The alarm rang right on time at eight thirty. Shen Mu Lan fumbled around on the bedside table and silenced the noisy ringing.
He lingered under the covers for another few minutes before rolling over and picking up his phone. The screen glared in the dim room, and he squinted as he scrolled through his messages out of habit.
Suddenly, his finger stopped. He sucked in a breath as though he had been burned and shot upright in bed.
"Sun Ye! Sun Ye, Sun Ye, Sun Ye-!"
Sun Ye had just finished brushing his teeth. Hearing the string of urgent calls, he hurried out of the bathroom. "I'm here. What's wrong?"
Shen Mu Lan ran over and grabbed his arm, practically shoving his phone into Sun Ye's face. "He got married! Xiao Ting! Xiao Ting actually got married!!"
Sun Ye leaned back slightly. On the screen was a photograph of two bright red marriage certificates. He chuckled, relieved. "They were always going to get married. I actually thought they'd register their marriage before the New Year."
Shen Mu Lan was nowhere near as calm. Although he had long known that Ji Yanzhi and Ji Ting could register their marriage, seeing those tangible little red booklets still felt profoundly unreal.
"Our country still doesn't allow same-sex marriage, yet Ji Yanzhi already has the certificates in hand. I honestly used to think he'd never get married in his entire life."
Sun Ye smiled. "With Director Ji's looks and circumstances, he must have plenty of admirers."
"Of course he does. He had loads of them back when we were at university. What I mean is, finding someone he'd fall for, who also loved him just as deeply, was far too difficult. But now..." Shen Mu Lan's gaze returned to the photograph, and his