Chapter 705: They Will Come to the Wedding

The next morning, the sky finally stopped raining, showing signs of clearing up. Mi Cai and I got up early. We made breakfast and tidied the house, but our thoughts were already on the journey back to Xuzhou. This morning, my mother had called Mi Cai, telling her that she wanted to go shopping for the New Year preparations together after Mi Cai returned to Xuzhou. Mi Cai was very excited about it, and so was I, because neither of us had ever bought New Year goods before. It was a completely new experience for us. I had already decided that I would take this opportunity to buy Mi Cai a set of new clothes for the New Year. It seemed like she hadn’t really thought about buying clothes or similar things since we had returned to Xuzhou. She could neglect herself, but I absolutely would not allow that! I genuinely wanted to be the person in the world who cherished her the most and cared for her the most deeply!

Breakfast was soon ready, and Mi Cai and I sat down to eat. She asked me, “Zhaoyang, what exactly do people buy for New Year preparations?”

“New Year preparations refer to anything related to the Spring Festival,” I replied while eating.

“Do you have to be so vague?”

I looked up at her and answered, “Food, clothes, Spring Festival couplets—those are all part of the New Year shopping!”

“Oh,” Mi Cai responded, and after drinking a few spoonfuls of porridge, she said, “I just care whether there’s anything delicious!”

“Do you have to be so straightforward?”

Mi Cai laughed and said, “Lately, I’ve been thinking, when giving birth, no matter how hard I try, my figure will definitely change a lot. Since it’s going to change anyway, I might as well indulge myself with good food first!”

“But you’re not even pregnant yet… You can stay beautiful for one more day. If you start with this self-defeating mindset now, you’ll probably never get your figure back after having the baby!”

Mi Cai looked a bit displeased and said, “I’ve never made my beauty a top priority. Why are you worrying about this for no reason?”

I sighed, “I’m just afraid that our child will have psychological trauma seeing a mother who’s overweight. As for me, I’ve honestly never cared much about whether you’re beautiful or not!”

“Hypocrite, pretentious, melodramatic, exaggerated…”

I laughed and said, “Go ahead, say all the words you can think of so I can see just how awful I really am!”

“I won’t say any more, or I might regret marrying such a low-quality man!”

I smirked at her, because I liked getting the upper hand in verbal sparring with her. But she didn’t feel like indulging my childishness anymore. She lowered her head, eating quietly while pressing her hand against her collar. Suddenly, the conversation about having children reminded me of something I had been thinking about for a long time. After a pause, I turned serious and asked her, “Do you think we could start thinking about having a child now?”

Mi Cai didn’t seem as resistant as before. She asked, “Can you tell me your reasons?”

“Well, Ban Die is about to retire, right? My mom hasn’t been working, so they’ll have plenty of time to help us take care of the baby. I think once we go back to Xuzhou, we won’t have any worries!”

Mi Cai nodded and replied, “That’s true, but we still need to wait a bit. I want to get a civil service job first. I want to have a stable job before we consider having a child. I don’t want all the pressure to fall on you.”

“But I really don’t mind!”

“But the future is unpredictable. Having more security gives us more peace of mind, right? We’re still young, so there’s no need to rush into having a child. I promise you, once my job is stable, I’ll definitely start thinking about having a baby. Because I really want one too…”

After all, it wasn’t something I could do alone. Thinking about my close friends, none of them had children yet either. I realized I might have been a bit too hasty. Besides, Mi Cai hadn’t completely rejected the idea. Her desire for stability before starting a family came from her naturally more cautious personality. It wasn’t a matter of right or wrong—waiting was the right choice.

…

The sky finally cleared up. At nine in the morning, the sunlight poured into every corner we could see, and the temperature rose significantly. They said that after this cold front passed, we would be experiencing the warmest Spring Festival in decades.

Mi Cai and I took a few more potted plants and greenery from the old house that we hadn’t been able to pack before. I shut the back door of the car, and Mi Cai stood in the sunlight, fanning herself with her hands on her hips. Just now, she had gone up and down the stairs nearly ten times. She felt that if it could be taken with us, no plant should be left behind!

The gas station was packed, and Mi Cai and I waited for nearly an hour before we could finally fill up the tank. We were finally leaving Suzhou again, though a sense of regret lingered in our hearts because we hadn’t achieved the purpose of this trip.

Likewise, Yan Zhuomei, who was returning to the U.S. today, also hadn’t achieved her goal, because Mi Cai and I had already decided to hold our wedding on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month next year in Xuzhou, rather than going to the U.S. That meant we had only twenty days left. As for the marriage certificate, there would be a way to handle it—after all, Mi Cai’s aunt had promised us that she would find a way to get the household registration book from Mi Zhongxin.

During these days in Suzhou, Mi Cai and I hadn’t been idle. We had asked friends to help us get a household registration certificate from the local police station, but we were repeatedly refused for various reasons… Of course, we knew those were just excuses. The real reason was that Mi Zhongde had been deliberately obstructing us.

At around noon, Mi Cai and I finally got onto the highway leaving Suzhou. I drove the whole way, while Mi Cai seemed distracted, constantly checking her phone… This unusual behavior puzzled me, so I asked, “Why are you always looking at your phone?”

Mi Cai replied with concern, “I can’t get in touch with An Zong anymore. She left for Tibet two days ago! I sent her a message last night, but she didn’t reply. I just called her, but it said the phone was turned off!”

The loss of contact with the woman in red worried me, and I instinctively sighed, “I hope nothing’s happened to her!”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. With the New Year approaching, the trains are full of all kinds of people. She doesn’t have much experience traveling alone. I just hope…” Mi Cai didn’t finish her sentence, but her expression grew even more serious.

“Maybe someone else knows something? Try contacting her indirectly!”

Mi Cai thought for a moment and suddenly said, “Right… Zhang Yixi, An Zong’s boyfriend Zhang Yixi. I have his phone number. He must be in touch with her!”

“Then call him and ask!”

Mi Cai nodded and quickly scrolled through her phone screen, found the number, and dialed. She asked, “Hello, is this Zhang Yixi? This is Mi Cai!”

I couldn’t hear his reply, but I could imagine the conversation in my mind. Mi Cai continued, “I can’t reach An Zong anymore. Do you know how she’s doing? I’m really worried!”

“You’ve already left for Tibet to find her?”

“Wish you a safe trip! Please let me know the moment you hear from her. Even though she said she didn’t want to keep in touch during her trip to Tibet, I still can’t help worrying. With the New Year coming, the trains are really chaotic!”

“Okay… Thank you for your wishes. Mi Cai and I will get married on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month next year. I hope you can come with An Zong!”

“Sure, please drive safely and don’t drive when you’re tired… Have a good trip!”

After saying all this, Mi Cai finally hung up the phone and told me, who was equally worried, “An Zong left a message for Zhang Yixi before she left. She said she didn’t want to keep in touch during her pilgrimage to Tibet, so she turned off her phone… Zhang Yixi has already gone to Lhasa to find her. I hope everything will be okay!”

I comforted her, “Everything will work out. She and Zhang Yixi have been through so much together. They’ll definitely get through this!”

Mi Cai’s tense expression eased a little, and she nodded, “Yes… Zhang Yixi promised me that he would definitely attend our wedding with An Zong. I really hope to see their happy day. I think: having them at our wedding and giving us their blessings will be the best gift we could ever receive…”

I felt deeply moved and replied after a long pause, “Yes… They will be our brightest example. I don’t believe there is any hardship between us that could compare to what they’ve gone through. If they can reunite after everything, then there’s no reason for us to separate!”

Mi Cai looked thoughtful. She gently placed her hand on my leg and fell silent. Perhaps she was still worried about the woman in red, and I was worried too… And so, this concern deepened our longing to see them at our wedding. We really hoped they would be safe!… At the same time, I was also looking forward to meeting the man who had always been in the woman in red’s stories—the man named Zhang Yixi!… I also wanted to know how he saw his legendary half of life!… Perhaps I could learn something from him that would help me understand life a little better.

…

Perhaps because of the good weather, we didn’t encounter serious traffic jams on the way. We returned to Xuzhou in only seven hours, and the sky hadn’t fully darkened yet. After parking the car, we headed straight home…

Unlike the last time we returned from Suzhou, this time we already had the keys to the house. As we opened the door, the scene inside was the same as we had imagined: Li Xiaoyun and Wang Zheng were already at our house, and on the table was a hotpot steaming with warmth!

Father Ban seemed to be in a good mood. Without us even calling him, he put down his newspaper and said first, “You’re back just in time. I got two pheasants from the countryside today. They’re perfect for hotpot.”

Li Xiaoyun and his wife also chimed in, “Yes, and we get to enjoy it too! Tonight, everyone should eat well and drink well! Uncle has already said he’ll bring out his twenty-year-old vintage wine… Ha ha!”

Mi Cai and I exchanged a glance, feeling the warmth of family all around us—a feeling that could never be experienced in the United States. Li Xiaoyun turned to Mi Cai alone and said, “Xiao Mi comrade, I’ve got some good news for you… The company is starting the New Year holiday the day after tomorrow, for a total of fifteen days. That means we only have to work one more day tomorrow before we’re completely free! I’ve already reserved you to go shopping for the New Year goods with me!”

Mi Cai took Li Xiaoyun’s hand and smiled, “No problem!”

I looked at her smile, captivated, and could no longer remember the unpleasant days we had spent in Suzhou. I even hoped that during dinner, Father Ban and the others wouldn’t bring up those troubling matters that had upset us!