In March, Yan Xi went to the Chinese Consulate in Paris to process his domestic birth certificate and various relationship documents. The single status certificate was sent by Da Yi and Si Wan, with Dr. Wei serving as the guarantor. Everything proceeded relatively smoothly.

Da Yi called, his tone quite conflicted: “Yan Xi, you’re the first among us brothers to get married.”

Yan Xi was at his landlady’s house, phone receiver wedged between his ear and shoulder, his slender white fingers continuously filling out the marriage application form, copying French text in Ah Heng’s handwriting. He raised an eyebrow: “What’s wrong, jealous? When have we brothers ever stopped you from getting married?”

Da Yi said: “Alright, get lost. You’ve got Ah Heng now, someone to love and care for you, getting all cocky. Look at me, suffering day in and day out. Damn, if it’s not Wen Si Wan dragging me to drink white liquor, it’s Sun Peng pulling me to drink red wine. Shit, I’m about to become a split-faced demon.”

Yan Xi laughed, saying softly: “Da Yi, looks like you’ve recovered. No need for this big brother to worry anymore.”

Da Yi: “Hey, don’t say that. Hearing your tone, it’s like you want to put down roots in France. Makes people anxious.”

Yan Xi twirled his ballpoint pen: “No, Ah Heng and I will come back to see you… um, with him. You two…”

The other end of the line fell silent. After a long while, he finally managed a forced laugh: “It’s all over, nothing more to say. When you and Ah Heng have your wedding, maybe I should return all the money I borrowed from you. You’ve never experienced hardship since childhood. If you run short of money, your young master temperament will just make our Ah Heng suffer.”

Yan Xi: “No need, I have money. Xin Da Yi, let me tell you, this is just a stubborn kid being stubborn, always forcing me to learn how to cook braised pork. Never saw her so obsessed with meat before. Where did all this bull-headedness come from? Getting more troublesome as she grows up.”

Xin Da Yi: “Haha, so did you learn it?”

Yan Xi was depressed, nodding and humming in a long tone.

Da Yi sighed helplessly: “Can’t you not spoil the little princess so much?”

Yan Xi: “Damn, I only have this one wife. If I don’t spoil her, should I spoil you instead?”

Xin Da Yi was also depressed: “Forget it, don’t say more. Tonight I still have to continue drinking white liquor with your brother-in-law. What kind of karma did you create!”

Da Yi rambled on with endless grievances. Yan Xi rubbed his brow, hanging up the phone with a contained smile.

Yan Xi had earned nearly 1,500 euros from painting murals, but it wasn’t enough for a wedding. Yet he was reluctant to borrow money, and having Da Yi repay him when he had just recovered from a major trauma wasn’t easy either. Therefore, he felt troubled.

There was a piggy bank at home, one that Ah Heng had brought from China, made of white porcelain. Yan Xi helped the community with various odd jobs every day, but because his French wasn’t very fluent, he couldn’t handle work that required communication. Thus, the work he could take on and the money he earned were limited. But every day when he received his wages, he would put a few coins into the piggy bank.

Yi Su knew that besides Winnie, what the great thief loved most was the piggy bank.

In April, Ah Heng and Yan Xi took their various documents to register for marriage at the district government office.

All along the way, Ah Heng just smiled with pursed lips, looking at Yan Xi, her face reddening repeatedly.

Yan Xi pinched the child’s face: “Oh, baby, now you know how to be shy.”

Ah Heng was speechless, looking at the documents in Yan Xi’s hands while continuing to giggle with a lowered head, seeming to have lost the strength and steadiness of adulthood, reverting to that silly, harmless young girl from years ago.

Yan Xi held her hand, gazing at the Paris sunlight just breaking through the morning mist, and found himself smiling without realizing it.

When they arrived, the staff looked at Yan Xi’s residence permit but shook their head at the date on it: “Not possible, it’s almost expired. You must renew it before you can proceed.”

When they rushed to the police station to renew the residence permit, it was already lunch break time. Ah Heng and Yan Xi bought two pieces of bread and sat at the entrance to wait. Yan Xi watched the fashionable Parisian women walking back and forth on the boulevard, eyes widening: “Hey, Ah Heng, their eyelashes are long.”

Ah Heng explained: “They all use eyelash growth serum. I generally don’t use that stuff.”

Yan Xi: “Wow, they’re so tall.”

Ah Heng coughed: “They usually use height-increasing insoles. I never use those things.”

Yan Xi: “Damn, their chests are so big.”

Ah Heng gritted her teeth: “They all have silicone injections. I’m all natural!”

Yan Xi stuffed bread into his mouth while spreading his hands: “Kids these days, their tempers aren’t very good.”

Ah Heng raged: “How long are you going to obsess over the chest issue? I’m a C cup, C! How is that small?”

Yan Xi assessed: “Hmm, at most 36B.”

Ah Heng pinched his face: “Spit out the ribs I made for you. I’m not marrying you anymore!”

Yan Xi sympathetically: “It’s okay baby, even if you’re an A cup, you’re the only one I love.”

Ah Heng tearfully: “I told you it’s C, C!”

When lunch break ended, Ah Heng and Yan Xi queued for a long time.

The staff’s verification process was very strict. Four main examiners took turns asking questions. If answers didn’t meet requirements, most were deported. Those with unclear intentions suspected of breaking the law would be detained for twenty-four hours and reviewed again the next day, during which time they could request a lawyer’s defense.

Yan Xi had been teasing Ah Heng earlier because he was worried about her anxiety.

Yan Xi always felt there were some things women couldn’t get past because they involved their men; and for men, there were some things they could get through because they involved their responsibilities, their women.

So, this matter, this matter was the same.

He might peacefully obtain a residence permit and marry Ah Heng and have children, or he might be unlucky and get deported, then persistently change visas, continue returning to his woman’s side, and continue to marry and have children. Just a more troublesome process, but the result would be the same either way – his wife wouldn’t get away, and their chubby son wouldn’t either.

Of course, young master Yan hadn’t expected this outcome. After the Japanese guy in front of him was dragged away crying and screaming by several police officers through the glass doors, four main examiners in wrinkle-free uniforms stared at him with their grey eyes in unison.

Yan Xi twitched: “Hello.”

This was his most fluent French.

One of them asked him: “How do you make a living in France?”

Yan Xi scratched his head, saying: “Painting murals, community posters, delivering mail, milk.”

Another asked: “Do you have any bad habits like smoking marijuana or taking ecstasy?”

Yan Xi shook his head.

A man with a beard looked at him and asked: “Then, do you have any experience providing sexual services?”

Yan Xi shook his head vigorously.

Another woman asked: “Have you heard of Hosanton, Richard, and Clovy?”

Yan Xi vaguely seemed to have heard that Clovy was the last monarch of the French Merovingian dynasty, so for this question, he guessed it was testing his level of adaptation to France, so he immediately nodded: “Very familiar, I, great people, they.”

The examiners all widened their eyes: “Are you sure you’re very familiar with them?”

Yan Xi nodded: “Familiar.”

One of the men waved his hand, and several prison guards came out, immediately pressing Yan Xi’s head against the table, twisting his arms, and walking him out.

Yan Xi struggled: “What are you doing!”

Ah Heng stood outside the glass window, instantly stood up, and hurriedly ran in to block the prison guards, she said: “What are you going to do to my fiancé?”

Yan Xi’s head was firmly pressed down by a prison guard and couldn’t lift it at all. He kept struggling, and another police officer struck Yan Xi’s spine with his baton.

Yan Xi almost immediately bent over in pain.

Ah Heng shouted: “Stop! France is a country that respects human rights. I can’t believe you would treat a legal foreign resident in such a brutal way!”

The main examiner came out and stopped the prison guards, saying: “Miss, calm down. Your fiancé is not a legal resident. He knows France’s most notorious criminal group members Hosanton, Richard, and Clovy. We must forcibly detain him.”

Ah Heng took a deep breath: “Yan Xi, have you heard of these people’s names?”

Yan Xi’s face was pale, he said: “Aren’t they historical figures?”

Ah Heng said to the main examiner: “You’ve heard it yourself. He’s just a simple Chinese person who hasn’t been in France long. He just mistook these people for historical figures in French history. He just misunderstood, please release him immediately!”

The main examiner looked at Yan Xi and Ah Heng very seriously for a long time before saying: “Miss, I cannot guarantee what you say is correct, so before we get conclusive evidence, he must be detained.”

Yan Xi was in extreme pain, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, saying: “Don’t know if true or false, no evidence, won’t go to jail!”

The prison guard pressed down on Yan Xi’s head, his leg violently pushing against his stomach to make him shut up. Head lowered, he could only see Ah Heng’s cloth shoes. His voice grew a bit louder: “No evidence, won’t go to jail!”

Ah Heng’s left-hand fingers dug into her right hand as she said, word by word: “Without conclusive evidence, my fiancé absolutely cannot go to jail! I am Dr. Wen Heng from the N.T.S Research Institute, living at 1098 Third Alley in the 12th District. My colleagues and neighbors can all vouch for my fiancé. Moreover, he has always had a leg condition and has never left our residential community. Every time he delivers newspapers or milk, it’s with great difficulty – everyone in the community knows this. If you’re willing to give us justice, just mention ‘pink shirt’ during your investigation, and they’ll tell you what kind of person my fiancé is. If you’re not willing, I will file an administrative lawsuit with the court in twenty-four hours.”

The main examiner shrugged: “Fine, but Mr. Yan will have to spend tonight at the police station.” He made a gesture, and the prison guards dragged Yan Xi toward the interrogation room with large strides.

Yan Xi twisted his neck to say: “Ah Heng, go home first.”

Ah Heng halted her steps, looked at him once, then turned to discuss something in French with the main examiner.

Yan Xi was locked in a corner room, only able to see the outside space through a metal-framed glass door. Earlier when Ah Heng was there, he had held back from crying out in pain, but now he couldn’t bear it anymore. Leaning against the glass door, acid rose in his throat, and he wanted to vomit.

Paris was getting warmer by then. Yan Xi touched his white shirt – the collar was soaked with sweat. Touching his temple, he remembered the letters he hadn’t delivered today and felt the pain of loss.

Damn, five euros!

Other people’s wives wear wedding dresses for their weddings; he couldn’t let Ah Heng wear just a cheap cotton dress.

A police officer who had just finished interrogating suspects in another room came out, saw Yan Xi’s poor condition, and poured him a cup of water, asking what he needed.

Yan Xi looked at the officer and pointed to the cigarettes in his blue shirt pocket.

Yan Xi had learned to smoke between 2004 and 2005. That was after breaking up with Ah Heng when he had some unclear dealings with Lu Liu and was staying at his place.

Back then, his ears were ruined, and he had nothing left. Drinking made him think of Ah Heng, so he relied on smoking to calm his emotions. Later, when Lu Liu started putting addictive substances in his cigarettes, he quit.

Yan Xi took a few drags, holding the cigarette between his fingers, knees bent, the pain easing somewhat.

The sky darkened, and the police station was noisy. When it was time to get off work, the central air conditioning and fluorescent lights in the main area were turned off. The suspects being interrogated next door were escorted back to prison, duty personnel remained at the front desk, and gradually, this place grew quiet.

He watched the smoke rings, only pinpoints of light remaining.

His stomach growled – he was hungry and homesick too. The bed, lamp, spare ribs, Ah Heng’s silhouette, the hutong’s sunset, the little ants by the Seine…

Frame by frame, the images flashed by, rapidly.

He put the cigarette to his lips, smiled slightly, but then thought back to life’s beginning.

When he was very young, he had always been chasing, endlessly chasing – mother, companions – walking for many years, seeming to catch nothing.

And Ah Heng? Before Ah Heng, before she grew to become his love, their every collision and fusion seemed to foretell heaven’s mercy and favor.

He hadn’t imagined it would be this kind of compensation.

Drowsy and dazed, his consciousness grew fuzzy.

When he awoke, darkness had completely fallen around him.

Cigarette ash was scattered all over the floor.

Behind him, through the glass door, came soft, steady breathing.

She said: “Are you awake? Yan Xi, answer me.”

Yan Xi was startled, turned around, but saw a familiar silhouette.

She also turned, her eyes cold and dark, but instantly, she smiled slightly.

She said: “I told them my fiancé has nyctophobia, so I applied to keep you company.”

Yan Xi: “Get out of here! You’ve been afraid of the dark since you were little, and you dare to keep me company!”

Ah Heng’s eyes curved, but she didn’t smile: “Yan Xi, I’m hungry.”

Yan Xi raised an eyebrow, cursing her “Who told you to come, you silly child, go out and eat” while reaching into his pocket, pulling out two pieces of chocolate, and passing them through the gap under the glass door. These were snacks he kept for Ah Heng.

But Ah Heng grabbed his hand, her palm full of sweat.

He was surprised: “What’s wrong?”

Ah Heng said: “Yan Xi, just… let me hold your hand for a while.”

Yan Xi wrapped her fingers in his, saying: “Baby, tell me, what’s wrong?”

Ah Heng smiled, leaning against the other side of the door, saying: “I’m very scared. I’ve never been this scared before.”

He thought she was just frightened by the afternoon’s brutal scene and laughed, comforting her: “When I used to fight with others, I was even more violent than that prison guard.”

But Ah Heng seemed not to hear, lightly tapping the glass, she asked: “Yan Xi, are you still there?” A soft sigh.

Yan Xi suddenly felt his heart wrench, pain cutting to the bone. He said: “I’m here, I’m fine. Ah Heng, I’m good. Ah Heng, listen to me, I’m good, never better than now.”

She smiled, speaking softly and dryly: “You were just sleeping, sleeping all this time. I called you, but you didn’t hear. I was worried about your injury. They used batons, they pressed your head down like that, they hit you…”

Ah Heng became somewhat incoherent, her hand trembling continuously since mentioning Yan Xi being beaten.

But Yan Xi said: “Ah Heng, lie down.”

Ah Heng said “Oh,” obediently lying down curled up, head against the door’s gap, eyes gentle and pure like a baby’s.

Yan Xi reached out to gently stroke her hair and eyes, his slightly cool, soft fingers. He said: “Ah Heng, I’m fine. Those things can’t hurt my body, my self-respect, my pride, my everything. All those things you’re afraid of, they can’t hurt me.”

He said: “Baby, have I given you too weak an impression before? Making you think I’m so easily broken.”

Ah Heng’s face pressed against the cold floor, but tears kept seeping from her eyes. Her voice grew louder, hollow: “But why us, Yan Xi, why do we face so many trials? Why is it that we want to be together, yet it’s harder than for anyone else alive in this world?”

This child was so confused about why every pain and humiliation descended upon them when they wanted to be together.

Yan Xi wiped away her tears, smiling: “Because, even though it’s so difficult, no force can stop us from loving each other.”

The next day, after investigating the evidence, Yan Xi was released, receiving an apology from the police station and a one-year residence permit.

At the end of April, Yan Xi and Ah Heng registered their marriage.

That day, spring was warm and flowers were in bloom.