At the end of April, Cheng Su received the property deed for Joy Soon Loy Restaurant, bearing her name on it, which solidly made the restaurant hers.
No longer did she have to worry about the landlord taking back the premises; as long as she wanted, she could run the restaurant for a long, long time without being kicked out.
Good news followed one after another, as Qi Taiguo was unexpectedly honored for his participation in the earthquake rescue effort, even receiving a third-class merit recognition.
Initially, they had simply acted on impulse to help with the rescue, never thinking about earning any accolades. Plus, at that time Qi Taiguo was on private leave to visit family, so even though he participated in the rescue, it was a personal action and didn’t represent the military district’s troops, let alone an official mission.
Thus, the award and recognition he received were unexpected rewards.
Having purchased property and received an award, Cheng Su and her husband brushed off the previous gloom, their faces beaming with joy every day, enough to make others envious.
May 1st marked the first wedding anniversary of Cheng Su and Qi Taiguo, and Cheng Su wanted to celebrate properly.
But when the day arrived, Qi Taiguo was being mysteriously secretive, asking her to get dolled up and look pretty to go out with him.
"What’s going on? Why so formal?" Cheng Su was very curious.
"Don’t ask, just hurry up; you’ll find out when we get there." There was a rare blush on Qi Taiguo’s face.
Cheng Su chuckled with pursed lips, "Okay, I’ll listen to you!"
Applying makeup was her forte; sitting in front of the vanity mirror, Cheng Su meticulously cared for her skin before applying foundation, blushing her cheeks, and drawing her eyebrows.
Qi Taiguo too came out of the bathroom and sat down behind her.
Glancing casually in the mirror, Cheng Su exclaimed with a "yo," turned around to look at him with interest, "You’ve cleaned up pretty nicely!"
Qi Taiguo had his hair cut short, styled with mousse now, looking glossy; a freshly shaved face adding to his refreshingly clean look.
He was wearing gray-white casual pants and a striped shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a watch that Cheng Su had given him on his wrist. Simple and unadorned, yet stylish and cool.
"How do I look?" Qi Taiguo asked with some discomfort.
Cheng Su walked over, straightened his collar, and planted a kiss on his face, "My husband looks amazingly handsome!"
Having always seen him in military uniform, she always felt he had an air of iron and blood. Now, seeing him dressed so casually was rare, almost like a white-collar executive strategizing in an office.
With a blush creeping on his face, Qi Taiguo asked, "Are you ready?"
Seeing his discomfort, Cheng Su couldn’t help but laugh, returning to her vanity saying, "Almost there!"
After finishing her eyeliner and applying lipstick, she tidied her hair in the mirror and then went to open the wardrobe. Looking inside at her section of the closet, she saw that it had already been filled with numerous outfits over the year.
Cheng Su picked out a silk long dress that the original owner had bought, touched it, and swiftly changed into it, looking at herself in the mirror and feeling very satisfied.
When she stepped out of the room changed into her outfit, Qi Taiguo looked up and saw her dress, momentarily stunned, "Why are you wearing that dress?"
Cheng Su twirled, smiling at him, "Today is our first wedding anniversary. This dress was bought with your money, and I wanted to wear it."
The reason wasn’t clear; she just felt like wearing it—perhaps because of the former owner, or maybe as a commemoration, which is why she chose it out of many.
Qi Taiguo walked up to her, pursing his lips, "It’s a good thing I didn’t get rid of it; you look really beautiful in it."
Cheng Su smiled softly, yes, fortunately!