Shoutout to Alinaza for the commission!
On the day they got the certificate, Tongcheng had a heavy snowfall, but the sky was clear.
Outside the Civil Affairs Bureau was a row of bare trees, their branches covered with a thick layer of snow velvet, dazzling under the sunlight.
They went in at eleven, and came out at eleven thirty. Jiang Se sat in the car flipping through the marriage certificate, carefully looking at the photo inside.
Red background cloth, white shirts, the classic marriage photo.
Both of them were smiling nicely, and it was obvious they were happy getting the certificate.
Jiang Se’s gaze swept across Lu Huaiyan’s neck in the photo. Seeing that it was clean without a trace of scratch marks, she shifted her eyes in relief.
Lu Huaiyan was driving, never turning his head to look at her, but he still knew her little movements.
“What are you afraid of? Even if there’s a mark showing in the photo, when we’re old we can take it out and reminisce.”
His flight had arrived in Tongcheng yesterday afternoon. After having dinner on Liyuan Street and chatting for an hour with his future in-laws, once they returned to Xiangshu Lane the two of them had already started fooling around in the bathroom.
Half a month without touching her, the man was like a starving wolf seeing meat.
Jiang Se had been messed up until her consciousness blurred. When she came out of the bathroom, she realized he had a scratch on his neck.
Before, whenever they accidentally made marks on each other’s necks, they could just wear a turtleneck sweater or a scarf and it’d be fine.
But tomorrow they were getting the certificate. Wearing a shirt in the photo, he couldn’t wrap a mismatched scarf around his neck.
Jiang Se had no choice. After brushing her teeth in the morning, she took concealer and applied it on Lu Huaiyan.
He, meanwhile, was perfectly calm, even telling her: “Besides us, who will look at the marriage photo? Putting it on again before dinner at Junyue tonight is still in time.”
Jiang Se ignored him, only stopping after applying a thick layer of concealer.
Concealer wasn’t magic, up close you could still see traces, but fortunately nothing showed in the photo.
The car headed toward the noodle shop.
They had been to this noodle shop no fewer than ten times. Both of them had faces that were hard to forget. The boss and the boss’s wife both recognized them. Knowing today was Lu Huaiyan’s birthday and that they had just gotten their certificate, they specially added extra dishes for them.
“You two picked a good day!” the boss’s wife said with a bright smile. “My daughter also married on January sixteenth last year. Such fate!”
Jiang Se and Lu Huaiyan exchanged a smile.
Lu Huaiyan responded gently: “Yes, fate.”
As for getting the certificate, Jiang Se had long informed her family.
Though they weren’t holding the wedding yet, celebrations had to be made. Lu Huaiyan directly booked the biggest private room at Junyue.
The whole Jiang family came, and Lu Huaiyan was filled with a whole stomach of alcohol.
By the end of the meal, Jiang Chuan and Yu Shiying both had red eyes.
Jiang Chuan hadn’t drunk much less than Lu Huaiyan. He’d always had a good tolerance; even sixty percent baijiu he could drink a jin without blinking.
But tonight, he was uncharacteristically drunk.
He kept gripping Lu Huaiyan’s hand, choking up as he repeated: “You must treat her well. If someday you don’t want to treat her well anymore, just give her back to me, I will treat her well.”
Jiang Ye never expected his always mighty father to have such a side. Feeling he couldn’t watch anymore, he called a waiter to bring two bottles of yogurt.
“Dad, it’s just getting the certificate. Second Sister will still stay in Tongcheng at least two more years.”
Jiang Tang placed a piece of yam into Jiang Ye’s bowl and said gently: “How long Sese stays here doesn’t matter. When you become a father someday and have to marry off a daughter, you’ll understand. So Little Ye, eat your yam.”
Jiang Ye frowned at the yam in his bowl.
Elder Sister did it on purpose.
She knew he didn’t like yam and still gave him something he hated to shut him up.
Right as he bit the first piece of yam, he heard Lu Huaiyan solemnly promise Jiang Chuan: “Don’t worry. I will treat her well, always treat her well.”
Jiang Se sat beside Yu Shiying. Hearing this, she lowered her eyes and opened the yogurt Jiang Ye had someone bring, handing it to Jiang Chuan, saying: “If he ever treats me badly, I’ll call you and Mom, and you can both avenge me.”
After dinner, when they returned to Xiangshu Lane, Lu Huaiyan picked her up and set her on the shoe cabinet, asking: “Would you really go complain to your parents?”
Jiang Se looked at him: “Of course.”
Lu Huaiyan said: “Then if someone else bullies you, will you complain to me?”
Jiang Se paused: “I wouldn’t let anyone bully me.”
Lu Huaiyan lowered his head and took her lips: “Don’t change the subject.”
Jiang Se: “……”
He had drunk a lot. His lips, tongue, and breath were all scorching hot.
Jiang Se closed her eyes and kissed him, hearing him say again: “You’re now Mrs. Lu, my wife. Bullying you is the same as bullying me. If I’m being bullied, I have the right to know.”
Jiang Se wrapped her arms around his neck, softly “mm”-ed: “Okay, if someone bullies you, you also have to tell me.”
Lu Huaiyan raised his brows and laughed once: “Of course. I’m your husband now, if you don’t stand up for me, who will?”
He picked her up and walked toward the bedroom, “But right now, let’s first settle the bridal-chamber matter.”
Jiang Se: “……”
—
That year’s Spring Festival, “Wangchuan” was officially renamed “Fuchun Riverside.”
The original “Wangchuan” had already become a trendy online bar purely by word of mouth; with Jiang Se’s marketing, “Fuchun Riverside” naturally became even more popular.
Not only did it have franchises, it also launched alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic fragrant drinks combined with traditional Chinese culture.
The Fuchun River flows through more than half of Tongcheng; Jiang Se never planned for “Fuchun Riverside” to leave Tongcheng.
Every bar would be opened only along the Fuchun River.
Tongcheng is a tourist city, and also a historic liquor town; the two major projects: the film city and the old-district renewal, showed the city government’s ambition.
She wanted to ride this wind and turn “Fuchun Riverside” into a cultural symbol of Tongcheng, so that every person who came to Tongcheng would come to buy a cup of “Fuchun Riverside” soft drink.
In the year Jiang Se turned twenty-seven, “Fuchun Riverside” already had almost twenty franchise stores in Tongcheng, and in that same year, the Chinese-style beverages with the “Fuchun Riverside” logo officially launched in the market.
After celebrating her twenty-seventh birthday, Jiang Se flew to Beicheng.
The moment she stepped out of the arrival hall, she saw Lu Huaiyan waiting for her among the bustling crowd. The original two-year promise had become a three-year one, and still a three-year period of long separations and short reunions, yet he had no complaints.
The man was still in a perfectly pressed black suit, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.
His temperament was steadier than before, and carried even more presence.
Almost at the moment Jiang Se looked over, Lu Huaiyan’s gaze had already turned.
The instant their eyes met, the coldness in his brows and eyes instantly gained a touch of warmth. He walked forward and took the tote bag from her hand, saying: “Hungry?”
“Not hungry.”
Jiang Se was also in formal wear, an ink-green blouse and a black suit skirt.
When Lu Huaiyan placed a hand on her waist, he couldn’t help glancing over, saying: “Why did you lose weight again?”
For a stretch of time she had lost weight badly because of running around the distilleries, which made Lu Huaiyan call her every day to remind her to eat, and he even arranged for Junyue’s head chef to create a custom meal plan for her, delivered at mealtimes.
When he got busy himself, he often didn’t take care of his own meals either; during last year’s Spring Festival, Lu Xingqiu even complained to Jiang Se about it, asking her to keep an eye on his habit of eating irregularly.
Hearing him, Jiang Se looked at him, and at once fell into the meaningful gaze in his eyes.
How could she not understand that look?
When it came to regular meals, she was worse than he was, she was the “hundred steps” in “fifty steps laughing at a hundred,” the “eight liang” in “half-a-jin, eight liang.”
Jiang Se agreed gently, and after that, whenever Lu Huaiyan called to remind her to eat, she would always ask first: “Where’s your lunch/dinner?”
So the two of them quietly ate their meals together over the phone.
The weight Jiang Se had lost took a few months to slowly gain back.
This time meeting, she had only lost one pound compared to last time.
“Just one pound,” she confessed honestly.
Lu Huaiyan looked at the dark circles under her eyes, saying: “Leave the wedding preparations to me. You rest properly for the next while.”
Jiang Se “mm”-ed: “Qianqian will be back in a few days. I promised her she could design the wedding venue.”
Last year, Guo Qian founded a studio in New York. With Cen Mingshu’s connections, she received several big projects; the design for a sculpture museum even won an award early this year, giving her some visibility in New York’s architecture circle.
The wedding was set for September seventeenth.
On this day four years ago, Jiang Se left Beicheng and returned to Tongcheng; and on this day, Lu Huaiyan pushed open the wooden door of “Wangchuan” and walked toward her.
Jiang Se chose to hold the wedding in that little manor in the suburbs.
The manor had been under Han Yin’s name; the year Jiang Se and Lu Huaiyan got their marriage certificate, Han Yin had grandly gifted the entire manor to Jiang Se as a wedding present. Now it was Jiang Se’s property.
September in Beicheng was usually unbearably hot, but today the weather was impossibly beautiful.
There weren’t many guests invited to the wedding; Jiang Se and Lu Huaiyan made the guest list themselves, and not a single person who shouldn’t come was invited. Lu Jinzhong, Cen Minghong, and Ji Yunyi were not on the list.
From the Cen family only Cen Mingshu, Cen Li, and Cen Yu came.
As the bride’s relatives, the Jiang family all came; Lu Xingqiu brought them from Tongcheng a day early and settled them in the Lu family’s old residence.
In the sunset-lit dusk, Jiang Se held Jiang Chuan’s arm, and under the symphony orchestra’s performance of “Clair de Lune,” she slowly walked toward Lu Huaiyan.
At the moment Jiang Chuan handed Jiang Se’s left hand into Lu Huaiyan’s, not only Jiang Chuan and Yu Shiying, but even Jiang Ye secretly had his eyes reddened.
Jiang Se’s eyes felt a little hot; she lowered them, and when she lifted them again, the mist had already cleared.
In the blessings of all the esteemed guests, accompanied by the lingering glow of sunset and the bright moon and cool breeze, she and Lu Huaiyan exchanged rings.
The blue diamond on the wedding ring shone with a deep azure light, always reminding Jiang Se of the sky on the day she fell into the water as a child.
On the back of the ring setting was engraved one line of English: MY CERTAINTY.
After night fell, the wedding banquet was lively and joyous. All the manor’s bedrooms were used to host guests from afar. After the banquet ended, Jiang Se and Lu Huaiyan returned to the villa by the river.
Once they arrived, Jiang Se walked straight into the bathroom and soaked in the tub without moving.
Lu Huaiyan looked at her and asked: “Do you still have energy tonight?”
“No energy left,” Jiang Se said with her eyes closed, “Lu Huaiyan, getting married is so tiring.”
Lu Huaiyan stepped into the bathtub, pulled her into his arms, kissed her wet face, and said: “Mm, it’s only tiring this once.”
Jiang Se lifted her eyelids slightly, “But also very happy.”
“Could we not be happy?” Lu Huaiyan kissed her lips along her cheek, “Where do you want to go for our honeymoon? I’ve cleared the whole December to go wherever you want.”
“Let’s go somewhere warm, no snow, where we can see the sea and white sandy beaches.”
“Okay.”
Their final honeymoon destination was set as Florida.
In December, Florida had no snow, and the weather was so pleasant that even the air seemed filled with the scent of citrus.
They drove a convertible along the coastline from West Palm Beach to Miami’s South Beach, then from Miami along Highway 1 to Key West.
This section of Highway 1 was built over the sea, long and narrow; cars all moved slowly, and looking left or right was an endless expanse of ocean.
The sea and sky were one color, a deep and clear blue that softened the heart.
This island at the southernmost tip of the U.S. was also called the Home of the Sunset. When they arrived at the end of Highway 1 it was already evening. She changed into beach sandals, wore a straw hat, and went to Mallory Square to watch the sunset.
He brought her a cocktail and said, “You can’t watch the sunset here without a cocktail.”
The glass held mint leaves and lime; she glanced and said, “Mojito?”
“Mm, the bartender said this is Hemingway’s favorite cocktail.”
Hemingway’s former home was right in Key West, a must-visit for many. She didn’t plan to tour Hemingway’s house but had brought a copy of A Moveable Feast.
Taking the frosted glass, she sipped lightly. The liquor was refreshing like a summer evening, sweet and sour, bubbles spreading from lips to heart, a slightly intoxicating sweetness.
The island’s night temperature was still warm.
She drank two cocktails, ate Cuban-style grilled fish, then pulled him to sit on the beach watching the Atlantic Ocean in the dark.
Nestled in his arms, she said, “When you went to get my refill just now, a mixed-race little girl ran up asking if I was a princess from China and insisted on taking a photo with me.”
“Princess?” he smiled, “Well, that’s right, you are a princess.”
“I told her I’m not a princess from China, I’m a queen from China.” She smiled softly, “I also told her being a queen is way cooler than being a princess.”
She closed her eyes to feel the gentle sea breeze. “Let’s have a child.”
He paused slightly, then said “Okay.”
Because of her sudden decision, half the condoms he brought remained unopened.
His mother had taken nearly six months to conceive Jiang Tang, and it took about a year of treatment for Ji Yunyi to conceive Cen Li.
She thought even without any precautions, it would take a year or more before she got any news.
But soon after Lu Huaiyan’s 32nd birthday, she got a positive pregnancy test.
It was late February, only a few days before Chinese New Year’s Eve. She had no experience and didn’t know what to watch out for in early pregnancy, so she called Yu Shiying.
That year’s New Year’s Eve was spent in Beicheng with Yu Shiying and Jiang Chuan, who brought seven or eight jars of pickled sour plums. She only returned to Tongcheng after safely passing the first trimester.
After they left, Uncle Tong and Aunt Zhang were brought to the house to take over daily care for her from Jiang Chuan and Yu Shiying.
“Cen Li said Uncle Tong and Aunt Zhang missed you so much, they decided to retire early.”
After retiring, the two elders were free to go anywhere.
She was raised by them; if it hadn’t been circumstances beyond control, Uncle Tong and Aunt Zhang would have come to Tongcheng with her long ago.
This pregnancy wasn’t hard; except for mild morning sickness in the first few months, there were no other discomforts.
After giving birth, due to hormonal issues, she showed signs of postpartum depression.
Her eyes reddened every night, often wanting to cry.
She was used to hiding it; her severe past mental illness had been overcome with medication and therapy.
This time symptoms were much lighter, but she didn’t hold back and would ask Lu Huaiyan to comfort her when emotions rose.
After he comforted her, Yu Shiying took over to care for her during confinement.
After Yu Shiying, Aunt Zhang, who had cared for her since childhood, also soothed her.
It was like venting all past grievances at once.
After confinement, hormones returned to normal and the depression finally faded.
That day, Beicheng had heavy snow like big mats.
She got out of bed, stood by the window watching the snow for a long while, then said to him, “Go get Little Apple, I want to hold him.”
Little Apple’s formal name was Lu Qingrang, born on Christmas Eve and already had that cute nickname before birth.
During the entire month of confinement, she barely held Little Apple except when feeding.
When postpartum depression was worst, she sometimes thought she shouldn’t have had the child.
Since she had decided to have him, such thoughts felt unfair to Little Apple. Afraid those negative feelings might reach him, she rarely held him.
Before birth, Lu Xingqiu had arranged special childcare and nutrition experts for mother and child. With grandmother, nanny, experts, Aunt Zhang, and father Lu Huaiyan around, Little Apple wasn’t short of care, but especially clung to Jiang Se.
After feeding, when Lu Huaiyan picked him up to burp, he immediately puckered his lips.
But once back in mother’s arms, no more puckering.
Worried Jiang Se might be tired, Lu Huaiyan lifted her from the window and put her back in bed, saying, “Grandma and nanny are here to play with him. If you’re tired, sleep first. I’ll bring him back later.”
She looked at him.
He had lost a lot of weight this month. Little Apple was hungry often, feeding every two or three hours. To avoid disturbing her rest, every time after feeding, he would take the child back to the nursery, burp, change diapers, and soothe him to sleep, barely sleeping himself all night.
Little Apple’s second favorite person was Lu Huaiyan.
Clearly, his dad wasn’t as kind and gentle as grandma and Aunt Zhang, but he still loved being held by his dad.
Jiang Se also loved being held by Lu Huaiyan, whether when she was little or now.
This man always gave her a very special sense of stability.
Lu Huaiyan, seeing her look at him like that, couldn’t help but kiss her lips and said, “Want me to hold you a bit longer?”
“Mm.”
Lu Huaiyan laughed, “Little Apple’s way of asking to be held is quite like his mom.”
Jiang Se: “…”
They cuddled for about ten minutes, then Jiang Se pushed Lu Huaiyan, “Go get him, I want to see him.”
Little Apple was playing with a rattle in the nursery with grandma and nanny. When Lu Huaiyan brought him over, his expression looked a little wronged, but once in Jiang Se’s arms, he smiled brightly.
“Little brat.” Lu Huaiyan poked his tightly clenched fist, joking, “I told you I’m bringing you to see mommy, what are you complaining about?”
The little guy’s fists were clearly tight, but when Lu Huaiyan’s finger reached out, somehow he relaxed his fist and gripped his dad’s index finger tightly.
Lu Huaiyan glanced at Jiang Se, “This is also quite like you.”
Jiang Se knew he was laughing at her from the hundred-day banquet. She glanced at him but said nothing, soon shifting her gaze back to the baby in her arms.
Because she rarely held him, her posture wasn’t as skilled as Lu Huaiyan’s.
But the way the little guy lay in Jiang Se’s arms was exactly the same as how Jiang Se lay in Lu Huaiyan’s arms.
Jiang Se carefully studied his eyebrows and eyes, “How did he… become so handsome?” He clearly looked like a little mischievous monkey when he was born.
Lu Huaiyan chuckled lowly, “He’s our child, how could he not be handsome? Grandma and nanny can’t take their eyes off him.”
The little guy really was good-looking: eyebrows, eyes, and nose took after Lu Huaiyan, face shape and mouth after Jiang Se.
Though this was a mysteriously confident statement, Jiang Se didn’t argue.
Their child really was handsome.
She curved her lips slightly, “Let him sleep next to me tonight.”
Lu Huaiyan nodded, “Okay. If he bothers your sleep, I’ll take him back to his room. You don’t know how much his grandma and nanny love to sleep with him.”
At night, Little Apple’s cradle was placed next to Jiang Se, Lu Huaiyan lay on her other side, the father and son flanking her on both sides.
After feeding in the middle of the night, Lu Huaiyan skillfully draped a burp cloth over his shoulder, picked up Lu Qingrang vertically, and patted his back.
The little one’s neck was very soft; his small head rested on Lu Huaiyan’s shoulder. His milk-foamed lips were slightly parted, eyes half-closed, looking very content. After a moment, he let out a long burp.
Jiang Se lay quietly watching the father and son. When Lu Huaiyan put Lu Qingrang back into the cradle, she suddenly said, “Lu Huaiyan, kiss me.”
Lu Huaiyan paused, pulled the slightly milk-stained burp cloth off his shoulder, turned to kiss her.
After kissing, she said again, “Tomorrow let Lu Qingrang sleep with us again.”
Lu Huaiyan bit her tongue gently and said, “Okay.”
When Lu Qingrang was eight months old, Jiang Se stopped breastfeeding.
Both she and Lu Huaiyan were busy, so childcare was entrusted to professionals whenever possible. For example, the food Lu Qingrang ate was prepared by a nutrition expert and fed by a childcare specialist.
But every day they reserved dedicated parent-child time, reading to him, playing games, listening to music, and teasing Jialuo.
When Lu Qingrang turned two, Lu Huaiyan sent him to kindergarten.
The surprise happened within that year: Jiang Se got pregnant again.
She never thought about having a second child, at least not now.
Lu Huaiyan didn’t plan for a second child either. Although he never said it, Jiang Se’s postpartum depression after the first birth left him wary even now.
But whether it was Lu Qingyan deciding they should be parents again, or fate disapproving of their indulgence, despite using protection, Jiang Se still got pregnant.
Fortunately, Lu Qingyan was even more obedient than Lu Qingrang; Jiang Se didn’t even have morning sickness, and in mid-pregnancy, she could still energetically run between Tongcheng and Beicheng.
After this birth, she barely had any postpartum depression symptoms.
From the day Lu Qingyan was born, she slept beside Jiang Se. The little girl’s face was exactly like a second Lu Huaiyan. Even the doctors and nurses said they had never seen such a beautiful newborn.
Unlike her warm little brother, Lu Qingyan was cold from the start, usually only letting her brother Lu Qingrang cling to her a little.
Even if Lu Huaiyan wanted to be a doting father to his daughter, he didn’t have a chance, his daughter simply didn’t need it.
Both kids were especially easy to raise, so much so that Jiang Se would ask Lu Huaiyan at night, “Do you think they’re saving all the trouble for their rebellious phase and will pay us back in one go?”
Lu Huaiyan laughed, turned over, and bit her earlobe, “Or maybe it’s because we’re just really good parents?”
Jiang Se was stunned, “We’re good?” She had always worried she wouldn’t be a good mother.
Lu Huaiyan said, “Of course we are. Tomorrow, ask the two of them if they want to switch parents.”
As he spoke, he began to remove the nightgown from Jiang Se’s body and took a condom from the bedside table.
She glanced at the thing in his hand.
After Lu Qingyan was born, Lu Huaiyan had a vasectomy, but they still used protection during intercourse.
He didn’t want any more surprises.
The next day was Saturday. Jiang Se slept until almost nine.
When she got out of bed, her waist was still sore.
Downstairs was quiet. Holding a cup of warm water, she slowly went downstairs and walked toward the playroom.
Sure enough, Lu Huaiyan was in the playroom with the two kids and the dog.
The man sat on a mat with a tablet replying to emails, while Lu Qingrang, Lu Qingyan, and Galo flipped through photo albums on the floor.
Three-year-old Lu Qingyan pointed at an old photo and asked her dad hesitantly, “Mom really liked Dad that early? She didn’t even have hair or teeth then.”
Jiang Se: “…”
Lu Huaiyan answered calmly, “Of course it’s true.”
When he said this, his eyes never left the tablet, until the light by the door shifted, then he lifted his gaze to look.
Their eyes met.
Lu Huaiyan’s clear and refined features were bathed in warm light. He smiled and lifted his chin toward the game room door, saying, “Look, Mom’s here. If you don’t believe me, go ask her yourself.”
(The End)
