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Psst! We're moving!
After the wedding photos, Shen Yihuan spent her days lazy and unwilling to leave the house.
She was still on her break since the photo exhibitions in all the cities hadn’t finished yet. Zhou Yishu was not a boss who exploited her employees; she didn’t even know how to make full use of her labor force.
Shen Yihuan sometimes wondered how Zhou Yishu hadn’t bankrupted her studio with her personality.
However, Lu Zhou seemed to be quite busy recently.
Shen Yihuan didn’t ask, only understanding that he was likely working on the military industrial project. Since the details were confidential, she didn’t pry.
Until four days later in the morning.
Shen Yihuan was woken up by Lu Zhou. Lu Zhou had never woken her up before. He would always get up quietly, keeping the noise to a minimum, so Shen Yihuan often didn’t notice that he was already awake.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Lu Zhou knelt on the bed, hugged her, and sat her up. He said gently, “I’m taking you somewhere.”
“Where?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
Lu Zhou was being unusually secretive.
She had been tired out by Lu Zhou until midnight yesterday, so Shen Yihuan was incredibly sleepy. After groggily washing up, she was led downstairs and into the car by Lu Zhou.
She didn’t even notice that Lu Zhou was carrying a suitcase.
She fell asleep again in the car.
Lu Zhou woke her up again when they arrived at their destination.
Shen Yihuan turned to look out the window. She blinked, blinked again, and froze.
An airport?
“Lu Zhou.” She swallowed. “You said you were taking me somewhere. Is it a place we have to fly to?”
“Yes. Get out of the car. We have to board soon.”
Shen Yihuan watched as Lu Zhou took the suitcase from the trunk. She said “Ah” to herself in dawning realization, her sleep completely gone. “Where are we going?”
“Hulunbuir.”
“...Huh?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to go to the grasslands?”
Shen Yihuan had mentioned it in high school. Lu Zhou still remembered.
Shen Yihuan was still in a daze even after they got off the plane.
However, Lu Zhou’s unique aura, forged in the desert, truly shined in a city like this.
A damp wind blew, and just looking at Lu Zhou made Shen Yihuan’s heart race.
A car was waiting for them outside. Lu Zhou held the suitcase with one hand and Shen Yihuan’s hand with the other, leading her into the car.
The car was quite large, big enough for seven or eight people. The driver picked them up and started driving. Shen Yihuan was taken aback. “You booked a car in advance?”
“Yes.”
“How come I didn’t know? When did you prepare all of this?”
Lu Zhou said, “Just in the past few days.”
“Ah.” Shen Yihuan blinked and leaned back in her seat. “I thought you were busy with that military industrial project. Where are we going now?”
Lu Zhou didn’t answer her. He just pointed out the window. “Babe, look outside.”
Shen Yihuan turned to look.
She was instantly captivated. It was so beautiful.
Vast stretches of grasslands, as far as the eye could see. The grass tips were a vibrant green from the recent spring. When the wind blew, the green color shimmered, and it was breathtaking.
The desert in Xinjiang was also beautiful, but the two were different kinds of awe-inspiring.
“I didn’t bring my camera!” Shen Yihuan said in frustration.
“I brought it for you,” Lu Zhou said with a smile. He unzipped his backpack, took out the camera, and handed it to her. “Here.”
Shen Yihuan immediately rolled down the window and started taking photos.
The car was driving quite fast on the grasslands, so the pictures had a dynamic, stretched effect.
The driver laughed and said, “The grass here isn’t the best yet. It’s even prettier further on, and there are sheep.”
“Sheep!” Shen Yihuan’s eyes lit up.
“Yes,” the driver said, gesturing with his hands as if coaxing a clueless child. “They’re this big, little lambs, grazing along the river.”
The car continued to drive. The grass ahead was even thicker and looked very soft.
Shen Yihuan no longer had any time for Lu Zhou. She was glued to the window, looking out and even sticking her hand out to feel the wind of the grasslands.
The weather was still a bit chilly, but Shen Yihuan didn’t care that Lu Zhou was worried she’d catch a cold. She was in a state of pure excitement.
The driver stopped the car. They could see yurts in the distance. They were quite large, and the air smelled of green grass.
Shen Yihuan jumped out of the car. The feeling of stepping on the grass was magical. It was completely different from a city lawn. She bounced up and down in place.
She turned to Lu Zhou excitedly. “It’s so soft!”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Mm.”
The young woman’s eyes were sparkling, as if they held the light of an ancient, brilliant galaxy.
Lu Zhou took the luggage down and walked forward with Shen Yihuan.
Shen Yihuan was constantly holding her camera, taking pictures of everything and a few of Lu Zhou as well.
“Where are we staying tonight?” Shen Yihuan asked after a while.
“In a yurt.”
“Can people stay in these yurts here?” Shen Yihuan asked, pointing to a few yurts not far away.
“No,” Lu Zhou said, pointing to a more distant spot. “Those ones.”
Shen Yihuan was so excited that she didn’t mind walking a little further. She bounced along the grass as they walked.
After walking for about ten minutes, Shen Yihuan saw where they would be staying.
It was a very unique yurt. One side was made of glass, so you could see the scenery outside from inside. She imagined they could watch the stars at night and the sunrise in the morning.
The lights inside were a warm yellow, making it look very cozy.
They looked like small, white, hollow rooms stripped away from the universe.
“Wow!” Shen Yihuan exclaimed.
She ran ahead of Lu Zhou into one of the yurts. Lu Zhou brought the luggage in right after her.
After they settled in, the two of them came back out.
The sky had already darkened. There was a lake not far away, and sure enough, there were sheep, grazing and drinking in groups, their wool fluffy.
Shen Yihuan sat on the ground and started taking photos of them, while Lu Zhou stood beside her.
After a few shots, Shen Yihuan put the camera back in its bag, tossed it aside, and lay down on the grass, spreading out her arms and legs.
It was comfortable.
“Lu Zhou, you should lie down too.”
He lay down as well. They both looked up at the sky. It was a pristine sky, and the stars and moon were already faintly visible, reflecting the sunset.
“Lu Zhou, it’s so beautiful here.”
“Mm.”
“I really love it,” she said.
Lu Zhou smiled. “I’m glad you do.”
The wind was not very cold and felt just right on their skin.
Just as Shen Yihuan was about to fall asleep on the grass, she suddenly heard a voice say, “Yingtao—!”
“Hey!” she responded with her eyes closed.
The voice was familiar. It was Qiu Ruru, she thought.
After keeping her eyes closed for a bit longer, she suddenly realized something was wrong. Why would Qiu Ruru be here?!
She sat up abruptly. Qiu Ruru had just crouched down in front of her, and their foreheads bumped.
Shen Yihuan cried out, clutching her forehead. Lu Zhou’s hand immediately came to her head to rub it.
“You...” Shen Yihuan looked at Qiu Ruru, completely stunned, staring at her, allowing Lu Zhou to rub her head.
Qiu Ruru smiled, nodding seriously. “It’s me.”
“Why are you here?” Shen Yihuan asked.
“Ask him,” Qiu Ruru said, pointing to Lu Zhou.
Shen Yihuan turned to look at Lu Zhou.
That’s when she realized that Lu Zhou’s secret plan to bring her here might not just be a simple vacation.
Qiu Ruru smiled. “I’m not the only one here. Come on. Everyone’s waiting for you.”
Qiu Ruru walked in front, with Lu Zhou and Shen Yihuan following behind.
“Who else is here?” Shen Yihuan asked.
Lu Zhou said, “Everyone’s here.”
She didn’t understand who “everyone” was, but she didn’t ask again.
Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would jump out of her throat. The further they walked, the more she had a feeling. She thought she knew what Lu Zhou had brought her here to do, but she didn’t dare to believe it.
After walking for a while longer, Qiu Ruru began to hum the tune of the wedding march.
Shen Yihuan looked up.
She saw a wedding venue that had been set up on the grasslands.
With flowers and balloons, it was a fantasy. Everything a wedding needed was there.
The seats were already full of people. Shen Yihuan was in a complete daze. She saw many familiar faces: people from the army, old high school classmates, their homeroom teacher, and everyone from Shen Yihuan’s studio.
The seats were all full.
Lu Zhou had asked Qiu Ruru to find their high school classmates. Qiu Ruru understood Shen Yihuan and didn’t invite those who loved to gossip.
The people from the army were, of course, invited by Lu Zhou. Fortunately, there were no missions recently, so they all managed to take some time off.
The colleagues from Shen Yihuan’s studio were invited by Zhou Yishu after Lu Zhou called her. She even called it a company team-building event.
Neither set of parents was present.
Shen Yihuan’s parents couldn’t come, of course. Lu Zhou also didn’t invite Commander Lu and the Commander’s wife. If only one set of elders came, he was worried that people would gossip and that it would get back to Shen Yihuan.
He had informed Lu Youju and the Commander’s wife about his plan for today, and they were all supportive and understood.
Shen Yihuan covered her mouth in shock, standing still.
She had said she didn’t want a wedding. Later, when Lu Zhou asked her if she would regret it, she didn’t say yes or no.
Fortunately, even when she didn’t say anything, Lu Zhou understood everything.
Lu Zhou had also shipped her wedding dress here in advance, but the temperature here dropped quickly at night. She would definitely catch a cold in a thin wedding dress.
So, they decided to ditch the burden. Who said you had to wear a wedding dress to a wedding?
The witness was their homeroom teacher, who stood on the stage and told many funny stories about their high school days.
The wedding rings were already on Shen Yihuan’s hand, so they skipped that part.
The calls for a kiss grew louder and louder from the audience.
Shen Yihuan was not used to public displays of affection. She blushed and turned to face Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou wrapped his arms around her waist, leaned down without a word, and kissed Shen Yihuan on the lips.
Next came the bouquet toss.
Shen Yihuan aimed at where Qiu Ruru was and tossed it backward. Qiu Ruru, determined, jumped up and caught it.
It was just for fun and good luck. Everyone laughed and joked, “So the next wedding we get to drink at will be Ruru’s?”
Qiu Ruru laughed and waved her hand. “I’m a long way from that.”
On the grasslands, the food was naturally local. People ate and drank to their hearts’ content. Those who didn’t drink alcohol held a cup of sheep’s milk.
Shen Yihuan used to have friends everywhere, but after something happened to Shen Fu, she was unwilling to make new friends for a while, and her personality changed somewhat. In recent years, her only real friends were Qiu Ruru and Gu Minghui.
Gu Minghui...
Thinking of him made Shen Yihuan’s heart a mess.
She wasn’t drinking alcohol, afraid of being a mess on a day like this. She held a cup of milk in her hands.
“Yingtao, come with me,” Qiu Ruru said, holding her phone and beckoning to her from outside.
Shen Yihuan told Lu Zhou, got up, and followed her.
“What are you filming with your phone?” Shen Yihuan asked as she walked over to her.
“Come and see,” Qiu Ruru said, wrapping her arm around Shen Yihuan and turning the phone screen to show her.
Shen Yihuan was stunned for dozens of seconds until the man in the prison uniform on the screen waved at the camera and laughed. Only then did she suddenly react.
She opened her mouth. “...Gu Minghui?”
The man smiled, sitting casually in the visitation room chair. “Ruru told me you’re getting married today. That’s great. I couldn’t be there, or I would have given you a big red envelope.”
He leaned closer to the screen, frowned, and complained, “What are you wearing on your wedding day?”
Shen Yihuan was crying and laughing at the same time, her voice choked up as she cursed at him. “Get lost!”
Qiu Ruru also cursed at the screen. “I told you your mouth is foul! You know she’s getting married? Our Yingtao looks beautiful in anything.”
Gu Minghui smiled and rubbed his nose, giving in with a series of “Yes, yes, yes.”
Everyone was laughing, but they knew what Gu Minghui had been through all this time. He was terribly wrong back then, and he should be thankful he wasn’t sentenced to death.
“Now that it’s like this...” Gu Minghui paused. “I guess I can still watch you get married. It’s good. You’re marrying your high school sweetheart.”
Saying this made Gu Minghui’s own teeth ache from the bitterness.
Shen Yihuan pressed the heel of her hand against her eyes, and tears flowed through her fingers.
Qiu Ruru didn’t say anything. She just held the phone and smiled slightly from the side.
Gu Minghui’s gaze shifted from Shen Yihuan to Qiu Ruru. “You told me you caught the bouquet?”
“Yes,” Qiu Ruru nodded. “Yingtao threw it right at my head.”
“That’s a good sign,” Gu Minghui said with a smile.
Qiu Ruru lowered her gaze.
“They say that whoever catches the bouquet is the next to get married. Looks like you’ll have good luck with love.”
“When have I ever had bad luck with love? It’s always been good. Do you think no one wants me?” Qiu Ruru snorted softly, her eyes never leaving Gu Minghui. In the end, her voice was a little shaky, full of helplessness and anger. “Gu Minghui.”
“Don’t wait for me. Just do what you need to do. Fall in love.” Gu Minghui said.
Qiu Ruru smiled. “Of course.”
“This time, I’ll wait for you,” Gu Minghui said. “I’ll be single for more than ten years in here. When I get out, if you’re not married with children yet, we’ll...”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but Qiu Ruru understood what he meant.
She nodded.
“Yingtao,” Gu Minghui said. “Please apologize to Lu Zhou for me. I know an apology is useless, but I did scheme and hurt him that time.”
He smiled with a clear conscience. “There won’t be a next time. After all, he’s my brother-in-law now.”
“You dare to have a next time, and I’ll beat you to death,” Shen Yihuan cursed, wiping away her tears and muttering. “Who’s your sister? You’re taking advantage of me and Lu Zhou.”
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