A woman in her 70s marries a rough-looking man; her plump wife is too delicate and alluring.

Sheng Yuze did not answer and pretended to be asleep.

He Zhaoyang kicked him with his foot, "Don't pretend, I know you're not asleep."

Sheng Yuze pulled He Zhaoyang directly onto the bed and hugged her, saying, "I just want to sleep in the bed."

He Zhaoyang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Then you can sleep on the bed by yourself, and I'll sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor tonight."

Sheng Yuze nuzzled her face. "I want to sleep in the same bed with you."

He Zhaoyang kicked him. "Let go of me. I'm hungry. I need to go eat."

Sheng Yuze let go, and He Zhaoyang sat up from the kang (a heated brick bed), straightened his disheveled collar, put on his shoes, and got out of bed.

She walked to the door and glanced back at him. Sheng Yuze was still lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), propping himself up on one arm and looking at her with a slight smile on his lips.

"Get up and eat quickly," she said, then lifted the curtain and went out.

The lights in the kitchen were always on.

Qin Meng immediately got up upon hearing the noise. "You guys are awake?"

He Zhaoyang nodded. "I'm hungry. Get up and eat."

Qin Meng went into the kitchen and put the dishes on the table. "I left these for you. They're still warm. Eat up. You can go straight to sleep after you eat. You don't need to wash. I'll wash them tomorrow."

After Qin Meng finished speaking, she went straight back to her room.

He Zhaoyang felt a warmth in his heart as he looked at the sauerkraut and pork and a bowl of hot porridge on the table.

She sat down, picked up the bowl, and took a sip of porridge. The warm rice soup slid down her throat, making her feel much better.

Sheng Yuze followed them out and sat down to eat.

He Zhaoyang lowered his head and drank his porridge, while Sheng Yuze, sitting opposite him, also picked up his bowl.

After finishing a bowl of porridge, He Zhaoyang ladled out another half bowl.

Sheng Yuze had finished eating, but he didn't get up. He sat opposite her and watched her eat.

He Zhaoyang looked up at him and said, "Go to sleep after you finish eating."

"We'll eat together after you've finished."

He Zhaoyang didn't reply. He lowered his head and finished the remaining half bowl of porridge. He put down the bowl, stood up, and took the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen.

The two went back into the house one after the other.

He Zhaoyang walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and sat down. Sheng Yuze, who was standing at the door, didn't come over immediately. He asked, "Are you still angry?"

He Zhaoyang looked up at him and said, "I'm not angry."

Sheng Yuze, taking advantage of the situation, sat on the bed and said, "Then I'll go to bed."

He Zhaoyang lay down and covered himself with the blanket. "Whatever."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Yuze immediately blew out the coal lamp, lay down in bed, and hugged He Zhaoyang.

He Zhaoyang noticed that Sheng Yuze was becoming more and more skilled at hugging him, and would even kiss him from time to time.

She's almost gotten used to it; looking at that face reminds her of that fox.

She had been pursuing the fox for hundreds of years, but she had always refused. Later, when the fox stopped pursuing her, she started pursuing the fox again.

As a result, the fox got angry and ignored her.

As a result, I kissed someone who looked exactly like a fox here.

Sheng Yuze can't sleep now either; he slept for too long in the afternoon.

He stared at the ceiling and suddenly spoke: "Zhaoyang."

He Zhaoyang: "Hmm?"

Sheng Yuze: "Let's go get our marriage certificate!"

He Zhaoyang asked in confusion, "Why do we need to change our marriage certificate?"

Sheng Yuze looked at her, "Because you look different now than in the previous photos, and I'm planning to have a wedding ceremony later, what do you think?"

Upon hearing the word "wedding," He Zhaoyang turned to face him.

"Hold a wedding ceremony?"

"Hmm!" Sheng Yuze's voice was clear in the darkness. "When we got married before, we didn't have anything, just a marriage certificate and no wedding banquet. Now that we have more time, I want to give you one."

He Zhaoyang remained silent for a while, not responding immediately. She turned back to face the roof, and only spoke after a moment.

"Did you only think of holding a wedding ceremony because Chen Huanzhu came?"

"Yes and no," Sheng Yuze replied quickly. "I'd thought about it before. I came back this time to discuss it with my mother."

After listening to his words, He Zhaoyang remained silent in the darkness for a while before speaking.

"So, are you doing this because you want to, or because you're worried I won't trust you?"

Sheng Yuze didn't answer immediately. He turned to face her, his expression obscured by the darkness, but his voice was more serious than before.

"I want to do it. I've wanted to do it for a while, but I haven't found a suitable opportunity. Chen Huanzhu came to let me bring this matter forward, not to remind me of it."

He Zhaoyang turned over to face him. The two were very close, and in the darkness they couldn't see each other's faces, but could feel each other's breath.

"Then let me ask you," He Zhaoyang's voice wasn't loud, "if Chen Huanzhu didn't come, when were you planning to tell me?"

"I was planning to tell you as soon as I got back," Sheng Yuze said calmly. "I originally wanted to discuss it with my mother first before telling you."

He Zhaoyang didn't reply immediately. She lay back down facing the ceiling, saying, "I'll believe you for now."

Sheng Yuze chuckled softly in the darkness.

He reached out and took He Zhaoyang's hand from under the blanket, holding it in his own.

The two of them lay there quietly for a while.

When He Zhaoyang woke up the next morning, he heard noises in the courtyard.

She peeked out from under a corner of the curtain and saw Qin Meng standing under the jujube tree talking to Sheng Yuze.

She lowered the curtains, put on her clothes, and went out the door. Qin Meng saw her and waved.

"Zhaoyang! You've come at the right time. I was just discussing with Yuze what to wear on the day of the banquet."

He Zhaoyang walked over and stood under the jujube tree. Qin Meng took her hand and spoke with a smile.

"I figured that since we're going to have a wedding ceremony, we should make it a big, lively one."

Invite the villagers over for a meal; it doesn't need to be anything fancy, just let everyone know you had a proper wedding.

He Zhaoyang looked at Qin Meng.

"Mom, I'll do whatever you say. Actually, if there's no rush, I can make it myself. I'm sure mine will look better than the ones from the supply and marketing cooperative."

"That's right!" Qin Meng said, "How could I forget that Zhaoyang is an expert in making clothes?"

After saying that, he took out thirty yuan from the house.

"Here you go, pick out the fabric you like, buy some wedding candy, and buy whatever else you like."

He Zhaoyang didn't want it, but Sheng Yuze accepted it without hesitation and whispered to He Zhaoyang, "This is my mother's gift."

Then he said, "Thank you, Mother."

Qin Meng smiled, turned and walked towards the kitchen. "Then I'll go prepare and inform the villagers. You two should get your marriage certificate changed first."

He Zhaoyang had washed her hair, which was still damp and hung loosely over her shoulders.

Sheng Yuze was waiting for her in the yard, holding a dry towel in his hand. He handed it to her when she came out.

"Wipe it off before you leave."

He Zhaoyang took the towel, wiped it a couple of times, draped it over the clothesline, and followed him out the door.

When they arrived at the town's civil affairs office, the clerk inside had been replaced by a young woman.

She took the old marriage certificate and the new photo from Sheng Yuze, flipped through them, looked at Sheng Yuze and then at He Zhaoyang, and then smiled.

"The bride has indeed changed a lot." She looked down and rewrote a new certificate, stamped it, and handed it over. "Congratulations."