"Honey, I'll be home a bit late."
"Lu Man, you're drinking again!"
On this end of the line, Lu Man felt a twinge of guilt. "The party's already breaking up. I'll call a designated driver in a minute and be home in half an hour."
The crisp female voice on the other end paused, then asked, "How much have you had?"
"Not much, about two pounds..."
"Of baijiu??"
"How could it be baijiu, Lingyi? We’ve only been drinking Harbin beer. I’ll send you a photo if you don’t believe me."
"Don't pull that with me, do I not know you?" Gu Lingyi sniffed. "Your tone is off! You’re definitely lying. Out with it, confess and be lenient!"
"It really is two pounds," Lu Man said helplessly. Having a wife who understood him so well was sometimes a nuisance. "If you weigh the bottle caps, it’s about two pounds..."
"Lu Man, you!"
"I'm hanging up now. You need your beauty sleep. Be good!"
*Beep... beep... beep...*
In the corner of the barbecue joint, peanut shells and edamame husks were strewn about, and empty beer bottles lay scattered at his feet, silently testifying to the intensity of the drinking session.
After scanning the code to pay and wishing the owner—who was playing mahjong against a computer—a "Happy New Year," Lu Man pushed open the door and stepped out.
The frigid January wind of Yanjing bit through his collar, sobering him up slightly.
Lu Man walked over to his Panamera, just about to look for a designated driver on his phone, when the headlights suddenly flashed twice.
A small head wearing a fuzzy white hat poked out from the car first.
The hat had a pair of rabbit ears on it. Originally flopped flat against the back, they now bobbed back and forth as she poked her head out, as if greeting him on behalf of their wearer.
"Lingyi?"
Lu Man was surprised; he hadn't expected his wife to sneak over here.
"Were you already here when I called just now?"
"I was worried you'd be too drunk to give the driver the right location, so I just decided to be your driver myself."
Gu Lingyi got out of the car, stamped her feet, straightened her coat, and trotted over to him, throwing herself into his arms.
She was bundled up like a rice dumpling. Her down jacket wrapped her body tightly, the hem falling past her knees, barely revealing her delicate, fair ankles.
But even with the bulky winter gear, the bright and lovely look on her face remained undiminished.
Gu Lingyi rubbed her cheek against his chest. "No more drinking so much from now on, you hear me? Let's go, let's head home."
Lu Man nodded and went to open the passenger door, saying, "I didn't plan on drinking this much. We were just counting down to seven while eating barbecue, but then little Wu got a call from his girlfriend."
"That little Wu again." As they both climbed into the car, Gu Lingyi started the engine and complained, "Your friends are so terrified of dating and marriage, he’s really done a lot to contribute to that... so then what?"
"Little Wu’s girlfriend was playing Truth or Dare at a bar. She called to complain that he’s been working overtime every night and weekend all winter. Then she said that during this period, she hooked up with his boss."
"That’s too much. Even if it’s just a game of Truth or Dare, you can’t be that offensive!"
"Little Wu's girlfriend chose Truth..."
"..." Gu Lingyi sighed helplessly. "I see. I see why you all drank so much."
"Little Wu couldn't take it on the spot; he was howling there, absolutely gutted, crying like a boiling kettle." Lu Man shrugged. "What else could we old friends do? Just drink with him."
Gu Lingyi rolled her eyes at him. "You all should have used this opportunity to talk some sense into little Wu. His private life... didn't you tell me last time that he met this girlfriend on a dance floor in a bar?"
"This one was better than the last. The one before that, he met in a men's restroom at a KTV."
"..."
Lu Man reached out to adjust his seat, leaning back more comfortably. "There's a reason little Wu is like this. He’s the same age as us. Twelve years ago, when we graduated college, he had a childhood sweetheart, but her family looked down on him, and she wasn't firm enough in her convictions. In the end, they went their separate ways."
"I see."
"If you saw photos of his past few girlfriends, you'd spot the pattern," Lu Man said. "In terms of looks, to a greater or lesser degree, they all have shadows of his first love."
Gu Lingyi was struck with emotion. "Isn't that just like that line by Jian Zhen: 'I traveled mountains and rivers to forget her face, only to find myself in a foreign estate, searching for a figure that resembles hers'?"
At this, Gu Lingyi glared at him fiercely. "That experience sounds a lot like someone I know!"
Lu Man immediately felt a headache. "Let's stick to the topic at hand. Why are you bringing me into this?"
"Anyway, your first love wasn't me."
"Cough, cough. If you want to be my first love, that one before you can count as a rehearsal at best."
"Lu Man, you! If you keep running your mouth, you're not getting into bed tonight."
Lu Man, 34 years old and drained by both life and work, felt a sudden spark of energy at her words. "Is there such a thing as a reward?"
"Are you doing this on purpose to make me mad?" If she weren't currently driving, Gu Lingyi would have reached over to pinch his arm.
She immediately changed her tune. "Then... next time, I won't let you get out of bed!"
"Uh..."
"Hmph!" Gu Lingyi ignored him and focused on the driving.
The nighttime streets of Yanjing were still filled with a sea of traffic and sparkling lights. In this city, tens of millions of transient people lived lonely lives together; the capital never sounded the curfew.
Lu Man looked out the window and suddenly spoke: "Lingyi, thank you."
"Hmm?"
"If you hadn't come to Yanjing ten years ago, maybe now, I..." Lu Man said, "would really be just like little Wu."
The two fell into silence. Though they didn't speak, they were certain that at this moment, the images flashing through each other's minds were the memories they shared.
Lu Man and Gu Lingyi rarely mentioned it to outsiders, but they—or more accurately, Lu Man and the Gu sisters—were childhood sweethearts.
Gu Lingyi had a younger sister named Gu Jiashuo, an identical twin who looked exactly like her.
They had known Lu Man since they were children and had even gone to the same university after high school.
The awkward part was that at the very beginning, Lu Man had been with the younger sister, Gu Jiashuo.
The end of the story was a cliché, much like what they’d discussed about little Wu tonight: the sisters' father, Gu Yan, didn't think much of Lu Man, and the opposition from the family had shaken Gu Jiashuo's resolve.
Trivial matters between couples are easily amplified, and with outside pressure adding fuel to the fire, the spoiled Gu Jiashuo made a mountain out of a molehill and eventually suggested breaking up.
Ten years ago, after the breakup, Lu Man had come to Yanjing to drift, failed in his business ventures, and ended up in debt, hitting the absolute lowest point of his life.
Just as he was wallowing in self-pity, he suddenly received a phone call. Gu Lingyi claimed she was in Beijing for a business trip and wanted to catch up with her old friend and classmate.
When a person is at their most frustrated, the thing they fear most is having friends witness their powerlessness, and they fear sincere concern even more—it was a kind of affection he felt he didn't deserve and couldn't live up to.
But Gu Lingyi didn't ask about his current situation. Instead, she poured her heart out to him, recounting the dictatorial nature of her father, Gu Yan.
The "Old Stubborn" Gu Yan didn't just order her to draw a thirty-kilometer circle centered on their home and only look for work within it; he had also organized a string of blind dates without her consent.
Once the floodgates were opened, Lu Man talked more and more with her, chatting not just about his failed career, but also rambling on about his equally failed love life.
"In our sophomore year, you two sisters were in the classroom next door," Lu Man said with a self-deprecating smile. "During breaks, I’d go to find your sister, and every time, she’d run out of the classroom early to hide from me. Every time I missed her, so many classmates looked on as if it were a joke. You were the only one who cared about my dignity and pretended to ask me for help with a problem. I don't think I ever had the chance to thank you."
"And you never really thought to."
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Gu Lingyi's eyes were misty when she spoke to him: "My sister went out to play with her best friend every break. Why do you think I always sat obediently at my desk, so you could run into me every single time?"
Lu Man was stunned on the spot. His mind raced for a long time, but he didn't know what to say.
Gu Lingyi's pretty face was flushed, her eyes bright and charming. She stared at the bewildered Lu Man, and when he finally looked up to meet her eyes, she shyly looked away, pretending to be distracted by something else.
In the following days, they visited all the major tourist spots in Yanjing, but their hearts weren't in the sightseeing.
Using the excuse of viewing the scenery to spend every moment together, Gu Lingyi finally had the chance to pour out all the feelings she had been hiding for so long.
Before parting at the high-speed railway station, Gu Lingyi asked directly, "Are we dating?"
"Yes!"
He countered, "If we date with marriage in mind, will you marry me?"
"Yes!"
Without a second thought, Gu Lingyi canceled her train ticket.
Their childhood connection of over twenty years finally opened the door to their own story.
...
The two enjoyed the quiet in the car, a silent understanding between them.
Along the roadside, streetlights relayed the passing cars one after another. Outside the window, neon lights flowed continuously, buildings raced backward into the night, and the car's heater hummed, making them drowsy, as if time and space were retreating.
Gu Lingyi’s driving skills were solid, and the Panamera pulled steadily into the garage.
"Quick, quick, go take a shower as soon as we're inside. You smell like booze."
Once home, Lu Man dawdled while changing out of his coat. Gu Lingyi raised an eyebrow at the sight. "What? Want to take a shower together?"
Hearing this, Lu Man immediately grabbed a towel and shut the bathroom door. "Forget it, if the two of us shower together, it’s not a romantic bath, it’s a hotpot!"
"Pfft." Gu Lingyi's voice came from outside the door. "I'm kidding, I already showered. I set the water temperature just right. Wash thoroughly, don't just scrub for a few seconds and come out!"
Inside the bathroom, Lu Man saw that the shower handle had been cranked all the way to the left by Gu Lingyi, and he couldn't help but frown.
He nudged it back to the right, toward the cold water side.
Steam erupted from the showerhead, and Lu Man quickly jumped aside, cautiously testing it with his hand.
It was scalding.
The kind of hot that could peel skin.
Lu Man shook his head repeatedly; no wonder he called showering with his wife a "hotpot"—this temperature was hot enough to de-hair a pig.
He really didn't understand why women kept their shower water so boiling hot.
After a quick scrub, Lu Man came out and saw Gu Lingyi had moved a small stool over, still bundled in her big winter coat, sitting by the coffee table.
A generous bowl of porridge sat in front of her, steaming.
"Drink some of this to warm your stomach and help with the hangover. I added lotus root powder and dried fruit."
She hadn't even had time to change her clothes; the first important thing she did upon getting home was to cook for him.
Lu Man’s heart warmed.
The saying "What more could a man ask for than a wife like this" really applied to him.
"I haven't settled the account for your drinking yet."
Gu Lingyi reached out to grab a Pikachu plushie from the sofa. Hugging the toy, she chatted on: "We agreed to start preparing for pregnancy after the new year. For the next six months, both of us have to cut out alcohol and late nights. Also, pay attention to your diet; forget about barbecue and fried food, and cut down on sodas—better yet, don't drink them at all. Oh, by the way, why don't you accompany me for a dental checkup in a couple of days? You can't go to the dental clinic once we're in the pregnancy phase."
Lu Man, who had just swallowed a spoonful of the rather bland porridge—having long since ceased to be an unfeeling, oblivious man—immediately asked, "Are your teeth bothering you? Are you okay?"
If this were back in his younger, dim-witted days when they first started dating, the first thing Lu Man would have asked was why one couldn't go to the dentist during pregnancy...
"Oh, I'm fine." Gu Lingyi was quite pleased by his concern and smiled as she explained, "Dental problems often require anesthesia or cause bleeding, which isn't good for the baby's development or health. It’s better to discover and fix these things before we start trying. Otherwise, what if my wisdom teeth suddenly decide to cause trouble ten months into the pregnancy..."
By the time Lu Man finished the entire bowl of porridge, she was still chattering away.
Seeing the woman you love seriously counting down the days to your shared future—Lu Man really couldn't handle how cute she was like this.
"And once we actually have the baby, one is fine, but what if we end up with two? There won't be enough space in this two-bedroom apartment. We need to plan ahead and trade up for a bigger place."
Lu Man laughed. "Let's raise one first. We can wait a few years for a second or third. Our company just went public; the executive shares can't be cashed out immediately. Even though your husband isn't as wealthy as Old Stubborn, making a few hundred million shouldn't be a problem."
"What if we have twins?"
"The odds aren't that high."
Gu Lingyi wrinkled her nose. "You better prepare yourself. My family has a history of twins. My grandmother was a twin, my uncles were twins, and Jiashuo and I..."
Mentioning her sister, she suddenly got angry. She smacked Lu Man’s thigh hard. "It’s all your fault, all your fault! Why did you have to go and provoke my sister!"
"Sss! Go easy on me..." Lu Man swallowed his complaints; this was the one thing he was 100% in the wrong about.
"If you had pursued me from the very beginning!" Gu Lingyi pouted fiercely. "Old Stubborn and Mom wouldn't have refused to even show up at our wedding, and it wouldn't be so awkward between me and my twin sister. We could have even asked her to help take care of the kids..."
Lu Man didn't dare argue. He let her vent for a while until Gu Lingyi was sweating, fine strands of hair sticking to her forehead, which only made her look even more like a devoted young wife.
Lu Man reached out to brush her hair away and noticed that this silly girl was still wrapped in her heavy winter coat. "Lingyi, aren't you hot? You didn't even take off your coat at home."
Gu Lingyi showed a "you finally noticed" triumphant look. "You made me mad all evening; don't you owe me some compensation?"
Lu Man was on guard. "Which bag are you eyeing now?"
"It's not that~"
Gu Lingyi stood up, her big eyes twinkling with a soft smile. She pulled the zipper of her down jacket down, and Lu Man’s breath hitched.
"You were wearing this underneath when you went to pick me up?"
"That's why I kept myself wrapped up so tight. Only you get to see."
"Sss—"
"I told you, if you make me mad again, I won't let you get out of bed."
She leaned into Lu Man's ear, her warm breath sharp and scorching: "I have 70 ways to love you, and 'I love you' is just the first one~"
Lu Man pulled her into his arms. "I didn't quite catch that, what about the rest? And the ones left over..."
Seeing Gu Lingyi’s charming, mischievous smile, Lu Man pondered her words, then suddenly realized: "Oh~~~"