“Uh… so Comrade Gu Tingzhou, should I praise you for being so considerate toward me?”
Lin Jiaojiao looked at him with a fake smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
Seeing her expression, Gu Tingzhou inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine.
More than that, he felt an unexplainable tension—something he had never experienced even when facing powerful enemies.
It was… strange.
“Comrade Lin, are we still going to the civil affairs bureau?”
Even Gu Tingzhou himself didn’t realize how careful and restrained his tone was at this moment.
Lin Jiaojiao, on the other hand, burst out laughing at his reaction.
Smiling brightly, she said,
“Yes, why wouldn’t we go? Didn’t we already agree?”
Without hesitation, she turned and walked toward the civil affairs bureau.
Hearing that she was willing to go register the marriage, Gu Tingzhou secretly let out a breath of relief and quickly chased after her.
“Comrade Lin, let’s stop by the supply and marketing cooperative first and buy some candy before going.”
Lin Jiaojiao suddenly stopped.
She patted her forehead.
Right… getting married and registering—shouldn’t they bring some wedding candy for the staff?
Thinking of this, she immediately looked at Gu Tingzhou.
She had to admit, this rough soldier was surprisingly thoughtful at key moments.
She silently gave him a point in her mind.
The two of them quickly bought some candy and then went to the civil affairs bureau.
Soon, a freshly issued marriage certificate was placed in their hands.
Marriage certificates in the 1970s looked like awards—simple and nothing special.
Lin Jiaojiao stared at the two names written closely together on the certificate and felt a little unreal.
So… she, a single woman for thirty years in her previous life, had just married a man she had only known for two days after transmigrating?
“Comrade Lin, should we take a wedding photo?”
After she put away the marriage certificate, Gu Tingzhou hesitated before speaking.
Old Master Gu had repeatedly instructed him over the phone to send a wedding photo and also a daily-life photo of Lin Jiaojiao.
Of course, he also wanted one himself.
After all, this was marriage—it shouldn’t be too casual.
“Take one?”
Lin Jiaojiao asked casually.
“Yes,” Gu Tingzhou replied.
“Then let’s take one.”
She nodded.
Gu Tingzhou immediately became happy and hurried her to the nearest photo studio.
He looked so rushed it was as if he was afraid she would change her mind at any second.
It made Lin Jiaojiao almost think he liked her.
“Comrades, sit a little closer. This is a wedding photo—why are you sitting so far apart?”
The photographer couldn’t help but remind them when he saw the gap between them was wide enough for another person.
The two looked at each other, then at the space between them, and simultaneously laughed.
This time, Lin Jiaojiao was more relaxed.
After laughing, she moved closer and naturally hooked her arm around Gu Tingzhou’s.
She even leaned slightly toward his shoulder.
A faint, sweet feminine fragrance immediately drifted into Gu Tingzhou’s nose.
His straight posture stiffened instantly.
A strange heat spread through his body.
“Comrade Gu, why is your face so red?”
Lin Jiaojiao leaned in a little closer and asked on purpose.
When Gu Tingzhou met her slightly mischievous fox-like eyes, his expression darkened.
“It’s hot.”
Lin Jiaojiao glanced at their long-sleeved clothes and nodded.
“Oh, right. It is a bit hot today.”
What a joke—it was spring, and this was the north.
Hot?
Was this man here to be funny?
“Haha, you two just got married, right?”
The photographer couldn’t help but ask with a smile.
“Yes, we just got our certificate today,” Lin Jiaojiao replied sweetly before Gu Tingzhou could say anything.
“No wonder.”
The photographer then told Gu Tingzhou to lean closer.
This time, perhaps eager to finish quickly and escape, he obediently moved closer.
Seeing this, Lin Jiaojiao couldn’t help but laugh.
“Male comrade, smile a little,” the photographer reminded.
Gu Tingzhou still kept a stiff, as-if-heowed-someone-money expression.
The photographer was speechless.
Is this guy forced into marriage or something?
He glanced at Lin Jiaojiao again.
That shouldn’t be… this girl is stunning. He had never seen anyone prettier in all his years of photography.
“Don’t mind him, he just doesn’t like smiling,” Lin Jiaojiao explained.
“Alright then, I’ll shoot like this.”
At that moment, Lin Jiaojiao subtly poked Gu Tingzhou’s armpit.
He couldn’t hold it in and suddenly laughed.
Click.
The camera captured the moment.
A rare and beautiful memory was frozen in time.
After the photo session ended, Gu Tingzhou looked at her helplessly and shook his head.
Then, remembering his family’s instructions, he said,
“Comrade Lin, my leave is limited, so the wedding ceremony may have to be postponed.
My parents suggested we wait until I’m on leave and return to the capital to hold it properly. What do you think…?”
“No problem. We don’t even have to hold one. I don’t care about that.”
She cut him off casually.
To her, it really didn’t matter.
After all, this was just an arranged agreement between them.
Logically, Gu Tingzhou should have felt relieved that she was so understanding.
But instead, an odd discomfort rose in his chest.
He didn’t understand why.
He just felt inexplicably irritated.
“…You’re upset?”
Lin Jiaojiao noticed his darkened expression.
Clearly, he was the one who suggested postponing the wedding, and she agreed—so why was he unhappy?
What a stubborn, moody man.
No wonder so many people in her past life didn’t want to get married.
Men were such trouble.
Gu Tingzhou shook his head.
“Nothing.”
Then he added,
“Oh right, Comrade Lin, my grandfather wants to see your daily photos. Let’s take a few more while we’re out.”
“Sure.”
Taking photos wasn’t a big deal.
She wouldn’t refuse something so minor and risk upsetting her “big thigh.”
Because of time constraints, they chose express processing—the photos would be ready the next day.
After paying, they left the studio, ate dinner at a state-run restaurant, and by the time they stepped outside, the sky had already darkened.
The streets were nearly empty.
In this era, there was almost no nightlife.
After work, people went straight home after dinner and slept early.
There was simply no such thing as going out for entertainment.
Otherwise… why would there be so many children born in this era?