Jiang Hailang, are you trying to trick me into marriage?

At eight o'clock this morning, Jiang Hailang went to pick up Lin Xiaoran from downstairs at her home, just like he always does, to go to work.

Lin Xiaoran fastened her seatbelt and asked Jiang Hailang before he started the car, "You said you wanted to get married last time, does that still count?"

Jiang Hailang turned to look at Lin Xiaoran. It had been half a month since he last mentioned getting married. Lin Xiaoran hadn't agreed at the time, so for the past two weeks, they had tacitly avoided bringing it up again.

However, since Lin Xiaoran had asked again, Jiang Hailang nodded emphatically.

Lin Xiaoran pulled a pink card holder out of her bag and waved it in front of Jiang Hailang. "I just happened to have my ID card with me today, how about we go get our marriage certificate?"

Jiang Hailang was stunned for a moment.

A few seconds later, he reached out and grabbed the card holder from Lin Xiaoran's hand, pulled out her ID card, and confirmed that she hadn't brought an empty card holder to tease him.

Do your aunt and uncle know about this?

Lin Xiaoran said, "I know. They say adults should make their own decisions and be responsible for them."

Jiang Hailang excitedly leaned over and gave Lin Xiaoran a big kiss on the cheek.

After kissing her, he dropped a bombshell on Lin Xiaoran: "Baby, but I don't have my ID card with me."

Lin Xiaoran's face instantly turned cold. "What? You were just saying you wanted to get married casually, and now that I've brought my ID, you're backing out?"

"How could I possibly go back on my word? I'm overjoyed."

If Lin Xiaoran wasn't ready, he wouldn't force her or put pressure on her. But he was certain that once Lin Xiaoran agreed, he would be willing at any time.

But things just didn't go as planned. A family elder was celebrating their 80th birthday with a banquet over the weekend, and when he returned home afterward, he accidentally forgot his ID card. He even had to obtain a temporary pass to board his return flight.

His parents were too busy a couple of days ago and forgot to mail his ID card back to him. They talked on the phone last night, and his mother had already packed it up and said that the courier would mail it to him as soon as it opened today.

Thinking of this, Jiang Hailang quickly took out his phone to call his mother and told her not to hand over her ID card to the deliveryman yet.

If the package is sent out today, it will arrive at the earliest tomorrow. If it arrives late tomorrow, he will have to wait until the day after tomorrow to get married to Lin Xiaoran.

As the saying goes, "A long night is full of unforeseen events." Besides, he might be delayed for two more nights. What if Lin Xiaoran changes her mind during those two nights?

The safest way now is for Lin Xiaoran to go back to his hometown with him, get her ID card in person, and then get married immediately.

Jiang Hailang told his mother not to send his ID card yet, that he would come back to get it himself, and then hurriedly hung up the phone. He then started his car and drove straight to the airport.

The mother was full of questions, but she didn't even have a chance to ask him what important matter he had that required him to go through the trouble of taking a flight that lasted several hours.

He simply didn't have time to explain.

The two bought the earliest available tickets and, as if eloping, boarded the plane to Chengdu hand in hand.

However, by the time the plane landed at Tianfu Airport, it was already 3 p.m.

Jiang Hailang held Lin Xiaoran's hand and walked through the bustling crowd at the airport, apologizing to the people waiting in line for taxis before finally cutting in line and getting a taxi first.

Rushing home, Jiang Hailang yelled at his mother who opened the door, "Mom, give me your ID card right now!"

"What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?" Jiang's mother asked, then turned to look at Lin Xiaoran beside Jiang Hailang.

Lin Xiaoran greeted her politely, "Hello, Auntie."

"Yes." Jiang's mother nodded with a smile. Jiang Hailang brought a little girl back, so his identity was self-evident.

"This is your daughter-in-law. We're in a rush to get married. Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

As Jiang Hailang spoke, he pushed his mother into the house. He immediately noticed the ID card on the coffee table and ran over to grab it.

Lin Xiaoran stood in the living room, looking around Jiang Hailang's home. The neighborhood was quite old, and the interior decoration further emphasized its age. However, the house was clean and tidy, without any of the mess that befits an old house.

She had heard Jiang Hailang say that he originally wanted to bring his parents to live with him in Lancheng, but his parents were getting old and didn't adapt well to big cities. Besides, although this neighborhood was old, all the old neighbors were still there, and relatives and friends lived nearby, so her parents were more comfortable living here. Therefore, they continued to live in the old house.

When Lin Xiaoran saw Jiang Hailang run back, she asked him, "Which one is your room?"

She was also quite curious to see what kind of environment Jiang Hailang grew up in.

"Come back for a visit later, the wedding is the priority." After saying that, Jiang Hailang took Lin Xiaoran's hand and ran outside.

As Lin Xiaoran was being pulled out of the room, she didn't forget to turn back and politely say goodbye to Jiang's mother: "Goodbye, Auntie!"

Jiang's mother was still in a daze. It took her a while to come to her senses, and then she quickly called Jiang's father, who was playing mahjong at his old neighbor's house: "Stop playing, hurry up and go to the market to buy some good food, Hailang is back with his wife."

As Jiang Hailang pulled her along, Lin Xiaoran asked, "Jiang Hailang, why are you in such a hurry? Is there something fishy going on? Are you trying to trick me into marriage?"

"What marriage scam? I'm just afraid you'll change your mind."

When the two arrived at the entrance of the residential area, Jiang Hailang looked around, trying to flag down a taxi. Unfortunately, the rule of hailing a taxi is always: the more urgent your situation, the less likely you are to find an empty one.

Jiang Hailang kept checking his watch; there was less than an hour left before the Civil Affairs Bureau closed. If he didn't hurry, he was afraid he wouldn't make it in time today.

Neighbor Xiao Li stopped his electric scooter at the entrance of the residential area and greeted Jiang Hailang warmly: "Hailang's back?"

Jiang Hailang quickly walked over to Xiao Li and extended his right hand.

Xiao Li thought to himself: "Those who are used to living in big cities are really different. My childhood friend now has to shake hands with me when we meet?"

Just as Xiao Li reached out his hand, Jiang Hailang snatched the electric scooter from his hand.

"Let me borrow it for a bit." Jiang Hailang pushed Xiao Li aside without saying a word, and then called to Lin Xiaoran, "Come up here."

Li was still a bit bewildered when Jiang Hailang rode off on his electric scooter with Lin Xiaoran on the back. What was this? A highway robbery?

Fortunately, the Civil Affairs Bureau wasn't too far from Jiang Hailang's home. He arrived at his destination in just over twenty minutes by electric scooter, and managed to get his photo taken, fill out the form, and receive his certificate before the bureau closed.

Jiang Hailang stood at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, holding up a small red marriage certificate, his mouth agape in a wide smile.

"Let's go home. My mom has definitely prepared a delicious meal for us when we get back." Jiang Hailang said, picking up Lin Xiaoran and placing her on the back seat of the electric scooter.

As expected, the Jiang family elders set up a New Year's Eve dinner, with more than a dozen dishes already on the table, but they were still busy in the kitchen.

Jiang Hailang handed over the marriage certificate and then formally introduced her to his parents: "This is Lin Xiaoran, my wife."

Lin Xiaoran thought for a moment, then called out confidently, "Dad, Mom."

"Okay." Jiang's mother smiled and agreed, but suddenly tears started flowing again.

Jiang Hailang stepped forward, wiped his mother's face, and teased her with a smile, "Such a good daughter-in-law, others couldn't find one even with a lantern, and you're still crying?"

A joke amused everyone, and the family of four sat around the dining table to enjoy their wedding feast.

After dinner, Jiang Hailang took Lin Xiaoran to his room as promised. The room was small and simply furnished: a dark brown desk, wardrobe, and bookshelves. The bookshelves were well-stocked, ranging from textbooks and extracurricular reading materials to thick Chinese-English dictionaries and world classics. Basketballs and soccer balls were on a shelf next to the desk, and posters of basketball stars were on the wall.

Against the innermost wall was a single bed. Lin Xiaoran walked over and sat on it for a while. She had only slept on such a hard bed in her freshman year dormitory. After the school replaced the beds, she had never experienced this kind of firmness again.

Lin Xiaoran asked, "Where are we staying tonight?"

It wasn't that she disliked the Jiang family's simple living conditions and refused to stay there. It was simply that tonight was their wedding night, and she felt that this small bed wouldn't be enough to move around in. Besides, old houses usually don't have good soundproofing, and she was afraid it would disturb other people's rest.

Jiang Hailang said, "Let's go to the hotel."

Lin Xiaoran jumped out of bed, hugged Jiang Hailang's waist, and looked up at him. "Let's go now."

The two came out of the small room, where Jiang's parents were putting on new sheets for the bed in the master bedroom. They were going to give the master bedroom to Jiang Hailang and Lin Xiaoran, and they would go and stay in Jiang Hailang's original small room.

Jiang Hailang stood at the door of the master bedroom and said to the inside, "Mom and Dad, don't bother with anything, I'll take Xiaoran to a hotel."

“We have a place to stay at home, why go to a hotel…” Jiang’s mother was stopped by Jiang’s father before she could finish speaking.

"Go on, go quickly," Jiang's father said, waving to the two of them.

No matter what, men always understand men best.

*

Jiang Hailang closed the hotel room door, and as soon as he turned around, Lin Xiaoran jumped onto him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

He held her firmly on his thighs, while Lin Xiaoran lowered her head and kissed his lips.

Jiang Hailang carried Lin Xiaoran around the room for a long time with unsteady steps, but still couldn't reach the sofa. He had no choice but to put her on the bar near the door.

Lin Xiaoran sat on the platform, her legs wrapped around Jiang Hailang's waist, while he held her tightly, their lips locked in a passionate kiss. This was their favorite kissing position, exactly the same one they had used on the night of her graduation when he asked her to date him.

Finally, during a break in their kiss, Jiang Hailang had his chance. He picked up Lin Xiaoran and quickly walked to the sofa in front of the French windows. He pressed her onto the sofa and then climbed on top of her.

The man's body responded quickly, but he did nothing more than kiss him.

After lingering for a while, Jiang Hailang wanted to get up from the sofa and go to the bathroom as usual. But as he slightly raised his body, Lin Xiaoran slipped her hand under the hem of his T-shirt.

Is it more fun to solve a problem alone than with someone else?

Although Lin Xiaoran had never done that, she wasn't made of stone; how could she be completely unaffected? Every time Jiang Hailang pinned her down and kissed her, it wasn't just Jiang Hailang who reacted; she knew her own body was also restless.

But she still wanted to wait a little longer, until the right time was right, until she was sure she could give herself to him without reservation.

Jiang Hailang instantly understood Lin Xiaoran's meaning. He got up, took off his T-shirt and threw it on the sofa, then helped Lin Xiaoran unzip her dress from behind.

He really wanted to just stand there with her by the French windows, to become one with her, because he kept remembering those erotic and romantic scenes he and Lin Xiaoran had in his dream in front of his window.

But this is Lin Xiaoran's first time, so he should give her a more comfortable and unforgettable experience.

Enjoy yourself by the window; there's plenty of time ahead.

Jiang Hailang picked up Lin Xiaoran and carried her into the room, placing her on the large, soft bed.

The night is long, yet some people still can't sleep.

When the initial pain transformed into unspeakable pleasure, Lin Xiaoran tightly embraced Jiang Hailang's neck, her body rising and falling with the powerful movements of his waist and abdomen.

With her eyes closed, she felt as if she were a small boat adrift on a vast ocean. Each wave that crashed over her felt like fireworks exploding in her mind, dazzling and brilliant.

...

When Jiang Hailang woke up around 10 a.m. the next morning, Lin Xiaoran was no longer in bed.

"Baby?"

He called out in a hoarse voice, just as Lin Xiaoran pushed open the bathroom door and came out, drying her hair with a towel.

The two, exhausted from their activities until the early hours of the morning, slept on the bed, which resembled a battlefield, covered in sticky residue. Lin Xiaoran woke up feeling extremely uncomfortable and went to take a shower.

She tossed the towel on the corner of the bed, climbed onto the bed, and snuggled up to Jiang Hailang. "Missed me?"

Jiang Hailang hooked his long arm around her and pulled her into his embrace, then flipped her over and pinned her down. "I've been thinking about it."