As soon as she stepped inside, she saw the man hurriedly run into the west room, then dash back out carrying several sets of clothes.
“Ruanruan, which outfit do you think suits me better?”
Lu Mingye usually wore military uniforms the most, so he knew nothing about fashion or aesthetics.
But today was their wedding day—he absolutely couldn’t be careless.
After thinking it over, he decided it was best to ask his wife for advice. After all, his wife always dressed beautifully.
“Aren’t you supposed to be washing the dishes?”
Shen Ruanruan was in the middle of drawing her eyebrows.
Her natural features were already gorgeous. Although foundation existed in this era, she didn’t need it at all.
Just eyebrows and lipstick were enough.
Lu Mingye looked a little embarrassed.
“I can wash them later. Do you think I should wear my military uniform or the white shirt?”
“The military uniform.”
She turned her head and glanced at the white shirt in his hand.
“Bring that one too.”
“Alright!”
Lu Mingye had agonized over it for half the morning, but once Shen Ruanruan made the decision for him, he immediately became decisive.
After picking out the clothes, the man still didn’t leave.
He simply stood there staring at her sitting in front of the vanity, drawing her brows.
The more he watched, the more confused he became.
“You’re… drawing eyebrows?”
“Yep.”
Shen Ruanruan happened to finish and turned around smiling brightly at him, eyes sparkling.
“Well? Pretty, right?”
“Pretty is pretty, but… is there any difference from before you drew them?”
Lu Mingye genuinely didn’t understand.
That statement…
Shen Ruanruan couldn’t tell whether he was complimenting her beauty or criticizing her makeup skills.
She leaned closer and pointed at the tail end of her left eyebrow.
“How is there no difference? Look here—the tail is darker now. It’s more refined than before.”
Refined?
Lu Mingye still didn’t get it.
Clearly, discussing these things with a straight man was pointless.
Shen Ruanruan gave up explaining.
Finally, she applied a light layer of lipstick and prepared to change clothes.
Taking out a long red floral dress, she turned toward Lu Mingye and teased sweetly:
“Lu Mingye, why are you still in my room? Want to watch me change?”
“?”
The tips of Lu Mingye’s ears instantly burned red.
“Ahem… little girls shouldn’t talk so… so boldly!”
The moment he finished speaking, he ran away.
Shen Ruanruan covered her mouth and giggled.
Before, she had only thought this man looked fierce.
She hadn’t realized he got embarrassed so easily.
Seeing such a tall, broad man blushing red at the ears was honestly adorable.
After changing clothes and stepping outside, she found that Lu Mingye was ready too.
The two opened their doors at the same time and looked at each other.
Both froze for three full seconds.
Shen Ruanruan had never seen him dressed so formally before.
Now that he was, it was impossible to look away.
As for Lu Mingye, he wasn’t doing any better.
Shen Ruanruan usually wore light-colored clothes and rarely dressed in such vivid red.
The sweet little cupcake of a girl had suddenly turned into a blooming peony flower, lush and dazzling…
Even Lu Mingye’s breathing became lighter.
“Ahem… w-wife— Miss Ruanruan, shall we go?”
Forcing himself to look away, Lu Mingye quickly went to push out the bicycle first.
Shen Ruanruan caught the little pause in his words and secretly laughed as she followed him.
After locking the door and coming outside, she was about to get on the bike when she realized the back seat had somehow been tied with a floral-patterned cotton cushion.
And it was yellow.
“A’Ye, did you make this cushion?”
She reached forward and instinctively wrapped her arms around the man’s waist.
Then remembering how gossipy the people in the family compound were, she loosened her hold slightly and only grabbed the sides of his clothes instead.
The instant she hugged him, Lu Mingye nearly jolted.
Thankfully she loosened her grip quickly, otherwise…
“While changing the curtains the other day, I saw there was leftover fabric. Felt like a waste not to use it.”
Yep.
That was just the kind of man he was.
Even though the two of them had already opened up to each other, he still habitually acted tough sometimes.
Honestly, if one day he suddenly started speaking sweetly all the time, Shen Ruanruan would probably worry he’d been replaced by someone else.
“Alright then~ Deputy Battalion Commander Lu is truly the model of diligence and thriftiness~ I understand completely~”
Shen Ruanruan swung her legs playfully, teasing him in a soft voice.
With reddened ears, Lu Mingye sped up his pedaling.
Before the people in the family compound could even react, all they saw was a tightly pressed red-and-green silhouette disappearing into the distance.
“Was that Deputy Battalion Commander Lu and his little wife? Where are they going? Why’s she dressed so red?”
“You already noticed she’s wearing red and still can’t tell? I bet they’re going to register their marriage!”
“Damn… they really got married? Tell me, with Deputy Battalion Commander Lu looking so fierce, can that soft little wife of his even handle him?”
“Why do you care so much? Though… what kind of ‘handle him’ are you talking about? Don’t tell me you mean…”
The woman wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
The others immediately followed her train of thought, and soon the group was enthusiastically discussing all sorts of unmentionable topics.
…
Meanwhile, Shen Ruanruan and Lu Mingye had no idea the wives back at the compound were already spreading spicy rumors about them.
After nearly two hours of riding the bicycle, they finally arrived at the county town.
Even with the cotton cushion, Shen Ruanruan still felt like her butt had gone numb.
Right at the entrance to the marriage registration office, the man suddenly grabbed her arm and stared at her seriously.
“Shen Ruanruan, once we go in there, you really won’t be able to regret it anymore.”
She thought he meant that military marriages were difficult to divorce from, so she answered equally seriously:
“As long as you don’t betray me or hurt me, I won’t regret it.”
But what Lu Mingye was thinking was this:
Once they stepped inside, it would represent her choice.
And since she had chosen him this life—
He would never let her go again.
As for betrayal or hurting her?
Even death wouldn’t make that possible.
“Then let’s go.”
The man tightly gripped her wrist, practically dragging her inside.
Combined with the fact that his nervousness made his face look even fiercer than usual, it was easy to misunderstand the situation.
So during registration, even after learning Lu Mingye was military personnel, the staff member still repeatedly asked Shen Ruanruan if she was truly there willingly.
Which earned Lu Mingye several suspicious glares from the worker.
Trying hard not to laugh, Shen Ruanruan patiently explained several times to the older female staff member.
Meanwhile, beneath the table, she secretly scratched lightly at the man’s palm with her fingers.
Lu Mingye’s expression instantly softened.
He stopped looking fierce and instead looked a little dazed.
Marriage registration in this era was actually very quick.
They submitted their identity documents, the marriage approval papers from the military, and other required certificates.
After the staff reviewed everything, the marriage certificates were issued…
And that was it.
The two walked out together, each staring blankly at their own certificate.
For Lu Mingye, this moment had been ten years in the making.
No—
To be more accurate, ever since he first met her fifteen years ago and began to understand romantic feelings, he had never once imagined anyone else.
For Shen Ruanruan, she had once again stepped into the graveyard called marriage.
She just didn’t know whether this graveyard would contain flowers this time.
“Come on, let’s go take pictures!”
Shen Ruanruan quickly adjusted her emotions and dragged the man toward the photo studio across the street.
Only during the photoshoot did Lu Mingye finally understand why she had made him bring the white shirt.
Without a single complaint, he obediently cooperated with his wife while taking photos.
Military uniform with a floral red dress.
White shirt paired with white shirt.
The married life belonging to Lu Mingye and Shen Ruanruan had officially begun.
Author’s Note:
Ahem, readers who followed the previous novel probably noticed it already—the matching floral seat cushion has made its limited-time comeback~~~