Chapter 9: She's not really going to sever ties with us, is she? That's exactly what I wanted...
Gu Zhiyuan hadn't expected her to be so serious about this. He thought for a moment, then said earnestly, "I think it's important to leave a good impression on you and your family on our first visit." Especially after noticing the strained relationship between her and her family, he didn't want anything about himself to become a reason for her to attack him.
His reasoning reminded Ji Wei of Xie Fei and the matchmaker's first visit to her home in her past life. He had been quite reserved then as well. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but glance at him a few more times. It wasn't that she was specifically thinking of Xie Fei; she simply had no other comparison. After a moment's thought, she spoke again: "From our interactions these past two days, you've probably noticed that my relationship with them isn't very good. So don't worry about them. The person you're marrying is me." Ji Wei was giving him a heads-up beforehand, lest the Ji family members take advantage of the situation.
“Okay, I understand what you mean. From now on, I will ask you before making any decisions that involve them.” Gu Zhiyuan added after saying that, “Actually, my relationship with my family is not very good either. I plan to just tell them over the phone about this wedding.”
"No need to go back to Yun County?" Although Ji Wei had some suspicions before, she was relieved to hear him tell her in person. Even if she had to do it all over again, she still felt that dealing with her in-laws was not an easy task.
"I'm not going back this time." Gu Zhiyuan shook his head.
"This is good too. We should be more at ease without the interference of our elders." This was Ji Wei's honest opinion.
"This also means that you won't have anyone to help you normally, and you'll have a hard time when I go to the countryside." Gu Zhiyuan felt a headache coming on when he talked about going to the countryside, and he probably wouldn't be able to solve this problem in the short term.
“Both children are grown up now, so it shouldn’t be too hard.” As Ji Wei spoke, she saw Gu Chen’an wiping Lulu’s mouth with a tissue. Her smile deepened and her tone became even gentler: “Besides, Chen’an looks like he can be my little helper.”
Gu Chen'an, who was multitasking, immediately turned around upon hearing this: "Yes, I can be Teacher Ji's little helper and take care of my sister with her."
Seeing how enthusiastic he was, and how Gu Chen'an looked completely different from the one he had three months ago, Gu Zhiyuan felt his gratitude towards Ji Wei reach its peak: "Then let's have a pleasant collaboration in the days to come!"
This was the first time Ji Wei had heard the word "cooperation" from him. She smiled slightly; he seemed like a smart man and probably understood what she meant. She nodded again in agreement, "Happy to cooperate!"
Before the collaboration could even begin, another disagreement arose between the two. Ji Wei pointed helplessly to the watch on her wrist: "This watch still works; there's no need to buy a new one."
"I just think that if others have it when they get married, you should have it too." Gu Zhiyuan said, glancing at Gu Chen'an.
“But I already have it, so let’s save this money for now. There will be many places to spend money in the future.” For example, buying a house in the city. After saying that, Ji Wei looked outside. There aren’t that many commercial houses in the city yet. In a few years, new buildings will be everywhere. They need to move to the city before that happens.
"Okay, I'll listen to you on this. From now on, you just listen to me." Gu Zhiyuan said, leading them directly to the largest gold jewelry store in the city.
"You want to buy gold jewelry?" Ji Wei was genuinely surprised.
“Of course, every bride needs these things. Teacher Ji, let’s go in quickly.” As if afraid she would refuse, Gu Chen’an took her hand and led her into the store. He remembered that woman complaining that she would be looked down upon if she didn’t have gold jewelry.
“Chen An is right,” Gu Zhiyuan nodded in agreement.
“Okay.” This time Ji Wei didn’t refuse. Gold is a good investment, so this is a profitable deal.
At that time, the variety of gold jewelry was far less extensive than in later generations, but there were still enough for Ji Wei to choose from. In the end, she chose a ring and a necklace. Since Ji Wei didn't have pierced ears, she didn't choose any earrings. She took the bag handed to her by the shop assistant and glanced at Gu Chen'an, who was smiling happily beside her. She casually asked, "Chen'an, are you happy?"
"Yes, Teacher Ji, I'm very happy." Gu Chen'an nodded emphatically. Buying these things brought him one step closer to Teacher Ji becoming his mother.
They'd bought clothes, shoes, and jewelry, and their last activity in the city was taking photos. Gu Zhiyuan had just asked the jewelry store staff about the best photo studio in the city, so they headed straight there after leaving the store. Just as he'd mentioned before, the studio not only offered makeup but also a selection of backgrounds. The staff mistook them for a family portrait and asked the two little ones what kind of background they preferred. It was then that Ji Wei remembered how few photos of Lulu had from her childhood.
"Shall we take a few pictures?" Gu Zhiyuan felt that taking a few family photos now would be quite meaningful.
"Let's take some photos, and also a few individual photos of them. It'll be a keepsake when they grow up," Ji Wei quickly decided.
So they spent the rest of the time at the photo studio. Besides the family photo, they also took pictures of the two little ones. The studio also had clothes to wear. Gu Chen'an immediately took a liking to the Sun Wukong costume. Ji Wei noticed the blush on his cheeks and turned her head away to suppress her laughter. As long as he doesn't regret it later, that's fine.
The photos all went smoothly, but when it came to the registration photos, the two of them were a little reserved. Ji Wei followed the boss's instructions and moved closer to the person next to her. She never expected that the first time the two of them were so intimate was for taking registration photos.
Gu Zhiyuan appeared to be sitting upright, but the fists at his sides tightened and loosened repeatedly. Their shoulders were close together, and their breaths mingled. He could clearly feel the fragrance emanating from her. He didn't consider himself a lustful person, but at this moment, he felt his breathing become heavy. Noticing this change, a look of annoyance flashed in his eyes. He was annoyed that his reaction was disrespectful to her.
The two finished taking the photo with their own thoughts. When they got up, they both breathed a sigh of relief. Gu Zhiyuan went to talk to the boss about retrieving the photo, while Ji Wei lowered her eyes to calm her breathing and told herself that she had just not been this close to a man for too long.
On the way back, the two little ones were much more excited than the quiet parents, constantly asking when they could pick up the photos. Even Lulu, who is usually well-behaved, asked several times, "Mommy, when can we get the photos?"
"Three days later," Ji Wei repeated patiently to her, then mentally calculated that the day she received the photos would be Thursday, and she would have no classes on Friday morning, so she could go get the marriage certificate.
The half-hour drive passed in the chatter of the two little ones. They got off at the school gate, and Ji Wei looked up at Gu Zhiyuan and asked directly, "I don't have class on Friday morning. Do you have time that day?"
"Yes, I will come to see you again on Thursday after I get the photos." Gu Zhiyuan nodded quickly. He needed to have time. Anything was possible before they got their marriage certificate, and he didn't want any unexpected changes to happen.
"Okay, that's settled then. Chen An, remember to bring your leave slip to school tomorrow," Ji Wei reminded him again.
"Okay, Ms. Ji." Gu Chen'an waved cheerfully to her. After watching the mother and daughter disappear into the school, he looked at the person beside him and asked excitedly, "Dad, can I call Ms. Ji 'Mom' now?"
"Not now, we can only do it after we get our marriage certificate on Friday," Gu Zhiyuan said, ruffling his hair.
"Do we have to wait until Friday?" Gu Chen'an pouted, his face full of displeasure.
“Yes, you need a photo to register,” Gu Zhiyuan explained to him.
"Okay, by the way, why didn't you invite Teacher Ji and the others to have dinner with us?" Gu Chen'an said, giving him a dissatisfied look.
"They were all tired. When people are exhausted, they want to go back to a familiar place." Although Ji Wei and Lulu seemed happy at their place yesterday, they were never in a fully relaxed state.
"Alright then." Gu Chen'an was persuaded.
"Are you hungry? I'll go cook something." Gu Zhiyuan said as he went into the kitchen.
"I'll help too." Gu Chen'an strode to catch up with him. Fang Qing used to let him do everything, so he could cook some simple meals.
Back at school, Lulu was already feeling sleepy. She yawned, tears welling in her eyes, and said to Ji Wei in a spoiled tone, "Mom, I want to sleep."
"Go to sleep, sleep for a while, I'll wake you up when Mom finishes cooking." Ji Wei rubbed her head, urging her to go to bed. Space in the dormitory was limited, so they could only prepare simple meals.
This day was busy for them, but agonizing for the Ji family. Ji Shengzhou was the most anxious: "I heard that someone saw my sister and her husband go to the train station this morning. Did they really get their marriage certificate today?"
"Didn't she say that yesterday?" Ji Dahai gave him an annoyed look.
"It's already late. They should have come back and told us after they got their marriage certificate. Is she really planning to cut ties with us?" Ji Shengzhou said, observing Ji Dahai's expression as he spoke.
“Shengzhou, what are you saying? Your sister isn’t that kind of person.” Zhou Xiuzhen’s words were not only for her son, but also to convince herself, because Ji Wei’s change in the past two days had been too great.
“When Lulu was little, she needed your help to take care of the child, so of course she was very obedient to us. Now that Lulu is older and will be going to kindergarten soon, she has started to turn her back on us. She is really good at scheming.” Li Shuhui pouted.
"Shut up! If you hadn't been talking nonsense in front of Congcong every day, none of this would have happened." Zhou Xiuzhen glared at her. Don't think she didn't know what she was thinking. She always felt that Lulu was here, and the money Ji Wei gave her should be in her hands.
"Yes, yes, it's all my fault. Who told me to be an outsider? You are the loving family." Li Shuhui deliberately emphasized the words "loving family" to mock her.
"Alright, that's enough of your talking." Ji Shengzhou pretended to scold her a couple of times before continuing, "My sister is like this now simply because she feels she doesn't need to rely on us anymore, so we need to make her realize the benefits of having her family to rely on, and she will naturally be the same as before."
Zhou Xiuzhen frowned upon hearing this: "What do you mean?"
Ji Shengzhou chuckled: "That old woman from the Xie family probably doesn't know that my sister is planning to get married, does she?"
"Of course, if she finds out, she'll start causing trouble again!" Zhou Xiuzhen's tone was full of disdain. Last year, she had asked someone to introduce Ji Wei to a potential partner, and that old woman had come to her door to make a scene.
"That's exactly what I want—for her to cause trouble, and for my sister to understand who can back her up!" Ji Shengzhou said slowly and deliberately.
A note from the author:
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[Stand-up eared rabbit head] Rolling around and begging for the author's favorites, muah! 20 random red envelopes!
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