Volume Two: Second Scroll
The End of the Green Duckweed (5)
“Song Yuhang, marry me.”
“Passport, ID card, visa, marriage application form…” After receiving the reply email from the city hall of British Columbia, Canada, the two of them were about to fly to Vancouver in a few days. Song Yuhang was organizing their luggage at home, muttering the list justifiably1.
Lin Yan, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses and wrapped in a loose bathrobe, ran to her side holding a laptop.
“Song Yuhang, how about you wear this?”
Song Yuhang stole a moment from her busyness to glance at the screen, and her face turned green2.
A snow-white, off-the-shoulder, floor-length wedding dress with a train.
The corner of her lip twitched. “You wear it, you wear it.”
Lin Yan was relentless. “I’ve already chosen mine.”
Song Yuhang put down the clothes in her hands and went over. “Which one?”
Lin Yan swiped the laptop’s touchpad twice; it was a new men’s tuxedo from a certain luxury goods company, priced at forty-eight thousand.
Song Yuhang was indignant. “Why do I have to wear the wedding dress while you wear the suit?”
Lin Yan said smugly, “Didn’t you say that as long as I agreed to marry you, you would satisfy any condition I had?”
Song Yuhang felt her status in the family had been provoked and insulted. “Anything except this.”
She had never worn a dress in her life, from childhood to adulthood. It was unimaginable; if she let Mother Song and Ji Jingxing, Fang Xin, Duan Cheng, Feng Jianguo, and the others see her show up in a wedding dress, they would probably laugh their teeth out.
Just thinking about it made her scalp tingle3 and feel as though she had no face left to show.
Lin Yan was relentless. “No, I want you to wear this.”
Song Yuhang stared at the white nape of her neck and ground her teeth. “Are you sure?”
“Sure, certain, and…”
Before she could finish speaking, she was picked up by the waist. Lin Yan didn’t even have time to grab her laptop and felt a wave of dizziness.
“Hey—”
Her body sank into the soft sofa. Song Yuhang pressed down on her and tickled her. “Say it again, say it again, hmm?”
Lin Yan couldn’t dodge in time, panting for breath, a blush appearing on her pale face.
“Stop… ah… so itchy…”
The more she said this, the more energetic Song Yuhang became. The two of them roughhoused together, and it took a long while before they finally quieted down.
Lin Yan’s hand pressed against her shoulder, blocking her approach. Her already loose clothes were pulled even more askew, vaguely revealing her slender collarbones and a tiny bit of wonderful spring scenery4.
Song Yuhang’s throat went dry; she swallowed and gently held up her face, looking into her eyes.
Their noses brushed against each other. Lin Yan’s lips grazed hers, present and yet not, stirring one’s heart of an ape and mind of a horse5.
Song Yuhang turned her head to seek them, and Lin Yan started to laugh, knowing that if this continued, most of the day would be wasted away again.
While she was refusing, she lifted the hem of her shirt, her nails tracing back and forth over the muscles on her back.
At the same time, she bent her knee, using that most tender spot to gently rub against her waist, her charming eyes like silk6.
“It’s only a few days until we leave for Vancouver…”
“I know.” Song Yuhang was a little breathless from her teasing and leaned down again to find her lips.
Lin Yan couldn’t dodge in time and was caught squarely.
Her voice was a little muffled.
“Is everything…”
“Rest assured.” At a time like this, it’s amazing she can still think about these things, Song Yuhang couldn’t help but laugh, patiently reassuring her.
“The passports, visas, marriage application, wedding officiant, and witnesses have all been arranged. The only thing missing is…”
She finally let her go, rubbing their noses together.
“The bride.”
Lin Yan’s face was slightly red. “You stinking shameless person. This old mother didn’t want to get married at all, if it weren’t for you…”
Song Yuhang narrowed her eyes, her gaze unfriendly, and her hand slid down along the leg wrapped around her waist.
“Hmm? Continue.”
Lin Yan’s body suddenly tensed up, and she endured her anger and swallowed her voice.
Song Yuhang was very satisfied, picking her up and setting her on her lap. “Good girl, relax a little, so I can…”
Lin Yan buried her head in her shoulder, gasping, “Wait.”
Song Yuhang stopped, her face a picture of forbearance.
“What’s wrong?”
Lin Yan’s voice was intermittent. “The… the rings haven’t been bought yet…”
Mentioning the rings, Song Yuhang’s heart gave a thud. These past days had been too happy, to the point that she had forgotten about this matter.
The wedding ring she bought for Lin Yan was still on the hand of an unidentified female corpse.
Thinking back to her somewhat crazy actions at that time, Song Yuhang wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
She swallowed. “Yan… Yanyan… that…”
Now it was Lin Yan’s turn for her expression to become unfriendly. “Hmm?”
Song Yuhang squeezed her eyes shut. “I bought the rings, but… listen to my explanation!!!”
After she finished speaking intermittently and hesitantly, Lin Yan’s expression was like an overturned five-flavor bottle7—a spectacular mix.
Song Yuhang looked into her eyes and said cautiously, “How about… we buy a new pair?”
Although she said that, the trip to Vancouver was imminent. After all, they couldn’t release the city hall’s pigeons8.
Moreover, Lin Yan still had an unfulfilled wish she wanted to complete before getting married, and she knew that Song Yuhang must have spent a lot of money on that pair of rings. Asking her to buy another pair was probably unrealistic.
Lin Yan, while feeling sweet in her heart that she would go to such lengths for her, also felt a little jealous.
The ring that belonged to her was actually on another woman’s hand, and she had even been jealous of that ring before.
Just thinking about it made her heart fill with sour water9.
She was never a magnanimous person to begin with.
Seeing that she remained silent, Song Yuhang held her properly, gathered her disheveled clothes for her, and pressed their foreheads together.
“I’m sorry, I really thought at the time…”
She remembered those days and still had lingering fear in her heart10.
“I don’t know how to describe the feeling of learning of your ‘terrible news’; everyone was lying to me. In my short life, no matter how difficult things got, I had never despaired. Until that moment, I truly felt that the sky had collapsed11.”
As Song Yuhang said this, her brow furrowed slightly, and a trace of pain appeared on her face.
Seeing Lin Yan’s gaze fixed on her, she forced another smile.
“Of course, I understand you. I don’t mean to blame you for deceiving me. I know, and I appreciate it. When it comes to pain, who could have been in more pain than you? I just hate that I wasn’t able to fight shoulder to shoulder with you at that time.”
“At that time, when I gave the ring away, I was just thinking that once the truth became greatly white12 and I had avenged you, I would go down and accompany you.”
Song Yuhang smiled slightly, her eyes red.
“Who knew it would turn into such a huge oolong13? But compared to all that, I just want you to be alive and well.”
Song Yuhang had been self-disciplined and law-abiding her whole life; the only few times she acted on impulse were all for her, and even if she was punished, she never regretted it.
Lin Yan was moved by such a variable, and it was impossible not to be moved by such a person of utmost feeling and nature.
What’s more, just as Song Yuhang couldn’t bear to see her cry, Lin Yan couldn’t bear to see her eyes turn red.
The great young miss had always been accustomed to being arrogant and still didn’t know how to coax people. Biting her lip, she thought: It was clearly her who did something wrong, so why am I the one who’s so upset?
Song Yuhang is a big bastard!
As she thought this, she threw a punch, hitting her on the shoulder blade. It didn’t have much force and didn’t hurt at all.
Song Yuhang leaned back a little but still hugged her cheerfully, and Lin Yan’s whole body fell onto her.
“It’s okay. As long as you can calm down, you can hit me as many times as you want.”
“Get lost! Your skin is coarse and your flesh is thick14, hitting you makes my hand hurt!”
Lin Yan broke into a curse15, struggling, only to be held tighter.
Song Yuhang: “Right, I haven’t asked you yet, who was the person who died?”
Lin Yan froze, and the hand that had been playfully resting on her shoulder gradually lost its strength. “I don’t know. I wasn’t the one who found her. According to Feng Jianguo, she was a homeless woman with no name. When a kind-hearted person sent her to the hospital, she was already on her last breath. They couldn’t save her, and no one came to identify the body, so…”
Song Yuhang grasped her hand, comforting her.
“It’s alright. A person like that likely had a life path of many misfortunes. Maybe no one would have even burned incense for her after she died. Now that she has a grave and a plot of land, it can be considered a meritorious deed16.”
A hint of melancholy appeared in Lin Yan’s eyes. “She was about the same age as me.”
Song Yuhang knew there were words within her words. She lifted her hand to her lips and kissed it. “Then what are you thinking?”
Lin Yan still felt a pain in her flesh17, but after thinking about it, she gritted her teeth.
“I don’t want that ring anymore. Let’s give it to her.”
Perhaps that nameless woman had never received anyone’s care or pity in her entire life. Moreover, she had acted as her substitute death ghost18. Every time Lin Yan thought of it, she felt a trace of apology, so how could she bear to dig up the grave and dissect the corpse, disturbing her peace?
The person who appeared to be the most resentful of the world and jealous of the conventional on the surface actually had a very soft heart.
Song Yuhang smiled and stroked her brown, curly hair.
“Good girl. I’ll save up some more money and buy you a new one.”
Lin Yan gave a cold snort, still somewhat dissatisfied. “Then what about your ring?”
Song Yuhang pressed her forehead against hers, rubbing it again and again. “You petty ghost19. I took it off and put it away a long time ago.”
A slight curve appeared at the corner of Lin Yan’s lips, but not wanting to let her see it too clearly, she quickly straightened her face.
“That’s more like it.”
“We’re rubbing ears and temples together20 every day, when have you ever seen me wear it, hmm?”
It was obvious she wanted to hear a few nice words from her.
Song Yuhang also smiled, wrapping her arms around her waist.
Lin Yan pushed up the head that was nudging against her chest and said through gritted teeth21, “I just want to hear you say it, can’t I?”
Song Yuhang’s voice was muffled. “Okay, I’ll say it in bed.”
Lin Yan grabbed her short hair, narrowing her eyes. “You think beautifully22. Go pack!”
Song Yuhang wanted to cry but had no tears. “Yanyan, we’re going to Vancouver in a few days, and Mom and the others are going too. How inconvenient would that be?”
“I don’t care about that. This old mother is angry. For the next few days, you can just forget about it and behave yourself, alright?”
As Lin Yan spoke, she pushed the person backward, got out of her embrace, straightened the bathrobe that had slipped to her shoulders, and walked away gracefully in her slippers with a glass of red wine.
Song Yuhang reached out to grab her but caught only air. She could only take out her frustration on the sofa cushions.
Mother’s23, the cooked Yanyan flew away.24
Lin Yan’s unfulfilled wish was in a small village on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau25, one that couldn’t even be found on a map.
She and Song Yuhang drove for several hundred kilometers, traveling by starlight and daybreak26. After getting off the highway, they took a provincial road. At the end of the provincial road was a public road, and after that was a bumpy gravel road. After crossing a few mountains, there was a yellow mud path, and the car could go no further.
The two had no choice but to get out of the car with their things and walk. Lin Yan saw a farmer carrying a bundle of firewood on the mountain path, walked over with a photograph, and asked for directions.
“Hello, have you seen this family?”
The photograph was quite old. The Liu Zhi of that time was a half-grown boy of fourteen or fifteen, wearing his father’s worn-out blue cloth shirt, as thin as a hemp stalk.
Standing next to him were his father and mother. A little girl of seven or eight was sitting on a stool in front of him, revealing the only smile among this family of worried faces, and was holding up her fingers towards the camera in a ‘yay’27 gesture.
The farmer pondered for a long while, then suddenly slapped his head and said a long string of words, muttering, all in the local dialect.
Lin Yan didn’t understand, but she understood the direction he was pointing. After nodding slightly in thanks, she started walking up the mountain.
Song Yuhang quickly caught up with her, carrying their things, and freed a hand to help her up the slope.
“Which way? Are you tired?”
Throwing out two questions at once, Lin Yan shook her head, slightly out of breath.
“Let’s see when we get up the mountain. I didn’t understand what that man just said either.”
As she spoke, she grabbed onto tree branches to pull herself up.
It’s a good thing I didn’t wear high heels when we set out, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have been able to get up this mountain.
As Lin Yan thought this, she looked back at Song Yuhang. “I’m fine, I can keep going. Let me help you carry something.”
Song Yuhang shook her head. She was carrying a huge travel bag and also holding condolence gifts for Liu Zhi’s family, such as fruit and milk.
“No need, this is a small meaning28.”
She copied her method, grabbing a tree root and pushing herself up with one hand. Lin Yan helped pull her up.
Traveling through the dense mountain forest, both of them were somewhat covered in dust and dirt, yet at this moment, they looked at each other and smiled.
Song Yuhang chatted with her as they walked, “Do you still remember that time we went to Xiaohe Village? We also climbed a mountain just like this.”
Lin Yan gave her a light glance, her smile a little cool. “Yes, back then Captain Song really took quite a bit of advantage of me.”
Song Yuhang’s face grew hot, and she rubbed her nose.
“Then… then I’ll let you take advantage of me back.”
Lin Yan was so angry her mouth twisted, and she flicked the branches along the path towards her.
“Get lost!”
On the rare occasions Lin Yan was on top, she would always have it taken back with interest afterward.
When it came to holding a grudge, who could let the other off?
Song Yuhang raised her elbow to block it. Seeing another slope ahead, she helped her up.
“But speaking of that time, you, me, Fang Xin, Duan Cheng, and Lao Zheng were all there. Even though the conditions were a bit harsh, thinking back on it now, it was still quite interesting.”
She still remembered that night when they encountered a sudden downpour on the mountain. The group, including the two police officers from the Wuli Town police station, all squatted in a mountain hollow, gathered around a bonfire, talking of the heavens and speaking of the earth29.
After going home with that old grandmother, they helped her with her chores: those who planted vegetables planted vegetables, those who fertilized fertilized, those who herded sheep herded sheep, and those who chopped firewood chopped firewood.
She and Song Yuhang also had their first skin’s intimacy30 there.
At that time, neither of them probably expected so many things to happen later.
It was better not to mention it; the moment it was brought up, Lin Yan fell into a slight trance, and the smile on her lips gained a touch of bitterness.
“Yeah, that time… was really good.”
Seeing her despondent, Song Yuhang walked a few quick steps ahead and stopped. “Come, I’ll walk ahead and scout the path. You hold onto my clothes, and I’ll lead you up.”
Lin Yan froze for a moment, then a curve appeared on her lips. A great sense of playfulness arose, and she grabbed the corner of her clothes. “Giddy-up!”
No matter how many faces she showed to the outside world, how callous, cold-blooded, and harsh she was, in reality, only Song Yuhang knew that the thirty-three-year-old Lin Yan possessed the exquisite, transparent, and dust-free heart of a child.
“Sit tight! The terrain ahead is flat, accelerating forward, turn right, entering the dense forest…”
And so, the thirty-six-year-old Song Yuhang also pretended to turn a steering wheel in the air with one hand, playing along with the kind of game only a child would enjoy.
The two of them pushed aside flowers and parted willows, climbing the mountain while playing around, and soon reached the halfway point.
The village was truly not large, with only six households. They visited each one with the photograph and soon found Liu Zhi’s home, located in the innermost part of the mountain hollow.
It was breakfast time. In the harsh winter season, the old man was dressed exceptionally thinly, and the hands exposed to the air were frozen red. He was picking up firewood from the ground and stuffing it into an earthen stove. A large iron pot was propped up on the stove, steaming.
Lin Yan slowly walked over, feeling her throat was a bit dry. “Um… is this the Liu family home?”
The old man raised his head. Two well-dressed women with extraordinary temperaments were standing at the door of the thatched hut.
He was stunned for a long while, scanning them from head to toe, but didn’t recognize who they were.
His family was poor. The farthest he had ever been in his life was the town market. Where would he have ever seen such figures?
The old man stumbled over his words, and after a long while, he only managed to utter a few monosyllables. “Ah… ah ah…”
Lin Yan frowned slightly, observing his movements and expression. “So he’s a mute…”
Song Yuhang pulled her back a bit. “Hello, we’re from Liu Zhi’s company. The end of the year is approaching, and he has too much to do to get away, so he asked us to come see you.”
Only then did the old man seem to come to his senses. His gaze fell on the things they were carrying in their hands. He suddenly threw down the firewood, a touch of joy appearing on his dark face, and limped towards the house, making “ah ah” sounds continuously.
Song Yuhang lifted the curtain and followed him inside.
The smell of moldy grain and the body odor of a long-term bedridden patient intertwined in the room, somewhat pungent. It wasn’t much warmer inside than outside. There was almost no furniture, and the doors and windows, which let in drafts from all sides, were mostly patched up with newspaper. A dim yellow light bulb, covered in cobwebs, shone from overhead.
An old woman was huddled in bed. She gave a few muffled coughs, her voice filled with an unconcealable joy.
“Liu… Liu Zhi is back?”
The old man who had been tending the fire earlier stood by the bed, muttering something while gesturing busily with his hands.
The woman understood and shifted her gaze to them. The ecstasy subsided, replaced by a trace of disappointment, but her eyes were warm and kind, and also held the simplicity and shyness31 of a rural person.
“Sit, sit. Look at what a mess this room is. Liu Zhi asks someone to come back and doesn’t even give us a heads-up…”
Lin Yan could see that she wanted to sit up, but the legs under the quilt were so weak and powerless that they couldn’t even hold a shape.
“Your legs…”
The woman smiled. Half of her hair was white, her face wasn’t very clean, and there were several chilblains on her hands. The mattress was also pitifully thin.
“Alas32, didn’t Liu Zhi tell you? Many years ago, before he went out to work, I broke them when I fell while cutting firewood on the mountain.”
The woman was more optimistic than her and warmly invited them.
“Sit, please sit. Old man, pour them a cup of water.”
The old man ladled some water from the boiling iron pot outside into an enamel mug, carried it over with trembling hands, then wiped the only long bench in the room with his sleeve, looking at them eagerly, gesturing for them to sit.
Song Yuhang took the water and placed it on the table. The cup was not very clean inside or out, and it was impossible to know how long it had been used, but it was one of the more presentable daily necessities in the room.
Lin Yan and Liu Zhi hadn’t known each other for long, and their positions were different; how would they have ever talked about these things?
This trip was simply to come and see his parents on his behalf.
“We won’t sit. We’ll be leaving in a bit.” Lin Yan declined the other party’s kind offer. She then remembered he had a younger sister and scanned the room.
“Where is his sister?”
At this, the woman’s eyes grew hot, and tears rolled down. “She fell ill a few years ago and passed away.”
The old man also stood by, sighing and pinching his eyes.
Before coming, Lin Yan had prepared herself for them to be very poor and miserable, but she hadn’t expected them to be this poor and this miserable.
Two elderly people, one paralyzed, one mute, and a daughter who had also died unexpectedly.
Lin Yan found it a bit difficult to even speak. “Did you… tell him?”
The woman shook her head, wiping her tears with her hand. “No. He’s working alone out there, it’s already so hard. So we didn’t tell him about this. Besides…”
The old woman paused slightly, as if somewhat sad. “We can’t contact him either. Every month, he sends money on time to the post office in town, and his dad goes to pick it up. We’ve thought about sending him things, or writing a letter, but we’re illiterate.”
Seeking a living on the tip of a knife33 comes with too many things beyond one’s control. Not contacting one’s family is the greatest protection for them.
Lin Yan suddenly remembered their last conversation.
She had stared at the gradually brightening daylight outside the window and asked him.
“Is there any place you particularly want to go back to?”
A slight smile appeared on the young man’s face. “Yes, I want to go home.”
His family, his elderly parents, were still worried about him, but he could never come back again, could never marry a wife.
Lin Yan lowered her gaze, hiding the glint of water that flashed in her eyes.
Song Yuhang placed a hand on her shoulder.
Lin Yan looked back at her, forced a smile to keep her spirits up, not letting the two elderly people see anything amiss.
Song Yuhang took the things they had brought over, then took off her backpack and started taking things out. “Four sets of thermal underwear, an electric blanket, two cases of milk, some fruit, bread, non-staple foods, nutritional supplements…”
This was the absolute maximum the two of them could carry up.
Lin Yan also rummaged through her wallet. “Take this money, too.”
The two elderly people were dazzled. They opened their mouths several times but couldn’t find the right moment to interrupt. Seeing Lin Yan start to take out money, the woman became anxious and sat up from the bed to grab her wrist.
“Impermissible, impermissible34. We’re already so grateful that you came. We absolutely cannot take the money, we can’t.”
The old man beside them also shook his head like a rattle drum, “ah-ah”-ing nonstop.
Lin Yan held the red tickets35 in her hand, not knowing whether to advance or retreat.
With her former temper, she would have just thrown the money down and left. But facing this family, could she bear to do that? Could Liu Zhi bear it?
Song Yuhang walked over, took the money from her hand, folded it neatly, and tucked it into the old man’s pocket.
“Take it. This money isn’t from us; it’s from Liu Zhi. This is his salary, his year-end bonus.”
She emphasized it again and again before the two elderly people reluctantly accepted it.
The woman looked at them, then thought of the money; the amount was so much more than what he used to send back.
For some reason, a bad premonition arose in her heart.
“He… why didn’t he come back… and asked you to come instead?”
Lin Yan had never told a lie in her life. This was the first time. Looking at the two elders’ dark faces and red eyes, she told a white lie: “He… he works very hard… he’s doing very well… the factory can’t do without him…”
Hearing this, a look of relief appeared on the woman’s face.
“Good, that can be considered to have prospects36. You tell him to work hard and not to be in a hurry to come back. We don’t lack anything at home.”
During the conversation, the food the old man was cooking in the pot was ready. It was just a few chopsticks’ worth of noodles, all broken into pieces, which he placed in a copper bowl and brought to them, wanting them to eat.
There was hardly any oil in the bowl, with only a few sparse pieces of pickled vegetables floating on top.
Since the things had been delivered, Lin Yan prepared to leave. She took another photo from her wallet and placed it on the bed.
“We won’t eat. It’s time for us to go. This photo, we’re returning it to you.”
That was the only family photo Liu Zhi had taken with him before he left. Now, the object was finally returned to its original owner.
The woman gently stroked her child’s face, turning the photo over and over to look at it.
On the back of the photo was written his home address and a small wish: Go home.
There was no signature, and thus no return date.
The moment Song and Lin left the thatched hut, Lin Yan couldn’t hold it in anymore. She curved her lips slightly, trying desperately to look up, but still cried.
Song Yuhang put an arm around her shoulders, wiping away her tears with one hand.
They hadn’t walked far when there was a sound behind them.
The old man had come chasing after them, limping. He stuffed a package of insoles into Lin Yan’s hand, his expression somewhat anxious as he gestured with his hands.
Lin Yan was slightly taken aback. She looked down; the insoles, wrapped in a plastic bag, were exquisitely handmade with fine, dense stitches, and felt thick and warm to the touch.
“This is…”
Seeing that she had accepted them, a smile appeared on the old man’s face. Although he was smelly, poor, and dirty, and dressed in a completely undignified manner, every wrinkle overflowed with sincere gratitude.
He turned again and disappeared into the mountain forest, limping.
On the way back to Jiangcheng City, Lin Yan was silent the entire time.
Song Yuhang was driving and freed a hand to hold hers. “We’re getting married. Be happy.”
Lin Yan came back to her senses and gave a bitter smile. “Mm.”
Thank goodness I have her. Thank goodness we’re getting married. Everything is settled. From now on, every day is a new life.
Lin Yan turned her head to look out the car window. The neon lights flickered, and the cars were like water and the horses like a dragon37. She seemed to see Liu Zhi standing in the middle of the lights, smiling and waving goodbye to her.
She raised her lips slightly into a smile as well and closed the car window.
The day after returning to Jiangcheng City, they prepared to leave for Vancouver. The two of them packed their things overnight. While Song Yuhang wasn’t looking, Lin Yan stuffed a small box into the suitcase. The moment the other person turned around, she immediately closed the luggage.
Song Yuhang: “Let me check again to see if anything is missing.”
Lin Yan pulled her towards the bedroom. “Nothing, nothing. I’m so tired. We’re leaving early tomorrow morning, let’s go to sleep.”
“Hey…” Song Yuhang looked back, feeling that she was hiding something from her.
Lin Yan pushed her into the room and stood on her tiptoes to kiss her lips. “Shut up.”
In February’s Vancouver, the snow had not yet melted. The moment they got out of the car, a cold wind mixed with ice pellets rushed to meet them. Lin Yan wrapped her down jacket tighter, stomped her feet on the frozen ground, and the hot air she exhaled turned into white smoke.
Song Yuhang took off her own scarf and tied it around her neck, took the luggage from her hand, and turned back to open the rear car door.
Xiao Wei was the first to jump down. “Wow, snow! So much snow!”
Ji Jingxing also helped Mother Song out. “Mom, we’re here.”
Hotel staff came to greet them, and the group walked inside, one deep footstep and one shallow one at a time.
Xiao Wei kept grabbing snow from the roadside to play with. In a moment of carelessness, she threw a handful all over Lin Yan, and the ice pellets slid down her neck.
Lin Yan shivered, took off her gloves, and unwilling to be outdone, said, “Alright you, Xiao Wei, just you wait!”
The two of them started fooling around. Xiao Wei hid behind Ji Jingxing, and Lin Yan threw a snowball at her.
Ji Jingxing’s face turned green, and she roared with anger, “Lin Yan, Ji Weiyi, are you two done yet!”
Lin Yan spread her hands. “Hey, you can’t blame me for this. You were the one who had to stand there.”
Although the two had long since reconciled, she would never pass up an opportunity to anger Ji Jingxing over such small matters.
It was strange, too. Ji Jingxing was gentle and calm in her dealings with people, but she just couldn’t get along with Lin Yan.
At this moment, she put her suitcase aside and rolled up her sleeves. “Xiao Wei, get her!”
Song Yuhang was handling the check-in procedures at the front desk. When she looked back, the courtyard had already descended into chaos.
She shook her head helplessly, a smile appearing on her lips. “Hey, hurry up and come inside. We’re going to dinner.”
After the group finished dinner, the battlefield moved from the snow to the hot springs. In the end, even Song Yuhang was forced to join the fray, dodging the water splashing towards her from all directions.
Mother Song was older and would get dizzy if she soaked for too long. She got out early, wrapped in a thin blanket, holding one of those toy clappers for children, waving it to cheer them on.
“Quick, quick, over there! Xiao Wei, Yanyan, she ran over there!”
Song Yuhang had just emerged from under the water when she was splashed squarely. “Mom, whose side are you on, anyway? Ptooey… ptooey ptooey ptooey!“
They played until they were completely exhausted. Only then did Lin Yan, yawning, follow her back to the room to sleep.
The moment they entered the room, Song Yuhang picked her up. Lin Yan wrapped her arms around her neck and was placed in the bathtub.
After washing up, she was already yawning nonstop, so sleepy she could barely open her eyes. She was then dazedly carried to the bed.
Song Yuhang pulled the covers over her and wrapped her up, complaining, “You’re still jet-lagged. I told you to rest early, but you just had to play.”
Lin Yan’s long eyelashes fluttered up and down. Not only was her skin rosy-white after her bath, but her eyes also seemed to shimmer with a watery light.
She scratched her hand. “Itchy.”
Song Yuhang pulled back the covers to look. A large patch of her fair skin was red, probably from playing in the snow.
The police officer cursed under her breath as she went to find medicine for her. “When will you ever let me stop worrying about you, hmm?”
Lin Yan buried her face in her chest. “Wuwu…“
This woman had a knack for being imposing, and an even better knack for acting spoiled.
Song Yuhang could not laugh or cry. After applying the ointment for her, she wiped her hands with a wet wipe, turned off the table lamp, slipped into bed, held her, and gently patted her back.
“Sleep now. Good night.”
After a day of adjusting to the time difference, the two went to the city hall to submit their marriage application. After accepting it, the staff quickly stamped it with a red seal and requested that they complete the marriage ceremony within 90 days.
After Song and Lin returned to the hotel, they and Mother Song spent a long time flipping through the almanac38 and finally settled on a good time and auspicious day39.
One week later.
The two of them woke up bright and early and walked into the city hall together. The officiant, an employee of the British Columbia provincial government, was already waiting for them.
The foreign judge with blue eyes and white hair watched as the two brides walked in side by side.
It was a rare sunny day in Vancouver. The city hall was quite old, with a church-like architectural style. White snow was piled on the eaves, and sunlight streamed through the various diamond-paned windows, sprinkling on their bodies.
Lin Yan was wearing a white tuxedo, standing with a long body like jade40. Her figure was slender and willowy, her hair was neatly coiled, and there was a slightly charming smile on her face as she held her arm.
Song Yuhang wore a matching black suit. Her hair was impeccably styled, and the tie had been tied for her by Lin Yan that morning. She was already tall, and the suit pants were worn straight, and with her leather shoes, she appeared even more dignified, proper, and her heroic posture valiant and bright41.
The hand holding Lin Yan’s trembled slightly with excitement. Song Yuhang turned her head to look at her, and their eyes met.
Both of them felt an irrepressible joy.
On the short red carpet of just a few dozen steps, the past events were vivid in their minds: from knowing nothing about each other to being needle point to needle point42, and then to staying by each other’s side and knowing each other. By the time they truly stood before the officiant…
Lin Yan’s eyes were slightly moist.
Song Yuhang was the same.
The judge’s voice was solemn and dignified: “We are gathered here today in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together Song yu hang and Lin Yan in holy matrimony.” [LP: Directly from the raw text.]
(Today, we are gathered here under the gaze of God, and in front of this group of people, to witness the sacred marriage of Song Yuhang and Lin Yan.)
The judge opened the Bible, reading the verses. In the audience seats, Mother Song was already teary-eyed, covering her mouth with her hand.
“Song yu hang Do you take Lin yan for your lawful wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish her from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her for as long as you both shall live?” [LP: Directly from the raw text.]
(Are you willing, in this sacred wedding, to accept Lin Yan as your lawful wife, to live together under God’s guidance? Are you willing, from this day forward, to love her, respect her, comfort her, care for her, and in your lifetime, not think of another, and be faithful to her?)
Song Yuhang looked into her eyes and said without hesitation, “I do.”
When it was Lin Yan’s turn to be asked, she paused for a moment. The judge was looking at her, Mother Song and Ji Jingxing were also looking at her, and Song Yuhang was a little nervous, licking her lower lip.
A curve appeared on Lin Yan’s lips, and her face was slightly red. “I do.”
The officiant closed the Bible with satisfaction.
Logically, at this time, they should fill out the marriage registration form in person, the judge would declare them officially married, and Song Yuhang could kiss her wife.
But no one spoke.
Lin Yan suddenly knelt on one knee, took out a ring box from her suit jacket, opened it, and presented it to her.
Her eyes were sparkling. “Although I used to say I didn’t want to get married, didn’t want to have any emotional ties with anyone.”
“But seeing you take a knife for me, brave danger alone for me, work so hard for our wedding, and seeing you stand here in a suit right now, I suddenly feel that getting married seems to be a pretty good thing too.”
She raised her eyebrows at her, the smile on her lips not diminishing.
“Do you still remember, I said I would give you a diamond ring.”
“Song Yuhang, marry me.”
LP: No sexy times for you
Re-translated on September 16, 2025
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