This was the first time Ren Jin had been honest with her about his situation. Gu Yueji listened calmly, unable to describe her feelings.
Sunlight streamed into the room, revealing fine dust particles floating in the air. The surroundings were quiet, save for the sounds of her and Ren Jin breathing. Ren Jin waited for her patiently.
"Okay, let's build a home together."
——
As Gu Yueji left the Civil Affairs Bureau, she stared at the photo of the two of them on their marriage certificate. It was a snapshot taken before they went to the Civil Affairs Bureau. Both of them were smiling brightly in the photo. The photo studio had photoshopped Ren Jin to make him look a little whiter. He would have looked even more handsome if he were a little whiter.
Turning to look at the person beside him, the winter sun shone through the car window and fell on Ren Jin.
He was unusually formal and composed today, wearing a crisp white shirt with only the top button undone, revealing his prominent Adam's apple and a slight upturn at the corners of his lips. His three-dimensional and deep features were outlined with gold, giving him a gentle and warm smile as he gazed ahead, effortlessly controlling the car's steering wheel with one hand.
This man, whom she had known for less than a year and had actually spent less than four months with, is now her legal husband.
"Why are you staring at me like that? Are you mesmerized?" Ren Jin turned his head and glanced at her with a smile, asking teasingly.
His eyes were shining, and Gu Yueji blushed at his gaze. She closed the marriage certificate and put it back in her bag, putting aside her wild thoughts, and turned to ask him, "Where are we going now?"
Ren Jin stopped at the traffic light and turned to face her. "It's still early. Let me take you to see the houses first. Which one do you like? We can choose one and decorate it to make it our home."
"Your house isn't renovated yet?"
"The apartment I'm currently living in is renovated, but it's quite small, only two bedrooms and one living room. The other two apartments are resettlement houses from my grandfather's old house, with four bedrooms and two living rooms. We just received the keys last year, and they're still unfinished."
"If you find it troublesome, we can just stay in your renovated apartment."
“I didn’t renovate before because I thought it was unnecessary for me to live in such a big house since I was alone. But now that I have you, my construction site is open and I’ll be quite busy, so I’ll leave the house renovation to you.”
"Leave it to me?"
"That's right, if I don't entrust our home to you, who else should I entrust it to?"
Gu Yueji's previously lighthearted heart became grounded because he said, "Our home."
Ren Jin's house is located in Yihe Garden, which is not in a remote location. The transportation is convenient and it is easy to go anywhere. Moreover, the community has a large garden and a nice environment. So, although the house was only handed over last year, quite a few people have already moved in.
A bare-bones apartment has nothing in it; the walls and floors are uneven and dusty everywhere. But looking out from the balcony, there's a municipal park in front of it. It's well-ventilated from north to south, making the apartment bright and comfortable.
Ren Jin pointed upstairs and said, "The two apartments are on different floors, and the layout and size are the same. It depends on whether you want this floor or the one above."
Gu Yueji thought for a moment, "Do you want to renovate the apartment upstairs and rent it out, or are you planning to sell it?"
"Let's just leave it for now. Anyway, we don't have to pay mortgages on this house. We can sell it when it's a good time."
"Then let's stay in this apartment, so we won't have to worry about noise from upstairs."
Ren Jin smiled. He thought so too. They used to be driven crazy by the noise from upstairs in her rented apartment. They were woken up from their sleep many times.
Gu Yueji patted the balcony wall. "Do you prefer an enclosed balcony or a sliding door?"
He had never really thought about how to decorate this place before. When she asked him this, he put his hands on his back and looked around the house. "Sliding doors, I guess. There's also a small balcony over the dining room. When the doors are opened, there will be cross-ventilation, which will make the house more comfortable."
Then they discussed everything from the living room to the layout of each room. As Ren Jin talked about how this was their home, Gu Yueji gradually developed a more real sense of belonging to this place.
After a brief discussion, it was lunchtime. While they were waiting for the elevator, Ren Jin handed her the key he had just used to open the door. "Take the key. After the New Year, we can go and pick out the materials and then arrange for the construction team to start work. I know people in the construction industry. You can just come over and check on some details whenever you have time."
She held the keys in her hand as he continued, "The renovation will take about three months, plus buying furniture, and the house will need to air out for about six months. We can move in before next year's Spring Festival. What do you think?" When he looked at her at the end, his eyes shone with anticipation.
No one had ever looked forward to having a home with her like this before, and Gu Yueji felt a warm glow in her heart as she reached out and held his hand.
Ren Jin's smile paused for a moment, then his lips curved into an even wider smile as he tightly gripped the hand in his palm.
He leaned down to look at her, his smile so roguish, "You haven't kissed me even once since we got our marriage certificate. Come on, give your husband a kiss."
Gu Yueji blushed and ignored him.
Ren Jin smiled and gazed at her. He knew that from the moment they got their marriage certificate until she took his hand, she had finally settled down and accepted him as her husband. He held the back of her head and gave her the kiss that should have been given when they got their marriage certificate.
She was very obedient and tilted her head back in response to him.
After lunch, they went directly to Gu Yueji's house to pack their luggage and move to Ren Jin's house.
While they were waiting for the elevator to go upstairs, Ren Jin noticed that a girl kept glancing at them.
He instinctively moved closer to Gu Yueji and took her hand. Gu Yueji looked up at him, puzzled, and asked, "What's wrong?"
He answered matter-of-factly, "I want to hold my wife's hand."
She didn't know how he could change so quickly. Before, when they were together, they always called each other by their full names, but today he kept calling her "wife," both when they were eating out and now.
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