Chapter 99: You Can Get Married Without a Partner Now?

Lu Xingguang couldn’t help but furrow his brows at the sight before him.

His eyes were fixed on Su Niannian’s hand, which was being held by Gu Nan.

“Then get some rest early. I’ll head back now,” Gu Nan said gently to Su Niannian.

Su Niannian nodded.

Although she was reluctant to part, tonight had already made her feel incredibly happy.

“You too, get some rest,” Su Niannian said, waving at Gu Nan.

Gu Nan gave a slight nod, then turned and walked in the direction of home.

Su Niannian turned her head and saw Lu Xingguang looking at her with a serious expression.

She gave a slight nod as a form of greeting, then went back into the house.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but Su Niannian felt that there was something vaguely familiar about Lu Xingguang.

Yet, as she searched through her memories—whether from her past life or this one—there didn’t seem to be any trace of him.

In her impression, Lu Xingguang was simply someone who had no real connection to her.

Since she had no memory of it, there was no point dwelling on it.

As soon as Su Niannian stepped into the room, Zhao Sulan looked at her with a smug expression.

Huang Yingying was sitting nearby, reading under the dim light of a kerosene lamp.

Su Niannian was confused—what was wrong with Zhao Sulan? Why was she looking at her like that?

Noticing the situation, Song Zhaodi climbed down from the heated brick bed and walked over to Su Niannian. Lowering her voice, she whispered:

“Before you came back, Lu Xingguang announced that he and Zhao Sulan are going to register their marriage in a couple of days.”

“Oh?” Su Niannian almost laughed. She was truly curious—after Lu Xingguang and Zhao Sulan registered their marriage, what kind of reaction would Zhao Sulan have when she eventually heard the truth about last night from the villagers or the gossiping aunties at the intelligence station?

She imagined it would be quite the scene—dramatic and entertaining.

At that moment, Zhao Sulan was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest, looking at Su Niannian with a smug expression on her face.

Her whole vibe was basically: Hurry up and be jealous of me.

But what she got instead was a dismissive smile from Su Niannian.

“Then congratulations to you both. I hope you’ll be very happy,” Su Niannian said, deliberately emphasizing the word happy.

Zhao Sulan stared at her, expecting to see even a flicker of envy on Su Niannian’s face—but there was none.

Instead… was that expression on Su Niannian’s face one of amusement? Like she was waiting for a show?

Zhao Sulan was confused. For a moment, she couldn’t hold herself back and instinctively opened her mouth to speak.

But—her throat still hadn’t healed. She couldn’t get a word out, which only made her more frustrated.

“Once your voice is better, you can go register the marriage. When you marry Lu Xingguang, a lot of people will envy you,” Huang Yingying said in a low voice beside her ear.

Only then did Zhao Sulan’s smile return.

Zhao Sulan continued to look at Su Niannian with that same smug expression.

“I’m going to wash up,” Su Niannian said to Song Zhaodi, then turned and left to freshen up.

Meanwhile, after leaving the Educated Youth gathering camp, Gu Nan went to check in with Li Ergou.

He was planning to head up the mountain today.

It was time to start preparing for the wedding. He had already given nearly all of his money to Su Niannian.

Now, Gu Nan needed to earn some more—to buy everything they’d need for the marriage.

There was also the matter of the bride price for marrying Su Niannian.

He planned to try his luck hunting in the mountains.

There was another way too—a method that could earn him a decent sum quickly, though it came with some risk.

But Gu Nan had no intention of taking that route.

It wasn’t that he was afraid something might happen to him—he was afraid that if something did, Su Niannian would worry.

Up in the mountains, Gu Nan had quite a fruitful night.

Before dawn broke, he had already called Li Ergou over to help carry the game down.

“Brother Nan, your luck’s really something today,” Li Ergou said with genuine admiration.

They had bagged two wild boars, plus a few wild rabbits and pheasants.

This trip alone could easily fetch more than fifty yuan.

That was more than a hundred yuan in total!

“We’ll go again tomorrow night,” Gu Nan said with a rare smile.

Li Ergou paused in surprise.

Though Gu Nan did occasionally go hunting, it was usually only once or twice a month.

This time, his luck had been good—he had caught two wild boars along with other game—but why was he saying he’d be going up the mountain again tomorrow?

Gu Nan noticed the confusion in Li Ergou’s eyes and explained further.

“I’m getting married, need to make some money.”

His words hit like a thunderclap.

“What??” Li Ergou couldn’t believe his ears.

Did Brother Nan just say he’s getting married?

Had he heard that wrong?

Gu Nan, getting married?

Li Ergou even started to doubt if his Nan-ge liked women at all. Whenever any young girl tried to get close to Gu Nan…

Gu Nan acted as if he were dodging a plague, keeping as far away as possible.

How could he suddenly say he’s getting married?

Is it even possible to get married without a partner?

Could it be something the team arranged?

“Brother Nan, stop joking around. Aren’t you indifferent to women? Who are you getting married to??”

Li Ergou couldn’t believe it, but when he saw the suppressed smile on Gu Nan’s face, he slowly began to accept that Gu Nan might be telling the truth.

“Could it be… you’re serious?”

“Same time tomorrow, meet me at the foot of the back mountain,” Gu Nan patted Li Ergou’s shoulder.

The two of them made three trips, finally getting all the game down the mountain.

As soon as Li Ergou drove his donkey cart towards the county town, he couldn’t help but feel excited about Gu Nan’s sudden decision to get married.

He rambled on and on about it, but Gu Nan just smiled faintly, too lazy to pay him much attention.

After a while, Li Ergou seriously asked Gu Nan who the bride-to-be was.

Gu Nan casually muttered three words, and Li Ergou almost fell off the donkey cart in shock.

“What?? Who did you say?”

“Is it that Su Niannian I know? The one who’s a sent-down youth?”

“The really pretty Su Niannian??”

Li Ergou was utterly astonished, and he was almost at a loss for words.

Gu Nan shot Li Ergou a glare.
“Otherwise, is there another Su Niannian??”

Li Ergou unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
“God, Brother Nan, you’re really… fast, ruthless, and precise.”

“That kind, that outstanding girl, and you managed to win her over…”

Li Ergou clicked his tongue in amazement.

Gu Nan nodded, acknowledging that Su Niannian was indeed an outstanding young woman. However, the way Li Ergou phrased it, calling her “the kind of girl you managed to win over,” made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Then, a thought struck him. Wasn’t it actually Su Nian-nian who had made the first move between them?

No, that wasn’t quite right. From the moment he first met Su Nian-nian, he had already fallen for her.

This was what they called love at first sight.

However, because of his background and family circumstances, Gu Nan couldn’t help but feel that he might not be good enough for Su Niannian.

Fortunately, Su Niannian never once showed any signs of despising him. Not only did she not care about his family background, but she also didn’t mind the difficult circumstances his family was facing.

In fact, with Su Niannian’s presence, Gu Nan’s family had improved significantly compared to before. Even his mother, who had been battling cancer, had made a remarkable recovery.

Gu Nan truly felt that all his good luck must have been used up in the moment he met Su Nian-nian.

As he thought about it, a smile couldn’t help but form on his lips once again.