Dragging his weary body, Leng Yan put down his luggage. He looked at the person sleeping soundly on the bed and called out softly.
She was in a deep sleep and heard nothing.
With a slight sigh, Leng Yan sat at the edge of the bed, looking at Wen Nuan. He reached out involuntarily to touch her face. By the light of the wall lamp, he saw the tear stains on her face and felt a sharp pain in his heart as he touched the dampness that hadn’t yet dried on the pillow.
His gaze followed the lines of her face until he spotted those two marriage certificates. Picking them up, his fingers trembled slightly.
He had never looked at these marriage certificates before. He only knew the photos were digitally composed and hadn’t even seen which specific photos were used.
The photo editing was done well, showing him and Wen Nuan leaning close together, appearing intimate, with no trace of compositing. However, if one looked at their eyes, they would see the flaw. Their gazes were directed elsewhere, and their expressions differed. Wen Nuan seemed genuinely happy in the photo, while he seemed to convey a sense of "forced marriage."
Marriage certificates...
He let out a low sigh. This must be the photo they least wanted to see.
Wen Nuan’s face was gently caressed by a hand. Feeling ticklish, she opened her eyes slightly and was startled to see a somewhat blurry shadow before her.
A dream? But the touch of the hand felt so real.
Rubbing her eyes forcefully, she saw his features softened by the light and fully awakened. "You’re back?"
"Yes, I was busy until midnight. Then Ye Wei and I went to the airport together; it was hectic. Once on the plane, I remembered to call you, but had to turn off the phone. So, I thought to just surprise you by coming back instead."
As Leng Yan spoke, he insistently pulled her up into his arms, stroked her face, kissed her forehead, and asked tenderly, "Did you cry? Was it because of the marriage certificate?"
Only then did Wen Nuan remember she had fallen asleep holding the marriage certificate. Her expression turned slightly awkward as she forced a smile. "I never thought I would get married this way."
There was no groom at the wedding, and to even get the marriage certificate, they didn’t go to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
There was no shared blessing, so perhaps it was destined not to bring happiness...
"Nuannuan, don’t be sad. I’ll give you a wedding, let’s set it on National Day this year." Leng Yan tightened his embrace, pressed his forehead against her hair, and gently rubbed it, solemnly telling her, "It will be an absolutely grand wedding. Journalists can attend freely. I want to tell the whole world that you are my wife, Leng Yan."
He no longer wanted to avoid anything as before. He wanted to stand before the priest and solemnly say "I do," committing to care for her for a lifetime, never leaving or abandoning her.
"I actually don’t care much about that." Raising her head, she looked at him and gave a wry smile. "Leng Yan, I’m sad that there was no groom at my wedding. But I’m not really bothered by that. Because when faced with the fact that my husband is you, I stopped caring about the wedding. But I care..."
She lowered her head, then quickly lifted it again, biting her lip, mustering the courage, "I care whether there’s only me in your heart. I tell myself that your feelings for Ji Wei are just a way to atone. But I can’t stay calm. I’m sorry, Leng Yan, maybe you’ll think I’m petty. But seeing my husband so concerned for another woman, my heart feels like it’s being pricked with needles. I don’t know if this is melodramatic, but I can’t help it, it hurts too much, I feel like I can’t take it anymore."