Zhou Shiyu had imagined countless times what Sheng Sui would look like in a wedding dress.

The woman’s waist was slender enough to be encircled by one hand. The fitted lace design made her appear even more delicate. The form-fitting pure white wedding dress outlined her graceful figure, her skin like congealed cream, the veil trailing down, the long train spread out, every frown and smile enchantingly moving.

Or perhaps she would stand far away at the farthest point his eyes could reach, and when standing against the light, even the setting sun would be especially gentle.

Zhou Shiyu had fantasized about thousands of possibilities, yet his mind still went momentarily blank when Sheng Sui lifted her skirt and ran toward him.

The music flowed melodiously. What should have been a solemn and sacred occasion seemed to have a fairy descending from heaven into the mortal world.

The crown on her head swayed with her movements as Sheng Sui pulled at the wedding dress that wasn’t suitable for movement, running toward him with unwavering focus.

The woman’s carefully styled hair was slightly disheveled, with strands falling around her temples. When she lifted her skirt, it revealed half of her white lotus-like calves, and on her feet were particularly incongruous canvas shoes with edges yellowed from age.

Zhou Shiyu looked down and immediately recognized the canvas shoes on his beloved’s feet—he had also seen them on that endless long street.

More than ten years had passed, yet that scene remained vivid. He had watched helplessly as Sheng Sui’s figure disappeared into the crowd, his legs feeling as if filled with lead, unable to move.

Things had changed but people remained. Now it was Sheng Sui wearing those shoes that even Zhou Shiyu had almost forgotten, running toward him regardless of everything.

For a moment, he didn’t dare to look anymore. Zhou Shiyu turned his face away and took a deep breath.

“…Zhou Shiyu.”

With slight breathlessness, Sheng Sui’s gentle and light call pulled back his stagnant thoughts. Zhou Shiyu met his beloved’s smiling face and heard her ask softly: “Do I look good?”

“…”

With surging thoughts choking in his throat, Zhou Shiyu suddenly realized that people could actually feel a hesitation akin to backing away when faced with something too beautiful.

He raised his hand to tuck the loose hair behind Sheng Sui’s ear, his voice low and hoarse: “Mm, very beautiful.”

Hearing this, Sheng Sui’s cheeks blushed with a light pink. After calming her breathing, seemingly realizing her improper behavior under everyone’s gaze, she properly stood beside him, using her long dress to conceal the inappropriate canvas shoes.

Zhou Shiyu took all these small movements into his eyes.

He always loved watching Sheng Sui’s inadvertent little gestures.

Vivacious, spirited, playful yet carrying a few traces of innocent charm cultivated by being surrounded by happiness.

The elderly silver-haired minister slowly recited the vows. Zhou Shiyu only looked down quietly at her, and in this sacred ground beneath their feet amid the melodious music, his mind flashed through the four years they had spent together.

“…Marriage is the sublimation of love and mutual trust. It requires not only lifelong love between both parties, but also lifelong mutual reliance…”

The minister’s solemn voice rang out again: “Today, Mr. Zhou Shiyu and Miss Sheng Sui will solemnly declare to everyone here their commitment of love and trust to each other—now, please declare to everyone present your desire to marry.”

As the words fell, the entire chapel fell into expectant silence, with all eyes focused on Zhou Shiyu, who was obviously somewhat unnatural.

The man who was always most composed and unflappable rarely lost his composure. The fitted pure black suit not only outlined his solid chest but also exposed his fluctuating breathing completely.

Zhou Shiyu was actually nervous.

Glancing at his old friends in the front row who looked astonished, when Zhou Shiyu went to hold Sheng Sui’s right hand, he discovered that even his fingertips were trembling slightly.

“…Sheng Sui, we’ve been together for almost four years.”

Starting to speak, he found even his voice terribly hoarse. Zhou Shiyu could only laugh helplessly. Looking up again to see his beloved’s eyes already red, his nose felt sour:

“Before meeting you, I was someone who had little concept of the speed of time or even the length of life. It wasn’t until we were together that time suddenly became frighteningly fast.”

“You may never know what you mean to me: perhaps even I cannot describe with my poor vocabulary how much weight ‘Sheng Sui’ holds for ‘Zhou Shiyu’—not just a simple two-character name, not merely the obscure emotions hidden in my heart, but the first ray of spring light that shone into the hospital room during adolescence, the patch that mended my shattered dignity on that long street that year, and more so, the only source of hope for tomorrow’s dawn that remained in my heart during every sleepless night.”

“If I had to choose one word to describe you, I think I would use ‘expectation.'”

His words paused slightly as crystal tears slid down the woman’s soft cheek. Zhou Shiyu raised his hand to wipe them away with his fingertip, shallow tears pooling in his eye sockets:

“Sheng Sui, you carry all my expectations for this world.”

The manuscript he had written and memorized last night was completely forgotten. Zhou Shiyu felt large teardrops hitting the back of his hand as he continued hoarsely with the thoughts he had never spoken aloud over the years:

“For a very long time, I was deeply mired in resentment against heaven’s injustice. Until you appeared in my life again, I asked myself countless times: if the price of reunion was those endless sufferings and illnesses, would I still be willing to go through it all again?”

“…So,” Sheng Sui was almost sobbing, and through her tearful eyes, she asked the question she already knew the answer to:

“Are you willing to meet Sheng Sui again?”

Through her tear-blurred vision, she saw Zhou Shiyu, just as always, gently rubbing the top of her head with eyes full of tender love.

The man’s voice was low and hoarse, each word clear: “—Zhou Shiyu couldn’t ask for more.”

“Sheng Sui,” Zhou Shiyu particularly loved calling her full name today, so gently yet so weightily falling by her ear, “I walked alone in this world for a very, very long time. Before, every day I opened my eyes meant new wandering and displacement.”

“But now it’s different.”

“I’m no longer alone,” the man’s articulated hand held hers, his warm palm covering the back of her hand. Sheng Sui saw Zhou Shiyu smile slightly as he whispered softly by her ear:

“Now, I have a home.”

“…”

After a long few seconds, when even some people in the audience who didn’t understand the language began to make noise, Sheng Sui finally opened her mouth to ask: “Last night at 3 AM when you still weren’t sleeping, were you writing these things?”

“Yes, afraid I’d be so nervous during the wedding that my mind would go blank,” Zhou Shiyu smiled and admitted frankly, “but just now when I saw you, I forgot everything I memorized last night.”

Sheng Sui was amused, her fingertip playfully scratching the man’s palm: “Then for the rest of what you wanted to say, tell me again when we go back, okay?”

Zhou Shiyu smiled and nodded.

“Okay,” realizing it was her turn to speak, Sheng Sui paused, somewhat slowly confirming, “Now it’s my turn, right?”

Zhou Shiyu tightened his hold on her hand: “Don’t be nervous.”

“That statement doesn’t seem very convincing,” Sheng Sui calmed her emotions, lifted her face to smile brightly at the man:

“Zhou Shiyu.”

“I’m here.”

“Can you look at me seriously again?”

Sheng Sui finally remembered that her appearance might be disheveled at this moment, definitely not the quiet and beautiful bride image from movies and TV shows. She suddenly felt a bit regretful that she had been too unconcerned about her image when running earlier.

Forget it, what’s an old married couple doing worrying about image? Comforting herself mentally, Sheng Sui blushed slightly, placed her hand in Zhou Shiyu’s palm, stood on tiptoes and planted a kiss on the man’s thin lips.

The familiar and reassuring woody cool fragrance enveloped her, silently soothing all her nervous feelings.

“…I hope you can remember how I look right now.”

The audience that had been silent for a long time burst into cheers during the kiss. Amid the cheering, Sheng Sui stepped back half a step, her thin lips moist, curved her eyebrows and smiled charmingly at Zhou Shiyu:

“Because the next moment’s me will always love you more than the moment before.”

After the wedding ended, guests from all over the world left with beautiful blessings, and soon only a few people remained in the chapel.

Xiao Ming and the others were outside touring and sightseeing. Sheng Sui had taken off the long train dress and changed into light casual clothes from when she arrived, her head resting quietly on Zhou Shiyu’s shoulder beside her.

With the decorative flower branches removed from everywhere, the church returned to its usual solemnity. The two sat quietly in the front row pew, listening to their daughter’s sleeping breath from the baby carriage.

“…Hello, sorry to disturb you.”

Just when Sheng Sui thought only the two of them remained in the large church, a gentle female voice suddenly came from behind, speaking standard fluent Mandarin.

Rarely encountering Chinese people on the island, Sheng Sui straightened up and turned around to see a woman with delicate features standing behind her.

The woman was obviously older than her, with healthy skin that showed she often stayed outdoors, and a warm, genial smile that made people want to get close at first glance.

More attention-grabbing than her appearance was the woman’s quite incongruous outfit: a professional camera hanging around her neck, but a violin case on her shoulder.

“This might be sudden,” facing Sheng Sui’s confused gaze, the woman smiled and explained her purpose, “I had the honor of attending the wedding just now, took some photos, and wanted to give them to you as a gift.”

Saying this, the woman opened her camera and turned it toward Sheng Sui, showing her the photos she had just taken.

After looking at them, Sheng Sui was deeply moved.

This wedding was of great significance to Zhou Shiyu, so naturally he had hired a professional team at high cost to record the entire ceremony.

After the wedding, Sheng Sui had also briefly looked at some results. Although she was very satisfied with the finished products, they were far from providing the impact that this lady’s work gave her.

The woman only showed her three photographs.

One was of her lifting her skirt and running toward Zhou Shiyu, the snow-white skirt trailing on the ground, her hair flying and dancing in the light. Another was of Zhou Shiyu turning his head away, his slightly reddened eye sockets. The third was after the vows were recited, when Sheng Sui stood on tiptoes to kiss the corner of the man’s lips, Zhou Shiyu’s instinctive movement of wrapping his arm around her waist.

Compared to the precise and comprehensive recording by the filming team, Sheng Sui could tell that when the photographer pressed the shutter, she must have invested a lot of personal emotion.

“Thank you,” she bowed slightly to show her gratitude and politely inquired, “May I ask, could you send me a copy of these photos?”

“Of course.”

The woman smiled and agreed with curved eyebrows. After turning on the Bluetooth function and sending the photos to Sheng Sui, she looked down again at the kissing couple on the screen and said softly: “You two look really happy.”

There was some melancholy in the woman’s words. Just when Sheng Sui suspected she had misheard, she saw her look up with the same smile and ask:

“Would you mind if I posted the photos on my Weibo account?”

Only after looking at the Weibo account did Sheng Sui learn that the delicate and quiet woman in front of her was named Miao Tu, a young and accomplished documentary director. Since her most famous debut work “Endless Summer” won the Best Feature Documentary award, she had swept up various literary and artistic special film awards including Best Director.

Even her Weibo followers were counted in tens of millions.

Considering Zhou Shiyu’s special status and not wanting to attract attention, Sheng Sui steeled herself and declined: “Sorry, we don’t really want to be exposed to public view.”

“That’s fine, I understand,” Miao Tu shook her head understandingly, her shoulder-length hair both approachable and capable. “Regardless, congratulations on your marriage.”

Sheng Sui responded with a sincere smile: “Thank you.”

Meeting a fellow countryman abroad felt especially warm. Sheng Sui temporarily forgot about the wedding and naturally asked whether Miao Tu was here for work or travel.

During their conversation, she unconsciously looked again at the slightly worn violin case on Miao Tu’s shoulder and couldn’t help but be curious: “Teacher Miao, do you also play violin? That’s amazing.”

“…No.”

“It belonged to someone… from my past,” Miao Tu’s smile froze slightly, then returned to normal:

“He once asked me to take his share and see more of what this world actually looks like.”

After speaking, Miao Tu lowered her gaze to hide the fleeting melancholy in her eyes, adjusted the violin case on her shoulder, looked up with curved eyebrows to say goodbye:

“I’ll go walk around other places. I’m very glad to have participated in your wedding.”

“Okay, and thank you for coming.”

“…” Watching the woman’s slender figure disappear outside the church door, Sheng Sui tugged at Zhou Shiyu’s sleeve beside her, who had been silent for a while, and asked softly: “Did I say something wrong just now?”

“Probably everyone has their own private matters that others don’t know about.”

The man’s large hand gently rubbed the top of her head, comforting her in a deep voice: “A gentleman’s friendship is as light as water. For chance acquaintances, this is already very good.”

“That’s true,” Sheng Sui didn’t dwell on it excessively. Seeing Zhou Shiyu also stand up to push the baby carriage to leave: “Are we going out?”

“Mm, let’s go for a walk,” Zhou Shiyu looked down at the sleeping pink bundle in the carriage, smacking her lips, his eyes gentle. “And let Liang Xubai help take care of Yiyi for a while.”

Zhou Shiyu was actually willing to let someone else watch their daughter?

Her little thoughts were immediately seen through. Before Sheng Sui could speak, she just felt her nose tip being gently scraped by slender fingers.

“Liang Xubai’s partner has been trying to conceive recently. He’s been learning how to take care of children for the past six months,” Zhou Shiyu bent down to look into her eyes, hinting meaningfully:

“Today is our wedding day. We should also have some alone time.”

Thinking about how the two of them had been revolving around their daughter these past two years, actually neglecting each other, Sheng Sui also felt somewhat guilty. Looking up at him, she nodded in agreement:

“Wherever you want to go, I’ll accompany you.”

Her pleasing manner was too obvious. Seeing this, Zhou Shiyu raised his eyebrows and asked back: “Anywhere is okay?”

“Of course,” the rising intonation fell by her ear, making Sheng Sui’s heart feel slightly itchy. She leaned over and repeated:

“Sheng Sui will accompany Zhou Shiyu for a very, very long time, will accompany him to wherever he wants to go—”

Before she finished speaking, she saw the man suddenly bend down, his hands passing through her back and the bend of her legs respectively, skillfully and easily lifting Sheng Sui horizontally into his arms.

“Eh—”

Caught off guard with her feet leaving the ground, Sheng Sui let out a soft cry, her hands circling the man’s neck, then felt Zhou Shiyu’s thin lips press against her ear, skin touching skin.

“I heard the children here say that if the groom carries the bride down the 99 steps leading to the church, they will love each other for life and never be separated.”

The man’s low voice was clear word by word, pressing against her ear like a coaxing whisper: “Should we also try it?”

Looking into each other’s eyes, Sheng Sui was amused by Zhou Shiyu’s half-serious, half-joking tone and intentionally teased:

“You just said in your vows that you don’t believe in fate and such things—”

The unfinished second half of the sentence was sealed by a gentle but irrefutable kiss.

“I also said that was ‘before.'”

Having stolen his beloved’s breath, the well-fed man gently bit Sheng Sui’s thin lip, satisfied to see the tooth marks on her lower lip:

“Until one day, I received a treasure bestowed by heaven.”

Zhou Shiyu held Sheng Sui tighter in his arms, smiling and saying softly:

“That’s when I thought—”

“Perhaps there really are divine blessings in this world.”