The entire Spring Festival period was busy.

Wedding preparations were intricate and complex. Lu Yan and Jiang Chengyi worked during the day and still needed to rush to the Jiang house to help in the evenings.

Lu Yan was considerate of Mother Jiang’s efforts. In the early days, no matter how late she finished work, she made the trip without complaint. However, morning sickness struck suddenly, and before long she couldn’t keep up.

Once, getting into the car after work, Jiang Chengyi asked Lu Yan when she planned to take leave from the hospital. Before she could answer, a wave of nausea hit, and she started vomiting violently.

Most tragically, the episode came so suddenly that she couldn’t even roll down the window, and she threw up all over the car interior. While vomiting, she thought: Jiang Chengyi’s such a clean freak, this sudden mess will probably disgust him to death.

Jiang Chengyi wasn’t disgusted, but seeing Lu Yan so unwell, he immediately turned the car around and headed back to Songshan Road. Upon reaching home, he didn’t even bother cleaning the car first, instead rushing her to the bathroom to help her clean up inside and out, then wrapped her in a bath towel, urging: “Go rest in bed.”

Lu Yan found her pajamas and lay down, watching as he made phone calls.

With less than two months until the wedding, many details still needed discussion. Whatever Jiang Chengyi discussed with his mother, after finishing his calls, he came over to tell her: “You don’t need to go over tomorrow. Mom will bring people here.”

In other words, the wedding preparations would move to their place on Songshan Road.

Lu Yan felt uneasy: “Won’t that be too tiring for Mom?”

He glanced at her before entering the bathroom: “You know your condition. Aunt Liu will come with Mom tomorrow. Stop running back and forth.”

Since Jiang Chengyi had decided, she didn’t need to be overly concerned. She immediately snuggled under the covers, and even her discomfort seemed to lessen.

After a while, Jiang Chengyi emerged from the bathroom after his shower and asked: “When can you take leave from work to rest?”

She shook her head under the covers: “I already took over a month off at the end of last year. It’s not good to ask for more leave, and several colleagues at work are also pregnant. Compared to them, my morning sickness is quite mild.”

“What about night shifts?” This was his biggest concern.

“I’ve swapped shifts with some colleagues. We agreed that after I finish my maternity leave, I’ll gradually pay back their night shifts.”

“That’s possible?” Jiang Chengyi was slightly surprised. He wiped the water from his head and got into bed to hold her.

“What else can we do? Every night shift position at work needs to be filled.”

Why did this woman have to study medicine of all things?

His hand naturally rested on her belly as he addressed it in a critical tone: “You’re as disobedient as your mother. Just yesterday I praised you for being well-behaved, and today you’re acting up.”

In the lamplight, his facial features were as handsome as they were eight years ago, his eyes as deep as a quiet pool. She felt intoxicated, propping her chin on her hand to watch him with a smile.

He noticed her gaze and looked up: “Enjoyed staring long enough? Want a kiss?”

“You’re so full of yourself.” Despite her words, she didn’t hesitate to kiss him.

Her mind drifted back to the second semester of freshman year in high school when she went to the gymnasium to join the cheerleading team. While waiting to sign up, she immediately noticed Jiang Chengyi on the court—it was impossible not to notice him, he was too striking. Among all the players, he was the tallest and most handsome. His court control was strong, his passing movements agile and smooth, and his shooting form flawless. He unconsciously attracted many eyes on the court. Like appreciating any beautiful thing in the world, she quietly observed his every move until halftime, when she finally withdrew her gaze.

Throughout the entire process, he never once looked toward the spectator stands.

After leaving the court, he first took several gulps from the soda his friend handed him, then stood at the sidelines talking with some other boys. Despite the distance, her excellent eyesight allowed her to see the sweat running down his cheeks.

He always maintained that casual expression, as if the excited girls in the stands weren’t worth his attention.

She quickly put this out of her mind, as she had too many daily concerns—studies, extracurricular activities, friends. Rather than paying attention to an unrelated boy, she was more interested in planning her high school life well.

She participated in limited extracurricular activities, with cheerleading being one of them. Once or twice a week, team members would practice regularly in the gymnasium, usually scheduling practice before the basketball team’s training to avoid interference.

During practice, she would occasionally encounter Jiang Chengyi, but most times, they had finished and dispersed before the basketball players arrived.

This continued into sophomore year.

As coursework intensified, to save time, she stopped going home for lunch and instead ate at small restaurants behind the school with Tang Jie and Deng Man.

The entire street was lined with various fast food establishments, from boxed lunches to KFC and Starbucks, everything was available.

After comparing options, they finally chose what appeared to be the cleanest, most nutritious small restaurant. They arranged with the owner to pay for a month’s meals in advance, asking the chef to start cooking at 11:50 each day, so they could come eat as soon as class ended at noon.

Other students also ate there.

Their table faced the street outside, and they would occasionally look out while eating and chatting.

There were many popular figures at school then, but Jiang Chengyi was one of the most noticeable. Whenever he and his friends passed by, people in the restaurant couldn’t help but notice.

She discovered that he rarely came to this street, and even when he did, he probably didn’t want to wait for freshly cooked dishes, usually heading straight for KFC or McDonald’s across the street.

One day, after mid-terms, students in the restaurant were collectively lamenting how difficult the exam had been while waiting for their food.

She was busy comparing answers with Tang Jie and Deng Man when the restaurant suddenly went quiet. Looking up, she saw several boys at the door—it was Jiang Chengyi and his close friends.

It seemed to be their first time there, and they immediately called to order.

Just then, the dishes for Lu Yan’s table arrived. She distributed the bowls and chopsticks and began eating. Among the dishes, the tomato and egg stir-fry was the best, and she helped herself to several servings, still wanting more.

Just as she was about to take a fourth serving, something felt off. Looking up, she found Jiang Chengyi watching her with a faint smile.

Seeing her look over, his gaze slowly fell to the plate of tomato and egg stir-fry in front of her, then he finished his mineral water and said: “Boss, add another order of tomato and egg stir-fry.”

Her face grew slightly warm, and she looked away, maintaining her composure as she finished her rice.

When they got up to leave, the boys’ food hadn’t arrived yet.

He was talking with his friends, sitting near the door. The restaurant was cramped, and his legs were so long that when he stretched them out, they had difficulty passing.

She approached, and he seemed completely oblivious to their presence, showing no intention of moving.

She was wearing a skirt, and stepping over would be extremely unladylike, so she had to remind him: “Excuse me, could you move please?”

Only then did he glance at her, sluggishly moving his legs: “Oh.”