Chapter 33.1

The next day, Jiang Rou and Li Xiao went out to get their marriage certificate.

When the two of them went to take a photo, Li Xin stood to the side holding the child, watching them.

An An in her arms seemed puzzled as to why they didn’t include her. She  was reaching out to Jiang Rou and Li Xiao while babbling, “Ah, ah, ah.”

Jiang Rou waved at her and coaxed, “It’ll be over soon.”

An An, with her big eyes wide open, stopped crying and obediently stayed in her aunt’s arms.

When it was time to take the photos, Li Xiao took off his thick coat and put on the thin one that Jiang Rou had bought him during the Chinese New Year. Jiang Rou hadn’t expected him to wear that, so she couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you cold? ”

The man replied calmly, “No.”

Jiang Rou looked at him skeptically but didn’t say anything more.

She was wearing a black sweater underneath, the same one that Li Xiao had used to soothe An An to sleep the previous night. However, when she put it on in the morning, she found that the baby had poked a hole in the front with her little fingers, making it difficult to take off.

So, Jiang Rou wore a thick cotton-padded jacket, standing next to Li Xiao, who was only in his thin jacket, as they took the photo. The officer taking the picture asked them to get closer, so Jiang Rou tilted her head slightly and smiled. Just as the shutter clicked, Li Xiao suddenly reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

That moment was captured in the photo.

When she received the marriage certificate, Jiang Rou felt that the two people in the photo looked like they were in two different seasons.

But the photo still turned out well, especially for Li Xiao. Jiang Rou felt that with their faces side by side, she looked like just a passerby.

Feeling somewhat dissatisfied and blaming the officer’s photography skills, she insisted on taking more pictures at the photo studio they had visited before. She found a reasonable excuse, saying, “An An didn’t get to be in the photo earlier, and she looked so disappointed.”

Li Xiao didn’t mind. “Alright, let’s go.”

He couldn’t resist looking at the marriage certificate a few more times before carefully tucking it into his pocket.

So, the four of them went to the photo studio again.

This time, An An was in her mother’s arms, smiling sweetly. Li Xin sat on the other side of Jiang Rou, smiling with her lips pursed.

In 1999, the four of them took their first family photo together.

-o-o-o-o-o-

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Jian was hosting his wedding celebration.

Zhou Jian was the only one in his family, and he had cut ties with his relatives, so Li Xiao went over to help him. He was busy for several days, and on the day of the wedding, he was nowhere to be seen.

Fortunately, Li Xin stayed home with Jiang Rou. The child was getting smarter by the day and sleeping less. Even though she was well-behaved, she needed someone by her side when she was awake.

Jiang Rou had finished studying the first semester of her sophomore year’s textbooks, but time was tight. Sometimes, she became so engrossed in her studies that she couldn’t pay attention to the child, so Li Xin would push the crib outside and play with the baby.

Li Xin was very experienced in taking care of children, having raised her younger brother in her adoptive family. She would place a small piece of wood in An An’s hand, letting her grab it and play with it for hours.

Li Xiao knew about Jiang Rou’s recent study efforts. Sometimes, even after they had gone to bed, he would see her get up to check a book because she had forgotten a line of poetry she had memorized during the day.

He had never seen anyone so determined. She couldn’t be stopped. He had grown up with Zhou Jian and Zhu Qiang, who never even bothered with homework. He and Jin Dayou did their homework, but only during class, so they could go out and play after school.

-o-o-o-

So, on the eighth day, he informed Zhou Jian in advance that Jiang Rou needed to study at home and would only come over in the evening for dinner.

Zhou Jian respected Jiang Rou and even arranged for his brother-in-law’s two children to bring Zhou Hong over to deliver food to the Li family at noon, so Jiang Rou wouldn’t have to cook.

For the wedding, Zhou Jian had hired a village chef, recommended by his brother-in-law, whose skills were comparable to Zhu Qiang’s uncle.

Nine tables were set up, and neighbors and old friends were invited. The yard was so full they had to move some tables to the entrance. The event was much livelier than Wang Yan’s first wedding.

Wang Yan’s family held their heads high this time, especially her parents, who had felt embarrassed before but now took great pride.

Wang Yan’s elder brother and sister-in-law were the happiest, rushing around since morning without having a bite to eat.

At four in the afternoon, Jiang Rou left the house with An An. Li Xin didn’t want to go because she felt self-conscious about her appearance and didn’t know any of her brother-in-law’s friends, so she thought it would be awkward.

Jiang Rou didn’t force Li Xin. She took out the ingredients, placed them in the kitchen, and reminded her to cook and eat on time and to make sure the doors and windows were closed.

Then, Jiang Rou headed out with An An in her arms.

-o-o-o-

When they arrived at Zhou Jian’s house, Zhou Jian had gone to the village to pick up the bride, and Li Xiao stayed behind to welcome the guests.

Upon seeing Jiang Rou, he quickly walked over and took An An from her arms.

An An hadn’t seen her father all day, and as soon as he held her, she snuggled her head against his neck, looking both sweet and content.

Li Xiao’s expression softened, and he gently patted her back. Then he said to Jiang Rou, “Wait here for a moment; I’ll get you something to eat.”

He headed straight to the kitchen with An An still in his arms.

Jiang Rou didn’t stay put and followed him, asking curiously, “Is Wang Yan’s house far from here? ”

Seeing her follow, Li Xiao stepped forward, making way for her. “A bit. The road at the base of the mountain is rough, so cars can’t get through, so they could only walk on that path. They probably won’t be back until five or six o’clock.”

Jiang Rou nodded, realizing it was going to be quite late.

When they reached the kitchen door, Li Xiao asked her to wait outside. Jiang Rou glanced inside and noticed that the kitchen was small and filled with tables covered in dishes. Three people were busy at the stove—one cooking, the other two chopping.

Li Xiao entered with An An, grabbed a plate of fried meatballs, and took a large chicken leg from another dish.

Jiang Rou, embarrassed by what she saw, couldn’t help but say when he came out, “This isn’t right. You should put it back; I’m not that hungry.”

Honestly, she was a bit hungry, having eaten nothing all afternoon, and was just waiting for the evening feast.

Li Xiao looked unconcerned. “It’s fine. There are plenty of meatballs. I’ll just have them put fewer on the plate.”

With that, he led Jiang Rou to a quiet corner and handed her the plate. “Go ahead; the meatballs are delicious.”

Jiang Rou glanced at him, her face flushing, then picked up a meatball. The taste was indeed good—savory and fragrant, with a mix of meat and lotus root. She couldn’t resist eating two more.

Watching her eat, Li Xiao smiled. “Have the chicken leg too.”

Jiang Rou obediently picked up the chicken leg and began to gnaw on it. When she finished, she looked up to see him watching her with a smile. Feeling a bit self-conscious, she bit into the chicken leg, then picked up the other one and offered it to his lips, mumbling, “You have some too.”

Li Xiao glanced down, took a bite, then accepted the chicken leg and began eating it himself.

An An in his arms opened her mouth and drooled when she saw them eating. When she realized she wasn’t getting any, she reached out to grab the chicken leg from Li Xiao.

Li Xiao turned his head to avoid her, quickly finishing the chicken leg in two or three bites and tossing the bone into the corner.

After eating, he wiped his hands on the baby’s bib, leaving two finger marks.

An An looked at him, then down at her bib, as if she didn’t understand. She waved her small arms towards the plate in Jiang Rou’s hand, babbling, “Ah, ah, ah.”

As soon as she opened her mouth, the doll started dripping from the corner, making her look absolutely adorable.

Jiang Rou and Li Xiao couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Li Xiao pretended to grab something from the plate and lightly touched it to the baby’s little mouth, smiling as he said, “Eat up.”

An An didn’t understand and actually opened her mouth, smacking her lips a few times. Then she gave Li Xiao a sweet smile and held onto his hand, wanting more.

Li Xiao chuckled and continued to “feed” her.

Watching this, Jiang Rou laughed so hard her stomach hurt. 

She thought Li Xiao was too mean.

-o-o-o-

After Jiang Rou finished eating, Li Xiao arranged for her to sit at Zhou Jian’s mother’s table inside the house and went to do his own thing.

Zhou Jian’s mother was chatting with someone, and when she saw Jiang Rou coming, she hurriedly asked her to sit closer and talk.

It was not until 5:50—when it was dark outside—that Zhou Jian and the others finally returned.

As soon as they arrived, the feast began. Zhou Jian and his bride were ushered into the house by the crowd and only came out later to toast the guests.

By then, the guests outside had already started eating. Jiang Rou, holding the baby, didn’t want her to get envious of the food. So each time she picked up a dish with her chopsticks, she would lightly cover the baby’s eyes with the hand holding her and then quickly stuff the food into her own mouth.

After a few times, An An seemed to sense something was off. When her view was blocked, she would reach out with her small hand to push Jiang Rou’s hand away, turning her head to look at her.

Whenever Jiang Rou met her gaze, she stopped chewing. Only when the baby looked away would she secretly chew again.

Zhou Jian’s mother, who was standing nearby, smiled to herself, thinking that young people nowadays seemed to care for their children as if they were just playing.

The dinner lasted until 8 PM, with the sky completely dark and light bulbs strung across the yard on electric wires.

After finishing her meal, Jiang Rou prepared to leave. An An had fallen asleep in her arms. During the dinner, Li Xiao had come over to her table once, pulling up a stool next to her and using her chopsticks to grab some food. Seeing him wolf down his meal, Jiang Rou served him a bowl of soup.

Li Xiao glanced at the sleeping An An and lowered his voice, whispering, “You head back first later. I’ll find someone to go with you. I might be late, so don’t wait up for me; just leave the door unlocked.”

Jiang Rou nodded. “Okay.”

She then adjusted An An’s collar to ensure she was well covered.

Li Xiao tilted his head back and quickly drank all the soup in the bowl. Just as he was about to leave, he reached out, intending to touch the baby’s soft, pink cheek. But before his hand could make contact, Jiang Rou swiftly swatted it away.

She looked up and glared at him, “Don’t even think about it.”

It had taken so much effort to get her to sleep, and waking her up would mean feeding her again. All night, she had been eyeing everyone’s food; she was probably feeling envious. Even in her sleep, her little mouth kept moving.

Li Xiao left with a smile.

After a while, he returned with two older women, who had also brought their children to the feast. Since they were heading in the same direction, he asked them to accompany Jiang Rou back home.

Jiang Rou said goodbye to Zhou Jian’s mother, then got up and left with the baby.

Li Xiao walked her to the gate. As Jiang Rou walked away with the others, she turned back to see him still standing at the entrance, watching her.

The two aunts accompanying Jiang Rou, who also knew Li Xiao, couldn’t help but chuckle. “I never would have guessed that Li Xiao turned out to be such a doting husband.”

“Hahaha, indeed. When he was little, my Hui Hui wanted to play with them, but those naughty boys always ran off, leaving her behind. They said girls were troublesome, always crying, and annoying. I once asked Li Xiao, ‘Will you not get married when you grow up?’ He impatiently replied, ‘Only a fool would get married.'”

The two aunts laughed heartily, reminiscing about Li Xiao’s embarrassing childhood moments.

Jiang Rou hadn’t expected Li Xiao to have this side to him, and he couldn’t help but laugh along. She wondered if this could be considered karma.

-o-o-o-o-