Slow to mature after marriage

When Mu Siwan came downstairs, Bo Yan had just returned from his morning run.

He changed into a dark gray tracksuit, his wisps of hair damp with sweat, clinging to his sharp brows. A thin layer of sweat glistened on his cheeks and neck, making him look as if he had just run back from the wind, carrying the crisp scent unique to the morning.

He stood at the dining table, tilted his head back to drink water, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with each swallow.

Mu Siwan's gaze fell there. On that protruding piece of cartilage, there was a small, light red mark.

Her steps faltered at the top of the stairs.

That spot—she seems to have bitten it last night.

Bo Yan put down his water glass, turned around and saw her. He smirked, his voice still hoarse from running.

"morning."

Mu Siwan's gaze averted from his Adam's apple, her ears suddenly turning red. "...Good morning."

She sat down at the table, and Bo Yan followed, sitting opposite her. The porridge was served, the egg was fried, and he picked up the egg from his own plate before speaking.

Are you free on Saturday?

"I'm busy." Mu Siwan took a bite of her fried egg. "My friend's flight to Beijing is early Saturday morning. I'll pick her up and we'll have lunch together."

He nodded, then asked, "And Sunday?"

"There's a forensic awareness event on Sunday—"

Mu Siwan was speaking when she looked up and met the man's gaze.

She paused, swallowed the rest of her sentence, and asked, "Is there something urgent?"

Bo Yan glanced at her for two seconds, then looked away, picked up his coffee, took a sip, and sighed inwardly.

"……fine."

-

On Saturday morning, when Mu Siwan arrived at the airport, Fan Qiqi was already pushing a luggage cart and looking out from the exit. Upon seeing her from afar, she threw down her suitcase and pounced on her, clinging to her body.

"Wanwan! I miss you so much!"

The African sun had tanned her several shades darker, making her teeth shine white when she smiled. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her. Mu Siwan leaned back slightly from the tightness, but didn't push away.

"……I miss you as well."

Fan Qiqi froze. She released her grip, took a step back, and looked Mu Siwan up and down. Her gaze lingered on Mu Siwan's face for a long time before she narrowed her eyes.

"Mu Siwan, something's wrong with you."

"Something's not right?"

"When I used to hug you like this, you'd just find it cheesy and push me away expressionlessly." She leaned closer, staring into Mu Siwan's eyes. "You actually said you missed me today? Are you alright?"

Mu Siwan: "Me...did I?"

"certainly."

Fan Qiqi stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly raised her hand and pinched her cheek.

"Also, you've really become so much prettier."

Mu Siwan was certainly beautiful before. But that kind of beauty was cold, like a mannequin in a shop window, with delicate features but no light in her eyes.

Every time Fan Qiqi stared into those eyes, her heart ached.

Now it's different. Her cheeks have filled out, and they're soft to the touch. Her eyes are still the same eyes, but something inside them is different. It's not makeup, it's not clothes, it's a radiance that shines from within, a vitality that comes alive.

Fan Qiqi squeezed her hand again, then let go. Without saying anything, she picked up the suitcase from the ground and took her arm.

"Let's go, let's go, we're starving, let's go eat."

Fan Qiqi chose the restaurant for the meal; it was a Chinese restaurant. As soon as all the dishes were served, she stuffed her mouth full.

"I ate grass for two months in Africa, I'm almost turning into a sheep." She chewed on twice-cooked pork and mumbled, "You have no idea how awful the Chinese food is there. Kung Pao chicken with ketchup, Mapo tofu with cheese—"

Mu Siwan listened to her complaints, occasionally placing a piece of food on her plate, and responded softly.

Suddenly, the area by the window became lively. A group of people stood up and applauded; some held flowers, others took photos with their phones. A young man knelt on one knee, and the girl opposite him covered her mouth, her eyes red-rimmed. It was a proposal. Everyone in the restaurant turned to look, and someone cheered, "Say yes!" The girl nodded, the ring slipped onto her finger, and another round of applause erupted.

The man who proposed stood up, pulled the girl into his arms, and shouted in a voice loud enough to be heard throughout the restaurant: "Happy White Valentine's Day! Will you marry me, my wife!"

Fan Qiqi rested her chin on her hand and looked at the food for a while, then suddenly turned her head and poked at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks.

"I almost forgot, today is White Valentine's Day." She looked at Mu Siwan. "You're coming to spend Valentine's Day with me, your partner won't be happy, will they?"

"No," Mu Siwan said instinctively, "We don't do that."

After she finished speaking, she paused for a moment. A few days ago, Bo Yan asked her if she was free on Saturday. She hadn't thought much of it then, but now she suddenly realized—he had asked her today.

Mu Siwan paused her chopsticks on the edge of the plate, a thought popped into her mind, but she suppressed it.

It must just be a coincidence, right? Why would Bo Yan want to spend Valentine's Day with her? They're not in that kind of relationship.

-

After dinner, the two went shopping. Mu Siwan stopped at the watch counter and took a liking to a simple men's watch with a black dial and silver strap. There was a white version of the same model next to it, but she only glanced at it before pointing to the black one and asking the sales assistant to wrap it up.

Fan Qiqi leaned closer, "It's a couple's set! You only bought one?"

"Hmm." Mu Siwan handed over the card. "I don't usually wear a watch."

"That's true." Fan Qiqi nodded, glanced down at the number on the receipt, clutched her chest, and asked the crucial question, "Wanwan, are you sure you really don't like Bo Yan?"

like?

The word, when it reached Mu Siwan's ears, was clearer than kissing, hugging, or making love.

It is clearly written in those three principles—no talk of feelings.

Therefore, you absolutely cannot like it.

Mu Siwan's eyelashes fluttered, and she shook her head. "I don't like it."

"Don't you like that you're so willing to spend money on him?"

Mu Siwan took the box packed by the shop assistant and said in a flat tone, "He spent even more on me. He's given me a lot of things lately, so I need to reciprocate."

Fan Qiqi was silent for a moment, then let out a heartfelt sigh: "So this is what loveless marriages are like for the rich."

She has seen it all.

Holding her shattered pride, Fan Qiqi pulled Mu Siwan away, saying, "Let's go, let's leave this place, let's go somewhere that even poor people can go."

-

The two eventually turned into a discount supermarket next to the mall.

Fan Qiqi wandered among the shelves, finding everything familiar and comforting. Slippers costing a dozen yuan, storage boxes costing twenty-something yuan, and cushions costing thirty-nine yuan and ninety cents.

She took a deep breath, very satisfied. "This is the kind of place I should be visiting with my monthly salary of eight thousand."

Mu Siwan followed behind her, her gaze falling on the shelf. A pair of porcelain cups, one blue and one pink, with snakes coiled around bones on the cups, their tails hooked together to form a heart shape.

She picked them up to look at them. She liked the pink one. Bo Yan would probably like the blue one too.

Fan Qiqi leaned closer.

"like?"

Mu Siwan nodded.

"Then buy them, one for you and one for your husband."

Mu Siwan stared at the heart shape, her fingertips slowly tracing the rim of the cup.

Reason told her that she and Bo Yan shouldn't use these heart-shaped couple cups.

But... she really liked those porcelain cups.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Mu Siwan still put the two cups into the shopping cart.

Never mind. If Bo Yan also thinks it's inappropriate, she'll just use two herself. One for water and one for milk, that'll do.