The landlady, who had been chatting away, glanced toward the doorway and smiled.
“You’re here to have your photo taken, aren’t you, miss? Just wait a moment. I’ll finish helping this comrade first, then I’ll take care of you.”
She spoke fluent local dialect, so Lin Qimo naturally assumed she was a local.
“Okay, that’s fine,” Lin Qimo nodded and slowly walked toward the counter.
Then, just as she had hoped, the man standing with his back to her turned around.
With a single glance, Lin Qimo’s heart skipped a beat again.
Isn’t this my ex-husband’s uncle the military officer?
Handsome, wealthy, and the type destined to die young.
Heavens, are you sending me a solution to my problem?
In the span of a few seconds, Lin Qimo had already thought about where Qin Wenqian should be buried after his death.
“Comrade, are you seeing anyone? The kind that ends with a marriage certificate?”
Faced with Lin Qimo’s sudden pickup line, even the worldly and experienced photo studio owner was stunned speechless.
Not to mention a man like Qin Wenqian, who had spent years in the military.
Qin Wenqian frowned.
Lin Qimo stepped closer, wearing an innocent smile as she shamelessly improvised.
“Do you believe in love at first sight? Because that’s exactly what happened to me. One glance and I fell for you; another glance and I was completely captivated. I think I’ll never marry anyone but you in this lifetime. So… would you like to date me?”
As she approached, Qin Wenqian’s breathing seemed to stop for a moment. His dark eyes lowered to look at her.
The studio owner burst into a bright smile.
“You handsome comrade, say yes! Hurry up and say yes! Wives are easy to find, but beautiful wives are rare!”
Now it was Lin Qimo’s turn to be dumbfounded.
This wasn’t ten years later when society would be much more open.
She knew city people admired free romance, but with a bold and reckless approach like hers, it was already fortunate she wasn’t being accused of acting like a hooligan.
Yet the landlady was supporting her so enthusiastically.
That was truly rare.
“Just look at you two! The man is handsome, the woman is beautiful. What a perfect match! If you don’t end up together, it would be an offense against heaven itself. Even the Matchmaker God should tie a red string around both of you!”
The owner continued doing her best to play matchmaker.
“When I met my husband, I was the one who confessed first and won him over. Three days later we got our marriage certificate, and five days later I was pregnant.”
Qin Wenqian thought:
So photography is just your side job? Your real profession is matchmaking?
Lin Qimo felt that this landlady was both beautiful and kind-hearted.
“But you don’t need to worry. Policies are more relaxed now. You don’t have to wait three days for a marriage certificate anymore. Take your photos here, I’ll have them ready in half an hour. The Civil Affairs Bureau is right next door. You can get your certificate immediately. If you move fast enough, you can even spend your wedding night together tonight.”
Qin Wenqian: “…”
Lin Qimo thought:
The landlady is truly a pioneer of the reform era. No wonder she’s such a fashionable beauty.
Seeing the woman working so hard to help her, Lin Qimo decided she couldn’t rely entirely on outside assistance.
She started promoting herself.
“My name is Lin Qimo ‘Qimo’ as in final exams. I’ve just reached marriageable age. Both my parents are gone. My ID card and household registration are separate and independent. If you agree, we can go next door and get married immediately. And if you don’t like the idea of me marrying into your family, you can even join my household registration instead.”
Qin Wenqian stood perfectly straight. His brows were furrowed into a deep frown, yet he remained silent.
The landlady was trying hard not to laugh.
“I think what this young lady says makes perfect sense. Handsome comrade, she’s already taken the initiative and flirted with you so openly. If you still refuse, you’re really going to break her heart.”
Then she whispered encouragement to Lin Qimo.
“Miss, let me tell you something. He looks exactly like my husband. Seems quiet and reserved on the outside, but he’s actually the secretly passionate type. Trust me just increase the intensity a little and you’ll have him today.”
Qin Wenqian had no idea what the two women were whispering about.
The next second, he saw the little woman advancing toward him step by step.
Frowning, he retreated one step at a time.
“We’ve never met before.”
Lin Qimo smiled and continued moving closer.
“Who says that? We knew each other in our previous life. As the saying goes, three thousand glances in a past life earn one meeting in this life.”
In truth, during her previous life, her interactions with Qin Wenqian had been limited to family dinners at the Pei household. They had barely exchanged a few words.
But she knew one of Pei Shao’s most carefully hidden secrets.
And it was related to Qin Wenqian.
She had discovered that secret by accident and never told anyone.
Later she heard that Qin Wenqian had been injured and was recuperating at the Pei family home before eventually dying from his wounds.
The young officer became known as a man who died in the prime of his life.
Afterward, Pei Shao’s mother and her natal Qin family had a bitter falling-out. During that period, whenever Pei Shao’s mother saw Lin Qimo, she always spoke to her with sarcasm and hostility.
For reasons Lin Qimo never understood, Pei Shao later took over much of his uncle’s work and his career began to flourish.
At the time, her position and circumstances were different. She was focused on pleasing every member of the Pei family, so she paid little attention to Qin Wenqian’s affairs.
Who could have imagined that Heaven would arrange for her first meeting with Qin Wenqian in this life to take place inside this photo studio?
So she couldn’t really be blamed for saying things like “love at first sight” and “I’ll never marry anyone else.”
At most, she had been captivated by his looks and intended to make use of him.
“The fact that we met here is a special kind of fate, don’t you think?” Lin Qimo asked openly, looking him straight in the eye.