7 – I didn’t consider everything thoroughly
Hearing the commotion, everyone from the dining area came out.
Wen Song was in that classic situation of wanting to flee but having no way out—with so many eyes on her, she truly wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
She blinked and said nothing, but Pei Qingji kept his gaze fixed on her.
After a moment of silence, Wang Junlan was the first to let out a snort of laughter.
“Truly, a grown daughter doesn’t stay—I knew you’d be feeling sorry for little Pei.”
In this situation, even if Wen Song had ten mouths, she couldn’t explain what was really going on.
“Alright, alright, little Pei, get up. You’ve been kneeling all afternoon,” Wen Yuanbai spoke up as well, and with that, the matter was considered settled. Pei Qingji breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
He kowtowed once more to Wen Yuanbai and Wang Junlan. “Thank you, Mom and Dad.”
Only after they nodded did he rise from the ground.
Pei Qingji had knelt for a long while and looked perfectly fine, but the first thing he did upon standing was bend down to pull Wen Song up.
“Since everyone’s here, why don’t we discuss the wedding plans?” Pei Qingji struck while the iron was hot.
The others naturally agreed—only Wen Song raised her hand in a “stop” gesture and smiled. “Hold on, I need to say something to Professor Pei… I mean, to A-Ji. We’ll be right back.”
With that, Wen Song grabbed Pei Qingji’s hand and headed out, drawing praise from both sets of parents about how close the couple was.
Before they even got out the door, their words all reached Wen Song’s ears, and her whole body felt like it was about to catch fire. She silently quickened her pace.
Pei Qingji glanced at their clasped hands, gave hers a gentle squeeze, and said, “Walk a little slower.”
Wen Song turned to shoot him a look—with legs that long, surely he could keep up.
As if reading her thoughts, Pei Qingji said softly, “Now that you’re carrying a baby, strenuous activity isn’t good for your health.”
Wen Song blinked, and her pace immediately slowed. Aside from being sleepy, she hadn’t experienced any other symptoms, so she kept forgetting she was pregnant.
“Got it. I’ll be careful next time.” She continued pulling him along until they reached the garden and stopped.
She made to sit on the edge of the flower bed, but Pei Qingji pulled her back. “Wait a moment.”
“Hm?”
Wen Song was confused, then watched as Pei Qingji took off his suit jacket and laid it over the edge of the flower bed.
“Sit here—the tiles are cold.”
Wen Song paused for a moment before sitting down. Pei Qingji really did seem to be a very attentive person, quite different from the impression she’d originally had of him.
She patted the spot beside her, about to ask him to sit, when she saw him crouch down in front of her instead.
“What did you want to say?”
His expression as he spoke to her was so natural—so natural that it seemed like this had happened between them countless times before.
Wen Song was momentarily stunned, then realized their hands were still intertwined.
Seeing that she hadn’t spoken, he gave her hand another gentle squeeze. “What’s wrong?”
Wen Song snapped back to attention and stated her view directly. “I don’t really want to have a wedding.”
“Why?” Though Pei Qingji’s face showed no particular joy, his eyes were full of curiosity.
Wen Song organized her thoughts and listed her reasons one by one for him.
“First of all, the two of us have no emotional foundation. We’re only getting married because of the child, so we should just focus on the child. There’s no need to make a big deal out of our relationship. If everyone knows about it, it’ll be hard to handle if something happens later.”
“You’re already thinking about divorce before we’re even married?”
Well…
Wen Song pressed her lips together. Pei Qingji really knew how to summarize.
She was silent for a moment, unsure whether he’d actually accepted what she said or was just curious to hear what else she had to say. He asked again, “Anything else?”
“Mm.” Wen Song nodded. “Second point: although being a distinguished professor isn’t your main job, you’re still within your term, and I also graduated from the School of Finance. Holding a wedding would inevitably let a lot of people know, and this relationship wouldn’t be advantageous for either of us.
“Third, I’m pretty lazy and quite high-maintenance. I have a lot of demands when it comes to things with a sense of ceremony. If we absolutely have to hold a wedding, it would have to be before my belly gets big, which makes the timeline too rushed. And if I have morning sickness, it’ll be really uncomfortable. If we want to prepare for longer, then by the time my belly is big, I won’t look good in a wedding dress. I love looking pretty, and I don’t want to rush it.”
For some reason, Wen Song’s emotions suddenly welled up at this point.
Pei Qingji immediately caught on. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through carefully enough. I’m sorry.”
People are always like this—when they’re alone, they don’t really feel anything, but they can’t stand it when someone comforts them.
Wen Song tilted her head up, looking at Pei Qingji’s face, and her eyes suddenly turned red.
“I’m sorry.” Pei Qingji quickly continued apologizing. “I’ll listen to you. I’ll listen to everything you say. We’ll do whatever makes you happy.”
“Then I don’t want to hold a wedding for now.”
“Alright, we won’t hold one for now.”
Wen Song wrinkled her nose again. “Then you tell Mom and Dad later.”
“Alright, I’ll tell them.”
“Then…” She reflexively wanted to say something more, but it seemed there was nothing left to say.
Pei Qingji tilted his head slightly to look at her. “Hm? Anything else?”
“No… nothing.”
Pei Qingji let out a low chuckle, and after a moment, asked, “Can we go back now?”
Wen Song tilted her head up, effortlessly holding back her tears, and replied in a muffled voice, “Yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
With that, Pei Qingji pulled her up, holding her hand with one hand and picking up his suit jacket with the other.
Just as they reached the door, Wen Song seemed to suddenly think of something.
She stopped in her tracks and said softly to Pei Qingji, “We also need to act like we have a good relationship in front of my parents, so they won’t worry.”
Pei Qingji was momentarily taken aback, then lowered his gaze to their still-joined hands, and nodded with a slight smile.
Seeing the two of them return hand in hand, aside from Zhou Huanning whose expression was unreadable, both sets of parents had smiles on their faces.
Although there was a seven-year age gap, standing together, they looked like a perfect match no matter how you looked at them.
“All done talking?” Song Wenhua asked with a beaming smile.
Pei Qingji nodded, first bowing to Wang Junlan and Wen Yuanbai before speaking. “Sorry, Mom and Dad. The two of us have some considerations of our own, and we plan to hold off on the wedding for now.”
“How can that be?!” Song Wenhua was the first to object.
Pei Qingji remained composed and unassuming as he explained, “It would be a bit rushed to prepare the wedding now, and I’m afraid that if anything is left unprepared, Song Song would be shortchanged. Secondly, I still have over a year left in my tenure at Qing University, and Song Song is also a graduate of Qing University. If any rumors were to arise in the meantime, it wouldn’t be good for Song Song.
“But rest assured, elders, the wedding will definitely be held. With more time to prepare, I can make it more thorough, and I will never let Song Song down.”
As his words came to an end, Wen Song quickly nodded and chimed in, “Mm-hmm, this is something we discussed together. We hope Mom and Dad can understand—you’re the best~”
No one could resist Wen Song’s coquettish plea.
The others all felt helpless; this was their own matter, so it was only natural to respect their wishes as much as possible.
“Then you should at least get the marriage certificate first, right?” Wang Junlan asked.
Song Wenhua immediately responded, “Yes! We must get it! I had a master calculate an auspicious date before I came—tomorrow morning from 9:09 to 11:33 is all good timing.”
The two were in perfect agreement, and the time for getting the certificate was settled.
After sitting for a few more minutes, Song Wenhua and Pei Maoshi proposed to leave. Zhou Huanning naturally followed along, but left Pei Qingji behind.
“You brat, you stay here and keep making amends to your in-laws.”