a good person, she couldn’t get close and never dared to joke around casually.
This time, seeing Shi Min’s big smile in the marriage certificate photo, Xu Qianqian was slightly surprised. So she could smile like that, her eyes and brows filled with genuine happiness.
Xu Qianqian cautiously glanced at Shi Min. Shi Min’s expression was calm, as usual, as if she wasn’t the same person as in the photo.
Seeing her glance over like a thief, Shi Min thought for a moment, then showed a more obvious smile and said, “If you don’t have plans for lunch, let’s eat together. In the afternoon, we’ll take you to your graduation ceremony.”
“Thank you, Sister-in-law!” He Xi and Xu Qianqian said in unison.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Anything works,” the young couple were easygoing. “No dietary restrictions, anything is fine. Sister-in-law, just pick.”
“Then let’s have something special,” Shi Min revealed a different kind of smile.
________________________________________
She turned the car into a quiet alley entrance, arriving at a small noodle shop.
Shi Min was a regular customer here. She nodded to the owner and said, “Two bowls of千里面 (Thousands of Miles Noodles).”
The owner’s eyes lit up and he said, “Congratulations, I often see you here. Today you can finally order ‘Thousands of Miles Noodles.’“
Shi Min smiled, and Luo Mingjing thought he misheard: “Why two bowls? What is ‘Thousands of Miles Noodles’?”
“One bowl for two people,” Shi Min said. “Their ‘Thousands of Miles Noodles’ is a specialty. The master chef hand-pulls the noodles. It’s similar to longevity noodles, long and unbroken. One serving is very generous, suitable for a couple to share a bowl.”
The other three were full of anticipation. Two large bowls of noodles were cooked and brought out. The chef personally demonstrated, finding both ends of a noodle, picking them up with chopsticks, and handing them to the couple. Then he told them: “Eat it like this, one end each. You can’t break it in the middle; you must eat it all the way to the end.”
After understanding how to eat it, Xu Qianqian quietly sighed, “The CEO is mischievously clever.”
Before they started eating, Shi Min added, “Let’s each say two sentences. I’ll go first.”
She held one end of the noodle and said, “I’ve been preparing for over half a year. I’m confident that I can give him a stable and happy life, and support his dreams, being the best partner.”
Luo Mingjing also held the other end of the noodle and responded, “I will always belong to you, striving to be your best partner, and the best father to our daughter.”
After the two old foxes finished speaking, they both smiled at the young couple opposite them: “It’s your turn.”
“Oh, like that? Like wedding vows?” Xu Qianqian also picked up an end of the noodle, cleared her throat, and said, “Then, work hard, earn money diligently, support the family and him, and finally achieve our dreams!”
He Xi straightened his tie, solemnly picked up an end, and slowly said, “Pass my exams, graduate, find a good job, work hard to make money, buy a house, buy a car, get a mortgage, have good credit, give her a home, and grow old together.”
“...” Luo Mingjing was stunned for a long time, then commented, “He Xi is truly a practical person.”
He Xi said earnestly, “Qianqian likes to gaze at the stars. I know she can easily be seen as overly ambitious, but she’s not. Some people are just born to love dreaming and pursuing stars and ephemeral dreams. I like her. I like the way her eyes sparkle when she describes the starry sky. People like her don’t usually consider what’s beneath their feet, but I will. I like people who gaze at the stars, and I also like to solidify the path beneath their feet. Brother, we’re a perfect match.”
Xu Qianqian blushed and said, “You scoundrel, don’t tease me, eat your noodles!”
Shi Min chuckled and motioned for Luo Mingjing to eat. She said, “Are you relieved now? He’s very reliable.”
“I’m very happy,” Luo Mingjing whispered. “I’m very happy. I hope she’ll always be happy, just like this, and never change even when she’s old.”
________________________________________
In the afternoon, in front of the auditorium, graduating students entered in order.
“Graduates of the Fashion Design Department, please come this way and organize by class.”
Xu Qianqian handed her shoulder bag to He Xi, clumsily put on her graduation gown, and asked the smiling Luo Mingjing, “Brother, where’s your seat?”
“You go your way, don’t mind me.”
“Sister-in-law, you go that way. Many family members are coming, so go inside and find a seat first... He Xi, take care of Sister-in-law.” Xu Qianqian hadn’t finished arranging when Luo Mingjing ruffled her hair.
“Don’t worry about us,” Luo Mingjing said. “She has a seat. I’m leaving. See you later.”
Xu Qianqian looked bewildered. She watched Luo Mingjing lead Shi Min towards the side door, and then take a paper filled with words from his pocket. Only then did she suddenly realize: “Oh my god, Brother, are you the student representative?”
“I’m so special, of course, I have to go on stage and share my thoughts,” Luo Mingjing waved the paper in his hand. “Little sister, remember to cheer me on.”
As family members of the student representative, and special circumstances at that, the university had already made arrangements. They prepared a seat for Shi Min in the front row, next to the professors from the School of Fine Arts.
Previously, Shi Min often accompanied Luo Mingjing to school to discuss the disciplinary actions against Wang Zhenyu and Ke Ge, so these professors were familiar faces.
As soon as she sat down, the department head asked, “How many months along are you?”
Shi Min smiled and replied, “Six months.”
The department head looked at the patterned white shirt Shi Min was wearing with approval and said, “Your belly doesn’t look obvious. It’s the effect of the patterns on the shirt; it’s very well done. This clearly shows my student made it for you. His fundamentals are excellent, and he has a talent for applying what he’s learned flexibly.”
“Yes, it’s exclusive,” Shi Min smiled. “It’s a very happy thing to have a designer in the family.”
“And your family’s designer is a talented one,” the department head chuckled kindly. “That makes it even more interesting. I suppose he’s already made clothes for the baby?”
“More than that,” Shi Min’s brow held a smile as she said faintly, “He’s even made two large boxes of clothes for the baby’s toys.”
“Hahahaha, our talented students in the Fashion Design department are all like that. But someone as fanatical as him, I guess...” the department head chuckled, “It’s a daughter.”
“Indeed, that’s why he switches between being a designer and a tailor every day, as if he never gets tired.”
“Hahahaha, clothing designers with daughters are all like that initially,” the department head said. “When my youngest daughter was born, countless inspirations burst forth, dress after dress. My bratty son even got jealous, asking, ‘Dad, why don’t you make clothes for me?’ I told him, ‘Nonsense, isn’t that altered short-sleeved shirt I made for you still wearable?’ Hahahaha.”
The graduates had all entered. The Dean of the School of Fine Arts went on stage to confer degrees and congratulate everyone on their graduation.
Afterward, the student representative came up to speak. Xu Qianqian was almost falling asleep waiting in the audience, and Luo Mingjing still hadn’t appeared.
Her classmate poked her: “Xu Crazy, didn’t you say your brother would be here?”
“He should be,” Xu Qianqian yawned. “Wait patiently, maybe he’s the finale.”
She was right. After the student representatives finished their speeches, the department head came up and said, “Today, we have a special student. Let’s welcome Luo Mingjing, an outstanding graduate of the 20X5 Fashion Design Department.”
Luo Mingjing, in his academic gown, stood tall like a tree. He walked onto the stage, received his graduation certificate and degree certificate from the department head, and bowed deeply.
“Now, we invite student Luo Mingjing to deliver his graduation speech.”
Xu Qianqian, biting her own graduation certificate, clapped vigorously.
“Hello everyone, I’m Luo Mingjing, a graduate of the 20X5 Fashion Design Department. Due to various reasons, I’m graduating today with my junior classmates,” Luo Mingjing chuckled. “Really, my younger sister is also a graduate this year; she’s in the audience. It’s quite ironic, my sister and I are graduating on the same day.”
“When I received the notification from the university allowing me to graduate, I complained to my wife, saying that, if I thought about it carefully, it was quite embarrassing that I’m twenty-seven years old and only just graduating from university. My wife told me, ‘Relax, too many people at T University don’t graduate every year. Otherwise, how would T University expand its cafeteria every year?’“
As a top-tier university in the country, T University is difficult to get into and difficult to graduate from. This has already become a ‘tradition’ of T University. The audience burst into laughter and applause.
“Ten years ago... ah, it’s already been ten years,” Luo Mingjing sighed softly. “Ten years ago, I was a freshman just stepping into T University. At that time, I didn’t know that I would only receive my T University graduation certificate ten years later. I think, if I had known back then how difficult it was to get this graduation certificate, I might... have transferred to a different school to trouble the neighboring one.”
The neighboring school was T University’s long-standing competitor, vying for the title of No. 1 in the country for many years.
The audience laughed again.
“Many of you present may still not know why I’ve only received my graduation certificate now,” Luo Mingjing lowered his eyes and smiled slightly. “Dear parents and students, I need to clear my name. I didn’t fail to graduate because I didn’t complete my studies. It was just a small joke played by fate, a series of coincidences that led me to receive my graduation certificate now. But... it’s okay, everything happened at just the right time.”
Luo Mingjing said, “Good things are worth waiting for. It’s good that it finally came. Here, I’d like to take the opportunity to show off my current life.”
The audience let out good-natured boos, and Luo Mingjing chuckled, “Today, I not only received my graduation certificate and degree certificate, I also received my marriage certificate.”
Cheers erupted from the audience. After the applause, Luo Mingjing added, “Also, I’m going to be a father. It’s a lovely daughter.”
The graduates applauded and cheered.
Some parents only then realized: “Is that really a boy on stage?” Other parents around them laughed and said, “He sounds like a boy too. Many art students grow long hair.”
“Finally, I want to express my gratitude to this university. Thank you for accompanying me for many years and witnessing my growth. I also want to thank Professor Guo, Teacher Fu, the respected department head, and everyone who has nurtured and helped me.”
“And the CEO,” Luo Mingjing’s eyes sparkled as he said, “I love you, and, happy graduation, honor student.”
Shi Min curved her lips, raised her hands above her head, and applauded him.
“Let’s start a new life together, Fairy,” Shi Min called out.
Whistles and applause filled the auditorium.
Xu Qianqian wiped away tears of excitement, patting her classmate next to her: “That’s my brother! And my sister-in-law!”
Luo Mingjing stepped off the stage amidst waves of applause, sat next to Shi Min, and reached out to embrace her.
“Happy graduation, Luo Mingjing.”
“Happy graduation. Let’s start a new life together, CEO.”
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