After the ceremony, Xu Zhinan changed into a simple formal dress.

She couldn’t handle alcohol well and disliked the drinking culture at weddings, so she simply removed this part altogether. Lin Qingye had arranged the entire wedding according to Xu Zhinan’s comfort.

Although Xu Zhinan escaped the alcohol, Lin Qingye couldn’t. As soon as he went over, people pulled him in to drink. After a few glasses, he began to appear languid.

By the end of the banquet, Lin Qingye had already drunk a bit too much.

Shen Linlin called a group of people over to take photos.

Xu Zhinan and Lin Qingye naturally sat in the center.

The woman wore a form-fitting white lace evening gown that accentuated her graceful figure. Her skin was fair with a radiant glow, making her stand out at first glance.

The man sitting beside her, though still in a crisp, neat suit, had already unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. One arm draped around Xu Zhinan’s shoulder, he leaned his body against her, lazily resting on her. Even with his downcast eyes and drooping brows, he exuded a cold, roguish charm.

The photograph looked like a painting.

Surrounding them were friends from the entertainment industry and the three members of the Locust Band.

Shen Linlin did a simple edit and posted the photo on her Weibo, quickly triggering screams from fans.

Aaaaaaaaaah!!!! What a divine photo!! Is such beauty real?!!!

Aaaaaaaaaah brother and Ah Nan must be happy forever!!

Seeing them separately, you’d wonder what kind of person would be worthy of either, but seeing them together, you think, “Ah, perfect match!”

Ah Nan sitting among all these celebrities doesn’t look out of place at all, and her aura is super unique!

Hahaha, I see Die-mei in the back. Now that Lin Qingye is married, will my Wen-Die be next?

What is this “refined scoundrel playboy who only has eyes for you” vibe brother is giving in this photo!!

…

After the banquet ended and the guests left, the couple returned home.

They had their honeymoon trip scheduled for tomorrow, but they had been so busy before the wedding that they hadn’t even packed their luggage yet.

Fortunately, after the lively wedding banquet had ended, they didn’t feel tired.

Xu Zhinan pulled out the suitcase and opened it.

As the year was ending, the weather had turned cold, and their honeymoon destination had a damp, cold winter climate.

Winter clothes were thick and bulky; just a few pieces nearly filled the suitcase.

Lin Qingye brought out another suitcase for her and helped organize the rest of the clothes into it.

Xu Zhinan sat on the floor and looked up at him. “Are you drunk?”

“Not really.”

“Your lips look a bit red.”

He laughed. “Don’t people usually get red in the face when they’re drunk?”

Lin Qingye hadn’t drunk to the point of intoxication; he had just had a bit too much and was feeling lazy.

His face hadn’t turned red—he wasn’t one to show alcohol on his face easily—but his lips were reddish and moist, somehow strangely alluring.

Xu Zhinan couldn’t help but look at him again. “You should go wash your face.”

Lin Qingye obediently got up and went to the bathroom. Xu Zhinan closed both suitcases, stood them upright, and placed them to the side.

The room’s heating was very warm. After finishing with the luggage, she had worked up a light sweat. Xu Zhinan opened the window and sat down at the windowsill, resting her chin in her palm.

The bathroom door opened, and Xu Zhinan turned to the sound.

She froze.

Lin Qingye had washed his face but hadn’t dried it completely. The hair at his temples was wet, and water droplets rolled down his face, across his straight nose and somewhat thin lips.

More importantly, he wore gold-rimmed glasses on his face.

He hadn’t been nearsighted during his school years; it was during the period right after his release from prison when he frequently strained his eyes staying up late writing lyrics that he became nearsighted.

However, his prescription was very low, almost negligible. He only wore glasses occasionally at night when he was tired and needed to write something.

Xu Zhinan hadn’t seen him wearing glasses for a long time.

It was her first time seeing him in a suit with glasses.

Xu Zhinan blinked slowly and asked, “Why are you suddenly wearing glasses?”

Lin Qingye stood in front of her. Xu Zhinan’s back pressed against the windowsill as he drew her into his arms. The cool evening breeze blew into the room but couldn’t dispel the romantic atmosphere.

He didn’t speak. Xu Zhinan remembered the words fans used to describe him online and laughed.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Have you seen how your fans call you a ‘refined scoundrel’?”

Lin Qingye raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying. “Is that so?”

Xu Zhinan raised her hand to remove his glasses, but he intercepted her halfway. Xu Zhinan paused, suddenly remembering that Lin Qingye hadn’t answered her earlier question about why he was wearing glasses.

“Is there something wrong with your eyes?” she asked.

“No.”

“Then why—”

Before she could finish, Lin Qingye took her hand and brought it to his teeth, gently nibbling. The teeth caused a slight pain that was quickly soothed by his lips and tongue.

He performed this action blatantly yet methodically.

Combined with his current suit and glasses, he was the very definition of a “refined scoundrel.”

Then he languidly said, “To seduce our Ah Nan.”

Xu Zhinan was startled by his rakish behavior and quickly withdrew her hand as if shocked. Lin Qingye didn’t try to hold on, allowing her to successfully retrieve it.

Lin Qingye looked at her and chuckled softly, leaning down as hot, alcohol-tinged kisses traced down her neck.

After a bout of teasing, Lin Qingye asked, “Is this what ‘refined scoundrel’ means?”

He deliberately lowered his voice, making it intimate yet gentle, while still revealing a hint of mischievous intent. His voice wound into Xu Zhinan’s ears, inexplicably turning her entire head into a jumbled mess.

Lin Qingye kissed her fingertips again and whispered in her ear, “Let me show you something others can’t see.”

“…”

Early the next morning, the couple set off for their honeymoon.

Though called a honeymoon, it wasn’t going to be very long. Lin Qingye had upcoming events, and Xu Zhinan couldn’t be away from her shop for too long.

But this was the first time the two had traveled together.

According to Lin Qingye’s timeline, he had known Xu Zhinan for ten years, and according to Xu Zhinan’s timeline, she had known Lin Qingye for eight years, but they had only been properly dating for the past year and a half and never had the chance to travel.

The couple landed in M City.

As soon as they exited the airport, they were greeted by vast expanses of snow, unlike anything they had seen in Yan City.

“Put your scarf on properly.” Xu Zhinan took out a gray and white scarf from her bag.

Lin Qingye looked down at her.

The young woman had already wrapped herself up tightly as soon as they got off the plane. Scarf, hat—nothing was missing. She wore a creamy white puffy coat, and with her slightly chubby face, she looked adorably plump.

Lin Qingye didn’t reach out to take the scarf; instead, he bent down toward her, arms resting on his knees.

Xu Zhinan wrapped the scarf around him, looping it twice.

Although Lin Qingye wore a mask, they were recognized by quite a few people along the way. However, since their wedding news had caused such a sensation online, everyone knew they were on their honeymoon trip today and didn’t disturb them too much, just greeting them in passing.

Upon arrival, they first went to the hotel to drop off their luggage.

They didn’t do much sightseeing on the first day. First, they took a nap at the hotel, and by the time they woke up, it was already afternoon. They prepared their travel itinerary together.

To avoid being surrounded by too many people, they had chosen M City, which wasn’t a particularly famous tourist city. Although the snow scenery was spectacular, there weren’t too many people.

The attractions primarily featured various snow scenes. It wasn’t as prosperous as Yan City and didn’t have many shopping spots.

Xu Zhinan lay on the bed, unusually relaxed and without her usual proper demeanor, writing their travel itinerary on the bed. She turned her head and asked, “I see the most recommended place is the snow mountain, and the weather forecast says it will rain tonight. If there’s fog tomorrow, the scenery will be even more beautiful. Shall we go tomorrow?”

“Won’t you be tired?”

“No,” she replied, her mood excellent, with her voice lilting upward at the end.

Lin Qingye laughed. “Then let’s go.”

Because they were going to climb the snow mountain the next day, Lin Qingye finally didn’t exhaust Xu Zhinan that night. She finally got a good night’s sleep, resuming the good sleeping habits she had when living alone. As soon as dawn broke, Xu Zhinan woke up.

She was extremely excited about traveling with Lin Qingye, and once awake, she couldn’t fall back asleep.

After tossing and turning in bed for a while, Lin Qingye frowned, wrapped his arm around her waist, and asked in a hoarse voice, “What are you doing?”

Xu Zhinan stopped moving and didn’t speak.

Lin Qingye lowered his neck, buried his face in the back of her neck, and lightly bit her shoulder. “Why are you awake so early?”

“I went to bed early last night.”

Thinking of something, he chuckled softly. “Waking up so early is useless. In the future, I’ll have to make sure you go to sleep later.”

“…”

After this exchange, they were no longer sleepy. They finished washing up and headed straight for the snow mountain. Winter days dawned late, and it was still foggy, but there were already quite a few people at the foot of the mountain.

Thanks to the foggy day, with Lin Qingye’s hat brim pulled low, no one recognized him right away.

They had initially worried that Xu Zhinan would get tired climbing the mountain, but later discovered they could take a cable car directly, and the portion requiring actual climbing wasn’t much.

Lin Qingye bought two tickets, and they took the cable car to the top.

Midway up, the view from the cable car was beautiful. The snow line was exposed to view—above the snow line, everything was white without a blade of grass; below it, green pine trees could still be seen.

Xu Zhinan took out her camera and photographed the entire journey, also taking a photo with Lin Qingye.

As soon as they got off the cable car, a girl recognized them. Her scream attracted many people, and they were finally allowed to leave after taking photos with everyone.

Since they had been discovered anyway, Lin Qingye no longer wore his mask, which made him considerably more comfortable.

They followed the crowd, taking photos as they walked, eventually stopping at an iron chain bridge.

Xu Zhinan recalled the travel guide she had read earlier and explained, “This is one of the famous attractions on the snow mountain. I think it’s called Lovers’ Bridge. You can buy a lock, write your names on it, and attach it to the chains.”

It was a clichéd symbol.

Lin Qingye guessed that many places had something like a lovers’ bridge or lovers’ locks.

But these things, though trite, became enjoyable when your beloved was beside you. At the moment, many people were attaching locks to the bridge.

Lin Qingye looked around. “They’re selling locks over there.”

The couple bought a white lock, palm-sized, and a marker pen each to write their names.

—Lin Qingye & Xu Zhinan.

Lin Qingye went to hang the lock on the heavy chain bridge and then took a photo with his phone.

Walking back to level ground and looking back, their lock had already disappeared among the others, impossible to find.

Lin Qingye looked at the photo on his phone and chuckled.

“What are you laughing at?” Xu Zhinan asked.

Still looking at the photo, he said, “I used to think people who hung locks in places like this were foolish. I never thought I’d be willing to do it myself one day.”

Xu Zhinan smiled. “Isn’t it nice?”

“Very nice,” he said, holding her hand. “Now we’re locked together forever.”

By the time they returned to the hotel, it was already evening.

The couple had a simple bowl of noodles at a small stand downstairs from the hotel—green onions and fragrant oil—with a sense of peaceful contentment.

As soon as they reached the hotel, Zhao Qian called her.

Xu Zhinan answered.

It seemed Zhao Qian had other friends with her; it was noisy in the background. She teased, “How is it? I hope I’m not interrupting your honeymoon?”

“No, we just got back.”

“I mean, I hope I’m not interrupting Lin Qingye from doing something important?”

“…” Xu Zhinan kicked off her shoes. “Why is your mind always on these things? He just went to take a shower.”

Zhao Qian deliberately teased her, drawing out her words: “Oh—a—shower.”

“…”

Zhao Qian didn’t call for anything specific; she was just having dinner with Jiang Yue and, feeling bored, decided to give her a call.

As she chatted, she unpacked. With the phone wedged between her shoulder and ear, Xu Zhinan accidentally knocked over the bottle of perfume with locust flower as its base note.

Soon, the strong fragrance spread throughout the room.

Xu Zhinan hurriedly cleaned up the mess and opened the window for ventilation. After the scent dissipated, it smelled much better than before. Just as she wanted to take another good whiff, a sudden feeling of nausea rose from her throat.

It surged up like a turbulent sea.

Xu Zhinan furrowed her brows and retched.

Zhao Qian heard the sound. “What’s wrong, Ah Nan?”

Xu Zhinan didn’t have time to answer her at the moment.

Zhao Qian, having gone through ten months of pregnancy with severe pregnancy symptoms that had once caused her to faint, quickly realized that Xu Zhinan’s retching sound was similar to hers back then. She was momentarily silent.

“It’s nothing. I spilled some perfume and suddenly felt a bit nauseous, that’s all.” Xu Zhinan had felt severely nauseous just now; even as she spoke, her breath was weak. She went to the living room to pour herself a glass of water.

Zhao Qian hesitated for a moment. “Ah Nan…”

“Hmm?”

“Have you and Lin Qingye been using contraception recently?”

“…”

They had obtained their marriage certificate in October and married in December. During those two months, Lin Qingye seemed to have inexhaustible energy every day. Taking advantage of their legal status, sometimes during what they thought were safe periods, they hadn’t paid much attention to contraception.

Hearing her silence, Zhao Qian vaguely guessed, “Am I going to be a godmother?”