Even if she was happy that her grandson was getting married, but to be woken up in the middle of the night was not something one would be thrilled about.
Once she was unhappy, she raised her voice and it scared the wits out of Old Master Yan. He was so shaken he sat up in bed and fumed at Old Lady Yan, "Why did you shout suddenly! You almost scared me to death, and you might become a widow!"
Old Lady Yan was too lazy to care about him, she said to Yan Beicheng in an awful mood, "Why didn"t you think about your granny"s old age before calling! The papers that were needed back then to get married would probably be different as now! If you want to know, you should ask Huaian."
"You"re right," Yan Beicheng realized, "Please continue your sleep, goodnight."
He stealthily hung up the phone, leaving the woken up Old Lady Yan who was unable to get back to sleep to do a staring contest with Old Master Yan.
Yan Beicheng hung up the phone and went on to hara.s.s Yan Huaian next.
Yan Huaian was feeling desolate, cold and lonely at night without his wife to embrace in his arms. Even the warm blanket was unable to give him warmth. Yan Beicheng"s phone call came through.
He got worried with the late-night call, answering it and asked, "What"s wrong? Is Ningbai okay?"
"He"s fine. He played with Jinxi the whole day, now he"s snoring in his sleep," Yan Beicheng said.
"Then, why are you calling me?" Yan Huaian sat up in bed and propped up a few pillows behind him.
Yan Beicheng suddenly felt embarra.s.sed. After a while, he then slowly said, "Erm… I just wanted to ask, other than our household registration booklet and ident.i.ty cards, what else do I need to bring along when getting the marriage license?"
"Woah! Cheng"er, don"t tell me just because of this matter, you"re so excited that you"re unable to sleep?" Yan Huaian"s mellow and rich voice gloated.
"..." Yan Beicheng would not admit to it, "I just finished my work, and was thinking about it."
Yan Huaian refused to believe that and laughed for a bit. He was not able to sleep anyway, so he was quite happy to be able to chat for a while to get rid of his boredom. "Alright, I"ll tell you the full details."
As a result, Yan Beicheng was dragged on by Yan Huaian for nearly an hour, without any indication that he would be ending the call any time soon. Yan Beicheng twitched his mouth and said, "Lin Chu"s asking me to come to bed now."
Yan Huaian, "..."
Was he mocking him that his wife was currently not around?
"Granduncle, you should sleep earlier as well!" Yan Beicheng seemed to feel that he was being a bit irritating as well, as it was rare for him to call Yan Huaian granduncle.
While Yan Huaian was reveling in shock, he took the opportunity to end the call. He was afraid Yan Huaian would call him back, so he turned his phone off too.
Once Yan Huaian snapped back into reality, he immediately dialed the number back. The outcome was hearing his call being directed to the voicemail instead.
"You rotten boy!" Yan Huaian exclaimed, feeling that he was used and ditched immediately upon achieving their goal.
Yan Beicheng returned to the bedroom feeling relaxed without any burden, his mind was at peace knowing that he has fully understood tomorrow"s procedure.
As soon as he laid down beside Lin Chu, Lin Chu embraced him as soon as he laid down beside her.
"Where did you go just now?" Lin Chu snuggled in his embrace.
"I can"t sleep, and I was scared of waking you up. So, I went out for a walk." Yan Beicheng whispered. He lowered his head to see Lin Chu buried her face fully in his arms, even her ears were covered by her long hair.
Yan Beicheng gently tucked her hair behind her tender and delicate ear. He lowered his head to kiss it.
Lin Chu was still in her sleep. She trembled a little from his kiss but refused to open her eyes. She snuggled again in his embrace resembling an action similar to Chu Xi"s.
Yan Beicheng laughed and rubbed her head, making her hair all messy.
"Why are you not asleep?" Lin Chu slowly lifted her head with her eyes half-opened, a look of reliant on her face.
"..." Yan Beicheng refused to admit that he was too nervous and excited, he squinted at Lin Chu and calmly said, "I woke up too late in the morning."
Lin Chu did not expose his lie, she merely gave a crafty and understanding smile. Her soft hands rubbed his waist and circled him tighter.
Lately, the weather was getting warmer, and it was getting hotter and hotter by the day. They were at home with the air-conditioning on, so it did not hinder Lin Chu from hugging him tightly.
"I"m nervous as well. I forced myself to nap, but I couldn"t sleep peacefully. I woke up when I instinctively felt that you"re not around," Lin Chu smiled, her sweet soft voice still sounded sleepy.
Yan Beicheng could not help but smile, he was pleased with himself. However, he did not dare to let Lin Chu look at him.
"Then… Sleep earlier, tomorrow we"ll have to wake up early," Yan Beicheng rubbed Lin Chu"s head and lowered his head to kiss her.
As Yan Beicheng spoke, the person who claimed to be nervous and could not sleep had dozed off. Her breathing was even and steady, her fair face had on a natural glow and her lips were slightly opened.
Slowly, she started to drool, and it smeared on him.
Yan Beicheng, "..."
Yan Beicheng was excited the entire night, he watched as the sky turned from dark to gray and slowly brightened up. The gray sky had turned red from the rising sun.
Yan Beicheng blinked his eyes and realized he did not sleep even a wink last night!
Lin Chu had flipped to the other side in the middle of the night, she had her back against him. She was then back into his embrace with her back sticking close to his chest.
It was a pity that he was not able to look in a mirror at that moment, both of their postures fitted each other well.
Yan Beicheng held her tight in his arms. As the first rays of dawn shone in and reflected on Lin Chu"s face and her exposed fair shoulder, he could not help to lower his head and kissed her on her shoulder, her earlobe and moved on to her nose.
Lin Chu murmured in her sleep, her hand waved onto Yan Beicheng"s face as if she were chasing away flies.
Yan Beicheng gritted his teeth and looked at the woman that was sleeping soundly. She was probably just comforting him by saying she could not fall asleep last night.
She said she was unable to sleep, yet his s.h.i.+rt was covered by her saliva. She was even talking in her sleep the whole night!
It might only be himself who is excited about tomorrow!
Seeing Lin Chu"s reluctance to wake up, Yan Beicheng felt that it was unfair in his heart and bit her on her nose.
Lin Chu always had good sleeping hygiene. She rarely opened her mouth in her sleep, and her lips were always relaxed and gently closed up, puckering in a natural, red tone.
Yan Beicheng felt his heart skipped a beat and he smiled wickedly. He used two fingers to pinch the tip of her nose to block out her airway for breathing. Lin Chu was forced to open her mouth to breathe, and he seized the opportunity to kiss her.
Lin Chu was awakened by his kisses and she was annoyed like she just got up on the wrong side of the bed.
Despite that, her arms still tangled itself around his neck as she responded to his kisses. She was a little confused as she was still sleepy, hence her smooches were not sincere.
Yan Beicheng laughed at her response and could not help but pinched her in the b.u.t.t.
Lin Chu yelped. It was not painful, but it was because he took her by surprise.
"Get up, we need to get to the civil affairs bureau early," Yan Beicheng said as kissed her hard on her lips.
"Is it open this early?" Lin Chu asked in bewilderment, "The sun just came out."
"The timing will be just right after we"ve taken our breakfast and travel there," Yan Beicheng explained as he pulled Lin Chu up without saying more.
Lin Chu, "..."
Did this man plan to wait by the civil affairs bureau until they opened their doors?
The two were long gone when Yan Ningbai and Mo Jinxi woke up.
Yan Beicheng had informed Shao Huai to come and send the two little fellows to school.
The two little guys went downstairs to the dining area to eat and found that Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu were not there, and there were no tablewares set for them on the table.
Yan Ningbai asked in confusion, "Granny Zhuang, where"s big nephew and big niece-in-law?"
Mo Jinxi also curiously looked at her with his small face.
Aunt Zhuang was captivated by the two little guys. Although she loved the children in her family, one could only admit that their grandson was not as beautiful looking as these two.
They were good-looking, well-behaved, and mischievous as well. It made people took favor in them even further.
"They already left early this morning," Aunt Zhuang smiled as she handed over a gla.s.s of milk to each of them.
Yan Ningbai"s small and fat hands grabbed onto the gla.s.s as he gulped down a mouthful of milk, leaving a milk mustache and stain around his mouth. "Where did they go?"
"Didn"t they say they"re going to the civil affairs bureau today?" Aunt Zhuang chuckled she held onto a frying pan and put two omelets on both of their plates. "So, they left early morning."
"It"s so early!" Yan Ningbai exclaimed as he took a bite of the omelet and immediately took out his phone from the Pikachu bag that Lin Chu gave him and proceeded to dial out. "Big nephew! You guys went and get your license without telling uncle! You… you being like this… Uncle won"t give you red envelopes during your wedding dinner!"
Yan Beicheng replied something to him on the phone that could not be heard.
Yan Ningbai"s face blushed, and a look of reluctance appeared on his face. "Alright then."
After hanging up, Yan Ningbai said to Mo Jinxi with his bright eyes, "Big nephew said to invite us to Eldest Uncle"s place for dinner tonight!"
Mo Jinxi seemed excited as well, but immediately put on a reluctant look. "Although I also like Chu Chu, but if he wants to marry Chu Chu then… Then it"s not like it"s not okay! When I"m older, I"ll just steal Chu Chu back!"
"Are you stewpid! (TN: The word is stupid. The author used a cute tone.)" Yan Ningbai said as he chewed on ham slices while using a tone he had learned from skits. He even used his fair little chubby hands to pat gently on Mo Jinxi"s head.
Mo Jinxi straightened up and protested, "I"m not stupid, I"m quite clever! I"m the first in my grade!"
Yan Ningbai was shocked. One could never tell that Mo Jinxi would be first in his grade!
Yan Ningbai shut his mouth for a while, Mo Jinxi could never know that his grades had been declining in cla.s.s.
"Being good in school doesn"t have anything to do with you being stupid or not!" Yan Ningbai said as he shook his head, "Think about it, when you"re older it would about 20 years later. At the time, big niece-in-law would… Would be…"
Yan Ningbai then took out his fingers and started counting for a long time, then said, "She"ll be so old! Just like… Just like Teacher w.a.n.g and Teacher Yuan from the orphanage! How could you get married?"
Mo Jinxi was shocked, and he thought about Teacher w.a.n.g and Teacher Yuan"s age. "That old?"
"Of course!" Yan Ningbai nodded in confirmation. "Even though my big niece-in-law is so beautiful that even at that age she"ll still be beautiful, but she"s still old! You might as well wait for Chu Chu to give birth to a little wife for you!"
Mo Jinxi blinked his eyes, somehow unable to understand Yan Ningbai.
Yan Ningbai sighed and continued, "Think about it, once my big niece-in-law gives birth to a daughter, she"ll be younger than you! My big nephew and big niece-in-law are both so good-looking, their daughter would be gorgeous and would probably look exactly like my big niece-in-law! I am sure she"ll be as favorable as my big niece-in-law! Plus… Plus she"ll be 7 years younger than you! When you"re 27, she"ll be 20, young and beautiful! It"ll be as if you were getting married to a younger big niece-in-law!"
Mo Jinxi nodded his head seriously, "What you said made a lot of sense."
Shao Huai who was instructed by Yan Beicheng to come fetch the two little guys to school just came in and heard everything Yan Ningbai said.
Shao Huai, "..."
He could not help but look up at the ceiling. President, your unborn daughter had been imprinted by someone and it was your uncle that sold her off!
Yan Ningbai did not notice Shao Huai and proceeded to give Mo Jinxi an earnest pat on his shoulder. "Next time you"ll just have to follow my lead, and nothing bad would happen! I"ve thought about it, I"ll be looking for a young wife as well. Nephew Chu and Nephew Han are both bachelors now, I"ll wait until they get married and have kids. She"ll at least be 8 years younger than me, probably even ten or more years! At that time, we"ll be old husband and young wife, what a happy and envious thing!"
Shao Huai, "..."
Aunt Zhuang, "..."
Mo Jinxi"s outlook on life had not been fully formed yet, so he had no suspicions of Yan Ningbai"s evil outlook. He then asked another puzzling question, "There are still Uncle Wei"s and Uncle Qi"s daughters."
"Don"t kid with me," Yan Ningbai said. He gulped down a mouthful of milk and burped as if he had a gulp of beer. "She"s so old already!"
Mo Jinxi, "..."
It was not even that long since Qi Youning was born!
Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu were unaware that under Yan Ningbai"s instigation, Mo Jinxi has already set his target toward their daughter that even they did not know when would be born.
The two arrived at the civil affairs bureau which was not yet opened, yet a few people were already queueing up outside.
One could see the transparent files they had in their hands, and there were lots of photocopied doc.u.ments on the inside.
Yan Beicheng had not photocopied everything beforehand and brought Lin Chu over straight. So he went to a photocopy shop to do so and also had their photos taken inside the bureau.
It was not a special day, nor was it a day of special dates such as 520, or 1314 (TN: 520 or 五二零 [wǔèr líng] in Chinese sounds like the Chinese words for "I love you" or 我爱你 [wǒài nǐ]. As for 1314 or 一三一四 [yī sān yī sì] is similar to the Chinese phrase 一生一世 [yī shēng yī shì] which meant one life and one world forever.) and so on. Hence, there were no exaggerated amount of people.
Even if that was the case, Yan Beicheng was still impatient. "Why are there so many people, when would it be our turn?"
At this moment, a pair of young men and women came in. It was a hot day, but both of them were wearing baseball caps, dark sungla.s.ses, and a disposable mask. Their whole faces were covered up carefully, and they were seated two seats away from Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu as they waited.
Almost immediately, the door swayed open and a group of reporters swarmed in.
Judging from the questions they were asking, Lin Chu gathered that the two people that just came in were popular celebrities. The reporters had no idea where the information came from, or perhaps the couple deliberately released the news. In short, they were there today to get their marriage license, and the reporters followed suit.
The hall was suddenly bustling, and finally, security guards and policemen were dispatched to block the reporters by the door and were not allowed to enter anymore.
The cameras with long lenses that were in their hands were not for display purposes as everyone just continued to snap photos of the inside.
A reporter recognized Yan Beicheng but they did not say a word. They were wondering if the others had not recognized him, or perhaps they did but kept silent as well. He then kept his silence as well, and silently photographed Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu.
After shooting, one of them called back their office to update about today"s news and mentioned seeing Yan Beicheng as well. "President, today Ceng Ke"er and Li Moqi are getting their marriage license. I spotted Yan Beicheng here as well, and the woman beside him must be Lin Chu. This is also big news."
Yan Beicheng could not hear what was spoken outside, but he was worried about reporters recognizing him and Lin Chu.
He then took his phone out and walked to a corner to give Wei Zilin a call. "Today a group of reporters came to the civil affairs bureau to follow two stars that came to get their marriage license. Some of them might have recognized me. Can you help me check which media company came today and inform them to not spread the news regarding me and Lin Chu out."
Wei Zilin raised his eyebrows, "Why? Is it a hidden marriage?"
Yan Beicheng smacked his lips, "What hidden, I"ll ask the company to issue an official statement. Announcing the news myself is different from the media reporting it. If the reporters are faster than us and we send a notice after them, it would be too pa.s.sive as if we were forced to announce the news and didn"t want to let the public find out. I have no time right now, help me check it out and suppress the news for me."
"Alright, I got it," Wei Zilin responded, and hung up the phone. He then personally went and handle the matter.
Yan Beicheng hung up the phone, the pair in front of them were finished. It was Lin Chu and his turn next.
Yan Beicheng suddenly tugged at his tie and Lin Chu looked at him and heard him explained, "Nervous."
Lin Chu"s expression was not great too, "Don"t be, if you"re nervous, I"ll get nervous as well."
In the end, the two took an oath with their nervous and pale complexion.
When they finally received their marriage license, Lin Chu felt woozy and dazed. If not for Yan Beicheng supporting her, she probably would have fallen.
Once Yan Beicheng had gotten their licenses, he was instantly back to his normal self. His composure was regained and looked like his normal prince-like self once more.
"We"re done registering, why are you still weak in the knees?" Yan Beicheng could not help but laugh as he supported her.
"Well… It felt like it only took a little amount of effort, almost unrealistic and as if we were playing house." Lin Chu blinked her eyes.
"Once we hold the wedding ceremony, then it"ll be official." Yan Beicheng lowered his head down and kissed her on the lips, his hand holding both of their marriage licenses tightly.
The household registration booklets and other doc.u.ments were put inside Lin Chu"s bag, but for the marriage certificates, Yan Beicheng was unwilling to let Lin Chu put them away. He held on to them tightly, and deliberately showed off the words Marriage Certificate that was stamped on the cover and intended to show them off the whole way.
Once they were out of the civil affairs bureau, it only took a short while before Yan Beicheng was surrounded by the reporters.
"Mr. Yan, did you get your marriage license with Ms. Lin?"
"What are your current thoughts?"
"Can you tell us how you guys feel right now?"
Seeing the free press conference, Yan Beicheng fixed his collar and held up the two marriage certificates on his chest.
"I"m really happy to marry the woman that I love. From now on, please greet Lin Chu Mrs. Yan if you see her. Ever since I met her, I knew that Lin Chu was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. So, getting married was something we"ve never questioned about. It was so natural that we were ignorant of it even. But today upon receiving the certificates, I"ve had an unprecedented peace of mind in my heart."
The reporters were ecstatic. They did not expect that as they were tailing the two celebrities, they would also be able to see Yan Beicheng and Lin Chu getting their marriage licenses as well.
Yan Beicheng was in a great state of mind, he was grinning the whole time. "Everyone, Yan Hui will issue an official statement later about Lin Chu and me getting our marriage license. So, I hope everyone would let us be the ones to announce this news beforehand."
The reporters felt that it was a reasonable request. After all, a marriage is a good thing and there would be a lot of news coverage, there was no need to make Yan Beicheng feel uncomfortable in this matter.