Hearing the Attendant Student’s words, Yang Ming felt his heartbeat quicken, his hands clumsy, and his mind in a daze. The woman claimed to be his wife — didn’t that make her his bride?
He charged breathlessly to the entrance, gasping with unsteady breath, and arrived in front of Xiaoxiao. Without saying a word, he intently stared at Xiaoxiao, scrutinizing her from head to toe.
His face was full of surprise and excitement. It was truly his bride. His bride could actually be so beautiful; beautiful to the extent that he hadn’t recognized her.
Seeing her husband’s reaction, Xiaoxiao wondered if she had startled him silly. She waved her hand in front of her husband’s eyes, "Husband."
"Wife, is it really you?"
"..." How could he still be doubtful, who else would call him husband? It seemed he really had lost his senses, "Do I look good?"
"Beautiful, truly beautiful." Love filled Yang Ming’s eyes, impossible to hide, as he openly praised how beautiful his wife was — genuinely beautiful, not falsely so.
Upon hearing Yang Ming’s words, Xiaoxiao felt overjoyed. Her efforts all afternoon had not been in vain; she had not even gone home just to show herself to Yang Ming, and now it was about to be pitch-dark.
Yet recalling Yang Ming not recognizing her tinged her mood with gloom.
Once, a friend had shared a video of a group of people dancing, wearing the same outfits and performing the same movements. No one could recognize who she was, but her husband knew instantly which one in the corner was her — that must be true love, surely.
Thinking this, she felt true love was still quite far between her and Yang Ming. She poutingly sulked, feeling a bit jealous of her friend, "But you didn’t recognize me at first."
"..." His wife was so beautiful, he had never thought it was her; how could he dare stare at another woman like that, "I’m sorry, it got a bit dark, I couldn’t see clearly."
"..." Could it be that Yang Ming had been staying up reading, turning himself nearsighted? That explained why he hadn’t realized it was her. With that thought, she felt much better, realizing she needed to provide him with more candles in the future to protect his eyes.
"Calling for you, but you didn’t come out, made me wait for so long. And now, it has gotten dark." Even though Xiaoxiao felt better, she continued complaining, completely unaware that her significant transformation had been why her husband hadn’t dared to recognize her.
"I’m sorry, let’s go home."
"..." Wait, she was just complaining, not meaning that, and she quickly waved her hands, "No need, I will find a car to go back later."
"It’s dark already, and you on your own, I can’t be at peace." Where would he find peace, knowing a woman was walking alone at night especially when his wife had become so beautiful now?
Was her husband being considerate of her? This thought brought a smile to her face. Perhaps she should let him escort her; walking alone at night was indeed frightening, "Then, let’s go home."
When they decided to go home and started looking for a car, they couldn’t find one, possibly because it was too late. Xiaoxiao grew anxious. Were they supposed to walk home? That would take two hours, and she had grown unaccustomed to walking after always taking cars.
Moreover, walking at night felt more frightening, even more so than in a car, especially in the countryside with no streetlights, eerily quiet.
"What should we do? Walk back?"
"Yes, don’t be afraid, I’m here."
Hearing Yang Ming’s words, Xiaoxiao inexplicably felt a sense of security, and the two of them walked along the pitch-dark country road.