Stars and Moon

After Song Yihe took the jewelry box, the sales assistant glanced at An Zhiwu again, her face wreathed in smiles. "Mr. Song, this is your girlfriend, right? She's so pretty."

The corners of Song Yihe's mouth curved. "Mm."

"We recently launched a new collection of jewelry with a star-and-moon theme. It's perfect for young couples. Mr. Song, would you like to take a look?"

Song Yihe led An Zhiwu to the glass display case to look.

A pair of small, delicate earrings caught their eyes.

One earring was a moon, and the other was a star.

They were an overall ocean blue, studded with tiny diamonds.

The sales assistant took out the earrings and introduced them. "The design concept for these earrings is 'romantic love.' They're perfect for couples. Mr. Song, your girlfriend is so pretty, they'll definitely suit her."

Song Yihe took the earrings and put them on An Zhiwu.

An Zhiwu had gotten her ears pierced in college, but she had rarely worn anything in them since. She didn't know whether the holes had closed up.

Just as she was worrying about it, Song Yihe had already put the earrings on her.

The young woman had bright eyes, pearly teeth, and big, dewy eyes. With the earrings on, she looked even prettier.

"Your girlfriend looks so lovely wearing them. She's the prettiest person I've seen these past few days."

The sales assistant's compliments came one after another, as though flattery cost her nothing.

Song Yihe nodded in satisfaction. "She'll wear them. Sorry for the trouble, could you ring them up?"

The young sales assistant beamed. "Certainly. Would you like to pay by card or WeChat, sir?"

"Card."

An Zhiwu touched her earlobes and walked over to Song Yihe. "Actually, you didn't have to give me such an expensive gift. We've only just gotten together. Isn't it a bit much?"

Song Yihe had already paid and was signing the card receipt. At her words, he turned his head to glance at her. "I like it, and that's what matters."

An Zhiwu glanced at the ¥36,888.00 on the card receipt and fell into thought.

Confucius had once said that the greatest taboo for a couple in love was to keep spending only one partner's money.

When what the two people contributed became wildly unequal, conflict would be sparked.

As a woman of the new era, she especially couldn't depend on a man. She absolutely mustn't become a dodder vine.

She made up her mind on the spot.

She would buy Song Yihe a gift too.

She wondered whether An Zhiheng had played in whatever competition he had.

Wasn't it time for him to pay her back?

After signing, Song Yihe took her hand. "Let's go."

They left the mall.

Song Yihe shifted his hand, and their fingers intertwined.

It was An Zhiwu's first time holding hands with someone of the opposite sex like this. She was a little nervous, and sweat seeped from her palm, making it sticky against Song Yihe's.

An Zhiwu suddenly remembered a saying: Hold on tight to me; we'll have each other for the rest of our lives.

It was past ten by the time they got home.

At the door, Song Yihe suddenly asked An Zhiwu, "When's your birthday?"

An Zhiwu thought Song Yihe wanted to celebrate her birthday. "My birthday is in March. It's long past already~"

"So what day in March?"

"March fifth."

Then An Zhiwu watched Song Yihe change the password on the front door's keypad lock to 0305. He explained, "I used to be single all this time. Besides Jingwen, there are a few friends I grew up with who also knew the password to my place. Now that I've changed it, you're the only one who knows it."

A great, great sweetness welled up inside An Zhiwu, along with a strong sense of security. She gave an emphatic "Mm."

When she used to read romance novels, the male lead's childhood sweetheart and the like would always stick their oar in between the male and female leads. Then the male lead would take an ambiguous stance, making her furious as she read.

Fortunately, Song Yihe wasn't like that.

"By the way, were the desserts you brought me a few days ago from Tang Jingwen?"

Song Yihe nodded. "Mm. I didn't want them at first, but I thought, don't you young women all like eating this kind of thing? So I brought them back. We weren't together then. Now that we are, I won't accept desserts she makes anymore. If you want some, I'll buy them for you."

A huge smile spread across An Zhiwu's face. "Song Yihe, you're so good to me."

Song Yihe had work the next day.

Besides, the two had only just made their relationship official and were still shy around each other.

After getting home, An Zhiwu went upstairs to shower. As she took off her earrings, she looked at the star-and-moon pair lying in her palm.

She remembered a line of poetry: May I be the star and you the moon, our radiance shining bright together every night.

Lying in bed, she saw the WeChat message Shen Songqing had sent her half an hour earlier.

Shen Songqing: [An Zhu, I'm not a good horse anymore.]

?? What the heck?

An Zhiwu: [????]

Shen Songqing: [I had a little to drink just now and slept with Wang Wenbo.]

An Zhiwu: [...]

Shen Songqing: [I actually went against my own principles. I actually turned back to graze on old grass!!!]

Shen Songqing: [But I have to say, it felt pretty good.]

An Zhiwu: [...]

She decided she'd better not tell Shen Songqing about her and Song Yihe getting together for the time being.

Right now, Shen Songqing needed to calm down!

But did that, you know, really feel that good?

Early the next morning.

An Zhiwu was ready to be woken by Song Yihe.

Resigning herself to her fate, she crawled out of bed, washed up, and went running.

Song Yihe looked at her damp hair and couldn't bear it. "Starting next week, don't come running in the mornings anymore. The weather's hot."

An Zhiwu was delighted.

Her stomach no longer felt uncomfortable, and she felt better now, so she actually still wanted to sleep in.

Before her delight had faded, she heard Song Yihe continue, "Starting next week, I'll take you swimming at the pool after dinner."

Swimming?

"I can't swim."

Song Yihe glanced at her in surprise. "You never learned?"

An Zhiwu scratched her head sheepishly. "I took lessons one summer vacation, but I didn't learn."

What she was too embarrassed to say was that, in college, she had signed up for a summer swimming class where everyone except her had been an elementary school student.

By the end of the class, all the elementary school students had learned.

She was the only one who hadn't.

That was when she realized she had no talent for swimming at all, and she had never tried learning again.

"It's okay. Starting next week, we'll go to the pool after dinner. I'll teach you."

As An Zhiwu ran, she thought about it.

To go to the pool, she would have to wear a swimsuit.

Wouldn't that expose the little bit of chub on her belly? No, she had to lose weight.

At the thought, An Zhiwu ran with even more enthusiasm.

She wondered what Song Yihe looked like in swim trunks.

Hehe~~

The thought made An Zhiwu laugh out loud.

Song Yihe looked at the woman beside him, who had suddenly burst into a happy laugh for some unknown reason, and found himself smiling too.

That morning, An Zhiwu received a message from Xia Qian asking if she could come over.

An Zhiwu sent an "ok" and headed for Xia Qian's building.

Xia Qian was deeply suspicious that An Zhiwu had once again appeared at her door in just five minutes. "Zhiwu, tell me honestly, have you been staking out my place lately? Otherwise, why do you show up so quickly every time?"