Upon learning that Jiang Chengyi and Lu Yan had registered their marriage, that evening Mother Jiang gathered family friends for a party, popping champagne and collecting wedding suggestions, celebrating the entire night.
Moreover, the very next day after the party, Mother Jiang immediately began planning the wedding.
Though Jiang Chengyi and Lu Yan both hoped for a simple ceremony, clearly they had no say in the matter.
After consulting with Lu Yan’s mother, the Jiang family decided to set the wedding date for early next spring. Mother Jiang, naturally romantic and especially spirited during happy occasions, wanted to oversee everything personally, from the hotel to the invitations.
Only one thing—the honeymoon—was completely up to the young couple; she couldn’t decide that for them.
She called early in the morning to confirm this.
As Jiang Chengyi was contemplating how to respond, Lu Yan’s phone also rang, forcing him to open the floor-to-ceiling window and walk onto the balcony: “Lu Yan hasn’t gotten approval for leave from work yet, and I still need to check on my end as well.”
“But I heard your bureau is going to commend your team for solving the major case,” Mother Jiang said proudly. “Besides, marriage is a major life event—surely the bureau will approve the leave. Oh, and next weekend, your father and I are going to visit Lu Yan’s parents.”
“Mm.” Jiang Chengyi paused. “Lu Yan and I know about this.”
Lu Yan’s parents had been divorced for many years, and her father had recently entered his third marriage. The upcoming meeting would undoubtedly be delicate. If not handled properly, things could become very awkward.
“Don’t worry.” Mother Jiang had clearly given it thorough consideration. “Your father and I have made many arrangements and discussed everything with Lu Yan’s parents beforehand. There won’t be any problems. You two should come early so we can all have a nice family meal together.”
His mother’s tone was light, but having seen several friends get married, Jiang Chengyi knew well what careful planning went into making weddings appear either grand or intimate.
“Thank you, Mom.”
Through the floor-length window, he watched Lu Yan walking back and forth in the living room, thinking that his mother must be very pleased with Lu Yan to be so invested in their wedding. He added Lu Yan’s share to his earlier “thank you,” making it especially earnest.
Mother Jiang was somewhat surprised but mostly gratified. After a moment’s pause, she laughed and said, “Silly child.”
Several days later, December 22nd, the Winter Solstice on the lunar calendar.
Before dawn, S City saw its first snow of the winter.
Before the snow, S City had been overcast for several days, the sun covered by clouds of varying thickness, each day a gloomy gray.
On this day, the cotton-like clouds were finally completely blown away by the wind. The warm winter sun generously shone upon the earth, with streaks of golden light rolling across the snow-white horizon, both crystalline and dazzling.
At the cemetery, Lu Yan and Jiang Chengyi got out of the car. After breathing in the cold air, they walked side by side toward Deng Man’s grave.
Following the Deng family’s tradition of celebrating birthdays according to the lunar calendar, and since Deng Man’s birthday fell around the Winter Solstice, Lu Yan and Tang Jie had been visiting Deng Man every year at this time since the accident eight years ago.
When they arrived, besides Deng Man’s parents and Tang Jie, several classmates from Class 6 were also there.
With the public trial of Cheng Zhou’s case, many people learned the truth about what happened eight years ago and knew that after half a month of continuous interrogation, the suspect had finally begun to confess. In other words, the case would soon be fully clarified.
“Lu Yan, Jiang Chengyi.” Tang Jie walked over when she saw them.
She wore large black sunglasses, appearing more downcast than usual.
Upon learning that Jiang Chengyi was in charge of Deng Man’s case, class monitor Liu Qin and other classmates were surprised and admiring, hurrying over to greet them: “You’re here.”
Those two simple words carried unspoken sadness.
Jiang Chengyi placed the bouquet of fresh flowers at Deng Man’s grave.
Lu Yan stood silently beside him for a moment before crouching down to quietly gaze at the young girl in the photograph.
Just like eight years ago, Deng Man in the photo remained serene and gentle, unchanged.
She kissed the pen and placed it against her lips, as if solemnly storing it in her heart, then reached up to gently stroke the photograph.
“Cheng Zhou has confessed.”
Deng Man’s mother, who had been silently sobbing with her hand over her mouth, broke into loud cries upon hearing this.
Deng Man’s father tilted his head back, trying to keep his tears from falling, but ended up with tears streaming down his face.
Everyone fell silent.
Though truth and justice came late, they had finally arrived.
Birds in the tree branches, startled by the crying, fluttered up toward the azure sky, eventually becoming tiny black dots disappearing into the fluffy white clouds.
Leaving the cemetery, Deng Man’s parents walked with them in silence to the gate. At the entrance, Tang Jie tightened Lu Yan’s coat collar: “Go on, don’t miss your flight. Have a good time, and be safe on your journey.” Her voice was thick with emotion.
Lu Yan exchanged glances with Jiang Chengyi and said, “Everyone takes care.”
“Mm.”
After they had walked a bit, Deng Man’s mother suddenly called out through tears: “Thank you!”
Lu Yan turned back in surprise to see Deng Man’s mother forcing a smile as she watched them.
Lu Yan felt as if her chest was stuffed with cotton. Though unsure whether those words were meant for her or Jiang Chengyi, she smiled and nodded, then held Jiang Chengyi’s hand tightly as they strode forward.
At the airport, Mother Lu and Mother Jiang arrived earlier than Jiang Chengyi and Lu Yan. Worried about missing the flight, they grew increasingly anxious as the main parties failed to appear.
Just as they were about to make their fifth phone call, the couple finally appeared.
“You child.” Mother Lu grabbed Lu Yan. “Usually so reliable, what happened today?”
Lu Yan didn’t mention visiting Deng Man, just said, “We made it, didn’t we?”
As Mother Lu was about to say more, Jiang Chengyi, protective of his wife, smiled at his mother-in-law and explained: “It’s not her fault—there was some last-minute business at work.”
Mother Lu’s expression finally brightened.
Mother Jiang pulled Mother Lu aside to whisper something, and both women broke into mysterious smiles.
Seeing this, Jiang Chengyi sensed trouble and pulled Lu Yan toward the gate: “If we don’t go now, we’ll have to wait for the next flight.”
Halfway there, they heard his mother’s joyful voice: “Son! Do your best!”
Do his best at what? He and Lu Yan exchanged puzzled looks.
“Hope to hear news of little Chengyi and little Yan when you return,” Lu Yan’s mother added with a laugh.
Heh. Jiang Chengyi maintained his smile.
That would be impossible.
After more than ten hours of flying, they arrived in San Francisco at three in the afternoon.
Lu Yan wanted to visit many places, but since she had already been to Germany during her exchange studies and had traveled extensively in Europe, after much deliberation, she decided on America. The plan was to travel down from California and end in Hawaii—though less than twenty days wasn’t much time, it would have to do.
Jiang Chengyi objected to this proposal.
Lu Yan said: “Objection overruled.”
Actually, since childhood, Jiang Chengyi had been dragged around the world by his mother, so it made no difference to him where they went. Seeing Lu Yan’s insistence, he finally gave in.
Accustomed to the deep winter at home, Lu Yan found the dazzling California sun somewhat overwhelming at first.
Jiang Chengyi took her to eat seafood at the pier, meet local friends, and explore everywhere. In just a few days, Lu Yan had tried all of San Francisco’s famous foods.
They went to Los Angeles, visiting professors according to Lu Yan’s original plan.
They flew to New York, eating Jewish breakfasts and hummus.
They went to Hawaii, enjoying water sports during the day and being intimate in their room at night.
Time flew by quickly.
Two days before returning home, Lu Yan planned to buy gifts at the duty-free shop. She got up early to use the bathroom but wouldn’t come out for a long time.
After waiting for quite a while, Jiang Chengyi couldn’t help knocking: “Lu Yan, did you fall in? What’s taking so long?”
The door opened, and Lu Yan emerged looking dejected, saying glumly: “Jiang Chengyi, where did you buy those condoms? Was it a legitimate brand? Must have been fake.”
Jiang Chengyi’s heart skipped: “What’s wrong?”
Lu Yan held up the pregnancy test she had just bought at the drug store, showing it to him: “What’s this?”
Jiang Chengyi leaned back slightly, his gaze falling on the two lines. After a few seconds of shock, he quickly understood what it meant.
Then he too became angry: “This is ridiculous, how could they play with people like this?”
Seeing her unhappiness, he comforted her: “Condoms can fail, and pregnancy tests can be wrong too. We’ll get a proper check-up when we get back home.”
Perhaps it was a false alarm.
That evening, Lu Yan was still dejected, but when they passed a baby store on the island, Jiang Chengyi’s gaze involuntarily drifted inside.
“What are you looking at!” Lu Yan angrily turned his face away. Wasn’t he the one who had strongly advocated against having children for now?
Jiang Chengyi magnanimously didn’t argue with her.
He had spent half the afternoon researching online and roughly calculated the timeline of the baby in Lu Yan’s belly. From that time they had been intimate until now, about forty to fifty days had passed. Morning sickness would be starting soon, so any emotional irregularities were understandable.
Sure enough, though she had tossed and turned until midnight the night before, by the next morning her mood had notably improved.
On the way to the airport, she mysteriously asked him: “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”
“How would I know?” he said helplessly. “As long as you’re the one giving birth, I’ll love either a boy or girl.”
Lu Yan was satisfied with this answer.
At the airport, she received messages from both mothers: “Are you boarding soon? When will you arrive home tomorrow?”
Terrifying…
She could almost imagine both mothers’ reactions, and her mood plummeted again. “Jiang Chengyi, can we sue that condom manufacturer?”
“Lu Yan, can you be normal?” He turned her shoulders toward him.
She suddenly teared up: “Jiang Chengyi, I’m afraid I won’t be a good mother.”
He froze, then wiped her tears: “If you can’t be a good mother, there would hardly be anyone in the world who could be.”
Lu Yan pondered this deeply for a few seconds, then finally nodded: “That does make sense.”
They browsed the duty-free shop, where Lu Yan bought gifts for everyone—not just their parents, but also Tang Jie, Da Zhong, Deng Man’s parents and little sister, Dr. Yu, her mentor, colleagues, and even Old Qin and Little Zhou.
Of course, this included many soft baby clothes.
Though Jiang Chengyi hadn’t explicitly said whether he wanted a boy or a girl, seeing Lu Yan pick only blue and white items, he was dissatisfied and took the initiative to add many sets of pink clothes.
Lu Yan watched him at checkout, imagining Jiang Chengyi coddling a daughter, and for the first time felt deep anticipation for the new life in her belly.
While waiting for their flight, Lu Yan grew drowsy and leaned on his shoulder.
He took off his coat and covered her with it.
Her phone rang with several WeChat messages. The first one displayed on the screen: “Congratulations Dr. Lu, you have successfully passed the National Case Competition preliminaries and advanced to the finals. Please await further information about the final round.”
“Is it a notice from the hospital?” Lu Yan asked with her eyes closed. “Can you check for me?”
Jiang Chengyi tried entering the password, first using her birthday, which didn’t work, then succeeded with his own birthday.
“The first one is notifying you that you’ve made it to the finals.”
“Oh.” Lu Yan kept her eyes closed, but her lips curled into a smile.
The second message was from Lu Yan’s mother.
“Yanyan, I’m cleaning your house on Nanshan Lane. There’s a big box in the closet with lots of things taking up space. Mom will put them away in the drawers for you. Remember where Mom put everything so you can find them when you’re back.”
This was followed by several photos of items in the box that Lu Yan’s mother had taken.
A pair of red patent leather butterfly shoes wrapped in cellophane.
An empty Chanel lipstick tube.
A small ladies’ watch with diamonds.
A jewelry box containing a “J&L” necklace.
All were gifts he had given her years ago, each leaving an imprint in his memory. Eight years had passed, yet they remained as pristine as he remembered, their colors as bright as new. Without asking, he knew how carefully their owner had preserved them.
When Lu Yan didn’t hear Jiang Chengyi’s response, she opened her eyes and leaned closer: “Just one message?”
Seeing the images, she blushed slightly and looked up to find Jiang Chengyi watching her with dark eyes and an ambiguous smile.
Just then, the boarding announcement came over the loudspeaker.
Jiang Chengyi was in an unprecedentedly good mood as he pulled her up: “Let’s go, Classmate Lu.” From now on, they would have many more eight-year periods, but they would always hold each other’s hands, never letting go again.
She sighed contentedly, exchanged smiles with him, and walked into the crowd.