It Was All for Us to Meet Again

Aemeath straightened up slightly from Lu Yan's embrace, stretched out her finger, and gently swiped on the screen to unlock the phone.

Lu Yan saw the sender's name and raised an eyebrow. "I guessed it was someone asking you to play games again."

"Don't always think of Shuyao as so playful, okay? She's a grown woman now." Aemeath gave Lu Yan a reproachful look, then opened the WeChat chat window.

Lu Shuyao sent a message filled with exclamation marks and an urgent tone: [Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, sister-in-law! Calling my invincible sister-in-law!]

[Come on, brother, take me to play Delta Force! They're all such rip-offs, I'm about to go broke, waaaaah, I desperately need my sister-in-law to save me!]

It was followed by a meme of a cat frantically kowtowing.

Upon seeing the message, Aemeath couldn't help but chuckle. She held up her phone screen and waved it in front of Lu Yan.

"You guessed right. You came to me for help!" Aemeath raised her chin smugly, the frustration of losing to Lu Yan in Street Fighter instantly cured by this "sister-in-law" address. "This girl, she always rushes forward in shooting games, but her aim is terrible. I always have to clean up her messes."

Looking at the two prominent "sisters-in-law" on the screen, Lu Yan couldn't help but smile.

He pulled Aemeath closer, resting his chin on her shoulder, and looked at her phone screen, teasingly saying, "What? Our Little Aemeath Amy is not only responsible for dominating Street Fighter, but now she also has to take on a side job carrying girls in Delta Force? That must be quite a busy schedule for you. I wonder if Master Lu can still find a spot for you?"

"Get lost~" Aemeath playfully nudged Lu Yan's chest with her elbow. "You can even beat me in fighting games, why would you need me to carry you? Shuyao is different. With her skills, if I don't go to save her, she'll be a loot box in three minutes."

Although she said that, Aemeath's fingers remained on the input box, and she hesitated to press the key.

She turned her head, her eyes reflecting Lu Yan's face so close to hers.

Lu Yan's eyes were full of indulgence and love; his usually cold gaze was now tinged with the warmest light because of her.

A surge of immense sweetness welled up in Aemeath's heart.

Playing games with girls is fun, but now they have more important things they're more eager to do.

Aemeath withdrew her gaze, a gentle smile playing on her lips, and began typing rapidly with both hands on her phone.

Lu Yan leaned on her shoulder, his gaze following her nimble fingertips.

On the screen, a line of text gradually appeared:

We'll be busy preparing for our marriage registration these next few days, so I probably won't have time to play with you.

When the words "get the marriage certificate" appeared in the chat box and were sent out by Aemeath, Lu Yan felt an indescribable tingling sensation quickly spread throughout his body.

"Wife..." Lu Yan's voice suddenly became somewhat nagging.

He couldn't help but turn his head and place a deep kiss on Aemeath's fair neck.

"Why are you being so mushy all of a sudden?" Aemeath felt a little ticklish from his kiss and shrank her neck, but her smile was even brighter than before.

She leaned back, nestling completely in Lu Yan's arms. "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong? Could it be that the great painter Lu wants to back out and doesn't want to get the marriage certificate anymore?"

"How could I possibly go back on my word?" Lu Yan tightened his arms, pulling her firmly into his embrace, his tone incredibly resolute. "I just think these words look particularly pleasing to the eye coming from your phone."

"I'm so pleased with her, I wish I could send Shuyao a big red envelope right now to thank her for bringing this up at this time."

"Are you stupid?" Aemeath was amused by his delighted expression.

Just as the two were getting intimate, Aemeath's phone vibrated twice.

Lu Shuyao replied to the message almost instantly; you could feel how shocked and excited the girl was even through the screen.

[Oh! You two are going to get your marriage certificate soon?]

Immediately afterward, before Aemeath could reply, a second message popped up, this time a question tinged with gossip and curiosity:

[I forgot to ask before, sister-in-law, how long have you known my brother?]

Upon seeing this sentence, Aemeath paused slightly in her typing.

How long has she known Lu Yan?

She raised her head, her gaze carefully tracing Lu Yan's features. From his smooth, full forehead, to his newly trimmed brow bone that made him look even more sharp and handsome, to his deep eyes that always looked at her gently, and finally to his slightly upturned thin lips.

In just a few short months, they've been through so much together. From the initial awkwardness and shyness in the fitting room, to working hard for each other to turn it into a warm home.

Although it was only a few months for A-Yan, it felt like a long time to me.

"Why aren't you replying?" Lu Yan looked at the dazed Aemeath, stretched out his slender fingers, and gently brushed aside a stray strand of hair that was hanging down beside her cheek.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, a playful smirk in his voice. "Shuyao asked how long you've known me. If you honestly answer only a few months, this girl will probably be shocked. She might even think I'm some creepy uncle who's kidnapped a young girl, managing to trick you into going to the marriage registry so quickly."

"You're a weirdo! The kind who uses sweet talk to fool people!" Aemeath retorted without hesitation, then a bright smile appeared on her face.

She lowered her head, solemnly typed a few words in the input box, and then pressed send.

[It's been a very, very long time.]

Lu Yan was stunned for a moment when he saw these five words.

He looked at Aemeath, but more than that, he felt an indescribable emotion.

"For a very long time?" Lu Yan repeated these four words softly, his voice filled with tenderness.

He leaned close to Aemeath's ear and said in a low, suggestive tone, only they could hear, "Honey, if you say that to Shuyao, she won't think you're actually the junior student who's secretly had a crush on me for years, will she?"

"Oh! So you've been secretly watching me for a long time, even plotting to get my hands on me?" Lu Yan found it more and more interesting as he spoke, and couldn't help but chuckle. "So, Little Aemeath Ai, you've been eyeing me for a long time."

"Stop being so vain!" Aemeath's cheeks instantly turned as red as if they were on fire.

She turned around in embarrassment and anger, reached out and pinched Lu Yan's cheeks hard, pulling them apart like dough.

"It's clearly you, you big silly cat, who can't live without me, okay?!"

Aemeath looked at Lu Yan's face, which was slightly deformed by her pinching but still smiling, the slight embarrassment and annoyance in her heart instantly turned into tenderness.

She released her grip, cupped Lu Yan's face in her hands, and gently stroked his cheek with her thumb.

Aemeath's voice was as gentle as a spring breeze. "Isn't that so? From the time I saved you from Jian Lake when we were children until now, in a sense, I've known you for a very, very long time."

"And every day I spend with you feels like countless years. All that long search was for that spring, to meet you again."

Upon hearing these words, Lu Yan's eyes welled up slightly. He didn't speak, but simply lowered his head and placed a kiss on Aemeath's forehead.