Slow to mature after marriage

Mu Siwan stared at his tightly pursed lips and asked softly, "Bo Yan, you're angry again. Can you tell me why?"

There are many things she doesn't quite understand.

A soft sigh came from above. Bo Yan raised his hand, tucked the stray hairs that had been ruffled by the sea breeze behind her ear, and gently brushed his fingertips across her cheek.

"I'm not angry, Mu Siwan."

Mu Siwan looked up and met the man's deep and unfathomable gaze. She thought to herself, "So if he's not angry, then what is he?"

The sea breeze tousled her hair again. Bo Yan didn't bother to smooth it down; he simply adjusted his suit collar and said half-jokingly, "My date with my wife tomorrow is canceled. It's not too much for me to be a little down, is it?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Mu Siwan's eyes: "We...are on a date?"

This is strange. Logically speaking, the word "date" should only be used between couples. How could it be applied to her and Bo Yan?

"Yeah, a date."

Bo Yan turned around, placed his hands on the railing, and the sea breeze billowed his shirt.

He glanced down at his watch and said softly, "Let's stay together for another five minutes, Mu Siwan, and then I'll take you back."

Mu Siwan nodded, took two steps forward, and leaned against the railing.

The sea stretched out in the night, a dark expanse that seemed to stretch to the horizon. Waves surged in one after another, crashing against the ship and then receding with a low, rumbling sound.

Mu Siwan stared at the sea for a long time before suddenly speaking.

"Bo Yan, there's something I forgot to tell you today."

Bo Yan turned his head to look at her: "What?"

"This is the first time I've ever seen the ocean since I was a child."

"It really is this wide and this spacious," Mu Siwan exclaimed. "Just like in the TV series."

"It turns out that it only takes four hours to travel from Beijing to Haicheng by high-speed rail. It's a pity I'm only finding out now."

A complex emotion flashed in Bo Yan's eyes, and he was about to speak—

Five minutes later, the distant sea suddenly lit up.

Thousands of drones took off from behind the cruise ship, covering most of the night sky. Blue, gold, silver, densely packed, they surged up amidst the gasps of the crowd.

Mu Siwan looked up, her eyes reflecting a shimmering light, and exclaimed in amazement.

Bo Yan glanced sideways and noticed the surprise and delight that the woman couldn't hide in her eyes, and smiled slightly.

Well, this counts as a date.

Bo Yan called her softly.

"Mu Siwan".

Mu Siwan glanced at him sideways. The light from the drone in the distance hadn't yet faded, flickering in the man's eyes and making them shine brightly.

"So," he asked her in a low voice, "is this also your first time seeing a drone show?"

Mu Siwan nodded.

Bo Yan withdrew his gaze, leaned against the railing, and looked at the sky that was gradually darkening.

"My first time seeing the ocean, my first time watching a drone show, my first meal, my first dissection—it's nothing different." His voice was soft, slightly carried by the sea breeze. "When you first stepped onto the dissection table, did you feel regret? Why did it take you so long to touch a scalpel?"

Mu Siwan thought for a moment and shook her head.

"No. I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited."

Bo Yan chuckled and turned to look at her.

"That's right. It's the same when you see the sea for the first time; you should feel excited, not regretful."

"Not every first time needs to be experienced early. Seeing something later in life can actually make you remember it more clearly."

The sea breeze tousled Mu Siwan's hair, blurring her vision, and even the man standing in front of her appeared tall and gentle.

Bo Yan leaned down and placed a kiss on the corner of her lips.

It's very light.

Instantly separate.

Mu Siwan stood there, stunned, when she heard Bo Yan say something to her.

"There will be many more firsts to come, Mu Siwan, let's take it slow."

-

When Mu Siwan returned to the hotel, it was already very late at night.

He Meng was already asleep; soft breathing came from the other bed. Mu Siwan lay down, turned over, and then turned over again.

Can't sleep.

The touch of that kiss still lingered on the corner of my lips.

It was so light, just landing on the corner of her lips. They had done so many more intimate things, and Mu Siwan didn't understand why this kiss seemed more profound than any of the marks left before.

"There will be many more firsts to come, Mu Siwan, let's take it slow."

The sound still lingers in my ears, like the sea breeze, it won't dissipate.

In the middle of the night, she was having trouble breathing. She slowly inhaled and then slowly exhaled.

It's almost three o'clock.

Several hours had passed since her nightly bedtime, which she never missed.

Mu Siwan stared at the hotel ceiling, unable to understand—

Why can't I sleep?

-

Mu Siwan stared at the ceiling, her eyes wide open until 5:30. The sky outside was already beginning to lighten, so she decided not to sleep anymore, got up, changed her clothes, and went downstairs.

The hotel was right next to the sea, and the morning breeze carried a salty smell. Mu Siwan practiced a set of Baduanjin exercises in the open space, and then ran along the coastline for more than half an hour until she was slightly sweaty before stopping.

On her way back to the hotel, she stopped at a convenience store and bought two breakfasts: soy milk, rice balls, and sandwiches, and also grabbed two cartons of yogurt.

When the door was opened, He Meng was sitting up in bed, her hair messy and her eyes not fully open.

"Sister?" She rubbed her eyes, her voice muffled. "You're up so early? You usually don't get up until 7:30?"

"Okay." Mu Siwan placed the breakfast on the table. "I brought you food."

He Meng took it and smiled sweetly, "Thank you, sister."

She took a bite of the rice ball, and her professional instincts kicked in, causing her to stare at Mu Siwan's face for a long time.

"Dark circles under your eyes, slight eyelid swelling, dry skin—" she mumbled, chewing her rice ball, "Sister, you didn't sleep last night?"

Mu Siwan paused in her action of unpacking the soy milk.

"Oh, right," He Meng suddenly remembered something, "Where did you go yesterday afternoon? Why didn't you come back with us?"

"I..." The word "husband" stung her tongue, and she changed her words, "My husband came over yesterday, and I went to see him."

He Meng suddenly realized, a mischievous glint in her eyes, and smiled ambiguously and meaningfully.

"No wonder I didn't sleep a wink last night, my sister and brother-in-law have such a good relationship."

Mu Siwan didn't explain, and lowered her head to take a sip of soy milk.

"Get up quickly," she said. "We need to leave at nine o'clock sharp."

-

Back in Beijing, before she could even rest, Mu Siwan received a call from the appraisal center.

"Something's happened at Beijing North University." Li Jiliang's voice came through the receiver. "A third-year male student died in his dormitory. The preliminary assessment is that it was an accident, but his parents don't accept it and are making a scene at the police station demanding a second autopsy. The police have specifically requested your name; go there directly."

Mu Siwan responded and hung up the phone. Still standing at the exit of the high-speed rail station, she glanced at the gray sky outside and hailed a taxi.

"The Municipal Criminal Investigation Bureau," she said.

As the train merged into traffic, she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. The lingering scent of the sea breeze from the high-speed train was gradually dissipated by the dry air of northern Beijing.