Chapter 9 For the stars I do...
Their...
Home?
Wen Mu stood in front of the door, stroking the edge of the combination lock.
The night breeze blew through her scattered hair, carrying the fragrance of an unknown flower. The exquisite villa before her glowed a soft beige in the moonlight.
A strange sense of reality suddenly hit her.
She is really going to get married and live with the man behind her.
"Go in and take a look, see if you like it." Song Xingran's voice had a gentleness that she had never heard before.
The light filled the entire space with the click of a switch.
Nordic style decoration, a living room with gray and white as the main colors, log floors, and simple linear furniture.
But the cold and hard tone is cleverly softened: a row of brightly colored pillows sits on the dark green sofa, blooming lisianthus stands on the coffee table, and the monstera in the corner stretches out its broad leaves.
The most eye-catching thing is the big white dog pillow in the middle of the sofa, which is almost half a person's height and has its head tilted in a cute manner.
Wen Mu walked over and gently poked the dog's nose with his index finger. The corners of his eyes curved unconsciously: "Did you prepare this too?"
The tone is light.
Song Xingran leaned against the door frame and smiled evilly: "Aunt Qin said that you like to hug things when you sleep, and your bedroom is full of dolls."
He shrugged. "I'll just prepare some."
Then he deliberately dragged out his tone: "Teacher Wen, you are already thirty years old, why are you still like a child?"
Wen Mu picked up the soft dog and buried his face in it. The pillow exuded a faint lavender scent, and the filling was just the right amount of fluffy.
She raised her eyes from the fuzz. "First of all, I'm only 28."
"Secondly, a woman is a girl until she dies."
The man laughed, walked forward, and casually fiddled with the flowers on the coffee table: "The villa is very close to Ningda University. There is a bus at the entrance of the community, and it's only five stops away."
He paused, a wicked smile forming at the corner of his mouth. “The sound insulation and privacy are both very good. If you want to do something bad, no one will find out.”
Wen Mu glanced at him and said, "You are the one who wants to do something bad."
Song Xingran suddenly turned around, put his hands on the sofa backs on both sides of her, trapping her in a small space.
He lowered his head, his nose almost touching hers, his eyes like melted honey under the light: "I do want to do something bad."
His gaze slid from her eyes to her lips, and then slowly moved down.
Wen Mu looked back without hesitation, and the masculine scent surrounded him even more strongly.
"How is it? Does it meet your requirements?" Song Xingran took a step back and his expression returned to normal, as if the aggressiveness just now was just an illusion.
Wen Mu nodded: "Thank you."
"Okay, we've found the house, let's go back." Song Xingran turned and walked towards the door, his back as straight as a pine tree.
Ningchuan City is brightly lit in the night.
The Lamborghini drove across the river bridge, and the neon lights on both sides of the river were reflected on the river surface, like an overturned palette.
Wen Mu looked at the light and shadow flowing outside the window and suddenly asked, "Where's Lulu?"
"I sent her to my parents' place." Song Xingran held the steering wheel with one hand, as if he had expected her to ask. "She is my aunt's daughter. My aunt and her husband went to Paris for vacation and stayed at my house for a few days."
"Oh." Wen Mu responded softly.
A comfortable silence fell in the car.
The car stopped at the entrance of the urban villa area, and Song Xing turned off the engine: "I have something to do, so I won't take you in."
Wen Mu nodded and was about to take off her coat when a large, bony hand pressed against her shoulder. The man's palm almost completely covered her thin shoulders, and his warmth penetrated the fabric of her clothes.
"We still have some distance to go, and it'll be cold at night, so wear it when you go back." His voice was low and hoarse, and he stroked her shoulder blade with his thumb, then quickly withdrew it and put on his usual mischievous smile.
"If you get sick, there will be no one to accompany me to get the marriage certificate the day after tomorrow."
"The day after tomorrow?" Wen Mu widened his eyes slightly.
"Yes, the 21st." Song Xingran looked ahead, his profile sharp and angular under the streetlight. "It's an auspicious day."
"It couldn't be luckier."
Really? She saw that he was extremely anxious.
It’s better to be anxious, she is anxious too.
Wen Mu nodded immediately: "I understand."
She got out of the car and stood by the roadside, watching the black supercar disappear into the neon lights before turning around and walking home.
The night wind blew by, and the coat with a masculine scent was like a silent hug, making her lower her head and sniff.
"Zhizhi?" Qin Yi's voice came from the living room, "This dress..."
Wen Mu then realized that her parents were sitting in the living room, their eyes all fixed on the men's coat on her shoulders.
She calmly took off her coat and draped it over her arm. "It's his. I ran into him today at the planetarium."
Qin Yi's eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise. She hadn't expected the couple's relationship to progress so smoothly, and her daughter would actually go home wearing their clothes.
"Zhizhi, your Aunt Chen called today and said they've chosen a date and are going to get the marriage certificate the day after tomorrow. She asked if you're willing."
Wen Mu: "He just told me."
"I agree."
Wen Zhiyuan placed his teacup on the coffee table with a ding, and the couple exchanged delighted glances. They had spent the past two years worrying about their daughter's marriage, and now, at Wen Mu's 28th birthday, it was finally settled.
"Mom and Dad, I'll go upstairs first." Wen Mu turned and went upstairs, and immediately behind him he heard the ringing of phones.
You don’t have to guess to know that it is to report the good news to both families.
In the bedroom, Wen Mu gently draped his coat over the back of the chair.
The dark blue denim fabric has a soft sheen under the desk lamp, and there is a small flame embroidery on the left chest, which should be the team's logo.
She took out her cell phone, hesitated for a moment, and sent a WeChat message.
Jupiter: [I'll wash the coat.]
Almost immediately, the message "The other party is typing" appeared above the dialog box.
Lgnis: [Forget it, this coat is custom-made in Italy. Don't touch it with your experimental hands. If it gets damaged while washing, who will I ask for compensation?]
Wen Mu could almost imagine the man frowning as he typed these words, with the corners of his lips slightly raised.
Jupiter: [Okay then]
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, and then suddenly a location was sent - the Civil Affairs Bureau of Ningchuan Municipal Government Service Center.
Lgnis: [The day after tomorrow at 9 o'clock, if you're even a minute late I'll run away]
Lgnis: [When the time comes, you'll search the city for me holding a sign saying "Looking for my runaway husband." Don't cry.]
Jupiter: I will be there on time.
Jupiter: [After all, a bear that runs away from marriage isn't worth chasing.]
After sending this message, Wen Mu took off his glasses, rubbed his nose bridge, muted his phone, and put it on the bedside table.
Outside the window, a bright moon hangs high in the sky, and the stars are sparse.
*
May 21st, Grain Full.
The sun, like molten gold, bathed every corner of Ningchuan City, yet surprisingly, it didn't seem scorching. A gentle breeze rustled through the jacaranda trees in the courtyard, picking up a few purple petals that drifted onto the windowsill of the second-floor bedroom.
In the cloakroom, Wen Mu frowned at the closet full of dark clothes.
Navy blue, dark green, charcoal gray...these colors she wore most often seemed too dull at the moment.
She picked up a dark blue dress, compared it, then shook her head and put it back.
"I should have listened to Yu Mo and bought more bright-colored clothes." She muttered softly, her fingertips sliding across the hangers, making a slight metallic collision sound.
This inexplicable feeling of entanglement is very unfamiliar.
She has always been absolutely confident in her aesthetic - simple, practical and unpretentious, just like her academic style.
But now, she is actually considering the question of "whether it is appropriate to get a marriage certificate", which has no scientific basis.
Maybe it’s because getting married will indeed change her original living conditions?
Wen Mu stopped searching and looked out the window.
“Dongdongdong——”
"Zhizhi, are you ready?" Qin Yi's voice came through the door, with unconcealed joy, "A Ran is here, come down when you are ready."
Wen Mu took a deep breath and said, "I know. I'll be right there."
In the living room downstairs, Song Xingran was having a pleasant conversation with Wen Zhiyuan.
He rarely wore a full suit today. The dark gray fabric outlined the perfect proportion of broad shoulders and narrow waist. Two buttons of his shirt collar were undone, revealing a part of his collarbone, diluting the seriousness of the formal attire.
"So you're saying that Wen Mu could recite the orbital parameters of all the planets in the solar system at the age of nine?" Song Xingran held the teacup, his eyes surprisingly bright.
Wen Zhiyuan smiled and nodded: "That's right, the teacher was shocked. This child has been..."
There were footsteps on the stairs. The laughter and chatter in the living room suddenly stopped.
The man looked up, and the teacup in his hand tilted slightly, almost spilling the tea.
The first thing that caught my eye was a pair of long, white legs. The thighs were plump and well-proportioned, while the calves were slender and straight, with a faint pink hue at the knees.
Wen Mu wore black high-waisted shorts today, paired with a white long-sleeved shirt, half-tucked into the trousers, revealing a slender waistline. He wore black Converse shoes and ankle socks, his ankles as delicate as carved white jade.
She wore light makeup, her eyelashes were long and curled, and her lips were a light rose color. Her seaweed-like black hair fell down, swaying gently with her steps.
There is a subtle sexiness in the coldness, like white plum blossoms blooming in winter.
Wen Mu paused slightly when he saw Song Xingran in his neat suit. In comparison, her outfit seemed too casual—even though it was the result of her spending half an hour in front of the wardrobe.
She walked down the stairs slowly, trying to control the temperature on her face: "Let's go."
Song Xingran stood up and nodded to Wen's parents: "Uncle and aunt, let's go now."
Sunlight streamed down on them through the glass windows of the porch.
Song Xingran opened the car door for her and said slowly, "You're acting weird today."
Wen Mu's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that he noticed that he had dressed up specially?
She fastened her seatbelt with forced composure: "What's strange?"
Song Xingran leaned closer, resting one hand on the headrest of her seat, and smiled in a very naughty way: "It's quite beautiful."
Wen Mu rolled his eyes.
"younger brother."
“People of my generation wouldn’t say that.”
Song Xingran laughed heartily, a few fine lines forming at the corners of his eyes as the sunlight danced on his eyelashes. He looked at Wen Mu's slightly reddened ears with satisfaction before walking around to the driver's seat.
The marriage registration office at the Ningchuan Municipal Government Service Center was busier than expected. When they arrived, there were already two couples lined up in front of them. One was wearing matching outfits, exchanging sweet glances; the other looked nervous and bewildered, the woman constantly adjusting her skirt.
"Please show both parties' ID cards and household registration books." The staff member read out the procedure mechanically.
Wen Mu took out his ID from his bag, and his fingertips accidentally touched the back of the man's hand, and he quickly retracted his fingers as if he had been burned.
Song Xingran glanced at her and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"If you need to take photos, you can go to the photo studio over there first." The staff pointed to the small room on the right.
In the photo studio, there is a bench in front of a red backdrop.
The photographer was a girl wearing round-framed glasses: "Groom, can you sit closer? Yes, closer. Bride, can you smile more naturally?"
Song Xingran's arm was pressed against Wen Mu's, and his body temperature could be felt through the thin fabric.
He suddenly leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Is Teacher Wen nervous?"
"I could hear my heart beating so fast."
"That's your heartbeat." Wen Mu looked straight ahead without changing his expression.
With a "click", the flash light came on.
In the photo, Wen Mu opened his eyes slightly, while Song Xingran smiled with a look of triumph.
Back at the registration desk, the staff handed them a few forms: "Please read carefully and sign."
Wen Mu lowered his head to fill in the form. Song Xingran's handwriting was unexpectedly neat and beautiful, unlike the sloppy handwriting in her letter.
"Please press your fingerprints here." The staff member pushed the ink pad over.
Song Xingran pressed his thumb first, then watched Wen Mu's slender fingers press the same position. The two fingerprints stood side by side, one deep and one shallow.
"Congratulations to you two on becoming husband and wife!" The staff handed over two red marriage certificates and finally showed the first sincere smile of the day on his face.
Walking out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Wen Mu stood on the steps, the sunlight shining on the small red book.
She flipped open the inside page and saw the words printed in gold next to the photo of the two of them:
Certificate holder: Wen Mu
Registration date: May 21, 2023
She is married.
In the year when she was 28 years old, in 2023, the Grain Full Moon.
Dr. Wen, who once devoted himself to astronomy and believed that marriage was just a social contract, has now become someone's wife.
Wen Mu closed the marriage certificate and gently stroked the smooth cover with his fingertips.
For the new building and for Ningbo University's Department of Astronomy, she gave it her all.
"What are you daydreaming about?" Song Xingran's voice sounded in her ears, and his warm breath sprayed on her earlobe, scaring her so much that she almost jumped up.
He looked at her with a sly smile: "What bad ideas are you thinking of? Are you thinking of getting a divorce after getting married?"
Wen Mu put the marriage certificate into his bag and looked up at him: "I should be the one saying this to you, Young Master Song."
"Hey," the man's eyes lit up, "This is the first time I've heard Teacher Wen call me that."
He pretended to be intoxicated and said, "Yeah, it's useful."
Wen Mu turned to leave, but his wrist was grabbed.
Song Xingran's palm was burning hot, and the force was not strong but it made it impossible to break free.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave." He leaned closer, his nose almost touching hers, his peach blossom eyes filled with smiles.
"Let me kiss you."
The author has something to say:
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Master Song: My wife is so beautiful, I want to kiss her
Ahhh, the time was wrong and I'm late [burst into tears]
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