Enduring the Winter

Eight.

“Little flowery flower, did they bully you?” When she came out of the bamboo building, Gui Yan anxiously grabbed at Ren Dong’s hands as he sized her up. Stupefied, Ren Dong allowed him to do whatever he wanted. Then, she suddenly grasped Gui Yan’s hands tightly.

Gui Yan was shocked, but he saw that although her face was pale white, her eyes were full of bright and beautiful sunshine. Her lips also carried traces of a smile, “Gui Yan, after we leave this place, will you really marry me?”

This was the first time he had seen Ren Dong smile so quietly like a normal girl. It was also the first time when he realized that when Ren Dong smiled, she was pretty and her dimples were revealed. He dumbly nodded his head.

“Then I guess I’m the crown princess of Chen,” Ren Dong looked down. It wasn’t clear whether she was sad or happy but she whispered, “How domineering.”

Ren Dong said, “Gui Yan, Yan Gui. I’ll marry you, so I ought to return with you. I think your courtyard in Luoyang was pretty nice. Let’s go home.”

Gui Yan loved it when Ren Dong said the word “home” with some excitement, some yearning, and something indescribable. This made him feel like he was a real husband, with a wife, and a responsibility.

Even if he had always called her “wifey” from the very beginning, that had been his teasing. He didn’t know when this had happened, but he had suddenly gotten caught up in his game, and now he was unable to get away.

They peacefully returned to Luoyang. The two of them didn’t have any good friends. On the day they married, they sat down looking into each other’s eyes for a long time; a pair of small eyes looking into a pair of big eyes. Eventually, when night fell, they went to buy some small dishes and two red candles. When they returned, they put the table up and stuck them into their steamed buns as they bowed to each other and married.

With the concise ceremony, when the both of them returned to their room to sleep, Ren Dong clenched her teeth and threw herself into Gui Yan’s embrace. He was shocked as she clung to him firmly. When she let go, Ren Dong said, “I guess this counts as a skin-to-skin relationship. Now we’re husband and wife.”

Gui Yan was still stumped for words. Ren Dong stood on tiptoe and pecked him beside his mouth.

“All wives love their own husbands.”

When she finished, she promptly turned and ran off, leaving Gui Yan all alone as he touched the corner of his lips, his eyes becoming deeper.