At that moment, Yan Zhiyi felt he suddenly understood why he always acted strangely whenever he ran into Xia Shule.
He gazed steadily at the younger man's profile. "Please rest assured, both of you. I will never hurt Xia Shule."
A man's word was his bond. Hearing his promise put Ming Yue much more at ease.
"Stay for lunch. I specifically asked them to prepare plenty of dishes."
"All right." Yan Zhiyi agreed with a faint smile.
Honestly, Xia Dunrong had never seen President Yan smile so many times. Thanks to his son, he had witnessed something rare.
Yan Zhiyi noticed that when Mrs. Yu served the food, she deliberately placed a plate of crayfish in front of Xia Dunrong. The crayfish seemed rather out of place among the other dishes.
He remembered what the younger man had said yesterday: he disliked garlic but loved garlic crayfish.
A little while later, Xia Dunrong put all the crayfish meat he had peeled into Ming Yue's bowl.
Yan Zhiyi turned his head. Xia Shule was busy stuffing his face. He showed no intention of peeling any crayfish and had not even glanced at them.
Didn't he like them?
Yan Zhiyi considered it for a moment, then put on gloves and quietly began peeling crayfish. He clumsily learned from what he saw in front of him, for no other reason than that he wanted to.
He had never peeled crayfish for anyone else and rarely even ate them himself, so every movement was slow and deliberate.
A short while later...
A small bowl with a layer of crayfish meat at the bottom appeared in front of Xia Shule. He paused in the middle of shoveling food into his mouth.
His questioning gaze slowly rose, looking first at his father, Xia Dunrong. What was going on?
Once he realized the bowl did not seem to have come from his dad, it dawned on him that this was crayfish... peeled by Yan Zhiyi!?
Huh!?
"Wh... what..."
"Eat."
Yan Zhiyi's voice was as clear and mellow as wine, with a slight huskiness as though moistened by a trace of vapor. That single word made Xia Shule's heart tighten.
He picked up a piece of crayfish and popped it into his mouth.
Across the table, Xia Dunrong saw this and silently handed the other bowl of crayfish meat beside him to Ming Yue with a smile. It seemed his son no longer needed it.
The quiet atmosphere lasted until the two of them were about to leave.
Xia Shule marveled that the next time he came back, he would be a married man~
In the car, Yan Zhiyi drove himself while Xia Shule sat in the passenger seat playing on his phone.
In reality, ten minutes passed without anything moving on the screen. He did not actually want to play on his phone; he simply had no idea what else to do.
Yan Zhiyi suddenly spoke. "Why did you help them?"
The question came out of nowhere. Not only did Xia Shule fail to understand it, but Yan Zhiyi himself was not entirely sure what he meant.
Perhaps he wanted to hear Xia Shule's colorful answer in this heartless world.
"Huh?" He must have been asking about the things his mother had mentioned today, but there was no real reason behind them. "What do you mean, why? I just couldn't stand it. Punishing evil and helping the good-that's always been my style~"
Xia Shule: Mom, you don't need to buy trash bags anymore. I'm already full of hot air.
"Aren't you afraid they'll take advantage of your kindness? That they'll turn around and hurt you?"
Turn around and hurt me? Hasn't that already happened? But he did not care.
Thinking of Zhou Anyang, what angered him most was not actually the betrayal. Everything he did came from following his own heart, not from wanting anyone's gratitude.
What angered him most was those disgusting tactics.
"No. As long as I can live with myself, that's enough. I follow my heart. Whether they deceive me or hurt me, that only proves there's something wrong with them. I won't let their character flaws diminish my courage."
Remembering everything that had happened, Xia Shule lowered his fluffy head. "If I had to choose again, I'd still do the same thing."
Indeed, Yan Zhiyi remembered how Xia Shule had stood in front of him that day, brimming with righteous passion.
While they waited at a traffic light, Yan Zhiyi turned to look at him.
The whorl at the crown of his head was just barely visible. It was noon, and sunlight filtered through Xia Shule's fluffy hair into Yan Zhiyi's eyes, dazzling him so much he could barely keep them open.
Rather than saying the sunlight had shone into his eyes, it was more that he had turned his head and leaned into that beam of light himself.
Yan Zhiyi's hand itched. Without thinking, he reached over and rubbed the top of Xia Shule's head. His fluffy hair looked soft and felt even softer.
When he came back to his senses, Xia Shule's big, dark eyes were blinking up at him. He seemed puzzled, with surprise in his gaze.
Just then, the light turned green. Yan Zhiyi started the car as though nothing had happened, keeping his eyes straight ahead.
"Pretty soft," he remarked.
Xia Shule picked up his phone and muttered, "It's fine, soft hair. How could it not be soft?"
"..."
At the marriage registration office, VIP applicants who had booked in advance had a separate room. Xia Shule was so nervous that his palms were slick with sweat.
It was his first time getting married. He had no experience and was very green.
*?*
What was he even saying? As if this were anyone else's second time.
"You're both entering this marriage willingly? You've thought it through? No regrets?" The clerk handed them a form.
"We've thought it through," Yan Zhiyi answered immediately.
Xia Shule nodded, took the form, and began filling it out. Even the pen in his hand was damp with sweat. His hands were crying. His hands had wet their pants.
"All right, once you've finished the forms, we can take your photo. This way."
"Lovely. You're both stunning, and you look wonderful together!"
"The certificates are ready. We'll emboss them in a moment."
"I'd better ask you both one more time: you've decided to get married?"
Xia Shule held the freshly issued marriage certificate. The spot that had just been embossed was still slightly warm. In the photo, they wore white against a red background, both smiling faintly.
It felt a little unreal.
"Give it to me. I'll keep them together."
Xia Shule closed the marriage certificate and handed it over. "Here."
Sensing Xia Shule's mood, Yan Zhiyi asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. It just feels a little unreal. This happened so fast. I'm actually married. Oh my god, I'm actually married!?"
No matter how Yan Zhiyi looked at him, he found him adorable. He was utterly beyond saving. "Today's not too bad. It'll probably feel even stranger on the wedding day."
"It's so amazing." They walked outside side by side, Xia Shule's expression animated. "It hasn't changed anything physically, but something just feels different. Do you feel that way, Uncle Yan? It's especially... new."
"I do. I'm looking forward to our future life a little more."
"I never thought you were such a sentimental guy, bro. Does your mom... know about this?"
"If my dad knows, she'll definitely know."
Yan Zhiyi held the two little red booklets tightly, running his fingers over them again and again.
Yan Zhiyi asked, "Would you like a Chinese-style wedding or a Western-style one?"
Xia Shule said, "Either is fine."
Yan Zhiyi asked, "Will you move in tonight?"
Xia Shule said, "Either is fine."
Yan Zhiyi asked, "Who would you like to invite? Is there anyone... you don't want to know you're married?"
Xia Shule said, "No. Anything's fine. You handle it."
Xia Shule looked up into Yan Zhiyi's eyes and put on an obedient expression. "You handle it. I won't butt in. I'll do as I'm told the whole way."
Really, it was just because he had no plans and could not be bothered to make any. He might as well leave everything to Yan Zhiyi. All he needed to do was turn on follow mode.
If Xia Shule really had to arrange it himself, he might end up decorating the wedding venue like Mario's world.
Yan Zhiyi nodded. The moment Xia Shule said there was no one he wanted to keep his marriage from, Yan Zhiyi had already added Jiang Gechen to the guest list.
And all of Xia Shule's classmates, too. He wanted everyone to know that Xia Shule no longer had anything to do with Jiang Gechen.