His sudden appearance shocked not only the media and audience, but also Wu Man.

What they had originally agreed on was to wait until the wedding was arranged before releasing the news, not at this time. Today he had even told her he had a commercial to shoot and couldn’t attend the premiere, sending a string of crying emoji on WeChat. Acting so convincingly.

Fine, he actually deceived her.

Wu Man was both angry and amused, but right now she had no time to settle accounts with him. After being stunned into silence for a while by Zhui Ye’s opening words, everyone had now fully reacted. The huge screening hall was like a pot of boiling water, the crackling steam scorching people’s faces red with excitement.

For safety considerations, the post-screening discussion was forced to pause. Wu Man was escorted to the cinema’s VIP lounge to take shelter temporarily—otherwise those media members surrounding her would practically flay her alive.

After asking his question, Zhui Ye left through the audience seating’s emergency exit. Wu Man quickly sent him a message asking, “Where are you? I’m in the VIP screening room. Come around.”

No response. He was probably already blocked by people. She quickly had her assistant go out to find him while she went online to check the public opinion, only to discover Weibo wouldn’t even load.

The server traffic had exploded and crashed completely. Only niche anonymous forums were spared, but they too were uniformly flooded.

Main post: “Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit, holy shit!”

1st floor: I’m also dumbfounded

2nd floor: I’m confused. What’s going on? Why won’t Weibo even load?

3rd floor: Am I crazy or is this world crazy?! @@)#(@Grandma, the CP you shipped back in the day has finally achieved fruition—I’m really shipping something real!!!!

4th floor: Damn, I knew he wasn’t viewing cherry blossoms alone! Actually when he posted on Weibo about being at Meguro River and I saw Wu Man was in Tokyo, I had a bad feeling. Zhui Ye, you’re breaking hearts!

5th floor: SOS, so three years ago the one involved with Wu Man wasn’t Weng Shaoyuan, but Zhui Ye?

6th floor: Probably more than three years ago. If you calculate from the clues on Weibo, his earliest post about Haizi’s poetry—I think that was also sent for Wu Man to see.

7th floor: Shocking, they secretly dated underground for so long and are marrying young?! Who exactly brainwashed me into thinking he was a playboy…

8th floor: This must be hype!! Old lady don’t cling to the handsome guy ahhhhhhh

9th floor: ? Does the Best Actor’s fan have issues? “Wife” came from your big brother’s own mouth, okay? And calling someone an old lady, aren’t you shameless? Are you not going to live past thirty-six?

10th floor: As someone 30+, I’m offended. Totally support this—what’s wrong with us liking younger guys! Wu Man, hold your head up high, sister!

11th floor: Laughing so hard. A bunch of jealous people were ridiculing the beautiful woman as damaged goods two days ago, saying you all have partners, acting so impressive and amazing. Well that’s really impressive—they only know how to collapse on the sofa after work playing games with mouths full of flirtation. You’re cooking and mopping on the side and still have to let him lift his precious feet. This partner’s only useful function isn’t as good as a vibrator and isn’t as clean as a vibrator either. He’s so ordinary, you’re so confident—truly a match made in heaven.

12th floor: Sister upstairs is too savage hahahaha. How do you know fish’s joy when you’re not a fish? Peace and love, wishing all lovers in the world happiness!

The assistant returned after searching around, saying worriedly she didn’t see Zhui Ye—he had probably already left the cinema.

Now Wu Man was truly a bit angry. One second he’s confessing his love, the next second he’s playing disappearing act on me?

The assistant said weakly, “His phone probably died…”

Wu Man’s face darkened. She shoved her phone in her pocket and said to everyone remaining, “I’m leaving first.”

Weng Shaoyuan grabbed her. “Wait a bit longer. Outside right now is surrounded by media and fans. Forget the front entrance—even the back door is packed with people.”

“It’s fine. If I continue staying here, it’ll be hard for you all to leave too.” Wu Man pulled on her thin windbreaker and waved her hand without looking back. “This isn’t my first time facing media’s cameras and microphones. They can’t destroy me.”

Just like that, she single-handedly walked toward the main entrance.

Once Wu Man appeared, the predatory mosquitoes and flies scrambled over each other to pounce, blocking Wu Man airtight at the entrance, not giving her a chance to escape. The assistant was originally helping clear a path on the side, but the girl’s figure was weak and small. She hadn’t walked more than two steps before being squeezed to the side. Instead, Wu Man had to protect her from falling.

“What’s going on between you and Zhui Ye? What’s your relationship?”

“Why did he call you wife? Was he joking? Or did you really register your marriage?”

“Where is Zhui Ye? Why are you coming out alone?”

Wu Man rolled her eyes. She was willing to say something to the last reporter—I’d also really like to know where he ran off to. Why don’t you help me call him?

“Everyone please calm down. I’ll hold a press conference about the specifics, and will explain everything then. Tonight, please go back and rest first.”

She cleared her throat and said this loudly, but these media members like starving ghosts wouldn’t let go of this piece of braised pork so easily. She was quickly drowned out again by the flood of voices.

“Can’t you say more in detail?”

“Does this mean you’re indirectly admitting it?”

“Why announce it so suddenly? Is it because you’re pregnant?”

Among the crowd, a reporter scanned with ill intent over her lower abdomen covered tightly by the windbreaker.

Wu Man’s expression turned cold. The surroundings became even more chaotic, and the scene gradually spiraled out of control.

Outside the seething cinema, an even more violent commotion suddenly came—a large-displacement motorcycle roaring almost loud enough to burst eardrums charged forward relentlessly, domineeringly forcing open the crowd, carving out a path, and stopped in front of Wu Man.

She looked in shock at the person who had just disappeared now descending flamboyantly from the sky.

Zhui Ye in the front seat had changed into a black suit with two buttons at the collar undone. His hair had exploded into a little lion from the wild ride. That momentum was like a mafia member rushing into a crowd to collect protection money.

Wu Man no longer needed to ask where he had just gone. What she saw before her eyes explained everything.

He had somehow gotten hold of a heavy motorcycle. On the wild body of the bike were jarringly attached two large bunches of pure white jasmine flowers, making this unrestrained motorcycle seem to have become somewhat gentle.

He removed one of the bunches of jasmine and without blinking threw it into the crowd, while raising a megaphone with the other hand.

Whether it was the media and fans gathered at the cinema entrance or pedestrians walking on the street, they could all hear the young man’s somewhat cavalier voice lingering in the night sky. Overwhelmingly covering all the chaos.

“It’s a pity we can’t invite everyone to attend our wedding, so here’s the wedding bouquet in advance. As a return gift, can you give my bride back to me?”

Fans joined in the excitement to grab the bouquets, dragging even the media members along. The entrance that had been impassable now finally became unobstructed.

Wu Man really wanted to explode, wanted to hang up this instigator and spank him hard. However, when she rushed in front of him, Zhui Ye lightly lifted half his body from the bike and tilted up his chin to kiss her cheek.

“Elder Sister, get on. Let’s make a quick escape while we can.”

With one casual sentence from him, her anger had nowhere to land.

What could she do with this child?

Forget it, in for a penny, in for a pound. She resignedly jumped onto the back seat. Zhui Ye started the engine. The motorcycle roared, leaving the farce behind. By the time everyone reacted, they could only barely see the pale exhaust fumes speeding away and two thin shadows merging into the dusky traffic flow.

Wu Man looked back at the dense mass of people behind them and let out a long breath. “Finally got out.”

“This subject is guilty. I rescued the princess too late.”

She pretended to be angry. “It’s all because of you.”

Zhui Ye immediately looked alertly at the rearview mirror. In it reflected the woman’s flying hair strands, her plaid windbreaker collar blown up by the evening wind, pressed against her delicate cheeks, passing through her upturned mouth corners.

He breathed a sigh of relief and unconsciously smiled along with her.

“Then it’s simple. I’ll compensate you with the rest of my life.”

Wu Man pressed on his shoulder, still with some lingering anger. “Too noisy, I can’t hear.”

She mischievously picked up the megaphone on the bike, threading her hands under his arms in an embracing posture, bringing it to his mouth.

Zhui Ye drew energy from his core, turned his head slightly, and shouted into the megaphone word by word:

“I—love—you—”

Those confessions once hidden in roundabout poetry verses, those years of secrets concealed under the public’s noses—finally, one day, they could be shouted aloud without reservation, with such force that they hoped everyone could hear.

Most importantly, to be heard by the one they loved.

On that day, in the city of fleeting light and passing shadows, people would strangely see a motorcycle carrying a young man in a black suit and a woman in a plaid windbreaker. They arrogantly drove across the elevated bridge, as if openly determined to startle the world. The white jasmine tied to the bike body had its petals snapped off by the wind from their speed. Some fell on their heads, but more rustled and scattered, drifting from Jintai Xizhao all the way to Baihua Shenchu.