But he knows he can’t. Tomorrow, he has to return to the team, and who knows when he’ll be back. He can’t even accompany her for the new marriage visit.
Han Yi feels a bit sour inside. Before getting married, he never had such emotions. It seems it’s true what his comrades said: once you marry, everything changes. It’s only been two days since their wedding, yet he’s already feeling reluctant to leave and a bit concerned.
In the afternoon, the exam venue changed, and Lin Wan went to another classroom. After finishing the math exam, Lin Wan hurried to the professional exam venue.
The exam venue was a large studio, and when Lin Wan arrived, she already saw Yin Peibai painting.
The professional exam required basic drawing skills, and the teacher asked her to depict the appearance of three people.
This wasn’t difficult for Lin Wan, having studied for two lifetimes. If she still couldn’t paint well, she might as well give up.
As Lin Wan submitted her work, Yin Peibai also came out, linking arms with Lin Wan and smilingly asking, "I didn’t expect to arrive before you, yet you finished faster. Lin Wan, have you studied painting before?"
"I have some foundation, often read some painting books, and like to practice sketching when I have time."
"Same here, I just like painting, that’s why I studied it."
After parting ways with Yin Peibai at the school gate, Lin Wan checked the clock outside the school office; it was just past five.
Before the marriage, the rings they ordered hadn’t been picked up yet. Lin Wan took Han Yi to the silver shop to retrieve the rings.
The design of the rings was simple, with no decorations, except for the tiny engraved characters: Lin Wan’s ring had a little "Yi" and Han Yi’s ring had a "Wan".
Upon getting the rings, Lin Wan eagerly put it on Han Yi’s finger, "With this, others will know you are a married man, and other women won’t dare to make advances on you."
Han Yi gazed at Lin Wan with a smile, lifted her hand, and put her ring on.
Though the two weren’t very familiar, everything changed after such intimate moments.
Since Han Yi had to leave tomorrow, Lin Wan specially prepared some delicious food for him once they returned home. It was too hot in summer to bring something, so nothing was prepared.
Aunt Jin, however, came late at night to bring them some pastries.
Lin Wan knows Aunt Jin’s family makes pastries like wife cakes and flaky pastries. Neighbors often visit Uncle Jin’s house to buy some pastries when visiting relatives.
Uncle Jin often rode his bike around neighborhoods, though it was tiring, he earned some money, and the elderly couple lived quite well.
Once overheard during an argument with her aunt, she learned that Uncle Jin’s son left, and when Han Yi was in his teens, Uncle Jin and Aunt Jin wanted to adopt Han Yi, but Grandma disagreed.
The main reason was that Han Yi was old enough to understand, and with both families living next to each other, adoption didn’t make much difference. They could just come over often.
That’s why, over the years, the elder Jin couple paid more attention to Han Yi than his birth mother Shen Qing. Whenever Han Yi wasn’t around, the Jin couple took care of Grandma quite a bit.
Because Han Yi had to leave the next day, and Lin Wan had finished her exam, Lin Wan couldn’t escape being fussed over by Han Yi at night.
This time, though uncomfortable, was much better than the first. It’s said newlyweds need time to adjust, and she had heard about it during her previous life working as a nanny, stirring some awareness.
Afterwards, Lin Wan clung to Han Yi, filled with reluctance, "Can I visit you at the barracks after some time?"
"Of course... But once I return, I’ll have a task to execute that might take a few months before I can come back," Han Yi sighed in her arms, "Xiao Wan, I’m sorry."
Lin Wan listened, blinking her reddened eyes, mostly worried, "Is it dangerous?"
"Not dangerous, just a bit of time-consuming," Han Yi spoke casually.
But Lin Wan knows, going out on assignments is nothing but safe, "Take care of yourself, remember you’re not alone anymore. You have a wife now, and in the future, we’ll have children, our family is counting on you."
Lin Wan’s "our family" comforted Han Yi. Such ordinary words, yet they were what he’d yearned for most over the past twenty years.
"I won’t let anything happen to myself, don’t worry."
At dawn, Han Yi carefully got up, looking at the sleeping Lin Wan for a long time, reluctant to wake her. Though there were many things he wanted to say farewell, seeing her calm face at that moment, his heart softened and he didn’t know why.
With a quiet sigh, he got up and walked to the desk.