I looked at Mi Cai with an extremely serious expression. I had brought up the topic of having children with her many times before, but this time my urgency was the strongest. Finally, after locking eyes with me, Mi Cai turned her body to the side and replied, “I can understand how you feel, and I know why you’re so anxious, but not now, okay? Tomorrow is our wedding night. Let’s do this other significant thing tomorrow; maybe it will carry more symbolic meaning.”
I stared at her profile, hesitated for a moment, then asked, “You agree?”
“Mm.”
That simple “Mm” threw my entire consciousness into a state of ecstatic joy. I knew that during this difficult period, Mi Cai had finally wavered, so she shared my thoughts. At the age of 28, we truly needed a child to bring a ray of sunlight that could break through everything. At this moment, we could both clearly see how long the rain had lasted before our marriage!
Suddenly, I really wanted to sing “Runaway” for this woman I loved most, but unfortunately, I lacked a guitar to enhance the melody. However, when my mood was cheerful, even the rain became the best accompaniment. So, I began humming along to the gradually more romantic sound of the falling rain. Initially, I thought I would sing a gentle version, but when I reached the lyrics, “In the city of desires, you are my last faith, pure as a beam of joyful light that illuminates my heart,” my voice inevitably became hoarse from emotional intensity… I hadn’t expected that amidst my emotional turbulence, Jian Wei’s figure running under the sunlight would suddenly appear in my mind, freeze in place, and then evoke a memory… Only then did I suddenly remember that this song I had sung repeatedly wasn’t dedicated solely to Mi Cai; it also contained a piece of my youth and the love I had exiled during those youthful years.
…
After leaving the hotel, I sent Mi Cai to the house of her godparents, where she would stay for the night. There, the atmosphere was already festive. I specially went to Mi Cai’s room and found it tidied neatly, with a bright red “Xi” character pasted on the headboard. It seemed as if the entire room had become brighter because of it. Tomorrow, I would come here to pick up Mi Cai, take her home, and then go to the hotel to hold our wedding ceremony, after which we would be together for life.
I went to the kitchen and took two apples from the refrigerator, peeled one, and handed it to Mi Cai. We leaned on the windowsill, eating the apples while listening to the sound of the falling rain…
“Zhaoyang, will the rain stop tomorrow? I really hope it won’t rain on our wedding day!”
I looked longingly outside, but there was no sign of the rain letting up. Still, to cheer Mi Cai up, I said confidently, “Sometimes the weather forecast isn’t accurate. I feel certain it won’t rain tomorrow!”
Mi Cai nodded but continued to look through the glass window at the bright light from the streetlamp beneath the rain, and regret was written on her face. She must have known in her heart that the rain wouldn’t stop tomorrow… However, I wanted her to understand even more that perhaps after this rain stopped, the time of warm spring and blooming flowers would come.
Time passed little by little to the sound of rain and the ticking of the pendulum clock. Mi Cai drew the curtains and said to me, “It’s getting late; you should go back and rest.”
“I don’t want to go back yet. Can we chat a little longer?”
“Are you trying to find out from me how they’ll give you a hard time tomorrow?”
Actually, this was one of the rare times when Mi Cai’s guess was inaccurate. I just wanted to stay with her a little longer, but I still pretended to have been caught off guard and said, “Yeah, what if they ask me to perform a feat like breaking a big stone with my chest? That would be too difficult for me. After all, I eat grains and am made of flesh and blood, and I haven’t practiced any martial arts skills!”
“You’re talking nonsense again!”
I held her hand and pulled her into my arms. I didn’t say anything else; I just wanted the warmth from her body that made me feel her real presence. I closed my eyes, and the happiness brought by her unique scent surrounded me… I seemed even more reluctant to leave!
After a while, Mi Cai whispered softly in my ear, “Zhaoyang, remember not to drink any alcohol tomorrow, okay?”
I was first puzzled, then opened my eyes to look at her, unable to figure out immediately why she made this request.
After being together for so long, intimacy was no longer an awkward topic between us. She continued, “These days are my most fertile period. If you drink tomorrow, it could pose a health risk for conceiving a baby.”
Only then did I suddenly realize that she cared more about this matter than I did, so she had considered the details more thoroughly. In fact, I had barely touched alcohol or cigarettes recently, making it a relatively suitable period for Mi Cai to get pregnant. Although avoiding alcohol at tomorrow’s wedding would be difficult, I would do my utmost to abstain completely for the sake of the baby’s health. Thus, our desire to have a child finally moved onto the agenda. Although it seemed like a reluctant decision made during this difficult time, I didn’t think there was anything inappropriate about it at all because my age and experiences had already made me eager to become a father.
…
The next day, I woke up at five o’clock in the morning. After washing up, I began preparing for the wedding under the arrangements of my father and mother, along with many relatives. Luo Ben, as my best man, had also been busy, strategizing with Zhang Yixi, Cao Jinfei, and others about how to deal with the challenges the women might throw at me.
Shortly after, firecrackers were set off, and the wedding convoy was ready. My father placed the previously prepared cigarettes and candies into the trunk of the car to deal with the curious relatives, friends, and passersby. He also reminded me of many things to pay attention to. After confirming everything was okay, we set off promptly at eight o’clock in the morning toward the house of Mi Cai’s godparents.
Although it was still raining, the road conditions were quite good. We reached the community in just fifteen minutes and immediately lit firecrackers to alert the people on the bride’s side that the wedding convoy had arrived.
Hearing the firecrackers, a crowd quickly gathered at the entrance of the building, mostly neighbors hoping to get some cigarettes and candies. Several of my generous friends behind me unhesitatingly threw all the prepared cigarettes and candies to them. As they scrambled to grab them, they created a path for me, signaling me to hurry upstairs. I moved quickly, leaving the crowd behind, and was about to make a determined dash when I encountered a woman in red on the second floor—Anqi. She blocked my way and said, “Zhaoyang, today is your big happy day. You definitely won’t get angry, right?”
I looked at her warily and said, “What, are you giving me a challenge mode this time? Do you think you’re capable of guarding the first level?”
Anqi looked at me with a half-smile and replied, “Don’t be so cocky. Just wait until you pass my level…”
I locked eyes with her, then suddenly looked up and exclaimed, “Hey! Zhang Yixi, how come you’re hanging on the rooftop?”
Anqi instinctively looked up. I took the chance to push her aside and ran up to the third floor… But just when I thought I had cleverly succeeded, two men on the third floor grabbed me, and Anqi quickly chased up to the third floor, angrily saying, “Zhaoyang, you really have some nerve! How could you come up with such a low trick!!”
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