Slow to mature after marriage

Looking into the woman's calm eyes, Meng Qing suddenly felt a pang of resentment. If she had truly never felt a ripple in his heart—he opened his mouth, his voice slightly hoarse.

"What if I come to you after my college entrance exam?" he asked. "Would our ending be different then?"

When he finished tutoring Zhou Yu'an at the Mu family's house for the last time, he promised her that he would find a way to take her out after he finished his college entrance exam.

He remembered her leaning against the attic window, her hair dry, her eyes bright, nodding vigorously.

"Okay, brother, come find me after your exam, okay?"

He thought he still had time. But before he could take the college entrance exam, tragedy struck his family. His father was killed in action, and fearing retaliation from criminals, the whole family had to move and leave Beijing overnight.

He didn't even have time to say goodbye to her.

Zhou Yu'an raised his eyes and looked at him, a genuine sense of bewilderment in his eyes.

She had almost forgotten about it.

That memory, along with her entire childhood, was locked away in darkness. Later, when it was opened, Meng Qing's promise was nowhere to be found.

Looking at the confusion in her eyes, Meng Qing suddenly smiled. A relieved, soft sigh.

"I know the answer."

The man straightened his collar, took a step back, stopped, raised his hand, and gave Zhou Yu'an a military salute. His posture was ramrod straight, and his eyes were clear and upright.

"Wishing you happiness, Zhou Yu'an."

He turned and left.

The sunlight fell on his shoulders, stretching his shadow long, which gradually moved away from her feet, further and further away, until it disappeared at the end of the street.

Zhou Yu'an stood there, stunned, his gaze fixed on the empty street, lost in thought.

A voice drifted leisurely from behind.

"Does it look good?" Bo Yan appeared behind her unnoticed, his tone cool. "If you can't bear to let her go, do you want your husband to help you win her back?"

Zhou Yu'an snapped out of her daze, turned her head, and met the man's dangerously narrowed eyes. She tactfully changed the subject. "How did you find your way here?"

Bo Yan scoffed lightly, a master of sarcasm. "What's wrong? Did I disturb you? I, the empress, still need to make room for you."

Zhou Yu'an: "..."

She paused for a few seconds, staring at his tense, handsome face, when suddenly an idea struck her. "Bo Yan, are you jealous?"

The man's expression froze. He turned his face away and gave a soft snort. "You figured it out? How are you going to coax me?"

Zhou Yu'an fell silent.

Coaxing living people wasn't her comfort zone, especially not someone like Bo Yan who wasn't very logical. She remained silent for a long time, so long that Bo Yan thought she wouldn't answer and was about to change the subject.

"Don't be jealous, Bo Yan," Zhou Yu'an said.

Bo Yan: "..."

Never mind. Being able to articulate it is already an improvement; we can't expect too much from the little robot.

On the way back to Muyan Garden, Bo Yan's phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID, answered, listened for a few moments, his brows furrowing deeper and his face darkening. "Okay, you keep things calm, don't rush, I'll be right there."

The call ended. He looked at Zhou Yu'an, suppressing the irritation in his eyes, and tried to keep his voice calm. "Something came up at the US branch, and I need to go there immediately to handle it. I'll probably be away for about two weeks." He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing, "Sorry, I probably won't be able to accompany you to try on wedding dresses."

With the wedding date approaching, the old lady told them that she would go to the old house in a couple of days to try on wedding dresses.

Zhou Yu'an paused for a moment, then nodded. "It's alright, you go ahead. I can manage on my own."

Bo Yan stared at her still calm eyes and sighed inwardly.

Is it okay for her to be alone, or does she simply not care whether he is by her side or not?

To this day, he still cannot be certain of the exact percentage of Zhou Yu'an's affection for him.

If his love for Zhou Yu'an is 100%, then in reality, Zhou Yu'an's love for him only needs to be 5%.

But most likely it's less than five percent.

The man leaned down and kissed her. His kiss was lingering, tinged with apology and reluctance. His tongue parted her lips, clung to hers, then released, and he murmured, "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry."

Zhou Yu'an's breathing became unsteady from his kiss, and he felt his reluctance and apology, causing his heart to beat unusually fast.

But she genuinely felt it was okay. It's just trying on a wedding dress, right? It's not like she can't try it on alone. Besides, her grandmother and sister would be with her; she wasn't alone.

"It's alright." Her voice was soft as she reached out and touched the man's temples. His newly grown hair was fluffy and warm. "You can go on your business trip with peace of mind."

-

After sending Zhou Yu'an back to Mu Yan Garden, Bo Yan didn't even have time to pack his luggage before turning around and boarding a private plane bound for Los Angeles, USA.

The situation was more serious than he had anticipated. A traitor had emerged from the top management of the US branch, selling core secrets to a competitor, forcing the suspension of several major projects and breaking the cash flow. If things went wrong, the entire North American market would collapse.

He barely had time to rest after landing and went straight to the branch office. The atmosphere in the meeting room was so tense it felt like it was about to drip water. He held meetings for more than ten hours straight, acting swiftly and decisively, making decisions, laying off employees, restructuring, and holding those responsible accountable.

—Weekend. Old house.

The wedding dress was ordered three months in advance by the old lady. She found an Italian designer, took Zhou Yu'an's measurements, and had it shipped over from overseas. Zhou Yu'an stood in front of the dressing mirror on the second floor of the old house. Bo Ning helped her hold up the hem of her dress. The old lady sat on the sofa next to her, wearing reading glasses and holding a cup of hot tea, looking at Zhou Yu'an in the mirror.

"The waist seems a bit too tight," the old lady frowned. "Did the designer make a mistake with the measurements?"

Zhou Yu'an was unusually embarrassed, "Maybe I've gained a little weight again."

At the Zhou family home in Haicheng, Shen Ruoqing was very enthusiastic about feeding her, and Zhou Yu'an found it hard to refuse.

"How could that be?" the old lady said with a smile, "It's just that the designer didn't think it through. It's normal for a figure to change a bit after so much time has passed. We'll have the designer revise it again later."

The skirt of the wedding dress spread out in the morning light, the lace patterns overlapping layer upon layer, like ocean waves or clouds. Zhou Yu'an stood in front of the mirror, her fingers gently tracing the hand-sewn beaded embroidery at her waist. Each bead was set firmly, the stitches were fine, and it felt slightly raised to the touch.

Bo Yan had this made two months ago. He chose the fabric, decided on the style, and even repeatedly confirmed the length of the skirt. He's so busy, yet he spent so much time on these things. How could she blame him?

Bo Ning squatted down, straightened the last fold of her skirt, tilted her head back, and looked up with bright eyes. "Sister-in-law, turn around and let me see you."

Zhou Yu'an turned around, her skirt swirling like a blooming white flower. Morning light streamed in through the French windows, falling on her shoulders and enveloping her in a thin, warm yellow glow.

The old lady watched her retreating figure, nodded in satisfaction, and asked Zhou Yu'an, "By the way, have your in-laws set a time? When do they plan to come over to discuss the wedding arrangements?"