“That won’t happen. My fiancée really admires me she genuinely wants to marry me,” He Congnan said without the slightest embarrassment, sounding rather pleased with himself.
Wang Tiejun snorted. “That’s probably because she doesn’t know you well enough yet. How old is the girl?”
“Eighteen.”
Wang Tiejun fell silent for a moment.
“So you’re robbing the cradle? How could you bring yourself to go after an eighteen-year-old girl? Her father probably isn’t even that much older than you!”
At the mention of their age gap, He Congnan scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“Her dad does look pretty young. He’s probably not even forty. But, Chief, that’s not the important part. The important part is that you hurry up and approve my marriage application!”
Still grumbling, Wang Tiejun took the report, glanced at it, and tossed it back.
“What kind of garbage is this? If I spent two days training one of the military dogs, it could probably write more neatly than you!
Take it back and rewrite it properly, stroke by stroke! No matter how anxious you are, we still have to follow procedure review, background investigation, and approval through every level. Your fiancée is from another province too. Even at the fastest, it’ll take three days!”
The military had extremely strict procedures for approving a soldier’s marriage application. As a pilot, He Congnan’s political background check was even more rigorous. If a person came from a questionable family background, had historical political issues, or had overseas connections, the application would never be approved.
Although He Congnan had never been married himself, he had approved marriage applications for officers under his command before.
The Lu family were honest, hardworking members of the working class. His mother had told him that Lu’s father worked as a boiler operator at a food processing factory, while Lu’s mother worked in the cafeteria of a meat processing plant. Besides Lu Jinyun and Huan’er, there was also a younger brother still in middle school.
Their family background was spotless. Forget overseas they had never even left Suzhou.
“Forget three days, Uncle Wang. Do me a favor and try to get it approved in two. It took me forever to find a girl I truly like. Can you really bear to see me miss my chance?”
After closing the office door, He Congnan stopped calling him “Chief.” Instead, he acted like a spoiled junior before a respected elder, only just short of throwing himself on the floor.
Wang Tiejun laughed as he cursed, “You little brat,” before waving him away.
Knowing Wang Tiejun as well as he knew his own father, He Congnan immediately realized the old man had relented. Grinning broadly, he happily left.
Before noon, the news that He Congnan was getting married had already spread throughout both the Air Force and Army units.
None of this reached He Congnan. The moment his break began, he hurriedly drove to the guesthouse across from the railway station.
That morning, Lu Jinhuan had spent some time reading before drifting back to sleep. She only woke groggily when she heard her father knocking on the door.
Not wanting to attract gossip, He Congnan waited outside instead of going in. The moment he saw the young woman walk out of the guesthouse, his eyes lit up.
“What did you do this morning? Did you miss me?”
Lu Jinhuan settled into the passenger seat and honestly shook her head.
“No. I was either reading or sleeping. I didn’t have time to think about you.”
He Congnan: “…”
[Little Huan’er, you can’t be this straightforward! You have to tell him you missed him so much you couldn’t even sleep. Men love hearing things like that! Trust me I’ve served 10,086 hosts, and I’ve learned one universal truth: women who know how to act cute have the easiest lives!]
Because Lu Jinhuan trusted Qiuqiu completely, she hurriedly corrected herself.
“Let me say that again. I did miss you. I missed you so much I… fell asleep. No I mean I missed you so much I couldn’t sleep!”
He Congnan: “…”
Lu Jinhuan puffed out her cheeks, but she couldn’t hold it in and burst into laughter first.
“Alright, alright. I really was sleeping the whole time. I only got up when I heard someone knocking.”
With a doting smile, He Congnan reached over and gently pressed down the stubborn tuft of hair sticking straight up on her forehead.
“I could tell. Your hair’s a complete mess from sleeping.”
“Hehe. Where are we going?”
“To lunch first. After that, I’ll take you to the Xisi State Furniture Store to pick out some furniture. There’s no time to have anything custom-made.”
Lu Jinhuan didn’t care much about furniture.
“Do we really need to? I saw yesterday that your family’s furniture is already a complete set.”
He Congnan started the car.
“Not for the living room. It’s for our room. Mine only has a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk. We need to get you a large wardrobe and a dressing table.”
Feeling so treasured warmed Lu Jinhuan’s heart.
“That sounds fine. I’d also like a bookshelf.”
“Done. While we’re at it, let’s replace the bed too.”
He Congnan had never thought much of his old bed. It was fine when he slept alone, but once Little Huan’er moved in… there wouldn’t be enough room for the two of them to roll around comfortably.
That afternoon, Grandpa He Weiguo and his wife, Huang Qiuci, returned home after visiting old friends. When their daughter-in-law told them that their eldest grandson was getting married, both of them were stunned.
They already knew the bride was the younger sister of their second grandson’s wife. What surprised them was that their eldest grandson had actually agreed to the match.
Mrs. He quietly leaned toward her daughter-in-law.
“Didn’t Xiangbei’s wife say her younger sister is only eighteen? What on earth is Congnan thinking?”
Jiang Yun covered her mouth as she laughed.
“Well, men always like young and beautiful women. I have to admit, that little girl is incredibly pretty. Forget Congnan even I, a middle-aged woman, couldn’t help stealing a few extra glances at her.”
She wasn’t worried at all that Lu Jinhuan would stir up trouble after marrying into the He family. With both herself and her mother-in-law around, no one else would be calling the shots.
As long as her son liked the girl, bringing her home was enough. If she could make her son happy, that was all that mattered.
Born into an influential family herself, Mrs. He naturally understood that reasoning. She smiled in agreement.
“You’ve got a good point. You’re absolutely right.”
Since their eldest grandson was getting married, the elderly couple naturally pitched in. Grandpa He pulled out his address book and began making phone calls one after another, while Grandma He took out five hundred yuan and asked Jiang Yun to reserve a hotel for the wedding banquet.
With the family’s help, everything needed for the wedding was prepared in less than three days.
At the same time, He Congnan successfully received the approved marriage application.
The day before, he had asked Lu Jinhuan whether she wanted to live with the He family after they married or move into the Air Force residential compound. Based on his rank, the military could assign them a two-bedroom apartment.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Jinhuan refused.
“We have to live with your family after we get married.”
She was kidding herself if she thought she’d move out.
If they lived separately, how was she supposed to keep irritating Lu Jinyun or enjoy watching her make a fool of herself?
She had already been in Beijing for several days and still hadn’t seen Lu Jinyun once.
Lu Jinhuan had already decided that after they got their marriage certificate and went to the He family home to meet the elders, she would definitely pay her “dear sister” a very caring visit.
The marriage registration went incredibly smoothly.
In less than five minutes, the clerk completed the paperwork and stamped two bright red seals onto the documents with two loud thumps.
Just like that, their marriage certificate was officially issued.
He Congnan held the certificate in his hands for a long while.
When he saw his own name printed right beside the young woman’s, his chest filled with an overwhelming ache of happiness.
His life finally felt complete.
He had always believed he would spend his entire life alone. He never expected heaven to bless him with someone so perfectly suited to him.
There was only one thing that bothered him.
Their birth dates printed on the certificate were impossible to ignore.
He had been born in May 1947.
His little wife had been born in February 1958.
There was a full eleven-year age gap between them.
Lu Jinhuan, however, couldn’t have cared less.
Right now, all she wanted was to consummate the marriage as soon as possible. Once they did, she’d receive her reward and finally be able to buy the Talent Pill she had been dreaming about.