After hanging up the phone, Chen Jiaojiao, her face ashen, put down her phone and said two words to her father.
"I'll marry."
Her father immediately beamed.
"That's my good daughter! Dad knew you were sensible!"
"Alright then, it's getting late, and you need to get up and get ready tomorrow. I won't disturb you any longer. Get a good night's sleep."
How could she possibly sleep?
This night was destined to be sleepless.
While Chen Jiaojiao was sadly lamenting here, Lu Mingzhe was different.
He stayed home until six o'clock, tidied himself up, and drove to the office building where Xiang Wan worked.
He sent her a message on WeChat.
"I'm waiting downstairs for you to get off work."
Not long after, Xiang Wan came down from upstairs.
"Didn't I tell you to wait for me at home? Why did you come so early?"
"It's boring to stay at home, I'd rather wait here. Why did you come down too?"
Knowing he was waiting here, how could Xiang Wan still be in the mood to work?
"Let's go, let's go back. Everything is on track now, so you don't need to keep an eye on it every day. It's okay to get off work a little early occasionally."
The two drove their own cars, arriving at the community garage one after the other.
Lu Mingzhe proactively offered his arm for Xiang Wan to link.
Suddenly acting so formally, like boyfriend and girlfriend, Xiang Wan was quite unaccustomed to it.
"Just walk your own way. Why are you offering your arm?"
Lu Mingzhe took her hand and placed it in his arm.
"Can't you be a little more demure? You always like to be contrary with me."
Her younger brother was preparing dinner at home. Seeing the two enter hand in arm, he was naturally surprised.
But it was quickly overshadowed by joy.
"You're back so early today? I'm just making dinner, take a break, it'll be ready soon."
"I'm not tired. What are you making? I'll help you."
Xiang Wan couldn't bear to see her brother so busy every day. She took off her shoes and went to the kitchen with him.
The siblings chatted and laughed as they washed and cut vegetables at the counter. Lu Mingzhe also walked over.
He leaned against the doorframe, watching the two. Although he didn't join the conversation, he felt that such moments filled with the warmth of home were quite interesting.
During the meal, the younger brother suggested they all have a drink together.
"It's rare for my sister to get off work early. The three of us are gathered again. Let's drink a little to relieve some fatigue, okay, sis?"
Xiang Wan didn't approve of her brother learning to drink, but Lu Mingzhe said.
"A man should act like a man. When you enter society, you'll inevitably have to socialize. How can you manage without any drinking capacity?"
"Don't always treat him like a child. Let him get some experience."
Xiang Wan felt there was some sense to it and didn't stop him.
Before they knew it, the three of them had finished a whole bottle of red wine.
Her younger brother, who usually didn't touch alcohol, felt dizzy from just this little bit of red wine.
Without even clearing the dishes, he had to go back to lie down.
Xiang Wan and Lu Mingzhe both had high tolerances and were unaffected.
After her brother left, Xiang Wan took the initiative to take on the task of washing the dishes.
Seeing her efficiently tidying up the dishes, Lu Mingzhe stood up to follow.
"I'll help you clean up."
His hands were more fair and slender than a woman's. Xiang Wan teased him.
"Young Master Lu probably never did housework at home. How could I let you do such work?"
Lu Mingzhe nudged her with his arm.
"What's there to be embarrassed about? I didn't help with the cooking, so I should at least contribute to washing the dishes. Stop mocking me."
The two carried the dishes to the kitchen. Lu Mingzhe proactively squeezed dish soap into the sink.
As he slowly washed, he complained about her.
"You're not earning little money, so why are you living such a frugal life? Can't you install a dishwasher?"
"A lifetime is so long, it's not good to always let your brother wash dishes,"
Xiang Wan watched him from behind and said calmly.
"After buying the house, I didn't have much spare money left. The renovation money was squeezed out while working, so I saved wherever I could, and thus didn't install one."
She was just stating the facts, with no other intention.
Lu Mingzhe suddenly turned around.
"Then I'll have someone come install one tomorrow. Consider it a gift for your brother."
It was as if she had deliberately asked him for it.
Xiang Wan hurriedly refused.
"No need. I'm not short of money now, I can afford a dishwasher."
Lu Mingzhe knew she had a strong sense of pride and insisted.
"It's no fun talking like that. I'm always eating your food and living in your place, not contributing a penny. Do you think I'm a kept man?"
"It's settled then. Give me a time, and I'll have someone come over tomorrow."
As he said this, he suddenly remembered that tomorrow was not a convenient day, and he paused again.
"How about the day after tomorrow? Tomorrow might not be convenient."
"What? Are you getting married tomorrow?"
Xiang Wan didn't know when he was getting married and didn't deliberately try to find out, she just said it casually.
Unexpectedly, Lu Mingzhe admitted it himself.
"It's just a formality."
Xiang Wan suddenly felt a strange discomfort in her heart.
After a moment of silence, she couldn't be bothered with him and turned to go to the bathroom to shower.
In the evening, the two leaned against the headboard. Lu Mingzhe was looking at his phone, while Xiang Wan was holding her laptop, looking at recent data.
Time flew by to ten o'clock. Lu Mingzhe urged her to rest early.
Xiang Wan closed her laptop, lay down, and was pulled into his embrace. Seeing him lean in to kiss her, she couldn't help but tease him again.
"You're going to be someone else's groom tomorrow, and you're still here with me today. If your fiancée found out, wouldn't she rush over and tear me apart?"
Lu Mingzhe let out a low chuckle.
"Even if I brought you in front of her, she wouldn't react in the slightest."
"...Why?"
"She doesn't like me. Don't worry, her existence doesn't conflict with yours."
The next morning, Lu Mingzhe was sleeping soundly when his phone rang.
He hated being disturbed when he hadn't slept well. He didn't want to answer the phone and continued to hold Xiang Wan.
However, the phone kept vibrating incessantly.
He had to reach for it and answer impatiently.
"What?"
Just by hearing his voice, his mother knew he wasn't awake yet and yelled at him anxiously.
"Where did you go? You didn't come home all night yesterday?"
"Qingxu said no one was at your house. The wedding is today, and we have to pick up the bride later. How can you be so unreliable?"
Is that so? I have to pick up Chen Jiaojiao early in the morning?
"What time?"
Forgive Lu Mingzhe for his lack of experience.
Most of his friends were not married. Only Zhan Bei Jue had married early, but without a wedding ceremony. He really didn't know the procedure.
His mother scolded him soundly and urged him to go back quickly. Only then did he let go of Xiang Wan.
"I'm leaving now. It's still early, you can sleep a little longer."
How interesting.
Being woken up from his own bed, and then immediately going to attend a wedding.
How could there be such bizarre men and women in the world?
Xiang Wan sat up, watching him nimbly put on his clothes, and asked in a low voice.
"Are you coming here tonight?"
After asking, she regretted it.
She realized she was asking for trouble.
It was as if she was eagerly anticipating him.
As Xiang Wan expected, Lu Mingzhe immediately smiled, leaned in, and stared at her with a smile in his eyes.
"What? You've gotten used to sleeping with me, and you can't sleep without me for a night?"