The fifteenth of August was Lin Tao’s birthday. Fang Yisong had consulted a fortune teller ahead of time, and the fortune teller said that the day was an auspicious one.

Early that morning, Jiang Yan and Lin Tao ate the glutinous rice balls Fang Yisong had cooked with her own hands, then set out for the civil affairs bureau to register their marriage.

The process was swift — fill in the paperwork, take a photograph, take the oath, apply the seal — and by the time they walked out with two red booklets in hand, Lin Tao still hadn’t quite come back to herself. “How did I blink and become a married woman just like that.”

“What do you mean, blink.” Jiang Yan corrected her. “I’ve been waiting for this day for many years.”

Lin Tao smiled and stepped forward to take his arm. “Let’s go then, Mr. Jiang. We should be getting home.”

Jiang Yan smiled as well, reaching up to cover her hand with his, their fingers lacing together, and said softly, “Understood, Mrs. Jiang.”

Word of the two registering their marriage spread quickly to all their friends, because Jiang Yan posted their marriage certificate to his social circle. The two of them sat at home that day accomplishing nothing else — it was spent entirely on answering phone calls.

By evening, Lin Tao tossed her phone to Jiang Yan. “If anyone else calls, you handle it. I’m going to take a bath first.”

After registering their marriage, the two of them did not move out of Fang Yisong’s place. For one thing, the apartment Jiang Yan had previously purchased was still being renovated. For another, Lin Tao was not at ease leaving Fang Yisong alone.

Since both of them hadn’t yet finished graduate school, they simply stayed at home for the time being. Besides, Fang Yisong had arranged things during the renovation — her own room and study on the second floor, and the rooms for the two of them on the third.

It was just that the two of them seemed not quite to have registered that anything should be different after the registration compared to before it.

After washing up in her own room, Lin Tao remembered that her phone was still in Jiang Yan’s room. She slipped on her shoes, padded over, retrieved the phone, and went back.

Jiang Yan didn’t think anything of it either. After she took the phone and left, he got up, went into the bathroom, and took a shower.

Lin Tao went back to her room, plugged in her phone to charge, and lay browsing Weibo while drying her hair. A message came in from Meng Xin on WeChat.

— Tao Tao!! Send me your address quick — I bought you a big wedding gift package!!

Lin Tao opened her shopping app, copied her address, and pasted it over, then threw in a question.

— What kind of gift package?

— Don’t ask, just know that your man over there is definitely going to love it, hehe hehe.

— ……

They chatted a bit more. Finally, Meng Xin sent:

— Tonight is YOUR wedding night with the school overlord!! I’m not going to disturb you — go go go!! [gossip face.jpg]

— ……

Only then did Lin Tao remember that tonight was her wedding night with Jiang Yan……

In that moment, she began to doubt which of the two of them was the more oblivious one — or whether they were equally oblivious.

— I completely forgot about it. I already went back to my own room, and I was just about to blow-dry my hair and go to sleep.

Meng Xin seemed to be trying to compose a reply to that. Lin Tao watched the “other person is typing” indicator stay on for five full minutes.

In the end, she received just one expression.

— [fake-I-don’t-believe-you.jpg]

Lin Tao: “……”

Without continuing the chat with Meng Xin, Lin Tao blow-dried her hair and then padded back over to Jiang Yan’s room. He had just showered too — his hair still damp — and was sitting at the desk, typing on his computer. He heard the door open and turned to glance at her, his tone casual. “Not sleeping yet?”

Lin Tao steadied her breath and walked over to sit by the desk. “Jiang classmate, have you forgotten there’s something important tonight?”

“Hmm?” Jiang Yan picked up one of the candies Lin Tao had bought to help him quit smoking and hadn’t yet caught on. “What is it?”

Lin Tao wasn’t sure whether he truly didn’t know or was playing dumb. She bit her lip and held his gaze for what felt like a long time, and ultimately, shyness won out over the small impulse she had. “Never mind — it’s nothing. I’m going to sleep. Rest early.”

After she left, Jiang Yan went back to typing, but after only a few lines, he stopped again. He had an odd feeling he was forgetting something.

The phone beside him lit up. Guan Che had sent a message. Jiang Yan picked it up and read it.

— I heard from Meng Xin that Lin Tao forgot tonight was your wedding night and went back to her own room to sleep?

— ……

Jiang Yan reflected that it wasn’t just Lin Tao who had forgotten — he himself had forgotten as well.

He set the phone down. Thinking back to the question Lin Tao had just asked, he pinched the bridge of his nose, then after a moment got up and walked out.

Lin Tao’s room was directly across from his.

Jiang Yan stopped before her door. Looking at the closed door in front of him, he raised his hand as if to knock — then thought of something, and lowered it again.

He stood in the doorway for a few minutes. In the end, he turned around and went back to his own room.

One ordinary night passed.

Then another, and another, and another — the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh.

Two days before the summer holiday ended, Jiang Yan brought Lin Tao back to Xi City to pay their respects at Fang Hai’s grave, and then went to visit Guan Che’s two elders.

At noon they had lunch with their families. That evening, it was the gathering of their little group of seven.

Song Yuan, who had originally been interning at the Hu City police station, had applied the previous winter to transfer back to Xi City.

Guan Che and Xu Yichuan’s company had gotten on track by this point. The two of them had returned to Xi City together with Jiang Yan and the couple.

The perpetually busiest of all of them, Hu Hanghang, happened to be filming at a studio complex in Xi City. When he heard they were coming, he specifically asked the production team for a night off.

Meng Xin was in Xi City for the summer break as it was.

What Hu Hanghang, Song Yuan, and Xu Yichuan had not expected was that among their group of seven, not only had Lin Tao and Jiang Yan become a couple, but Meng Xin and Guan Che had apparently also gotten together at some point without any of them noticing.

“I work in the same company as Guan-ge, twenty-four hours a day I’m right beside him, and I didn’t even know he and Xin-mei got together?!” Xu Yichuan summoned all his strength to hold back tears. “From now on, just call me Daring — one brokenhearted fool who dared not see what was in front of him.”

Guan Che gave a lazy smile, lifted his glass, and clinked the rim against Xu Yichuan’s. “Sure thing, Xu Yidaring.”

“Guan-ge! You’re not being human!” Xu Yichuan twisted around and collapsed into Hu Hanghang’s arms, laying it on thick as he fake-wiped at his tears. “Pangpang, you’re the only one who’s decent — always here with me, the most carefree lone wolf in the crowd.”

Over the past few years, Hu Hanghang had done remarkably well in the industry, building both a strong reputation and a strong following. His Weibo fans were nearly at sixty million and climbing, his admirers were countless — and beyond all that, he was widely recognized in the industry as a man of steel, with very little gossip or rumor surrounding him.

Just now, Hu Hanghang reached out and patted Xu Yichuan on the back. “Daring doesn’t cry,” he said, comforting him. “I have a partner.”

Xu Yichuan looked blank. “……”

Everyone else looked stunned. “!!!!”

Xu Yichuan stared at him and, after considerable effort, managed just one word. “What.”

Although Lin Tao was busy in her ordinary life, she had always had an interest in entertainment gossip and had kept half an eye on news from Hu Hanghang’s side of things. In all the past year, she hadn’t seen a single gossip blogger or paparazzi so much as hint at a relationship involving him.

“Pangpang, you’ve kept this romance hidden impressively well.” Lin Tao laughed. “It could go down in the annals of celebrities who successfully concealed their relationships.”

Hu Hanghang touched his ear a little shyly. “Not really — we only officially confirmed things a few days ago.”

“Goodness.” Meng Xin asked curiously, “Can you tell us who it is? Is it Jiang Lu, the one you’ve been paired up with before?”

Hu Hanghang shook his head. “No. She’s not really a public figure. She’s been my personal life assistant since I debuted — and she’s also been a fan of mine.”

At those words, both Lin Tao and Meng Xin had their romantic hearts immediately hooked.

Meng Xin sighed, “Good heavens, that’s so sweet — I want to date my own idol too!”

Married young lady Lin Tao nodded emphatically in agreement. “Me too!”

Jiang Yan & Guan Che: “……” [A gust after gust of green wind blows and my heart aches.jpg]

—

The seven of them ate and drank and played until deep into the night, only wrapping up when Hu Hanghang received a call from his manager reminding him he had work early the next morning.

Xu Yichuan, thoroughly drunk, was helped away by Song Yuan and Hu Hanghang. Guan Che called a taxi to take Meng Xin home. Jiang Yan took Lin Tao back to the internet café.

Xi City had developed rapidly over the past few years. The alleyways around the internet café were now marked with demolition notices, and perhaps in a year or two, this lane too would be replaced by towers of steel and glass.

Lin Tao went back to the room first to take a bath. Jiang Yan stayed downstairs chatting with Zhou Ming.

Six years had passed. Zhou Ming had grown from that thin, slight boy into an adult capable of standing on his own.

His little sister Zhou Yue had also, with the care of many people, gradually emerged from the shadow of what had happened to her, and was still the lively, cheerful girl that the elders of the neighborhood adored.

They no longer needed to work part-time jobs at the internet café, but perhaps out of gratitude or some other reason, every time the school holiday came around, Zhou Ming still showed up for his regular shifts at the café.

The other staff members told Jiang Yan about this. Jiang Yan didn’t say much — just told them to keep paying him his wage as usual.

After chatting for a bit, Jiang Yan glanced at Zhou Yue, who had fallen fast asleep and was slumped over nearby, and patted Zhou Ming on the shoulder. “It’s getting late. Take your sister home and get some rest.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Yan rose and headed back upstairs. At the foot of the staircase he ran into Lin Tao, who was about to come down. She caught hold of one of his sleeves. “Has Ming and Yue left?”

“Not yet.” Jiang Yan tilted his head and looked down. The two of them were packing their bags. “Just about to.”

“Then I’ll go over for a moment.”

Lin Tao made to go dashing downstairs. Jiang Yan caught her. “Going for what?”

She held up the paper bag in her hand. “To give them their wedding candy.”

“Ah.” The corner of Jiang Yan’s mouth lifted. He let go. “Go on then.”

Lin Tao pattered briskly down the stairs. Jiang Yan stayed where he was, glancing sideways at her retreating figure for a moment, one eyebrow raised, then turned and went back to the room.

When Lin Tao returned to the room, Jiang Yan had already showered and was sitting on the sofa again, laptop in arms, typing away. Lin Tao sat beside him with her phone, reached over and found the remote, turned on the television, and put on some random variety show playing in the background.

“Did they head back?” Jiang Yan asked, not lifting his head.

“They did.” Lin Tao scrolled through Weibo and said idly, “Zhou Ming starts third year this semester, doesn’t he — he’s only eighteen, right?”

Jiang Yan looked down and worked it out. “That should be right. He also skipped ahead a year in high school.”

Lin Tao clicked her tongue and leaned over close to his face. “If I may ask the Jiang classmate who was in his second year of high school at eighteen — does it feel a little strange to you now?”

“……” Jiang Yan flicked her on the forehead with one finger, expressionless. “Not at all.”

Lin Tao broke into laughter, then laid herself down against him, settling into his lap with her phone, and adjusted her position slightly.

Jiang Yan, careful not to bump her, moved the laptop a little to one side.

The room soon held only the sounds of voices from the television and Jiang Yan’s fingers on the keyboard. Lin Tao finished scrolling Weibo and was about to swipe back to the main screen when a notification suddenly appeared in the system bar.

It was a prompted question from Zhihu.

— In a romantic relationship, what is something you’ve kept secret from the other person?

As she read it, Lin Tao’s hand — poised to clear the notification — paused. A particular memory from years past suddenly rose to the surface.

A few seconds later, she quietly tapped into the question.

The question had been posted a week earlier and had already accumulated several thousand responses. Lin Tao opened a few of the top answers with the highest upvotes.

They were more or less what you’d expect: things like having had an abortion before the relationship, not being a virgin, having cheated on someone before, and so on.

Lin Tao made a quiet sound of appreciation to herself. Compared to all these secrets, hers was positively simple.

After scrolling through more responses, Lin Tao tapped the “Write an answer” button beside her, typed a single line, and when she posted it, chose the anonymous option.

Once her answer had been sent, Lin Tao sat up abruptly from the sofa — too suddenly — and the back of her head knocked right into Jiang Yan’s arm.

“What’s the matter?” Jiang Yan closed the laptop and reached up to rub the spot on her head that had been bumped.

“Look at this.” Lin Tao handed her phone over, rested her chin in one hand, and watched him. “Have you ever kept any secrets from me while we’ve been together?”

Jiang Yan looked down and thought for a moment. Something from high school came to mind — after which, without a flicker of change in his expression, he shook his head. “No. Don’t you already know everything about me?”

“That’s true.”

He looked at her, then suddenly leaned in. “And what about you? Is there anything I don’t know about?”

Lin Tao blinked, her expression perfectly guileless. “Of course not — don’t you already know everything about me too?”

“Do I.” Jiang Yan gave her a meaningful look.

“What else could it be.” Lin Tao felt his gaze making her heart race. She shoved him away, bent down to put on her shoes. “Enough — I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”

“Then go to sleep.” Jiang Yan glanced at the time before shutting his laptop. It was almost one in the morning by now, probably already past one.

He got up and turned off the television, then followed Lin Tao over to the bed.

Jiang Yan hadn’t noticed anything in particular at first. But once the light was off and the two of them were lying under the covers together, it suddenly occurred to him that from the day they registered their marriage to right now, they seemed to have been consistently forgetting the most important thing of all……

Some things, if you don’t think about them, don’t register at all — but once the thought arises, it becomes very difficult to suppress.

Jiang Yan rolled his throat quietly. He put his hand over his eyes, and while part of him was thinking it was too late and they could deal with it another time, the person curled up against him wouldn’t keep still — every so often she shifted.

With the two of them pressed so close, every little movement she made was something he felt clearly.

After several times, Jiang Yan couldn’t hold back any longer.

The next time Lin Tao went to shift, he suddenly caught her by the arm. In one fluid turn, their positions switched — one above, one below.

“What are you fidgeting for?” His voice was somewhat husky.

In the darkness, the sealed curtains shut out every trace of light. Lin Tao couldn’t see Jiang Yan’s expression, only felt that the hand gripping her arm was very warm.

“…… I can’t fall asleep,” she said in a small voice.

At those words, Jiang Yan let out a soft, low laugh. He released her wrist but didn’t move away. Instead, he slowly bent his head down toward her ear, his breath warm and scalding, his voice low and dark. “Mrs. Jiang, it seems to me you still owe me a wedding night.”