Zhong Mei looked at Guan Wenjun and said softly, “Getting married is a very serious matter. It’s a lifelong commitment. You’d better think it over. Besides, doesn’t your family even know you’re seeing someone?”
What Zhong Mei said was true, but hearing it made Guan Wenjun feel anxious.
He tightened his grip on Zhong Mei’s hand slightly and stared at her, asking, “Zhong Mei, are you having second thoughts?”
Zhong Mei: “???”
She looked at him with some surprise. “Second thoughts about what? No, I’m not.”
Guan Wenjun’s expression darkened. Frowning, he asked again, “Then has Lai Hongmao come looking for you again?”
Zhong Mei felt a bit speechless. She couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Why are you bringing up Lai Hongmao again? What does he have to do with any of this?”
Guan Wenjun looked at her, his tone tinged with frustration. “Then why won’t you agree to marry me? After what we’ve done…”
He paused briefly, as if a little embarrassed.
Clearing his throat, he added, “Anyway, I have to take responsibility for you. Don’t you want to take responsibility for me?”
Zhong Mei: “…”
Guan Wenjun pressed on, “It’s too late for you to back out now. You have to take responsibility for me. We’ve already kissed. If we don’t get married, no other woman will want me.”
Zhong Mei: “…”
Her right hand was being squeezed so tightly by him that it hurt a little.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at Guan Wenjun with a rather strange expression. Lowering her voice, she said, “If you went on blind dates, plenty of women would be willing to marry you, wouldn’t they?”
After all, Guan Wenjun had such good looks and a great job, earning a decent amount every month.
Guan Wenjun, unaware of her thoughts, persisted stubbornly, “What kind of joke is that? I’ve already swallowed your saliva. Do you think any other woman would want me now?”
Zhong Mei quickly made a shushing gesture, her face reddening. “Keep your voice down! What if someone hears you?”
Listen to him! What was he even saying?
Swallowing her saliva—was that something to brag about? And why did he have to say it so loudly…
Even Zhong Mei, who had seen her share of things, couldn’t help blushing and feeling hot in the ears.
Guan Wenjun squinted at Zhong Mei and lowered his voice, “Zhong Mei, you’ve swallowed my saliva too. Don’t even think about marrying another man. No man would want you either.”
Zhong Mei: “…”
Guan Wenjun paused briefly, then added with a cold laugh, “And forget about Lai Hongmao. If he found out you swallowed my saliva… Hmm, why are you covering my mouth?”
The hand she had pressed over his mouth was also pulled down and held in his grasp.
Zhong Mei was completely exasperated.
Even with her thick skin, she couldn’t bear to hear him keep talking about swallowing saliva.
She lowered her voice and said, “Stop talking about that… and stop mentioning Lai Hongmao. There’s really nothing between us anymore.”
Ever since that day when Lai Hongmao was slapped by Qiao Lanshu and Zhong Mei kicked his bicycle, he had stormed off in a rage.
Still, he had caused trouble for Zhong Mei afterward.
Feeling humiliated—unable to retaliate against Qiao Lanshu for the slap—he decided to take it out on Zhong Mei instead.
Thinking it would be too cowardly to let the loss of face slide, he came to the factory to bother Zhong Mei. But Wang Xue, Deng Weijun, and others worked in the same workshop as Zhong Mei and helped drive Lai Hongmao away with their scolding.
Zhong Mei knew Lai Hongmao wouldn’t let things rest. She suspected he was already plotting something, like reporting her to get her fired.
That was also why she had decided to playfully entice Guan Wenjun—she wanted to marry him as soon as possible.
Judging by how things were going, Guan Wenjun seemed even more eager than she was.
Guan Wenjun stared at Zhong Mei and urged her, “What are you thinking about now? Make up your mind quickly. You need to understand: you can only marry me, because you’ve swallowed my…—”
“Stop it!”
Zhong Mei covered his mouth again and said helplessly, “I get it. You don’t have to keep repeating it over and over.”
Guan Wenjun gazed at her intently. “So, do you agree to marry me?”
At this point, Zhong Mei was more than ready to say yes immediately.
Still, she wanted to explain a few things to him.
Lowering her voice, she said, “Brother Jun, we haven’t known each other long, so you might not know much about my family situation. I can’t go back to my family anymore, and I won’t contact my parents in the future.”
Guan Wenjun nodded. “So you’ve cut ties with them?”
Zhong Mei nodded. “You could say that. But I still have two younger sisters and one younger brother. My brother is young and my parents dote on him, so he’s not my concern. My main worry is my sisters. In the future, I might need to help support them.”
She didn’t dare mention bringing them to Dragon City.
To be honest, if not utterly desperate, she wouldn’t even think of taking them there.
For one thing, Dragon City was too far from home, with a completely different climate and customs. She herself wasn’t fully used to it.
For another, she still hoped her sisters could continue their education and remain in Yangcheng.
But she would definitely help them financially—there was no doubt about that.
She was afraid Guang Wenjun might object or look down on her for it.
But before getting married, she had to tell him this, to avoid arguments over it later.
After all, for the first few years of marriage, she would still rely on him.
Unexpectedly, Guan Wenjun didn’t seem bothered at all.
He said casually, “What’s the big deal? Helping your own sisters is only right. Besides, I’ve been sponsoring five kids from an orphanage—fixed monthly expense of fifty yuan. I’ve been doing it for a year now, and I’ll keep it up until they come of age. When the time comes, don’t fight with me about it, understand?”
Guan Wenjun hadn’t done many good deeds before, but he hadn’t done much bad either.
Sponsoring orphanage children was a genuinely good thing. Fifty yuan a month was no small sum.
Now that he was a section chief, his monthly salary was around one hundred and eighty yuan, plus various allowances.
He couldn’t spend it all on himself alone, so he felt he could keep sponsoring the children.
Zhong Mei had long known about his sponsorship.
After all, Qiao Lanshu had talked him into doing it. Qiao Lanshu had already told Zhong Mei about it.
Having endured hardship herself, Zhong Mei felt sympathy for poor children.
She nodded. “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t fight with you about it.”
Guan Wenjun immediately said, “Then it’s settled. Go back to the factory now and get a letter of introduction. I’ll come find you at four in the afternoon, and we’ll go get our marriage certificate.”
Zhong Mei: “…”
At this point, Zhong Mei had no more objections.
After all, Guan Wenjun was the one rushing to marry her. Later, if he regretted it, there would be no taking it back.
Zhong Mei nodded and smiled. “Alright, I’ll go now.”
Seeing Zhong Mei's enthusiastic demeanor, Guan Wenjun finally managed to regain his smugness.
He suddenly stepped forward, hugged Zhong Mei, patted her head, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, marrying me—I'll treat you well. I promise you won't regret it."
Zhong Mei thought to herself, Just make sure you won't regret it; I definitely won't.
Figuring the time was about right, Guan Wenjun urged Zhong Mei to head back.
He himself was in a rush, eager to get back to the Supply Department to get the letter of introduction.
He couldn't wait to get the marriage certificate and take Zhong Mei home.
A man in his late twenties, who had finally found a suitable partner, no longer wanted to hold back.
As Zhong Mei was about to turn and head back to the food factory, Guan Wenjun suddenly grabbed her arm: "Hold on."
He leaned in close and said in a low voice, "Let's have a kiss before you go."
With that, he planted a kiss on her cheek, giving her a satisfied wave before jogging off with a grin.
Zhong Mei: "..."
She wiped the saliva off her face, then couldn't help but laugh.
Truth be told, Guan Wenjun was quite an amusing man.
Still, the letter of introduction didn't come through that quickly.
Zhong Mei's was fast enough—since she was a temporary worker with a low rank, her letter only needed to be issued internally at the food factory and then stamped.
But Guan Wenjun was different. As the head of the Supply Department, he had to submit documents and get approval from higher-ups before the marriage letter could be stamped.
It wasn't as strict as reporting to the military department, but the process still took two days.
Once the letter finally came through with the official seal, Guan Wenjun drove early in the morning to take Zhong Mei for the marriage certificate.
After they got the certificate—a large, award-like document—he finally felt at ease.
At his age, it hadn't been easy to find a wife he truly desired.
Now, Zhong Mei was finally his wife.
Guan Wenjun said cheerfully, "Come on, I'll help you move your things. Today we're moving you to my place."
Guan Wenjun was currently living in the Supply Department's dormitory area.
As a single man, he lived in a large communal room, though he had it all to himself.
After marriage, he could apply for an apartment, similar to the ones Qin Yuanzheng had lived in before.
But the apartment wouldn't be ready just yet.
When Zhong Mei heard this, she said, "The dormitory area is pretty crowded, isn't it? How about you move in with me first?"
Zhong Mei added, "That way, when your apartment is approved, we can move together. What do you think?"
Guan Wenjun recalled the large compound where Zhong Mei rented a room. The neighbors were simple—three households dispersed in three different directions with a big courtyard between them, not too close together.
Her small room was shabby but tidy and clean. Recalling what had happened in that room the other day, he didn't hesitate long before nodding: "Fine! We'll move today."
They acted quickly—quickly decided to date, quickly decided to get married, and now quickly moved in together.
Guan Wenjun was even more impatient than Zhong Mei.
That very day, he packed his belongings and clothes, carried them over, and bought some candy and cookies. He took Zhong Mei to visit the other two households in the compound, handing out the wedding sweets to introduce themselves and ask for their goodwill.
The elderly woman living in the innermost household was genuinely happy for Zhong Mei and even gave them a basket of vegetables.
Another household, a young couple, gifted them some eggs. The three households got along well and otherwise kept to themselves.
When they returned, Zhong Mei looked at the leftover cookies and candy and asked Guan Wenjun, "When should we give the sweets to Lanshu? She doesn't know about our marriage yet."
Guan Wenjun gazed at Zhong Mei's blushing face and her slender figure, feeling parched with desire.
He was restless.
After days of craving marriage so he could openly share intimate moments with Zhong Mei, all that hustling had finally paid off—and now she wanted to go to Qin Yuanzheng's house?
Guan Wenjun led Zhong Mei back to her small room, his expression serious: "Zhong Mei, you don't know this, but Qin Yuanzheng once stole a girlfriend from me. There's bad blood between us."
Zhong Mei: "..."
She folded a newspaper into a square pouch, poured the candy and cookies inside, wrapped it up, and said, "So what does that have to do with me and Lanshu?"
Guan Wenjun: "..."
She continued, "From now on, you just don't go over there. I'll go—I want to see Lanshu."
That shut him up. He glanced at the sky and said, "Look, the sun is about to set. Why don't we go another day?"
Zhong Mei stood up to check the weather outside.
She didn't have a watch, and of course, her home didn't have a clock.
She hadn't bargained with Guan Wenjun over a bride price or the "three rounds and a sound" (bicycle, watch, sewing machine, radio).
Not that she didn't care—she was also anxious to get the marriage certificate and worried that if she made too many demands, Guan Wenjun would have to spend time buying things, delaying the process.
Better to get the certificate first and ask for the rest later.
If he dared to refuse, she had ways and means.
So she sighed, "I can't tell the time just by looking at the sky. I don't even have a watch."
Guan Wenjun quickly said, "Right, watch. Don't worry, I'll get the ticket soon and buy you one! The Shanghai-brand women's watch, eighteen yuan a piece, sold at the department store."
As he spoke, he took out his own watch: "Look at mine."
He checked it—it was four in the afternoon. Was that still too early?
He quickly adjusted the dial to 5:40.
Then he handed the watch to Zhong Mei: "See? It's almost six. Maybe we shouldn't go. They're probably having dinner now, and it'd be awkward to drop in for a meal."
Zhong Mei, though clever, hadn't expected this little trick from Guan Wenjun.
So, after looking at the watch, she genuinely thought it was nearly six.
She glanced back outside and muttered, "Almost six, and the sun is still this harsh?"
Guan Wenjun walked over and shut the window.
The window was covered with newspaper, so once closed along with the door, the room grew dim.
He put his hand on Zhong Mei's shoulder and whispered, "That's because this is the north. The timing is different here compared to the south, don't you know?"
He said seriously, "In the south, it's already dark by six, but in the north at six, the sun is still blazing. Here, it doesn't get dark until eight. You'll get used to it."
With that, he began helping her take off her coat. "Now, it's time for our wedding night."
It has already been a day since we got our marriage certificate, and we’ve openly acknowledged our relationship in front of the neighbors in the courtyard.
If we don’t consummate the marriage soon, he’s going to start making a fuss.
