The day the proposal succeeded, Lu Xun shamelessly tagged along with Qian Wei to her parents’ house. As luck would have it, both her parents happened to be home. Qian Wei hadn’t even gotten around to mentioning she was dating anyone, and suddenly here she was, showing up out of nowhere with Lu Xun in tow, declaring they were getting married—her parents simply refused to believe it, no matter what.
To this day, Qian Wei remembers that whole mix-up vividly.
At the time, her father had just looked Lu Xun over several times without saying much, then left her mother to entertain their guest while he pulled Qian Wei into the study.
“Your mother and I have always hoped you’d find someone, and twenty-eight is a fine age to be starting a family. But we’ve never pushed you—if being single made you happier than being in a relationship, there’d be nothing wrong with that either.” He glanced at her, then shifted his tone. “This Lu Xun fellow—there’s nothing to fault about him anywhere. Good-looking, capable, decent and reliable as a person. When you were in that coma, your mother and I were completely thrown into chaos, and thank goodness he was there—running back and forth, coordinating with the hospital and doctors, working out the treatment plan. On top of all that, he still had his own work to manage, and yet he still found time to comfort your mother and me, to give us some peace of mind. If it weren’t for him, especially given how easily your mother panics, you might not even have woken up before she fell ill herself from the stress.”
“But Lu Xun having done us a favor, and you marrying Lu Xun—those are two completely separate things.” Her father’s tone turned serious. “Whatever debt of gratitude we owe him, whatever medical costs we owe, we can pay back slowly, over time. But I don’t want you rushing into marriage out of gratitude or some sense of obligation to repay him. Marriage should be built on two people genuinely caring for each other.”
Listening to all this, Qian Wei finally understood what her father meant. She felt both exasperated and amused. “Dad, do you really think I’m that kind of person? And besides, do you have any idea how many other women out there would kill for an excuse to say Lu Xun did them a favor, just so they’d have an excuse to devote themselves to him? Even if I wanted to repay him out of gratitude, if Lu Xun didn’t actually like me, would he even let me? There’s practically a whole platoon of women lining up hoping to manufacture some debt of gratitude with him just to get close!”
“…”
“Besides, the whole reason I’m still single at twenty-eight is because of Lu Xun in the first place! I’m not bad-looking, my personality’s decent enough—if I’d actually had the time and opportunity to meet other guys, I’m sure I could’ve found someone reliable, nothing extravagant required. And here I am, twenty-eight and still single—whose fault is that, if not my boss Lu Xun, working me to the bone with overtime every single day? If I’m still unmarried because of him, who else am I supposed to hold accountable but him?”
At this, her father looked rather put out too. “Well, if that’s the case, then if my daughter ends up left on the shelf because of him, he’d better take responsibility!”
“Sir, I’m willing to take responsibility.”
The study door opened gently, and Qian Wei’s mother appeared with Lu Xun standing beside her. Once he’d made his declaration, she smiled and waved her husband out. “All right, come on out. I already asked—these two genuinely like each other. No need to lecture Qian Wei on her own.”
The group returned to the living room together. Clearly, whatever had passed between Lu Xun and her mother in private had already won her over completely, through sheer force of personal charm.
“Wei-wei, doesn’t Lu Xun usually charge at least five thousand an hour for his time? We must have talked with him for ages just now—shouldn’t I be paying him ten thousand yuan or something?”
“Auntie, while I do usually charge at least five thousand an hour, for you and Qian Wei, there’s never a charge.” Lu Xun smiled. “Any legal questions you two ever have, just bring them to me from now on.”
The more Qian Wei’s mother looked at Lu Xun, the more pleased she seemed, hiding her smile behind her hand.
Lu Xun continued, easy and composed. “I’ve kept Qian Wei working overtime constantly, which really has cost her a lot of chances at romance—so I feel responsible for that. I hope you’ll both agree to let her marry me.”
“Sir, ma’am, I’ve loved Qian Wei for nine years, waited for her for nine years. Now that she’s finally agreed to be with me, I truly treasure this, and I’m deeply grateful for it. She’s already accepted my proposal, and I hope I can also have your blessing.”
It was clear that even after all this, her father still had some hesitation.
Faced with this, Lu Xun remained composed and confident as ever. Calmly, he pulled his lawyer’s credentials from his bag. “This is proof of my professional identity.”
Next came his certificate of single status, followed by a stack of property deeds, his driver’s license…
“This is my complete file. Please review it at your leisure.” Lu Xun smiled. “I’ve also included my hotel records—I always book single rooms when traveling for work—along with five years’ worth of my health checkup reports, to prove I’m in good health with no genetic concerns.”
“…” Qian Wei had absolutely no idea Lu Xun had prepared all this in advance. This man, she thought, was truly unfathomable—no wonder he’d made partner so young.
Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.
Her father had started out with some reservations, but as he flipped through Lu Xun’s documents, the satisfaction on his and her mother’s faces grew more and more obvious, until by the end they weren’t even bothering to hide it anymore. Qian Wei wanted to remind her parents to wipe the drool off their chins—their admiration for Lu Xun was getting a little too obvious.
By the time he’d finished reviewing the whole file, her father looked positively glowing, gazing at Lu Xun with something close to paternal affection. Qian Wei half-wondered if Lu Xun had somehow become his actual son instead of her.
“Ask us anything, son, anything at all.”
Finally, her mother couldn’t hold back any longer. She studied Lu Xun for a moment, then asked, somewhat hesitantly, “Xun dear, Auntie just wants to ask—are you serious about our Qian Wei?” She thought it over, choosing her words carefully. “Marriage isn’t something to rush into. Maybe you should take some time to think it over calmly first?”
Qian Wei: ???
Xun dear???
Think it over calmly???
Her father cleared his throat too. “Right, well—you’re an exceptional young man, we have absolutely no objections to that. But you’re almost too exceptional. We’re not asking for Qian Wei to live some life of luxury—we just want her to find someone who understands her, who’ll support her through thick and thin. Marriage and love aren’t the same thing. If the gap between two people is too wide, the marriage can’t really be stable or happy…”
Qian Wei thought to herself—wait, Dad, weren’t you just worried I was marrying him out of some sense of obligation? How did that suddenly flip into worrying that Lu Xun proposed on a whim???
Lu Xun blinked. “Sir, ma’am, Qian Wei is exceptional—far more than you might realize. If anything, I’m the one who falls short in a lot of ways. In our country we tend to define success too narrowly, as if having a successful career, money, and status is all that matters. But that’s not true. Knowing how to truly live, having warmth and spirit, being sincere and open-hearted—those are precious qualities too. And in all of that, Qian Wei surpasses me. If anything, there’s a lot I need to learn from her.”
That explanation put both of her parents’ worries to rest completely, while also managing to praise Qian Wei all over again in the process. No parent could resist hearing their child praised like that. Under the spell of Lu Xun’s words, the elder Qians practically melted, beaming at him with ever-growing approval.
Her father had once sworn he’d give any future boyfriend of hers a proper hard time. Qian Wei wanted to shout, Dad, what happened to giving him a hard time? Where’s your dignity gone?
Lu Xun had won over her parents so effortlessly that before Qian Wei even had time to process it, the three of them were already sitting together like one big happy family, sipping tea and chatting away, leaving her staring in disbelief.
With her parents squared away, it was Qian Wei’s turn to meet Lu Xun’s.
Compared to Lu Xun, Qian Wei was far more nervous—especially since she’d once badmouthed him thoroughly in front of his own parents. Now, sitting in the restaurant, she couldn’t stop breaking into a cold sweat.
Lu Xun, meanwhile, looked perfectly at ease.
Lu Xun’s mother turned out to be a senior lawyer as well—elegantly dressed, carrying herself with all the polished confidence of a career woman. But unlike some formidable women in her position, she wasn’t the least bit intimidating. She looked at Qian Wei and smiled the whole time. “Honestly, I always suspected a day like this would come. Our Lu Xun’s far too reserved for his own good—he needed someone lively like you to bring him out of his shell. Being with you, there’s actually light in his eyes now.”
Lu Xun’s father was a wine merchant, refined and easygoing. Neither of them seemed to hold Qian Wei’s earlier comments against her in the slightest—both were warm and welcoming.
Lu Xun’s father had a great sense of humor, spinning off into all sorts of entertaining stories about wine culture over his glass, and before long, all of Qian Wei’s nerves had melted away.
As they were saying their goodbyes, Lu Xun’s mother suddenly seemed to remember something and pulled a small pouch from her bag, handing it to Qian Wei. “This is a photo our Lu Xun’s kept by his bedside all this time. I think it’s about time it went back to its rightful owner.”
Lu Xun, composed the entire evening until now, reacted with sudden urgency—the moment his parents left, he reached out to snatch the pouch from Qian Wei’s hand. Luckily, she was quick enough to dodge him.
Once she’d put a safe distance between them, Qian Wei pulled out what was inside and found a photo frame holding an old picture: a girl leaning against a tree in dappled shade, laughing without restraint, sunlight filtering through the leaves onto her face, her eyes narrowed slightly, completely unaware anyone was secretly taking her photo.
It was Qian Wei, at nineteen.
She couldn’t help laughing. “When was this taken?”
“During a sports meet, once.”
“And you kept it by your bed this whole time?”
Lu Xun turned his head away, his voice a little strained. “Yeah.”
“Liked me that much?”
“Yeah.”
“I like you too.”
“Hm?”
Qian Wei leaned in close to his ear. “I like you too!”
Lu Xun’s gaze turned soft, and he took her hand. “At nineteen, my dream was just to share a home with you, three meals and four seasons together. It used to feel completely out of reach, but now, somehow, it’s all actually come true.” He kissed her forehead. “Qian Wei, I like you a lot too. Please take care of me from now on.”
Time slipped by quickly, and as the wedding drew nearer, Qian Wei found herself growing more and more nervous, almost like a case of pre-wedding jitters. One day, eating dessert with Liu Shiyun and chatting, she suddenly felt a wave of nausea.
“Anyway, all because I offhandedly mentioned wanting a beach wedding somewhere warm, Lu Xun went and actually rented out an entire island, invited everyone from the firm, covered everyone’s flights and accommodations, and now he wants to invite you all too—giving me an island wedding first, and then once we’re back, hosting a proper wedding banquet at a hotel in City A for the rest of our friends and family. Which means…” Qian Wei paused, feeling another wave of queasiness. “Basically, I’m having two weddings. So save the date—you and Qian Chuan absolutely have to come to the island one…”
But before she could finish, another wave of nausea hit, and this time she wasn’t so lucky—she couldn’t hold it back and threw up right there on the dessert shop floor.
Weakly, Qian Wei muttered, “No idea what I ate that upset my stomach…”
Liu Shiyun’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Qian Wei, I don’t think this is that simple.” She smirked. “I’m sensing something different here.”
Qian Wei said, drained, “What? Just help me up so we can go see a GI doctor.”
“You don’t need a GI doctor. You need an OB-GYN.”
“Huh?”
Liu Shiyun said with total confidence, “This is clearly pregnancy, my friend!”
Qian Wei flushed. “Don’t be ridiculous!”
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? Your Lu Xun held out for nine years for you, and you two are about to get married—you really expect me to believe he’s still keeping things chaste every single night?” Liu Shiyun rolled her eyes. “Come on, I’m taking you to get checked.”
Though Qian Wei absolutely refused to believe it, once the blood test results came back, she had nothing left to say.
She really had hit the jackpot.
Under Liu Shiyun’s insistence, she also got an ultrasound.
“Whoa! Twins!” Liu Shiyun, holding the ultrasound printout, was practically vibrating with excitement. “Lu Xun really came through—knocked it out of the park on the first try! Might even be a boy and a girl! You’ll have the complete set before thirty!”
Qian Wei stood there holding the ultrasound and test results, still a little dazed, when Lu Xun’s voice came echoing down the hospital hallway.
“Qian Wei!”
“Lu Xun.”
His expression was full of alarm. “Are you okay? Why are you at the hospital? What’s wrong?”
“That dream you mentioned—one home, two people, three meals, four seasons? I’m afraid that one’s not going to work out anymore.”
Lu Xun tensed immediately. “Don’t panic. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together…”
“It’s not that.” Qian Wei, a little sheepish, pushed the test results into his hands. “I’m pregnant. Twins. I guess it’s going to be one home, four people, three meals, four seasons from now on.”
What answered her was pure, unfiltered joy on Lu Xun’s face. This man, always so composed and reserved, couldn’t help himself—right there in the hospital hallway, he swept Qian Wei up into his arms, making no effort at all to hide how overjoyed he was.
The plan may have changed a little, but was there any surprise in the world gentler than this one?
One home, four people, three meals, four seasons — as long as you’re there, time will always be good.