Slow to mature after marriage

After dinner, Bo Yan went to the study.

Mu Siwan sat on the sofa, staring at the bottle of sunflowers on the coffee table.

The bright yellow petals still shone brightly under the lamplight, their heads tilted towards her.

She stared at it for a long time.

These days, Bo Yan has been visibly busy. Although she still leaves work on time every day, and although that hand is still around her waist when she wakes up the next morning, she vaguely sees the study light still on when she goes to the kitchen to get water late at night.

Despite being so busy, I still made time to accompany her to check-ups, remove her cast, and drive her to and from get off work.

And that bouquet of flowers.

She glanced up again.

Bo Yan once said that it is only right for husband and wife to be there for each other immediately, to take care of and show concern for one another.

She went over the sentence in her mind.

Then it suddenly dawned on me—

It seems she showed too little care and concern for Bo Yan.

It's not that I don't want to.

It's because she doesn't know how.

From childhood to adulthood, no one taught her how to be kind to others. In the orphanage, simply surviving was enough. In the Mu family, simply being obedient was enough. After marrying into the family, simply treating each other with respect was enough.

How do you take the initiative to care about someone?

After thinking for a long time without any clue, Mu Siwan picked up her phone and dialed Fan Qiqi's video call.

When the call connected, Fan Qiqi's face almost filled the screen. She was several shades darker than she had been two months ago, her cheeks were flushed from the sun, and she smiled, revealing two rows of bright white teeth.

She's a tour guide who travels all over the world all year round; she's currently in Africa.

"Wanwan!" she waved at the camera, her voice loud and clear, "Long time no see! I'm exhausted—"

She leaned closer to the screen, then suddenly stopped.

"Huh?" She squinted and looked Mu Siwan up and down. "Wanwan, why are you so fair and delicate? You've gained a little weight, and your cheeks are rosy. Looks like you've been living a good life lately?"

"Huh? Really?"

Mu Siwan looked down at herself. It was probably from the leg injury she had sustained at home for the past month.

She didn't tell Fan Qiqi about her leg injury, afraid that she would worry.

"And you?" she changed the subject. "How are things in Africa? I heard the security isn't great, you should be careful."

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly safe here." Fan Qiqi waved her hand. "Besides, I'll be going back to China in a few weeks, then we can have a proper get-together."

She paused, then suddenly narrowed her eyes and smiled meaningfully.

"And you? Judging from your appearance, you've been quite pampered by men lately, haven't you? Your respectful husband?"

What kind of man...moisturizes...

Mu Siwan was stunned for a moment, then her cheeks flushed.

She almost wanted to reach through the phone and cover that mouth.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" She lowered her voice, trying to keep her tone steady. "What do you mean by 'moisturizing'... that's not true at all."

"Still talking nonsense? Your face is all red!" She leaned closer to the screen, her eyes shining brightly. "Tell me, are those weird three principles of mutual respect still being followed?"

Mu Siwan opened her mouth to say "Of course".

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he hesitated, unable to say them for some reason.

Fan Qiqi waited for two seconds, but when she didn't hear anything more, she laughed knowingly.

"Wanwan, I think you're just smitten right now..."

Before she could finish speaking, the screen suddenly froze, the image frozen on her tanned, smiling face.

A few seconds later, the call was dropped.

My phone vibrated; a message from Fan Qiqi popped up.

"Wanwan, the signal is bad here. Let's talk properly when I get back!"

Mu Siwan stared at the line of words, then lowered her eyes.

She typed a few words and sent them.

"it is good."

Putting down her phone, Mu Siwan leaned back on the sofa, staring at the bunch of sunflowers on the coffee table.

What flashed through her mind was the scene of her first meeting with Bo Yan.

It was also a sunny spring day.

That day, she was released from the dark attic, wearing a dress that made her feel uncomfortable, and went to the coffee shop they had arranged to meet.

Bo Yan was already waiting there.

When she pushed open the door, he was leaning against the sofa by the window, flipping through a magazine. Sunlight streamed in through the glass window, casting a pale golden glow on his profile.

He heard the noise and looked up.

That was a face that had surprised Mu Siwan for a long time.

The Mu family had arranged a blind date for her when she was twenty. The man was a middle-aged businessman in his forties, not very friendly-looking, with a beer belly, bald head, and a mouthful of yellow teeth when he smiled. After that blind date, she only had a vague concept of the words "marriage partner" left—someone who could bring huge business benefits to the Mu family.

So when she saw Bo Yan, she couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes.

She never expected that her blind date would have such a pleasing face.

Especially those eyes.

Long, narrow eyes with slightly upturned corners, giving them a nonchalant, detached look. Those eyes, fixed on her, slowly opened their mouths—

"Ms. Mu, if you can abide by these three principles if we get married, we will maintain a long-lasting and stable marital relationship."

A long-lasting and stable marital relationship.

The premise is that she must abide by those three principles.

We won't discuss feelings. We won't interfere with each other's lives. We'll treat each other with the utmost respect.

She nodded and said okay.

Three years have passed now.

Mu Siwan got up, walked to the coffee table, and trimmed the withered parts of the sunflower.

The sunlight had faded, leaving only the warm yellow light in the living room. The bottle of sunflowers still held its head high, facing her.

She thought to herself—

Of course, she wouldn't break those three principles.

Because what she wants to maintain with Bo Yan now is a long-term, stable marital relationship.

-

Mu Siwan's biological clock has always been very accurate.

If I don't work overtime, I go to bed at 10:30 pm and wake up at 7:30 am every day.

But at 10:30 p.m. tonight, she glanced up at the study upstairs where the light was still on, and inexplicably didn't go to the bedroom to sleep.

She turned on the TV and watched two autopsy videos in a row.

A little boring.

I suddenly remembered what the director said this afternoon—the first episode of the variety show airs tonight.

She found that show.

"The Heart-Fluttering Forensic Doctor." The title is a bit unconventional, but the content is surprisingly solid. The production team follows their daily work, from crime scene visits and examinations to report writing. The camera work is steady, the pacing is good, and occasionally there are exclamations and explanations from the guests in the observation room.

But what truly made the show a hit was the interaction between the interns and their mentors. The production team knew exactly what to do, mixing the serious work of forensic pathologists with their relaxed after-get off work routines. One second they were focused on the autopsy table, and the next they were fighting over braised pork in the cafeteria.

Mu Siwan looked at it for several tens of minutes and was quite satisfied.

But it can't fight off your biological clock.

The TV was still on, and she leaned back on the sofa, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.