The Scorching Sun - 92
Fang Zhuo went with Yan Lie to register their marriage the very next day, if only to keep him from lying awake at night and pestering her endlessly.
There weren't many people at the Civil Affairs Bureau that day. In about half an hour, Fang Zhuo held the little red booklet with its official seal in her hands.
From that moment on, their relationship carried a meaning all its own.
After leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau, Yan Lie stayed on the phone almost nonstop.
He called several of the elders in the family first. His parents already knew, but even they were startled by the sheer speed of his execution. Once they recovered, they immediately began planning a celebratory dinner.
Yan Lie left the arrangements to them, then smugly went to show off in the class group chat.
A whole crowd of his peers, already frantically struggling with their own careers, saw the photos he'd posted and cried out at how "absolutely shameless" he was, threatening to kick Yan Lie out of the revolutionary ranks.
Wei Xi probably had it worst.
She'd only recently been made a permanent employee and had been diligently working away in her department as one tiny cog in the machine. After the morning meeting, she came out and found Yan Lie's marriage certificate waiting for her in their high school class group.
She enthusiastically and sincerely sent a [cheering] sticker.
Less than five minutes later, she saw it again in the A University alumni group. Wei Xi sent another [Congratulations.]
Half an hour later, her parents once again sent her a screenshot of the photo from the parents' group, lamenting about how happy other people's children were and asking whether she had a boyfriend yet.
Soon afterward, several of her roommates messaged her on WeChat in a panic. "I heard Yan Lie married Fang Zhuo? Is it true, girl?" and "Our classmates are getting married. Why are we still single? [Bawling]"
Wei Xi was numb.
What had she done to deserve this?
Wei Xi found Yan Lie's account, trying to make him stop this blatant assault on single people.
Wei Whatever: !!
They Call Me Lie: Yes, I got married. Thank you!
Wei Whatever: Look at my username!
They Call Me Lie: Huh? We love each other, our relationship is stable, we want the same things out of the future, and neither of us is afraid of marriage, so we got married.
Wei Xi angrily hammered out a reply, the muscles in her arm tensing with the effort. What she wanted to ask was obviously why, just because Yan Lie had gotten married, she had to bear the full force of the resulting storm?!
Before she could send it, another message popped up in the chat.
They Call Me Lie: I'll buy you a wedding feast when the time comes. [Cheers]
Wei Xi slowly calmed down. It wasn't right to ruin someone's happy occasion, she decided, so she deleted the entire message and typed only, "Congratulations. So when are you having the banquet?"
They Call Me Lie: When everything's ready.
A wedding, however, was an enormously complicated affair requiring a great deal of preparation.
Yan Lie refused to cut corners, and once the semester began, progress slowed to a crawl.
By the time they'd chosen the date and settled on the exact time, it was already the following year's holiday.
Fang Zhuo's advisor was genuinely stunned when he received the invitation. He frowned deeply, several times lifting the corners of his eyes to give the young man across from him a sidelong look as he tactfully voiced his grievance. "Getting married so young..."
Yan Lie smiled. "Getting married young is a good thing. Once our relationship is settled, Fang Zhuo won't have to let emotional issues affect her mood or interfere with her studies. She won't have to deal with pressure from her parents or from society, either."
The advisor looked skeptical and rubbed his smooth bald head.
Who would've thought that after living this long, he'd still live to see a young man sweet-talk him into something like this?
But could he really believe a word this guy was saying?
"Besides, married life is much more mundane than dating. I can take care of all the little household matters, so she'll have more energy to devote to academic research. That way, she can get through graduate school without any disruptions. She might even be able to continue straight into a doctorate under your supervision." Yan Lie spoke with such conviction, gradually delivering his final point. "Most importantly, we're not in a hurry to have children."
"That does make some sense." The advisor was won over. He nodded approvingly. "All right. If I have time, I'll bring her seniors along."
Yan Lie seized his hand and gave it a quick shake, laughing heartily. "Thank you, Professor. We'll be waiting for you!"
He had taken only two steps when he turned back and called out a reminder. "Dean, don't forget to approve Fang Zhuo's leave."
The dean coolly raised a hand, crossed two fingers, and made a finger heart.
Yan Lie grinned, making an even bigger one back from a distance.
Fang Zhuo was in the office of a small e-commerce company, helping them organize their data.
Her advisor had introduced the job to her.
He had quite a few well-paid projects on hand, and knowing that Fang Zhuo was short of money, he had arranged for several interested students to take her along and let her gain some practical experience.
The young assistant handling the project brought over several cups of coffee and set them down beside the computers.
Fang Zhuo had only just turned on her computer and hadn't even had time to speak when her advisor called.
Assuming he had some instructions for her, she answered immediately. The moment the connection came through, however, she heard her advisor's hearty voice. "You're getting married next month, why haven't you come to ask for leave yet? I've already approved it for you."
"I was just about to tell you."
"All right, I already know." Her advisor asked, "Will a week be enough? Summer vacation's almost here anyway. Whatever honeymoon plans you have, save them for the summer. Get the projects on your hands finished first."
That was exactly what Fang Zhuo had planned. "It'll be enough. Thank you, Professor."
When she hung up, the assistant beside her said, "Your boss?"
Fang Zhuo nodded.
She'd overheard a little of the conversation and asked, "You're getting married?"
Fang Zhuo's nod was smaller this time. "Don't worry. We'll do a good job with the work here. My seniors are all very professional."
"Oh, that's not what I meant." The assistant hurriedly waved her hands, laughing. "I got married last year too. The preparations were honestly exhausting. Students like you from A University also have to keep up with your coursework while planning a wedding. It can't be easy."
Fang Zhuo was actually doing fine. Yan Lie handled most of the arrangements. She only needed to look over the results and make the final decisions.
Seeing her lost in thought, the assistant assumed she'd suffered through the same ordeal and immediately began venting. "The main problem is that men are useless. They dump everything on you and act like they're above it all. You ask them, How do we choose the wedding dress? Where should we take the wedding photos? Which hotel should we pick? How do we arrange the guests? They don't care about any of it. They just lie on the sofa with their phones and complain about being tired. Tired from what? How come they never get tired staying up half the night charging into the King's Canyon? It drove me crazy."
Fang Zhuo didn't dare say a word.
She hadn't been lying sprawled on the sofa, but she really was exhausted.
Shopping with Mother Yan was exhausting.
Choosing a hotel with Yan Chengli was exhausting.
Taking wedding photos with Yan Lie was exhausting.
Drawing up the guest list with Ye Yuncheng was exhausting too.
After a few perfunctory attempts, she'd now been politely removed from the core decision-making group.
The assistant slapped her palm against the desk, still furious. "You can't let him sit around doing nothing and expect to enjoy the finished product. He didn't even listen to instructions on the wedding day, he even made me cry! I was so angry I wanted to call off the wedding right there."
Fang Zhuo lowered her head guiltily. "Uh..."
"And you'll start to resent him too. You'll wonder how a man can be so unreliable and immature." Speaking as someone who'd been through it herself, the assistant gave her a solemn warning. "So you absolutely have to make him participate. Whether he does a lot or a little, whether it's useful or not, at least make sure he understands that getting married is a matter for two people."
Fang Zhuo scratched her head, conflicted.
Even after leaving the company, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She found herself wondering whether Yan Lie secretly complained that she did nothing.
On the bus back to campus, Fang Zhuo stared out the window for a long time. Then, frowning, she took out her phone and messaged Yan Lie.
Little Sun: [Knock knock] Did you get the alterations to the wedding dress done?
Yan Lie replied almost instantly.
They Call Me Lie: Almost. Go try it on again in a couple of days.
Little Sun: Oh. What about the hotel and everything? Is that all settled?
They Call Me Lie: Yep. My dad's friend's hotel. They reserved the biggest and best banquet hall for us.
Little Sun: Okay, okay.
Her boyfriend was far too considerate. Fang Zhuo racked her brain, desperately searching for something to do.
Little Sun: What about the route for picking up the bride?
They Call Me Lie: From downtown to the villa, then to the hotel. Uncle said it's fine too.
They couldn't exactly have the bride pickup at their rented apartment. So Mother Yan had planned for them to leave from their downtown home, head to a villa in the suburbs to pick up Fang Zhuo, and then go straight to the hotel.
The route was convenient, the scenery was pretty, so the footage would be easier to edit.
Fang Zhuo's sudden concern put Yan Lie on alert.
They Call Me Lie: What's wrong?
They Call Me Lie: Relax. It's really not that complicated. I'll be with you the whole time. Just follow me.
Little Sun: Nothing. It's not that.
Little Sun: Is preparing all this stuff exhausting?
They Call Me Lie: Super exhausting! I've put so much heart into it! Mom and Dad have been helping the whole time, too!
Three exclamation marks.
Proof that Yan Lie was feeling extremely unsettled.
The assistant's words kept echoing in Fang Zhuo's mind. "I was so angry I wanted to call off the wedding right there."
She immediately became awkward and uneasy.
Little Sun: [Hug]
Little Sun: [Pat pat]
Little Sun: [Cheek rub]
Yan Lie took a while to reply.
They Call Me Lie: Can these three stickers be converted into cash?
Fang Zhuo stared blankly ahead. She didn't see the message or hear the bus announcing its next stop. When she finally looked up and glanced around, she found herself already at A University and hurriedly scrambled off through the rear door.
By the time she came home with her bag, Yan Lie was pacing restlessly around the living room, searching on his phone for "How to soothe pre-wedding anxiety."
None of the answers seemed particularly reliable, Yan Lie couldn't find any comfort in them.
Hearing the door open, I turned around. His eyes, dark with unease, met hers. Before he could even put together a greeting, Fang Zhuo wrapped her arms around his waist.
Warmth flooded Yan Lie's body at once, his restless thoughts dried up like rainwater beneath the June sun.
He rested a hand against Fang Zhuo's back and, in a low voice meant for only the two of them, asked with gentle, teasing intimacy, "Can the next stage of this procedure be transferred to the bedroom?"
Fang Zhuo let go of him, her face full of speechless disbelief. "Why are you so impure?"
"How am I impure?" Yan Lie never so much as blinked when he said things like this. "We're married, that's perfectly legitimate."
Fang Zhuo studied his expression and decided that his mental state seemed fine. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "I thought you were anxious about getting married..."
"I'm extremely anxious," Yan Lie said quickly. "I'm anxious that you're going to get anxious!"
Fang Zhuo was dizzy from the way he'd twisted it around. "I don't have anything to be anxious about. I haven't done anything."
Yan Lie pressed two fingers to his temple. He felt he'd been wound far too tight lately, even the slightest disturbance had him jumping at shadows.
He was irritated by all the endless little details too, but he was even more afraid that Fang Zhuo would become irritated and simply throw up her hands and refuse to do any of it.
But seeing how cautious she was now, he felt all those rough, restless edges had been smoothed away.
Though there was something unmistakably Fang Zhuo about that caution. She was so straightforward, practically wearing every unsolved worry and every bit of frustration on her face, hoping Yan Lie would take pity on her and accidentally reveal the answers.
She was like a student who cheated on the exam, and fortunately for her, she'd met an examiner with absolutely no principles.
Yan Lie opened his eyes. His voice softened, half coaxing, half indulgent, a faint smile in it as he asked, "So what do you want to do?"
Fang Zhuo actually didn't want to do anything. But if she absolutely had to, she could probably force herself.
That was what she told herself, anyway. Her expression went through several painful contortions, yet she still couldn't bring herself to say it.
This wasn't right. She really was a terrible girlfriend.
Watching her struggle with herself, Yan Lie found even her little internal battle adorable. He leaned closer, cupped her face in both hands, and kissed her once on the lips. "Forget about all this, Fang Zhuo. Your only job is to bring my wife into the venue. Please make sure she stays in a good mood and gets through the wedding ceremony without a hitch."
Fang Zhuo nodded.
As the days passed, Fang Zhuo really did begin to feel nervous. Fortunately, everything went smoothly. When the wedding day finally arrived, everything went as planned.
The day before, everyone went over the schedule and rehearsed once at the hotel. After a quick dinner, they all returned to their respective homes to rest. There was no grand single-life farewell.
Yu Qingjiang and Wei Xi were both bridesmaids. They changed into their dresses early that morning and lined up in the room to have their makeup done.
The bridesmaids varied noticeably in height. Wei Xi felt completely overshadowed by Yu Qingjiang, who stood nearly ten centimeters taller, so she could only cinch her already slender waist a little tighter, trying to claw back whatever advantage she could.
Wei Xi said, "Little sister, don't blame me. There are going to be plenty of high-quality single men here today. I'm just afraid you won't know how to handle them."
Yu Qingjiang hitched up her skirt a little and replied in an exaggeratedly coquettish voice, "Big sister can handle it. Little sister can too."
The girls quickly bonded over their shared immaturity and began laughing and fooling around with each other.
Fang Zhuo was changing nearby, wearing nothing but fitted undergarments.
Wei Xi suddenly darted over and gave her waist a squeeze. "Ohhh!" Before she could say anything outrageous, Yu Qingjiang grabbed her and hauled her away.
"You shameless old pervert!"
"That's nonsense!"
The two of them dissolved into another fit of laughter and roughhousing until the makeup artist finally dragged them apart.
Across several makeup stations, the bright, lively girls were still discussing how they should set up the games later.
The young woman doing Fang Zhuo's hair overheard a few words and laughed. "The groom has to get past all the bridesmaids today? Sounds like he's in for a tough time."
Fang Zhuo thought to herself, You're underestimating Yan Lie. And you're underestimating the boys in Computer Science even more.
In straight men's eyes, gender doesn't exist. They're the truly terrifying ones.
To deal with the bridesmaids blocking the way during the bride pickup, Yan Chengli had prepared several hundred red envelopes in advance. He packed them into bags and handed them out to each of the groomsmen. The purpose was simple: he wanted everyone to understand that nothing and no one was going to stop his son from getting married today. If anyone tried, he'd bury them in cash.
The strategy worked beautifully. Yan Chengli's fat red envelopes were practically unstoppable. Even the friends who had come along for the fun were bought off, stepping aside and letting them pass.
When they reached the door of the bridal suite, Yan Lie stood on the lawn in the back courtyard with his bag of red envelopes, coaxing Wei Xi to open the window for him.
Wei Xi figured that everyone was civilized, and several professors would be attending the luncheon later. Considering the consequences, there was no way these young men could possibly resort to a violent breakout, so she agreed.
Yan Lie immediately tossed dozens of red envelopes inside and called out grandly, "Count all the money in those envelopes within three minutes, and I'll give you ten times as much!"
Wei Xi couldn't resist. Neither could Yu Qingjiang.
As working adults, even if they had to throw themselves into the rat race just to get by, all they wanted was to make a little money. What was so wrong with that?
The bridesmaids immediately crouched on the floor and threw themselves into opening the envelopes. After opening a few, they discovered that every envelope contained at least fifty, with five hundred at the top end. They were nearly moved to tears by their sudden fortune. Just as they began to feel like they'd struck gold, several groomsmen jumped through the window, covered Yan Lie as he scooped up Fang Zhuo, and made a run for it.
The bridesmaids were shoved aside, unable to hold back the noisy crowd. Their hearts ached at the sight of the red envelopes being trampled, while their anxiety spiked at seeing Fang Zhuo carried away. By the time Yan Lie escaped in the chaos, they'd finally found an opening and chased out the door after him, waving their hands and shouting, "You're not doing the games anymore? Yan Lie, can you at least respect the basic rules?!"
"You're not going to get all the footage this way!"
"You're not even taking pictures of the bridal suite?!"
"You're not looking for the shoe? Yan Lie, you dare to call yourself a wedding planner?!"
Yan Lie ran fast, but his stride remained steady. Fang Zhuo had both arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her vision swaying with every step as his sharply defined jawline grew even more pronounced beneath the tension in his muscles.
At the intersection, Yan Lie lowered his head and glanced at Fang Zhuo. The corners of his lips lifted, his eyes alive with unmistakable affection. He looked back at the bedraggled crowd behind them, and his smile became even more triumphant.
The enormous crowd was still nowhere in sight.
The young men, brimming with youthful energy, whooped and hollered as though they'd just pulled off a successful heist and disappeared into the distance.
Wei Xi wasn't used to high heels. Halfway through the chase, she had no choice but to stop. Watching them vanish into the distance, she cried out in anguish, "He actually exploited our poverty! That's not fair!"
Yu Qingjiang glanced back, then looked down at the little piles of money in her hands. Gritting her teeth, she made her decision immediately. "That's tens of thousands of yuan in red envelopes, sisters."
The girls silently exchanged glances. Then they gathered up their skirts, turned around, and raced back like the wind. Only after collecting every last red envelope did they head outside and climb into the wedding cars.
Wei Xi's carefully arranged hairstyle had come loose during the run. Sitting in the back seat, she used the mirror to tidy her stray hairs and asked Yu Qingjiang to return the discarded shoes to the wedding party.
Yu Qingjiang carried the wedding shoes to the car at the front of the procession to find Fang Zhuo. Before she even opened the door, she could hear a whole group of boys singing together.
On a day this festive, they were singing "Unity Is Strength."
When the car window lowered, Yan Lie was straightening Fang Zhuo's clothes. The moment he received the shoes, he eagerly slipped them onto her feet and, like no one else existed, said, "Actually, baby, you don't have to wear shoes. High heels are really uncomfortable. Just put them on for the walk down the aisle. I can carry you everywhere else."
Yu Qingjiang looked down at the flat shoes she'd forced onto her feet despite their width, then thought of Wei Xi's five-centimeter stilettos and the miserable chase they'd just endured. She gave an indignant snort.
She wanted her friend to reprimand this shameless man for her, but Fang Zhuo had already been thoroughly bewitched by Yan Lie's good looks and was doing nothing but staring at him in silence.
Yu Qingjiang puffed out her chest and turned away.
Because Yan Lie had refused to follow the script, the procession had skipped one of the planned stages and arrived at the hotel an entire hour early. Many of the guests hadn't even taken their seats yet.
Everyone gathered for a while in the bridal suite at the hotel. Mother Yan was there too, she asked in surprise what had happened and why they'd arrived so early.
Yu Qingjiang explained everything. Mother Yan was torn between laughter and exasperation. She couldn't exactly scold Yan Lie, so she merely gave him a light smack.
Yan Lie took out his phone and asked, "Are you hungry?"
Fang Zhuo shook her head.
"Did you eat this morning?" Yan Lie was already opening a delivery app. "Once the ceremony starts, there won't be time to eat. So even if you're not hungry, have something that can keep you going. What do you want?"
Fang Zhuo didn't really have much of an appetite, but perhaps because she'd heard people talking about it so often lately, she instinctively named a dish. "Crayfish?"
Mother Yan immediately objected. "Crayfish is too greasy. Don't get your face or your clothes dirty. Have something easier to eat."
Fang Zhuo thought that made sense and was about to order a bowl of noodles, or perhaps just eat some biscuits, but Yan Lie rolled up his sleeves and firmly disagreed. "It's fine. I'll peel them for her. It's our wedding day. She should eat whatever she wants. Why start making compromises on the very first day?"
He sounded so serious about it, even Mother Yan was left speechless and could only rub her forehead.
The hotel had prepared crayfish, Yan Lie ordered two pounds straight away. Then he brought over a little stool, sat down, and peeled the crayfish for Fang Zhuo, before mixing her a bowl of noodles as well.
Mother Yan had also prepared some other food in the room. The bridesmaids and groomsmen had all resisted eating it, saying they'd wait for the feast later.
Not long after, the hotel manager came to hurry them along. The makeup artist touched up Fang Zhuo's makeup again, and they hurried downstairs together.
By then, the ceremony had reached the guest speeches.
Liu Qiaohong and the two advisors each took the stage to offer a few words of blessing, setting an impressively solemn tone. The host then invited the singer to liven things up and bring some energy back into the room.
The staff went over the details once more and reported that everything was ready. Ye Yuncheng stood beside Fang Zhuo, preparing to escort her onto the stage.
When the heavy wooden doors opened, the brightest lights in the room poured toward them.
Amid the vast wash of warm light, Ye Yuncheng was so nervous that his arm trembled. He couldn't hear a word the host was saying.
When a staff member hurriedly gestured to him, he quickly stepped forward.
Ye Yuncheng's gait had become much more natural by then, but the short red carpet still seemed impossibly long. Each time he lifted his left leg, it felt as though half his body became weightless, suspended without anything to anchor it.
He turned his head to glance at Fang Zhuo, then continued steadily toward the figure waiting beyond the glare of the lights.
His steps stopped in front of Yan Lie, and their faces gradually came into focus. Fang Zhuo tightened her hold on his arm, and at last Ye Yuncheng felt solid ground beneath his feet again.
Looking at the two children he loved most, his eyes stung despite himself. He smiled anyway and placed Fang Zhuo's hand into Yan Lie's.
The music in the background and the emcee's booming voice were both too loud, he couldn't gather the words he wanted to say.
Ye Yuncheng moved his lips, and pressed down on the back of Yan Lie's hand, passing along his silent blessing.
When Fang Zhuo took Yan Lie's hand, she discovered that his palm was covered in cold sweat, trembling ever so slightly.
The three people onstage were all practically out of their minds with nerves, answering the host's questions mechanically, incapable to spare any thought for anything else. It wasn't until the ring exchange that they finally snapped back to themselves.
Yan Lie took the ring from the bridesmaid. His expression was perfectly composed as he slipped it onto Fang Zhuo's finger, as though he'd rehearsed the motion dozens of times. Then, amid the crowd's delighted cheers, he took her hand and kissed her fingertips.
The host hurriedly called from behind them, "It's a kiss, not a kiss on the hand. You're supposed to kiss her!"
Yan Lie didn't hear him.
Fang Zhuo's presence in his world still felt so unreal to him. Yet it was only when he held her that he could truly feel the reality of the world around him.
Just like that night when fireworks had filled the sky, the world shifting endlessly between light and darkness, time slipping silently away with the scattering sparks of cold light, as the New Year arrived in all its radiant splendor.
Every wish Yan Lie had stored away in Fang Zhuo's memories had become a completed item today.
He lowered his head and, beneath Fang Zhuo's misty, tender gaze, pressed his lips to her soft, damp ones.
He wanted every blank fragment of the future to bear her name.
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