Chapter 3, Chapter 3: "Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, at the Civil Affairs Bureau."...

The young man was hunched over at his workstation, rushing to meet the deadline. The bottom right corner of the bamboo paper was so badly torn that he had to glue it back together bit by bit.

So I didn't notice my phone vibrating twice in my pocket at all.

The scraps of paper were too small, so Pei Qi used tweezers to pick them up, repeating the action over and over again. In the latter half of the process, her fingertips trembled slightly.

I didn't sleep well last night, and I felt a bit sleepy in the afternoon. I drank half a cup of Americano, and my hands started to shake.

I must go to bed early tonight!

It's almost five o'clock.

Old Jiang walked over to the young man, his gaze falling on the partially repaired page: "It's fine. This piece is badly broken, but don't worry, we'll glue it back together slowly."

The young man finally straightened his neck a little, blinked hard, and his vision was still a little blurry: "Okay."

"Go home first," Old Jiang said, his hands behind his back. "Your teacher's wife is making braised pork knuckle tonight, and she wants you to come and have a taste."

Pei Xi: "Okay, I'll frame it first, Master, wait for me."

After finishing the final tasks, Pei Qi turned off the lights in the office and looked at the indoor temperature and humidity display.

The indoor temperature is 21 degrees Celsius and the relative humidity is 55%.

After the inspection was completed, the young man left his workplace and walked downstairs.

Old Jiang was smoking downstairs when he saw the young man coming down. He quickly threw the cigarette butt at his feet and stomped it out, then walked over nonchalantly and said, "You drive."

Pei Xi: "Master, you're smoking again."

The elderly man with gray hair coughed twice and said in a pretentious tone, "No way..."

The young man bluntly exposed him: "You smell of smoke. You must have been smoking behind the security room just now."

Chiang Kai-shek: "...Don't tell your teacher's wife."

Pei Xi: "I have something to say."

Chiang Kai-shek: "Am I still your teacher?"

Pei Xi: "Yes."

Chiang Kai-shek: "......"

The two of them approached the car, chatting idly.

My phone inside my coat vibrated twice more.

The young man then took out his phone to check the message.

The phone automatically recognizes your face and displays a list of messages.

G: [Okay.]

G: [Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM, at the Civil Affairs Bureau.]

This was the man's reply at around 3 a.m., and now he's sent another message.

To be precise, it's a punctuation mark.

G: [ ? ]

The young man, holding the handlebars, paused, then quickly replied.

seven: [Tomorrow?]

That works, but I'd have to take a day off.

He replied almost instantly.

G: [Yeah, I'm on duty the day after tomorrow, and I'll be busy for the next few days.]

G: [I want to get it done as soon as possible.]

G: [Is there a problem on your end?]

Pei Xi felt as if they were in a business negotiation.

seven: [I can do it.]

After sending the message, he put down his phone, started the car, and said to Lao Jiang in the passenger seat, "I'd like to ask for a short leave tomorrow morning, driver."

Chiang Kai-shek casually asked, "What's the matter?"

The young man hesitated for a moment, then said, "I need to... have a medical consultation. My neck has been hurting lately..."

Meeting with a doctor can also be considered a consultation.

Rounding off, there was no lie.

The key point is that if he said he was going to get a marriage certificate, that's just too...

He was afraid his supervisor would think he was just making up an excuse to skip work...

"Oh, go ahead," Old Jiang nodded. "You're so young, and your neck is already so bad. You need to be more careful..."

Pei Xi was completely unaware of the procedures for obtaining a marriage certificate, so after finishing his braised pork knuckle and returning home, he went online to search for guides.

These days, you can find all sorts of guides.

The young man carefully prepared all the necessary documents according to the checklist: ID card, household registration booklet...

After confirming that everything was correct, the young man climbed into bed. A warm light was on in the room.

He is used to sleeping with a small light on.

I was quite timid when I was little, and I was often home alone, so I developed this habit.

Thinking about this, the young man suddenly realized a problem.

I don't think I've told my parents I'm getting married tomorrow, nor have I told my aunt...

He had lived with his third aunt since he was a child. His parents were always doing business in the south and rarely came back, so their relationship was quite distant. The last time he contacted her was when his mother asked him to help tutor his younger brother, who was eight years younger than him.

But at the time he was busy restoring a severely moldy ancient book and simply didn't have the time.

As a result, Pei's mother got angry and didn't contact him for a long time.

The young man swiped down, found the chat box with Pei's mother, and hesitated.

Actually, his parents probably don't care whether he gets married or who he marries.

At that moment, a message pop-up caught my eye, interrupting my thoughts.

G: [Do you have a car?]

Young people can click on a pop-up window and be redirected to a different page.

Seven: [No.]

It seems he has never explained his financial situation to men.

So he added: "I only bought the house."

He had only been working formally for three years, and he was able to buy this apartment with the help of his employer's housing subsidy and the money he had saved from part-time jobs over the years.

G: [Where are you?]

Seven: [At Yuntai Apartment in Shulin District.]

Seven: [I'm currently paying off the mortgage every month, so Dr. Guan, don't worry about that. I'll still be solely responsible for it after we get married. As for other financial matters, we can manage them separately.]

He knew that Guan Yue's financial situation was definitely better than his own, and he couldn't let Guan Yue feel like he was being taken advantage of, so he quickly expressed his support.

This time, the other party didn't reply immediately, and Pei Qi scrolled through the interface out of boredom.

I refreshed the page about seven or eight times before finally receiving a new message.

G: [I'll pick you up from the apartment tomorrow.]

Seven: [No need to bother, I'm quite close to the subway station.]

G: [On the way.]

The young man's fingers paused on the keyboard for a few seconds, making some deletions and additions.

G: [Reduce the risk of not being able to find you.]

Pei Xi: "..."

Awkward.

He really wanted to explain that he wasn't the kind of person who would run away at the drop of a hat.

Last time was...

Forget it, the more I explain, the more confused it gets.

So he could only awkwardly reply: "Okay, see you tomorrow."

Seven: Goodnight.

There was no reply, and the young man didn't wait. He put his phone in front of the cabinet to charge, then snuggled into bed and went to sleep.

Pei Qi was awakened by her biological clock at seven o'clock the next day.

After washing up, the young man fixed his hair in front of the mirror, apparently because he was about to take a photo to register his marriage.

Luckily, he had just gotten a haircut last month, so his bangs were the perfect length. He simply used a hairdryer to blow-dry them a bit to make them a little fluffy, and that was about it.

7:30.

He had just put the eggs into the pot when his cell phone on the stove lit up.

G: [I've arrived.]

That's too fast.

It wasn't supposed to be eight o'clock.

The young man put the lid on the pot, picked up his phone, and replied: "I'm still cooking breakfast."

G: [It's okay, take your time.]

Pei Qi had just typed "good" into the input box when he suddenly realized something. He deleted the text and retyped: 【Have you eaten yet? Would you like to come up and get something?】

A few seconds later.

G: [Which unit and floor?]

Seven: [Unit 3, 7th floor.]

G: [Okay.]

Actually... he was just being polite, he didn't expect...

Seeing the lone egg in the pot, the young man hurriedly took another one from the refrigerator and threw it in.

He's not a good cook and doesn't usually care much about food.

I usually just grab something to eat when I feel hungry.

As for breakfast, it's very simple: an egg and a glass of milk are all you need.

But... Dr. Guan doesn't seem like such a rough person.

"Ding-dong".

The doorbell has rung.

Pei Xi hurriedly came out of the kitchen and headed towards the door.

The moment the security door opened, a handsome face with striking features came into view—the kind of handsome that would never be disputed.

Tough and handsome.

Unlike the last time we met, Guan Yue was wearing a well-tailored white shirt today, formal without being overly overdone.

Pei Xi didn't dare stare for too long, and turned to find the man's shoes: "Come in quickly."

He rarely has guests, but he once bought a pair of slippers at the supermarket that were buy-one-get-one-free.

“This one is clean and has never been worn,” he emphasized, wanting to reassure the man that he could wear it without worry.

"Okay, thank you." Guan Yue bent down, stood in the entryway, and began to change his shoes.

It's clean, but it's a bit too short.

Guan Yue's heels were outside the edge of the shoe, with at least three or four centimeters exposed.

Pei Qi also saw them; these were the shoes he had bought in his own size before, and he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "These shoes might be a little small."

The man didn't seem to care much, and walked inside in his ill-fitting shoes, saying, "My feet are just too big."

The young man felt utterly speechless; he certainly didn't mean it that way.

The two went to the kitchen one after the other.

Guan Yue: "What breakfast did Teacher Pei make?"

Pei Qi scratched the back of his head and chose to answer truthfully: "Boiled egg."

Guan Yue, standing in front of the dining table, seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

A few seconds later.

Guan Yue: "That's it?"

Pei Xi: "Milk..."

"Is there any food in the refrigerator?" The man turned his head and glanced at the smart refrigerator in the kitchen, but did not go over and open it without permission.

“Uh…” Pei Xi herself forgot whether she had stocked up on food, and walked over to open the refrigerator door.

Great, the emptiness feels very relaxing.

He shouldn't have bought a double-door car; it was a waste.

"There are only... eggs, noodles, and half a cucumber."

The man behind me approached without my noticing.

The young man's body was shrouded in a tall shadow.

"Egg noodles, want some?" A deep, magnetic voice came from behind.

He felt a slight tingling sensation in his ears from listening.

"Eat..." but I'm not very good at it.

He only said one word in one sentence.

Yu Guangli reached in and picked up the noodles and eggs from the refrigerator shelf: "Sit down and wait a while."

The young man blinked and then slowly closed the refrigerator.

When he turned around, Guan Yue was already cooking at the stove.

We agreed to have someone come up for breakfast.

How did it turn into asking people to come up and make breakfast?

The man worked quickly; in about five or six minutes, two steaming bowls of egg noodles were on the table.

"The ingredients are limited, so make do with this." Guan Yue handed him a pair of chopsticks.

Pei Qi reached out and took it, her eyes fixed on the bowl of noodles: "It looks delicious."

He picked up a mouthful with his chopsticks and slurped it up.

It tastes good like home cooking.

Guan Yue: "Does Teacher Pei usually only eat eggs and drink milk for breakfast?"

Pei Xi swallowed the noodles in her mouth: "Hmm... I'm not very good at cooking, and I'm usually in a rush in the mornings, so I just eat whatever's available."

“I can cook from now on, but I’m quite busy with work.” The man didn’t rush to pick up his chopsticks. “I still want to give Teacher Pei a heads-up: when I’m busy with work, please try not to bother me unless it’s something important.”

Pei Xi scooped up a piece of broken egg from the bowl and listened to the man opposite her speak.

"Okay." He nodded in agreement. "Cooking won't be too much trouble; I usually eat in the cafeteria."

Pei Qi knew that doctors were very busy, so she felt embarrassed to ask them to cook for her.

The appendectomist across from me didn't answer. He finally picked up his first bite of noodles and chewed slowly.

Pei Xi stopped talking and focused on eating.

It was almost 8:30 when I finished eating the noodles.

The two went downstairs one after the other, and the young man followed the man to the car by the roadside.

It was a black Panamera, not exactly a low-key car.

Pei Xi remembered that the appendectomist was only three years older than him, so his financial resources were simply too strong.

I couldn't help but wonder if I would be able to afford these tires when I'm thirty.

Even if you can afford it, it's no use. This car only runs on 95-octane gasoline, while he only uses a certain brand of gasoline that he gets coupons for.

The interior is all genuine leather, with no strange smell, only a faint scent of car air freshener, which smells like cedar.

The process of getting the marriage certificate was similar to the online guides, except that the photos turned out a bit stiff because the two of us weren't familiar with each other.

The staff took several photos, saying, "Don't be nervous, smile, come closer!"

Pei Qi straightened his white shirt and moved closer to Guan Yue on his right.

Dr. Guan was like a furnace; even just touching his shoulder, he could feel the warmth of the man's body.

"Yes, yes, smile." The staff member pressed the shutter.

Pei Qi felt a flash of white light in his eyes, and then, very quickly, two marriage certificates stamped with the official seal were handed to the two of them.

The staff members smiled and offered their congratulations: "Happy marriage, you two!"

Young people are usually slower to react, and right now they are looking down at their certificates.

Guan Yue, standing beside him, glanced down at the young man looking at the group photo, pursed his lips slightly, and replied, "Thank you."

However, in the short time it took him to answer, the capybara beside him had already turned and walked away.

After Pei Xi checked that the information on the certificate was correct, she put the marriage certificate into a document bag and then habitually walked out alone. It wasn't until she saw several couples behaving intimately on the way that she realized she might have forgotten something.

oh......

He forgot to wait for the appendectomist.

The young man stopped and turned his head.

The man behind her walked forward slowly, his face expressionless.

As Pei Qi walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, she said, "I'm taking the subway to work. Goodbye, Dr. Guan."

The man opened the car door, but it was the passenger side: "Is your workplace in Wenbo?"

Pei Xi nodded.

Guan Yue: "I'll take you there."

The young man waved his hand: "It's nothing... I..."

Guan Yue: "Come up."

"Didn't you tell me to try not to bother you?" Pei Xi asked, her tone a little weak.