As If They Were Back in That Spring
"Hurry up and change your clothes! We need to get to the mall as fast as we can!" Aemeath shouted excitedly, pulling Lu Yan towards the bedroom.
As Lu Yan watched her rush into the bedroom like a gust of wind, he stood in the living room and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He looked down at the household registration booklet on the TV cabinet, then at the ring on his ring finger.
Five days.
One hundred and twenty hours.
Seven thousand two hundred minutes.
In the past two decades, Lu Yan had never felt time pass so slowly, nor had he ever imagined that the future would be so exciting.
He walked to the TV cabinet, carefully put the household registration booklet into a waterproof document bag, and then solemnly placed it into the innermost layer of his usual black backpack.
"A-Yan! Come in and change quickly! I've even put on my lipstick!" Aemeath's impatient voice came from the bedroom.
"They're here, they're here."
Lu Yan slung his backpack over his shoulder and strode towards the bedroom.
The bedroom door was pushed open, and Lu Yan walked in carrying a black backpack.
"Here it is, don't rush." He placed the bag on the bedside table, carefully zipping it all the way up. Inside the compartment, his household registration booklet lay quietly.
At this moment, Aemeath was standing in front of the full-length mirror in the entryway.
She had changed into a light apricot-colored dress, the hem of which stopped just above her knees, revealing a pair of straight, fair legs. On her feet were a pair of strappy high-heeled sandals, showing off her cute toes.
Her signature long pink hair was tied into a low ponytail with a light blue ribbon, and as she turned her head, strands of hair brushed against her fair neck.
Although Aemeath's attire was quite casual, her beautiful face, coupled with the peach-colored lipstick she had specially applied, made her look like a sweet-smelling peach, full of youthful vitality.
Upon hearing Lu Yan's response, Aemeath immediately turned around and pounced on him like a light butterfly, naturally taking his arm.
"A-Yan, am I pretty?" She tilted her head up, her eyes sparkling as she stared at him.
Lu Yan's gaze followed her full forehead, slid over her bright eyes, and finally landed on her delicate pink lips.
His voice was a few decibels lower than usual. "Beautiful. But..."
"But what?" Aemeath nervously touched her cheek. "Is my lipstick too red? Or is this outfit not proper enough?"
"However, I'm suddenly feeling a bit jealous and don't really want to go out." Lu Yan reached out and gently stroked her hair with his fingertips, a faint smile playing on his lips. "With such a beautiful fiancée, I'd get incredibly jealous if other people stared at her too much."
Upon hearing the words "fiancée," a blush gradually appeared on Aemeath's cheeks, but she couldn't hide the smile in her eyes.
She playfully punched Lu Yan's arm. "When did you become so glib? Hurry up, let's go, buying clothes is the important thing!"
As she spoke, she used force, half pulling and half dragging Lu Yan, to push open the gate of the courtyard.
He was dressed simply today, wearing a soft black T-shirt and light-colored casual pants. His slightly long bangs fluttered gently in the breeze, giving him a clean and gentle youthful air.
The summer sun has shed the coolness of the morning and shines with a touch of warmth on the cobblestone streets of the old town.
The two walked side by side on the dappled shade of the street, neither suggesting taking a taxi, but tacitly choosing to walk.
After all, the shopping mall they were going to wasn't far from here, and they both longed for the feeling of walking hand in hand in the sunshine.
Lu Yan's left hand tightly intertwined with Aemeath's right hand.
Their hands swayed gently at their sides with each step, and with each sway, the two forget-me-not rings on their ring fingers reflected a delicate and dazzling light in the sunlight.
"A-Yan ~~" As they walked, Aemeath suddenly shook their clasped hands and deliberately drew out her voice as she called him.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Lu Yan turned his head slightly, his gaze remaining tenderly fixed on her profile.
Aemeath slowed her pace, looking at the mall's exterior walls that were already faintly visible in the distance, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.
"Nothing, it's just that I suddenly realized how fast and wonderful time flies." Aemeath shook their clasped hands. "A-Yan, do you remember the first time we went shopping for clothes at the mall?"
Lu Yan was stunned for a moment, then a gentle ripple appeared in his eyes.
His thoughts were instantly drawn back to that somewhat cramped yet incredibly warm spring.
"Of course I remember," Lu Yan said softly. "Back then, your clothes were too... too eye-catching. In order not to cause a commotion, you had to stay hidden from everyone else when you were by my side."
"Yeah~" Aemeath seemed to have discovered something amusing and immediately seized the opportunity. She leaned close to Lu Yan's ear and said in a sweet voice that only the two of them could hear, "That day, someone was so stiff. He didn't even dare to lift his head when walking down the street. He could only stare at his phone screen like a socially awkward person, typing and communicating with me in the notes app."
As Aemeath spoke, she ran to the front of him, walked backwards, and mimicked Lu Yan's mannerisms perfectly. She even used her free hand to imitate Lu Yan's typing motions, poking at the air.
"[Your clothes are too eye-catching right now... You need to maintain that look, or people will think you're weird.]"
"Back then, A-Yan was like a wooden doll! Not only did he walk with his arms and legs moving in unison, but he also wouldn't even dare to look at me."
She imitated him perfectly, even capturing Lu Yan's nervousness perfectly.
In the end, he couldn't help but laugh so hard he bent over.