After obtaining their marriage certificate, Yun Li and Fu Shize moved into their new home. It took them nearly a month of online and offline shopping to finally furnish the entire house.
Fresh out of the shower, Yun Li spotted two tickets on the table left by Fu Shize—performance passes reserved by the school for faculty members.
Having just gotten married, Yun Li hadn’t fully adjusted to the change in status yet.
Staring at the bold words "Family Ticket" printed on them, she couldn’t help but giggle.
Seized by an unusually strong urge to show off, she took a photo and spent a long time drafting a post for her social media. But the thought of all the replies she’d get made her back out sheepishly. Instead, she directly opened her chat window with Yun Ye:
[Yun Ye, look, my husband’s school gave these.]
Yun Ye: [?]
Yun Li: [Aren’t you jealous?]
Apparently finding her too ridiculous to engage with, Yun Ye simply left her on read.
The sound of running water in the bathroom stopped, and soon Fu Shize emerged, drying his hair with a towel. Walking into the living room, he noticed Yun Li hugging the tickets with a gleeful smile and couldn’t suppress a smirk of his own. "They’re for you," he said.
Yun Li examined the tickets closely. "So now I’m officially your family."
"Mm." Fu Shize sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her affectionately. "Help your family dry his hair."
As she dabbed the water droplets near his ears, Yun Li studied the faint curve of his lips. Up close, his porcelain-like skin was flawless, and even the shape of his eye sockets seemed etched straight into her heart.
Glancing back at the tickets, she found it surreal—the person she had once admired from afar had, one day, abruptly become the one she loved most.
A phone call interrupted her thoughts. Fu Shize picked it up casually, responding with a couple of quiet acknowledgments.
From beside him, Yun Li could hear a man’s boisterous laughter through the receiver: "Professor Fu, a few of us are out having drinks tonight. Wanna join the fun?"
Fu Shize paused. "Let me check with my wife."
He lifted his gaze to Yun Li, his tone calm. "Colleagues invited me for dinner. Can I go?"
Yun Li didn’t overthink it. It made sense for him to receive invitations, especially since he’d just started the job. Even though it was already past eight or nine, she nodded understandingly.
Fu Shize brought the phone back to his ear.
As Yun Li continued drying his hair, she heard him chuckle softly before answering smoothly, "My wife wants me to stay home with her tonight. Maybe next time."
"Got it, got it. We all know your better half keeps you on a tight leash. But Professor Fu, as men, we gotta fight for our standing at home, y’know?"
Fu Shize: "Let me ask my wife what she thinks."
Yun Li: "..."
Showing no remorse for throwing her under the bus, Fu Shize merely lowered his voice when he felt her drying motions slow. A hint of amusement laced his tone as he asked, "What’s wrong?"
"Last time in the group chat, one of the professors called you ‘whipped’..." Yun Li had initially been puzzled, given how little interaction she had with them. Now she finally understood the teasing.
Fu Shize nodded, strands of damp hair falling over his eyes. "Aren’t I?"
The man before her looked delicate—his collarbones sharply defined, his eyes still slightly damp.
He always used this tactic.
And Yun Li could never stay mad at him. Frustrated, she rubbed his hair more vigorously, as if punishing him. "Who in their right mind would admit to being whipped?"
Fu Shize let out a long, soft hum. Raising a hand, he threaded his fingers through hers and interlaced them tightly.He rested his chin on her shoulder, his voice tender and lingering: "Then I admit—"
"In my eyes, you can have the final say."
On the day of the performance, Yun Li dressed up carefully. As she braided her hair in front of the dressing table, Fu Shize gently pressed her shoulders and stood behind her.
His slender fingers slowly worked through her hair, each movement cautious and deliberate, as if afraid of hurting her.
Once finished, he took out the pair of lustrous white pearl earrings from the lacquer box. Leaning close, his nose lightly brushed her cheek as he carefully fastened them for her.
The proximity made Yun Li's heart skip a beat. Staring at Fu Shize's pale, delicate features and his downcast eyes, she blushed and gently pushed him away.
"I can put them on myself..."
They still had to go out soon.
Fu Shize chuckled softly and simply said, "No."
Yun Li thought something else might happen, but Fu Shize merely secured the earrings and kissed the curve of her ear.
She exhaled in relief, though a hint of disappointment lingered. Standing up, she straightened his collar and asked, "Should you wear a tie?"
Fu Shize deferred to her. "You decide."
Yun Li studied his outfit—white shirt and dress pants. Playfully, she undid his top button and grinned. "No tie. This way, it feels like I'm dating a high schooler."
Fu Shize deadpanned, "I was a freshman at twelve."
"..."
Yun Li pondered seriously. Dating a twelve-year-old high schooler.
Hmm. That would indeed be beastly.
When leaving, Fu Shize matched her attire and, out of habit, placed her shoes on the floor for her.
Yun Li slipped them on leisurely. They took the elevator to the garage, where Fu Shize opened the passenger door for her. His posture was impeccable, the white shirt and pale skin accentuating his sharp features.
At the venue, Yun Li linked her arm with his as they quietly entered.
They were among the few dressed formally that evening.
Dressing up for a date felt perfectly natural to Yun Li.
After all, meticulously preparing for each rendezvous, infusing romance and excitement into every moment—that was what love was about.
Even after marriage, romance could still thrive.
She traced a heart on Fu Shize's palm, feeling the slight dampness of his warm skin.
She thought—even after marriage, hearts could still flutter.
It took Yun Li a full six months to upload her bridal shop exploration video to E-Station. After hitting publish, she stretched and walked into the living room.
Fu Shize was seated on the white chair on the balcony.
During the home renovation, they had transformed the large balcony into a garden terrace, filled with potted plants and vines, complete with a small round table and two chairs. On sunny days, they would read together under the daylight.
He wore a silk pajama set, though only a few buttons were fastened. Hearing her approach, he lifted his gaze from the book, thick dark lashes rising as he asked softly, "Done?"
"Mm." Yun Li settled onto his lap naturally, looping her arms around his neck with a smile. "Did you wait long?"
"No." Fu Shize wrapped an arm around her waist.
Yun Li stared at his thin lips and couldn't resist a fleeting kiss, then added unconvincingly, "To make it up to you."
Fu Shize considered this, then said, "Actually, I misremembered. I waited a very long time."
He leaned closer. "One isn't enough."
"..."Yun Li was applying makeup for her evening livestream when she noticed Fu Shize, who had been reading a book by the bed, pick up his phone. He frowned, tapped on the screen a few times, then set it back down.
Pausing her makeup, she turned around, resting her hand on the chair, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Fu Shize replied, "Got into an argument with someone."
Yun Li couldn’t even imagine him arguing with anyone. After a long pause, she asked, "With whom?"
Lazily flipping through his book, he answered offhandedly, "Someone who likes you."
This statement made Yun Li tense up. She quickly ran through the list of guys she’d interacted with recently, confirming she hadn’t had any ambiguous encounters, before asking, "Who?"
"The person who left you comments."
Hearing this answer, Yun Li paused for a few seconds before reminding him, "The commenter could be a girl."
She pictured the scenario and couldn’t help but laugh. "You’re jealous of a girl."
"……"
Her laughter seemed to make Fu Shize realize how childish his behavior was. He fell silent, lost in thought.
After teasing him, Yun Li suggested, "I’m going live tonight. Do you want to make an appearance?"
It felt like, in Yun Li’s words, he was an immature child who’d lost an argument, and she had to placate him with candy.
Fu Shize shook his head wordlessly, picking up his book and retreating silently into a corner.
Before the livestream, Yun Li skimmed through the comments and finally understood what Fu Shize meant by "argument."
After she had posted her latest shop review video, the screen was flooded with comments and bullet chats filled with the word "wifey." Someone had commented: 【Wifey, wifey, are you getting married soon?】
efe: 【Yeah, to me.】
Longtime fans of Yun Li were familiar with the account "efe," and a flood of replies mocked him for his wishful thinking and delusions.
Yun Li scrolled down but found no response from Fu Shize. His so-called "argument" seemed more like being ridiculed by a crowd.
This was normal in the comments section—fans joking around with each other—but right now, Yun Li couldn’t shake the feeling that Fu Shize had been deeply wronged.
Distracted by how to vindicate him, Yun Li absentmindedly started the livestream. The viewer count quickly surpassed ten thousand.
After chatting with fans for a bit, someone in the livestream suddenly sent a message: 【Did a man just walk past behind the salted fish?】
This set off a storm. Others chimed in, and Yun Li, puzzled, glanced back. Fu Shize was still sitting on the sofa, motionless, reading his book.
She turned back to the camera, confused. "You guys must be seeing things. Although—"
A figure slowly walked past behind her, and a book accidentally fell to the ground. Fans immediately screamed in the chat: 【There really is a man!】
【Waaah, my wifey’s been taken】
【Women are all liars, give me back my wifey】
【No more early love for me, unfollowing】
Fu Shize glanced at these comments, tilting his head as he looked at the exasperated Yun Li.
Calmly, he said, "Wifey, I dropped my book."
When the man’s face appeared on screen, the livestream fell silent for a few seconds.
【Damn, why do I kinda ship this?】
After making an "unintentional" stroll through the livestream, Fu Shize headed to the kitchen to pour Yun Li a glass of milk. While waiting for the microwave to heat it, his phone vibrated.
A notification popped up: 【XianYun DiDa has replied to you~ Go check it out~】Under that comment mocking his wishful thinking, two distinct markers appeared, indicating replies from the Content Creator.
Xianyun Didada-chan: "Well... I did marry him."
Xianyun Didada-chan: "From now on, I'll be his wife alone ^^"
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