In June of the year, they graduated from university, Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan both turned twenty-two. On their birthday morning, Lu Xingyan couldn’t wait to drag Shen Xingruo out of bed to register their marriage at the Civil Affairs Bureau.
It wasn’t any special holiday, and there weren’t many new couples registering, so they didn’t have to wait in line for long. After filling out the forms, they were led by the staff to take photos.
Normally, the two of them were no strangers to taking intimate selfies, but standing in front of the red backdrop, a little distance apart, capturing that undeniable smile in their wedding photo, their feelings were quite different from usual.
There was a bit of nervousness, and a bit of excitement, but more than anything, they were touched and happy. The Civil Affairs Bureau staff smiled warmly, praising them, “You two are truly a perfect match, both in appearance and name and born on the same day. It’s a match made in heaven!”
Lu Xingyan was so flattered he felt like giving out red envelopes right then and there. Shen Xingruo, on the other hand, was reminded of what Wang Youfu had said years ago outside the political group office about being a good match and pleasing to the eye.
Life always has its twists and turns. If it weren’t for Wang Youfu’s compulsive disorder acting up back then, she and Lu Xingyan wouldn’t have been desk mates, wouldn’t have had so much time together, and perhaps wouldn’t have developed feelings for each other. Or maybe, eventually, they would have ended up together anyway, but during that time, there would likely have been many detours.
Coming out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, the sunlight outside was still warm. When they went in, they were just a young couple, but coming out, they had become newlyweds.
Lu Xingyan stared at the marriage certificate without blinking, wishing his eyes could take instant photos, capturing this moment forever. How to describe the feeling at that moment? The girl he had liked since he was seventeen had become his wife. It was a truly strange feeling.
Shen Xingruo also felt it was strange. Holding this little red book with the stamp on it in her hand, it felt light, but she could sense that something was different. It was as if her life had entered a whole new phase from that moment on.
Lu Xingyan suddenly tightened his grip on her hand, and she turned her head. “Wife.”
Shen Xingruo was slightly taken aback.
Lu Xingyan just hugged her, cupped her face, kissed her, and then pulled her into his arms, constantly calling her “wife” in her ear, calling out many times in a row until he couldn’t help but laugh at himself.
Shen Xingruo’s lips curved up as well.
At a time like this, she should probably respond with “husband” to match the occasion, but in broad daylight, she found it a bit hard to say.
But Lu Xingyan couldn’t wait, “Hurry up and call me a husband.”
Shen Xingruo remained silent.
Lu Xingyan lowered his head, his nose touching hers intimately, playfully threatening, “Are you not going to call me?”
“Not going to?”
“Shen Xingruo, did you change your mind right after getting married? How could there be a woman like you in the world?”
“Come on, are you intentionally deceiving me into marriage to make me a divorced man, or are you planning to take half of my property? If you won’t even call me husband, does that mean you don’t love me anymore?”
“… “
“Husband.”
Lu Xingyan: “What? Speak up, I didn’t hear you.”
Shen Xingruo: “Husband.”
Lu Xingyan: “Don’t be so stiff, it’s like I’m forcing you to say it.”
Shen Xingruo: “Lu Xingyan, don’t push it!”
Just having gotten their marriage certificate, Lu Xingyan didn’t take her warning seriously. He kept pecking at her face like a chick, saying, “Will you say it or not?”
Shen Xingruo got splattered with saliva and couldn’t help but laugh as she backed away. But in her retreat, she didn’t pay attention and bumped her shin against a roadside stone barrier. The edge was a bit sharp and it made her shin ache bluntly. She instinctively bent her knee and hopped a couple of times on one leg.
Lu Xingyan quickly bent down to check.
Seeing that her shin only had a small red mark, he felt somewhat relieved. “Serves you right for moving around. Does it hurt?”
“It hurts.”
Lu Xingyan glanced at her, then suddenly turned around, tilting his head slightly. “Come on, let me carry you, husband.”
Shen Xingruo’s leg wasn’t so bad that she couldn’t walk. After resting for a while, everything would be fine. But she obediently climbed onto Lu Xingyan’s back.
After a moment’s thought, she said, “Husband, thank you for your trouble.”
Lu Xingyan’s lips almost reached his ears as he lifted her a bit and then gallantly saluted with one hand free. “No trouble at all, no trouble at all, serving my wife!”
Back home before noon, Pei Yue was busy discussing new dishes with Aunt Zhou. Lu Xingyan called Pei Yue out of the kitchen and waved the marriage certificate in front of her. “Are you surprised? Happy? Excited?”
Pei Yue squinted, leaned forward, and carefully examined it. Then she looked utterly bewildered.
After a while, she barely regained her senses and asked, “Lu… Lu Xingyan, when did you steal this household register? You and Ruoruo got married… this is a joyous occasion, why did you sneak around like this?”
“Mom, how can you call it stealing when it’s our family’s business?”
Pei Yue couldn’t help but say, “No, but how can you two be so casual about getting married? No matter what, you should have picked an auspicious day…”
Lu Xingyan interjected, “Why worry about an auspicious day? Today is our birthday and the fourth anniversary of our relationship. From now on, it’ll also be our wedding anniversary. It’s meaningful.”
Pei Yue skeptically glanced at Lu Xingyan, showcasing the fine tradition of a mother not hesitating to speculate with the utmost malice about her own son’s intentions.
“Putting everything on one day, are you trying to save a few gifts each year and remember fewer dates?”
Lu Xingyan:?
That’s a pretty clever interpretation.
Pei Yue was immersed in a huge sense of unreality, feeling like happiness had come a bit too suddenly. Holding the two marriage certificates, she sat down on the sofa and studied them carefully for five minutes before finally relaxing.
Pei Yue quickly got into character. After digesting the fact that Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo had already obtained their marriage certificates, she joyfully posted on her social media to announce it to the world. At the dinner table, she started discussing the wedding seriously.
Mid-discussion, she couldn’t sit still and insisted on calling Lu Shan back home. She also wanted Lu Shan to inform Shen Guangyao and preferably have them come over so both families could discuss the specifics of the wedding.
Somewhere along the way, Shen Guangyao noticed that Shen Xingruo was no longer as close to him as she had been when she was younger. She wouldn’t rely on him anymore, nor would she share important decisions with him. Love, marriage — he was always the last to know.
Sitting in the restaurant’s private room discussing wedding matters, Shen Guangyao was briefly distracted by the chandelier on the ceiling. He watched as Shen Xingruo frowned in disdain at the dish Lu Xingyan served, taking it all back and putting it into Lu Xingyan’s bowl, while Lu Xingyan complained about her pickiness and then proceeded to serve her other dishes.
Shen Guangyao realized belatedly that his growing distance from Shen Xingruo wasn’t just because she had grown up; it was also because she had never truly forgiven him.
He remembered sixteen-year-old Shen Xingruo, fiercely independent and unwilling to accept betrayal in the name of love; seventeen-year-old Shen Xingruo, who compromised but never once let down her guard; and now, at twenty-two, perhaps because she had found a more unique kind of love, she chose to reconcile with her past.
During the holidays when they returned to Huize, Shen Xingruo always brought many gifts. She would also call Fang Min “Auntie Fang” and was willing to exchange learning experiences with Fang Jingran. Even at the dinner table, they seemed to chat and share family stories harmoniously. It appeared to be a picture of family harmony.
But he finally understood that from the moment he got together with Fang Min, he had lost his once most beloved daughter.
For a few seconds, Shen Guangyao saw a shadow of Song Qingzhao in Shen Xingruo. The same stubbornness, the same refusal to look back.
Fortunately, Shen Xingruo seemed to have found someone more deserving of her trust.
Although this meal was supposed to discuss the wedding, apart from setting the wedding date for the end of the year, all other details were left to Pei Yue’s imagination.
“Having the wedding abroad would be great. Going to a warmer island, wearing a wedding dress in winter wouldn’t be cold.”
“You two sitting in that hot air balloon again would be very romantic.”
“But if you’re going abroad, you need to start preparing comprehensively now. Who to invite, which country to go to, and you need to help with passports and visas… Is the time a bit tight? You also need to order wedding dresses and suits…”
Shen Xingruo interrupted softly, “Auntie Pei, we can keep it simple.”
“How can it be simple? Women should treat themselves well, a wedding only happens once in a lifetime. No, no, trust me, Pei…”
Pei Yue wanted to say, “Auntie Pei will help you make it beautiful,” but she suddenly felt something was wrong.
The next moment, she put on a loving smile and looked at Shen Xingruo gently, coaxing her, “Ruoruo, why are you still calling me Auntie Pei?”
Shen Xingruo realized and subconsciously glanced at Lu Xingyan.
Lu Xingyan mouthed something to her.
Her ears turned slightly red. After a few seconds of restraint, she whispered, “Mom.”
“Ah! That’s right!”
Pei Yue was suddenly so happy as if she had just won something big. Luckily, she was dressed up today. She casually pulled out a particularly beautiful bracelet and put it on Shen Xingruo’s hand.
Lu Shan couldn’t even talk to Shen Guangyao, his eyes were fixed on Shen Xingruo.
Shen Xingruo was very clever and shouted at Lu Shan, “Dad.”
Lu Shan’s face flushed instantly, and he pulled out his wallet like a nouveau riche, slapping a card in front of Shen Xingruo with gusto. “Look at you, Ruoruo, you sound so sweet! Here you go, from Dad. Your mom is right, girls should treat themselves well. Take it, spend it however you like!”
Feeling empathetic, Lu Xingyan noticed Shen Guangyao’s loneliness and called him “Dad” obediently.
Shen Guangyao nodded, wearing a gentle smile. He also got Lu Xingyan a watch. Yet, he couldn’t shake off a sense of inexplicable melancholy.
On the way back, Lu Xingyan whispered to Shen Xingruo, “Why does your dad seem unhappy? Did I offend him just now? Does this watch have some special meaning to him? Should I give it back?”
Shen Xingruo played with his palm, pondered for a moment, and said, “No need to return it. He might just have some regrets.”
“Regrets about what?” Lu Xingyan pressed.
Shen Xingruo didn’t want to dwell on the topic and casually replied, shifting the conversation to the renovation of their new house.
Jinsheng worked in real estate, so they wouldn’t lack anything in terms of housing. During dinner, they talked about the house, and they still thought Laoxing Lake was a good place. However, Lu Xingyan felt it wouldn’t work living with his mother; it would affect their married life too much. So, he chose another two-story small villa in the villa area. They planned to move out after the wedding. But Lu Shan said the house was bare, and it would take some effort to renovate it.
Lu Xingyan didn’t have many constructive opinions on decoration, just mentioning, “The bed in our bedroom should be bigger, not as soft as the one at home. It’s too soft; it’s a bit hard to exert force.”
“…,” Shen Xingruo paused, considering whether to pinch him. Suddenly, she asked nonchalantly, “Do you think the bed at home is too soft?”
“Yeah…” Lu Xingyan nodded.
Before Lu Xingyan could elaborate on the bed, Shen Xingruo interjected, “Since you feel that way, let’s forget about the birthday gift.”
Her tone was faint, tinged with regret.
Lu Xingyan hesitated, “What birthday gift?”
“It’s nothing. I bought a set of pajamas.”
In a split second, Lu Xingyan remembered the painful history of missing out on the pajama play two years ago when he dragged Shen Xingruo out to ride the Ferris wheel. He quickly changed his tune, “No, it’s not soft at all. I think it’s great, softness has its charm, just like firmness has its flavor. Besides, having a bed to sleep on is already good. What’s the point of being picky about this and that? I don’t have many virtues, but I’m particularly adaptable. I’ve inherited and carried forward the glorious tradition of simplicity and down-to-earthness from our revolutionary predecessors. It’s not soft, really not soft.”