Chapter 10: Marriage Registration

Lu Wei’s expression was cold and dark, and his gaze sharpened like a blade. He pressed his lips together, looking at Li Ermei with contempt.

Li Ermei immediately felt a chill run down her spine as Lu Wei’s ruthless gaze bore down on her. But thinking of her daughter Hongying’s future happiness, she gritted her teeth and decided to go all in.

She took two steps forward, her face twisted with disgust, and said, “Comrade Lu, you came just in time. I have something to discuss with you.”

Lu Wei, tall and imposing, nearly blocked the entire door to the Ye family home. Standing in front of Li Ermei, an air of pressure seemed to emanate from him.

Then, a deep voice, as cold as ice, came from him: “Not interested.”

Lu Wei gave off an aura that seemed to say “stay away from me,” and Li Ermei found herself at a loss for words, staring at him in stunned silence.

But the next moment, she couldn’t hold herself back and blurted out, “This is about Ye Zhi. She’s—”

Before she could finish, Lu Wei cut her off with an even colder tone: “I don’t know you.”

His gaze made it clear that he considered Li Ermei nothing more than an irrelevant bystander and didn’t care for her presence.

Li Ermei had never been so insulted. As she watched the young Lu Wei walk past her, she raised her voice, shouting, “Comrade Lu, you’ve been deceived by their family! You’re treating Ye Zhi like a treasure, but she just recently—”

Before she could finish, Zhang Xiaomei, fed up with Li Ermei’s incessant ranting, raised the broom and slapped it right onto her mouth, leaving a few red marks on her face.

“You damn woman, you’ve got such a filthy mouth! Are you picking on us because you think we’re too young to strike back?”

“Let me, as the elder sister-in-law, teach you a lesson! I’ll make sure you stop your nonsense!”

With that, Zhang Xiaomei lifted the broom again, aiming it at Li Ermei.

Zhang Xiaomei was clearly venting her frustration, and it seemed like she was using Li Ermei as a punching bag to release all her anger.

Li Ermei couldn’t dodge in time, but she still kept muttering nasty things about Ye Zhi to Lu Wei.

Hearing Li Ermei’s words, Ye Zhi couldn’t hold herself back any longer. She stepped forward, her face flushed with anger. “Third Aunt, I’ve lived honorably, and I’m not afraid of your slander. But if you keep making up lies, you’ll have to face the consequences!”

Her fair face was tinged with red from anger, her brows furrowed slightly, and her cheeks were puffed in indignation.

To Lu Wei, she looked both cute and pitiful, and his heart softened.

Seeing Ye Zhi’s flushed face, Lu Wei suddenly reached out his large, warm hand, gently pressing it against hers. He whispered, “I believe you.”

With his trust, Ye Zhi felt a sense of relief. She curled her fingers slightly, holding his hand in return.

The softness in her palm made Lu Wei’s heart flutter, and a strange sweetness filled him.

Li Ermei saw them holding hands so lovingly, and her anger flared even more.

She pointed at Ye Zhi, cursing, “Ye Zhi, you know exactly what you’ve done. I’m telling the truth. You’ve deceived Comrade Lu!”

Lu Wei, holding onto the last remnants of patience, said, “Ye Zhi is my wife, a military wife. Her reputation is not something you can slander.”

“If there’s a next time, we’ll take it to the revolutionary committee.”

Just then, a figure suddenly rushed into the Ye family’s home.

Ye Hongying shouted, “Mother! What are you saying? Stop now!”

She then raised her eyes and saw Lu Wei standing there. Her body instinctively shrank back, and her eyes shifted, not daring to meet his gaze.

As Li Ermei was about to continue her tirade, Ye Hongying grabbed her sleeve. “Mother, let’s go home. I need to talk to you.”

“It’s something very important!” Ye Hongying said through clenched teeth.

Li Ermei could tell by her daughter’s expression that it was indeed urgent.

Without another word, she followed Ye Hongying out, ignoring the fact that Zhang Xiaomei had just beaten her up again and that Ye Zhi and Lu Wei had already entered the main room.

Li Ermei had completely given up.

She hadn’t expected Lu Wei to be so protective of Ye Zhi, treating her like some precious treasure, and even threatening to involve the revolutionary committee!

Wasn’t he practically sentencing her to death?

How could she live in the town with her reputation ruined like this?!

As Li Ermei left, Zhang Xiaomei spat on the ground and muttered, “Having such a sister-in-law is the worst luck ever!”

Meanwhile, Ye Zhi and Lu Wei entered the main room.

Ye Zhi glanced at the hand still holding hers, trying to pull away. But when she couldn’t break free, she said, “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Lu Wei’s expression remained cold, but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Ye Zhi, you don’t need to explain anything to me.”

Ye Zhi bit her lip and shook her head. “This needs to be cleared up before we marry, or you’ll regret it.”

Of course, it was also possible that she herself would regret it.

Regret not making things clear before the wedding, leading to a potential cause for future arguments.

Since she had chosen to marry Lu Wei, she wouldn’t let herself get involved with any other man.

Lu Wei simply said, “No regrets.”

Ye Zhi was at a loss for how to deal with this person, so she simply said directly, “It’s about what my third aunt just mentioned, that…”

Lu Wei stood up straighter and calmly said, “If it’s about Gao Wenbo, you don’t need to say anything.”

Ye Zhi looked at him in surprise. “You know?”

Lu Wei’s expression seemed hesitant, as though he wanted to say something but stopped himself. After thinking for a couple of seconds, he spoke. “It was Engineer Gao who helped my grandfather find your family.”

This marriage has his contributions as well.

Ye Zhi asked, “So, when you said you were visiting a friend last night, you were talking about Gao Wenbo?”

Lu Wei nodded. “Mm.”

He thought for a moment and then added, “Not exactly a friend, just someone my father knows.”

Lu Wei looked down at her, his gaze softening slightly. “I believe you, and I trust what I’ve seen. You don’t need to explain anything to me.”

Ye Zhi felt a bit confused by his words. What had he seen?

But since Lu Wei had made himself so clear, continuing the conversation would only cause more trouble.

Actions speak louder than words.

She would prove her feelings with her actions, and in time, he would understand.

Suddenly, Lu Wei spoke again, “Ye Zhi, since your matters are settled, can you help me with something?”

Ye Zhi laughed, amused by his serious tone. “What do you need help with?”

Did they really need to use the word “help” between them?

She wondered how Lu Wei’s parents interacted with each other, because he was so respectful toward her. Was this how he was raised?

If they continued like this, it might be a bit tiring.

Lu Wei spoke again, seriously and earnestly, “The organization has approved our marriage report. Before we head back to Qiongzhou Island, we should get our marriage certificate.”

Ye Zhi couldn’t help but chuckle. “I thought it was something important. Isn’t it just getting the certificate? We can go tomorrow, it’s not too late. I still need to go to the commune for a proof.”

He was being so serious, it almost made it seem like he was calling off the wedding.

Ye Zhi then asked, “By the way, you came here today because…”

Before she could finish, Zhang Xiaomei’s voice came from behind, “You girl, joking about something as serious as getting the marriage certificate!”

“Here’s the plan. Today’s the Qixi Festival, why don’t you take advantage of the holiday and go to the civil affairs bureau to get your certificate?”

“I’ve already prepared the household registration book and the proof!”

Just as they were about to leave, the rest of Ye Zhi’s family arrived.

It was then that everyone realized Lu Wei had come over specifically to propose. There was a jeep parked at the entrance with a set of traditional wedding gifts on top.

The Ye family members looked at the brightly shining gifts on the jeep and were momentarily at a loss.

They all knew Lu Wei had come to carry out a task and hadn’t asked for any dowry, let alone these traditional gifts.

The dowry was decent, but buying all these items would cost several hundred yuan. How could they afford it?

They were from a small town and didn’t care much about appearances.

What they cared about was that their daughter married a man who would be responsible and treat her well.

Ye Zhi’s father frowned as he looked at the new bicycle. “Comrade Lu, this… is too extravagant.”

Lu Wei replied, “Uncle, this is a small token of affection from our elders.”

A few days ago, Lu Wei had been busy with a mission and hadn’t had time to prepare. Who knew that his grandfather had already arranged for the items to be bought in Shanghai.

When he received the news that their marriage had been confirmed, he had immediately sent the gifts over early this morning.

Both Ye Zhi’s father and Zhang Xiaomei couldn’t help but frown. This gesture was too costly.

How would the two of them manage after returning to the island?

After some persuasion, Lu Wei insisted. When the Ye family members were gathered, he moved the wrapped red cloth-covered Phoenix-brand bicycle and the radio into the Ye home.

He also gave Ye Zhi a Shanghai brand watch, which he directly put on her wrist.

The jeep was too large to fit into the narrow alley, so people from the nearby streets had gathered to watch.

When they saw that it was a wedding happening at the Ye family home, the atmosphere became joyful and festive.

Everyone came to congratulate Ye Zhi and Lu Wei.

By the time they finished greeting the neighbors, it was already noon.

Ye Zhi was planning to rest before going to take photos.

But Lu Wei, worried about the crowds since it was a holiday, decided to take her out to get the photos done earlier.

So, Ye Zhi went with Lu Wei to the photo studio and then to the civil affairs bureau.

As expected, there were more people in line than usual. Since everything was done manually back then, the process was slow.

Looking at their photo together, Ye Zhi felt like it had all happened too quickly, almost unreal.

They met, got engaged the next day, and now they were getting the certificate… tomorrow…

Her parents had said that tomorrow they’d just have a simple meal to celebrate, with close family members attending.

This was the only option since Lu Wei’s leave was about to end, and the trip back involved trains and boats, which would take two or three days.

They couldn’t afford any delays.

In the photo, the two of them stood tall and straight, looking beautiful together.

Lu Wei was dressed in a white naval uniform, his brows sharp and his eyes bright.

She, with her almond eyes and willow-leaf eyebrows, looked quite harmonious standing beside him.

Ye Zhi suddenly asked, “Did you bring your household registration book?”

Just earlier, Zhang Xiaomei had rushed to find the household registration book and had given her a proof from the commune, which she had rushed to get early this morning.

In Lu Wei’s eyes, he couldn’t help but wonder if he had become the “old girl eager to get married.”

Lu Wei nodded, “Household registration book, marriage report, I have everything.”

Ye Zhi was puzzled. “The marriage report got approved this quickly?”

They had just discussed the matter yesterday evening, and Lu Wei had already submitted the marriage report—and even got it approved?

She had heard that military personnel needed political reviews before getting married. Could it really be processed this fast?

Luckily, her ancestors were all either soldiers or farmers. Otherwise, the review wouldn’t have gone through so quickly.

Lu Wei’s brows relaxed, and he said, “It was processed as a special case. It was approved last night.”

He had called back to Qiongzhou Island the previous night, only to find out that his grandfather had already handed in his and Ye Zhi’s information to the political commissar long ago. As soon as Lu Wei agreed to this arranged marriage, the political commissar would stamp the approval immediately.

It had to be said—experience comes with age.

His grandfather had been certain he would accept the marriage.

Otherwise, why would he have prepared everything, from the report to the betrothal gifts, in advance?

If this had been before, Lu Wei would have resisted just to spite him.

But now, looking at Ye Zhi’s gentle and delicate features beside him, he simply thought—

Fine, he had lost this round.

Before long, their names were called at the counter, and Ye Zhi and Lu Wei stepped forward to submit their documents.

The staff member at the desk, initially drowsy from a long day, immediately perked up upon seeing them.

Out of all the couples registering for marriage today, this pair was by far the most eye-catching.

Ye Zhi handed over their documents and said, “Hello, comrade. We’re here to register our marriage.”

The staff member took their paperwork and carefully reviewed it. Seeing that the groom was indeed a soldier, she thought, No wonder—he carries himself so differently, standing tall and exuding an air of righteousness.

With a smile, the staff member said, “Military comrades are the most admirable and respectable people. Thank you for protecting our country.”

Hearing this, a sense of pride welled up in Ye Zhi’s heart. For the first time, she truly felt the honor of marrying a soldier.

She smiled. “Yes, they are the most reliable people.”

Ye Zhi believed she had chosen the right person—Comrade Lu Wei was someone she could depend on.

Lu Wei was not a man of many words, but when he heard Ye Zhi’s comment, he couldn’t help but glance at her deeply.

The staff member quickly stamped their documents and handed them their marriage certificates with both hands, saying, “Congratulations to both of you! Wishing you a happy marriage and a lifetime of love.”

The two reached out at the same time to receive the certificates, speaking in unison: “Thank you.”

And just like that, Ye Zhi became the legal wife of Comrade Lu Wei.