Chapter 41: Second Update

Chapter 41: Second Update

"Congrats to you both." Commissar Zhou passed across the marriage registration form and pushed up his glasses, sizing them up curiously.

Gu Cheng naturally took the form, lowering his eyes to check for any missing information. His serious, careful demeanor was just like always.

Standing nearby was a girl who was a head shorter. Her skin was as white as milk, her hair pitch-black, and her eyes as beautiful as purple grapes. She looked at people confidently, without a hint of shyness, exuding grace and poise.

Commissar Zhou had heard Qin Yao’s name many times before. Just hearing her name, you’d think she was a gentle, tender girl. She’d bandaged Gu Cheng’s wounds on the ship and even gifted him a handkerchief while they were courting. She seemed like the understanding type, capable of putting up with Gu Cheng’s bad temper.

The two had been dating for two or three months and hadn’t even had a single argument. Commissar Zhou had previously thought Gu Cheng wasn’t serious about the marriage, but now it seemed the guy was quite eager, having submitted the marriage report and anxiously waiting for it to be processed.

"Little Qin, what do you see in Captain Gu?" Commissar Zhou asked casually, just making small talk.

Qin Yao replied offhandedly, "Captain Gu has a good personality, he’s kind, and he’s got a sense of chivalry."

And most importantly, he looks like a younger brother.

Commissar Zhou raised an eyebrow: "..."

He knew Qin Yao would say some nice, polite words in response to his question, maybe about how excellent Gu Cheng’s abilities were. But "good personality," "kindness," "chivalry"—how did these words end up describing Gu Cheng?

Was he kind? Was he good-natured? Did he have a chivalrous spirit?

These descriptions weren’t wrong, but when applied to Gu Cheng, shouldn’t it be more about his leadership charisma, his ability to inspire admiration and respect, his outstanding capabilities, and such?

"Captain Gu, your young wife is quite the smooth talker. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all."

Gu Cheng, with his arm around Qin Yao, just shrugged it off. "Naturally."

"If everything goes as planned, our families will soon be neighbors. You’ll come over to my place for meals in the future."

Gu Cheng nodded. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Commissar Zhou left for his business.

"Here." Gu Cheng handed the registration form to Qin Yao, instructing her to get the marriage introduction letter ready.

"Once your introduction letter is ready, I’ll take you to get the marriage certificate." As soon as the words left his mouth, Gu Cheng added, "I’ll call your hospital to arrange it. We’ll go get the certificate tomorrow."

"No, no need to rush," Qin Yao grabbed his arm. "It’s not urgent. Gu Cheng, shouldn’t we meet each other’s parents first?"

To Qin Yao, a law-abiding post-2000s girl, getting a marriage certificate was a serious matter, more important than the wedding banquet.

Having a marriage certificate meant being legally recognized as a married couple.

"We’ll get the certificate on the island," Gu Cheng said, shaking his head as he gently held her hand. "Yaoyao, we’re working here, so it makes sense to get registered on the island. By the time we return after the New Year, the house will be ready."

"It takes some time from getting the certificate to applying for housing materials. If we get everything ready before leaving the island, including ventilating the new furniture for a month, it’ll be just right when we return."

Gu Cheng’s words struck a chord with Qin Yao. Since the marriage was inevitable, it made sense to secure the house first. The new wooden furniture had a strong odor, and airing it out for a month would make it just right for them to move into when they returned.

"Alright, let’s get the certificate in the next couple of days then. We’ll start preparing the house."

Living in the same dormitory as Zhang Yufei wasn’t inconvenient, but it wasn’t the same as having a private space of her own. Even when she and Gu Cheng were dating, they were both in the dormitory. At most, they held hands in the dark or shared a quick kiss.

When Qin Yao went to the hospital to get the marriage introduction letter, Head Nurse Ge found out and had quite a good laugh teasing her. "It’s a case of a miss hitting the mark. You could say I introduced the two of you."

"Get Captain Gu to give me a big red envelope of wedding candy."

Qin Yao smiled, thinking that getting married had its perks. At least from now on, she could legitimately treat Gu Cheng as her little brother.

She wanted Gu Cheng to lower his eyes and be the docile and harmless little brother in front of her.

At this thought, Qin Yao couldn’t help but sigh again. Something she had witnessed herself kept haunting her.

This little brother was not the same.

The thought of him as a little brother failed to excite her and only filled her with anxiety.

*

"Yaoyao." Gu Cheng managed to catch Qin Yao before she left for work, and they went to the cafeteria to slowly eat rice noodles together. He held the documents and introduction letters in his hands, waiting to go register their marriage.

Qin Yao ate the noodles as slowly as she could, wishing she could chew each strand carefully. Seeing Gu Cheng like this, he looked like a guard from a detention center, ready to send her off to prison.

She was really regretting it. She shouldn’t have made the first advance on him. In less than a year, she’d ended up trapping herself in this marriage.

Gu Cheng sipped his soy milk and said gently, "Eat slowly, no need to rush."

Qin Yao said, "You're saying one thing but thinking another."

Gu Cheng suppressed a laugh. "Some truths are better left unspoken, sweet Yaoyao."

Though he told her to eat slowly, he was eager to finish the meal so they could head to the civil affairs bureau.

Qin Yao tapped him on the head twice. "What are you in such a hurry for? What are you so happy about?"

By this day, Gu Cheng had completely lost his shame, his emotions out in the open.

Seeing Gu Cheng downstairs so early in the morning nearly made Qin Yao’s heart jump out of her chest. Zhang Yufei was also startled.

She had agreed to marry him, but not so early! The civil affairs bureau wasn’t even open yet.

After nearly an hour of eating noodles, Qin Yao was hustled into the car by Gu Cheng. After a quick bathroom stop, they managed to get their brand-new marriage certificates shortly after the bureau opened.

After getting their certificates, the two went to a photo studio to take a picture together.

Gu Cheng went to the department store and bought a bunch of candies, then sent Qin Yao back to the hospital. Much more serious now, he said softly, "Yaoyao, pack your things. I'll have someone move them to the family apartment. You can go back with the car this evening."

Qin Yao was taken aback. "Are we moving so soon? Didn’t you say we’d apply for the house after getting the certificate? The whole process takes a long time."

Gu Cheng twirled a set of keys in his hand, a smile on his face. "I got the keys. The furniture was moved in over the last few days. Tonight, we'll spend the night there."

Rules were rules, but in practice, it wasn’t that strict. Moving in first and handling the paperwork later wasn’t a problem.

"Yaoyao, see if there's anything else you need. We'll go buy it."

Seeing him so smug, Qin Yao felt an overwhelming urge to divorce him on the spot. Gu Cheng was nothing like the obedient little brother she had first met, nor the disciplined Captain Gu from work. He had transformed into a hungry wolf with green light in his eyes, seizing every opportunity to drag as much meat as possible into his den.

Qin Yao felt a sense of insecurity, like she was about to fall into a wolf's den.

She didn’t know if every newly married woman felt this way.

"Let's buy a pot tomorrow." Suppressing her insecurity, Qin Yao decided to take the initiative. Falling into the wolf's den wasn’t that scary. At worst, she’d buy a frying pan for protection.

Gu Cheng looked puzzled. "You want to buy a pot? Okay."

"Tonight, I'll hand over all my money to you to manage."

Qin Yao nodded.

She returned to the hospital with a bag of candies. Gu Cheng had told her to hand out wedding candies to everyone. Newlyweds could apply for housing and even receive various subsidies, such as sugar rations and industrial goods coupons. Both she and Gu Cheng had received their unit's sugar ration coupons, and Gu Cheng had exchanged for additional ones. In short, they had more than enough candies.

"Hand out the wedding candies generously. I want everyone to have some. Once our marriage leave is over, we’ll hand out more."

Qin Yao found him unbearable at times. But these wedding ration coupons weren’t meant to be kept by the newlyweds anyway. Even if they had been poor, they wouldn’t have scrimped on the wedding candies.

"Congratulations, Nurse Xiao Qin!"

"Here, have some candies."

Qin Yao was well-liked, and she handed out candies as she walked, accepting their good wishes. Her face was sore from all the smiling, and she was eager to finish handing out the candies.

"Qin Yao!"

Zeng Manli stood in front of Qin Yao, clearly astonished. The Qin Yao standing in front of her was completely different from the one in her memory. She looked beautiful and radiant. Zeng had thought that Qin Yao would have gotten tanned from the island. Upon her return to Zhou Fangyu’s side, she hadn’t heard him mention Qin Yao’s name, and she secretly rejoiced about that.

Zeng Manli had once viewed Qin Yao as her greatest rival. Qin Yao had been plump but pretty. Most young girls favored slim figures, but the elders preferred Qin Yao’s look, thinking she had a prosperous air.

Zhou Fangyu’s family was poor but clung to their lofty principles. They envied Qin Yao’s well-off family but looked down on her father, a chef who always seemed to be busy around the stove, his face shiny with oil, too unsophisticated for formal occasions.

Zeng Manli had secretly overheard Zhou’s mother say that if they married Qin Yao into their family, they wouldn’t have to worry about the future…

Now, Qin Yao had slimmed down, losing that prosperous look, and Zhou Fangyu was still hers. No one could take him away!

Zeng Manli clenched her fists, feeling immensely triumphant, but Qin Yao simply grabbed a handful of candies and pressed them into her hands. "Here, share in my joy."

Zeng Manli was stunned.

"I’m married now. These are my wedding candies."

After handing out the candies, Qin Yao couldn’t be bothered to give her any more attention and continued down the hall, handing out more candies.

"Qin Yao, Nurse Qin is married? Who did she marry?"

A nurse with a hat replied, "Who did she marry? Captain Gu, of course."

Zeng Manli hurriedly asked, "What’s he like? Is he well-off?"

"Well-off?" The nurse gave her a strange look. "Why don’t you go see for yourself over at the auditorium?"

Zeng Manli still didn’t understand and asked again, "Is he better than Doctor Zhou?"

"Which Doctor Zhou?"

"Doctor Zhou Fangyu."

The nurse casually replied, "Oh, that Chen Shimei whose fiancée came to make a scene? He looks quite refined, but you can never tell what’s in a person’s heart."

Zeng Manli stood holding the candies, feeling completely let down.