Auspicious Wedding Day
System: "New achievement! The host has become the youngest academician in history of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Reward: 5 million Academic Excellence Points. Remaining Academic Excellence Points: 42,947,618. Please confirm."
Related media outlets widely reported the news, and Shen Qi was invited to the CCTV studio to record a talk show.
"How do you feel about becoming the youngest academician, Academician Shen?" The female host was young and beautiful, and the newly elected academician she was talking to was a year younger than her.
Shen Qi said sincerely, "This is just a job. Of course, academicians bear greater responsibility and pressure, and I will do my best to do this job well."
Female host. "Academician Shen, we know you were a top student in your school days. Is there anything you'd like to say to the students watching on TV?"
Shen Qi said to the camera, "Student days are the happiest time. Enjoying every day and learning more knowledge is more important than being a top student."
After the show aired, Shen Qi returned home and acted like he owned the place. Ou Ye took care of all the grocery shopping, cooking, and laundry, which was Ou Ye's initiative.
Ou Ye has it tough. As a rich girl, she's never done any housework since childhood, and her health isn't good. She also has research tasks to complete, and she still has to do so much work.
Shen Qi bought a smart washing machine and kitchen appliances. With a simple press of a button, the clothes were washed, the dishes were cooked, and the dishes were washed, thus reducing Ou Ye's burden. Ou Ye's main household chores were grocery shopping, which she did twice a week, and the other five days she ate out or ordered takeout.
The twelfth day of the ninth lunar month is an auspicious day for marriage.
Shen Qi and Ou Ye brought their household registration books to the Civil Affairs Bureau to obtain their marriage certificate.
The clerks at the Civil Affairs Bureau who handle marriage registration are always cheerful and have smiling faces.
This is a happy job; the men and women who come to apply for certificates are all smiles, and this joy is contagious to the staff.
The other window is for divorce processing. The clerk at this window never smiles; she doesn't dare to smile for fear of inciting public outrage.
Clang!
The clerk at the marriage registration window stamped the document and politely handed the marriage certificate to Shen Qi and Ou Ye: "According to the Marriage Law, from today onwards, you are legally married. Congratulations, and best wishes for your happiness."
"Thank you." Shen Qi handed a box of wedding candy to the clerk.
"We have rules against accepting gifts, but we must accept Academician Shen's wedding candy." The clerk recognized Shen Qi and accepted the candy.
Back home, Shen Qi admired their marriage certificate. "Wife, this is legally binding. We're legally married and must abide by the law."
"Go ahead." Ou Ye, now a wife, acted in accordance with the law.
"So, here I come?"
"Come on, honey." Ou Ye's "honey" came out so sweetly and naturally.
The newlyweds were incredibly affectionate; words would be superfluous tonight.
After daybreak, the young couple discussed important matters: when to hold the banquet and which guests to invite.
Shen Qi's point was that they should hold one wedding in China and another in the United States. If they didn't go to the United States, they wouldn't be able to gather a table of Fields Medal winners and a table of Nobel Prize winners. Many of those bigwigs are elderly men with mobility issues, so it's unrealistic to ask them to fly to China specifically for the weddings.
Ou Ye firmly opposed going to the United States. She said, "Don't focus so much on formalities. Let's not make a fuss. Let's just have a quiet, low-key wedding in China, okay?"
"Alright, Sun Yat-sen University more important than my wife, I'll listen to her." Shen Qi obeyed his wife's instructions and began preparing for the wedding.
Shen Qi's idea was that our wedding style should be understated yet elegant, simple yet extraordinary. This kind of thing needs to be handled by a professional team; the two of us definitely can't manage it on our own.
Ou Ye said there are professional teams available. My dad is quite professional; he's a program planner. Planning a simple yet extraordinary wedding is a piece of cake for him.
Ou Ye made a phone call home to share the good news of getting their marriage certificate.
Old Ou has taken on the task of planning his daughter's wedding. He will lead a top-notch professional planning team to organize the wedding banquet.
The next day, Old Ou arrived in the capital.
This time, when Old Ou saw Shen Qi, he was much more amiable.
The son-in-law is the youngest academician, so the father-in-law has nothing to say. Old Ou can do is to make sure the wedding goes well.
In Shen Qi and Ou Ye's 150-square-meter fifth-floor apartment, Old Ou asked, "Is this our wedding room?"
"Yes, we'll use this house for the wedding, just for a short while. Next year, or at the latest the year after, Ou Ye and I will move to the academician villa on the west side of Yenching University," Shen Qi said, then pointed to the ceiling. "There's another apartment on the sixth floor, which Ou Ye was allocated after returning to China. Uncle Ou can stay upstairs while he's in Beijing."
Old Ou: "I have a place to live in the capital, so don't worry about it. But staying upstairs is fine too, it'll make it easier for us to communicate. Shen Qi, you and Ou Ye are already legally married, so why are you still calling me Uncle Ou?"
If I don't call you Uncle Ou, am I supposed to call you Ou's Dad?
Shen Qi immediately replied, "Dad."
"Good, good, I never imagined my son-in-law would be an academician." Old Ou was quite happy. Academicians all called him Dad, so the title of Dad was very prestigious.
Old Ou placed a car key on the coffee table; the logo was Mercedes-Benz. "Shen Qi, I know you like Mercedes-Benz. This is Mercedes-Benz G-Class AMG. I just picked it up last week, and the Beijing license plate is already registered. Take it with you; it's a small token of our family's appreciation."
Mercedes-Benz with the AMG badge is a high-performance version, a good car. The G-Class AMG is a large SUV, selling for two to three million yuan in China. Shen Qi accepted the car keys; he couldn't just call his father "Dad" for nothing, this Mercedes-Benz was his way of paying for the change of address.
The normal procedure for marriage is for the groom to first present betrothal gifts, invite the bride's parents to a meal, and give them the betrothal presents.
Shen Qi is not an ordinary person; he doesn't need to follow the usual procedures.
Anyway, Old Ou, representing the woman, sent the car first as a token of his affection.
"Where do you plan to hold your banquet?" Old Ou asked Shen Qi and Ou Ye, the couple.
Ou Ye makes the decisions on important family matters, while Shen Qi makes the decisions on minor matters.
The two-person household didn't have any major events planned. Shen Qi, representing the family, said, "Ou Ye and I are both researchers, so there's no need for a big fuss. A small banquet in the capital will suffice."
Old Ou asked, "The capital city is no problem, our home is close to the capital. So how many relatives and friends will be coming? Also, do both sets of parents need to meet beforehand?"
Shen Qi nodded. "Both sets of parents will be meeting. My parents are coming to the capital in a few days. I have quite a few relatives and friends from my hometown; I estimate there will be more than five tables."
"It's alright, fifty tables have been arranged for you. Your Aunt Ye's real estate group also has businesses in the capital, so we'll take care of the accommodation and transportation for your invited relatives and friends. Shall we set the date?"
Shen Qi flipped through the almanac. "The second day of the tenth lunar month, which is November 5th, is an auspicious day for marriage. Let's go with that day, wife, Dad, what do you think?"
"Yes, that's good." Ou Ye agreed.
"Do academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences consult the almanac? Then let's go with this day." Old Ou respected Shen Qi and Ou Ye's wishes.