Slow to mature after marriage

Meng Qing stopped flipping through the documents. "She was a lot of help with that previous case. Shouldn't you show some concern for a colleague?"

"That shouldn't be the case." Meng Wan didn't believe this reason at all. "Now, because of that show, the police are saying that you two are a couple. I don't believe you haven't heard these rumors."

"Brother, you don't really like Mu Siwan, do you?" Meng Wan looked at him incredulously, her voice becoming urgent. "You're confused, she's already—"

"I know," Meng Qing interrupted her. "She's already married."

"Then why don't you—"

"I already said, I was just asking." Meng Qing said calmly.

"So you really like Mu Siwan." Meng Wan wasn't asking a question, but stating a fact. She stared at him, a sense of absurdity welling up inside her, along with an inexplicable bitterness. Her eyes reddened as she glared at him. "So Mu Siwan stole my father, mother, and brother, and now she's trying to steal my brother, is that it?"

Meng Qing raised his eyes.

"Wanwan, you can't think like that. She didn't want to take your family away, and she certainly didn't want to take me away."

Because his father died in the line of duty after the college entrance examination, and fearing retaliation from criminals, Meng Qing had to move his family away from Beijing, without even a chance to say goodbye to Mu Siwan. For many years afterward, Meng Qing would often think of Mu Siwan at sixteen. Thin, pale, with dry hair, she leaned against the attic window, like Rapunzel trapped in a castle. He thought that if she had a choice, she wouldn't want to be locked up in that so-called "home."

Meng Qing looked at Meng Wan's reddened eyes and patiently explained to her.

"In fact, she didn't have a good life during her years with the Mu family."

But to Meng Wan, these words were nothing more than her brother's excuse to protect his beloved.

Tears still clung to Meng Wan's face, but her voice sharpened. "What's wrong with her? Did my parents starve her or deprive her of clothes? What's she pretending to be pitiful for?" She spoke faster and faster, her eyes red-rimmed. "Now that she's married to such a good man, she still comes back to steal my birthday, steal my family. I think she's just a shameless green tea b*tch—"

"Meng Wan!"

Meng Qing interrupted her promptly, his voice low but his tone serious, "Where is your upbringing?"

Meng Wan froze on the spot, her mouth agape, the rest of her words stuck in her throat. She looked at him, tears falling, which she didn't wipe away.

"Look at you, brother." She smiled, but the corners of her mouth were tugged into a grotesque grin. "Now even you're on her side."

"What kind of upbringing do I have left? I can't go back to the Mu family, and now even you don't want me anymore. I have no home at all!"

Meng Qing opened his mouth to explain.

Meng Wan didn't want to listen anymore, and she ran away crying.

-

That afternoon, Mu Siwan finished her work, and Bo Yan came to pick her up and take her to the old house.

After dinner, the old lady held Mu Siwan's hand and chatted about everything from the wedding venue to the style of the wedding dress, from the guest list to the honeymoon trip. She became more and more excited as she talked. Bo Yan listened from the side, occasionally responding without interrupting.

After discussing the wedding, the old lady suddenly changed the subject, "By the way, next week is Wanwan's birthday? I invited Wanwan to the old house for her birthday a few years ago, but she always said it was inconvenient."

She glared at Bo Yan again, "Back then, you, as her husband, weren't there. It's normal that she was embarrassed to come over since she was all alone. Now that you two are together, how about we have a big celebration at Chengyuan? We can take this opportunity to formally introduce Wanwan to the rest of our Bo family."

Upon hearing this, Mu Siwan subconsciously looked at Bo Yan.

Bo Yan met her gaze, understood her reluctance and embarrassment, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and spoke first.

"Grandma, you know this is the first time my husband and I are celebrating our birthdays together." The man raised an eyebrow nonchalantly. "Why are you interfering so much? How are Wanwan and I supposed to enjoy some alone time?"

The old lady glared at him. "You brat, are you in such a hurry for your time together? When can't you have it? The most important thing now is to introduce Wanwan to your uncles and aunts and formally establish her status."

"We've had our marriage certificate for three years, who dares to say we don't have a legitimate status?" Bo Yan leaned back in his chair, his tone casual. "I don't care, on Wanwan's birthday, she can only be mine."

The old lady was amused by his reckless attitude, and turned to look at Mu Siwan, "Wanwan, what do you think?"

Mu Siwan met the old lady's concerned eyes and felt a warmth in her heart, but she really didn't like to have a high-profile birthday celebration.

Besides, it wasn't her birthday, it was Meng Wan's birthday.

Mu Siwan replied softly, "Grandma, Bo Yan and I are fine on our own, so we won't trouble the uncles and elders to come along."

The old lady looked at her, then at Bo Yan's arrogant face that seemed to say, "My wife really does listen to me," and smiled with satisfaction.

She waved her hand, deliberately making a face, "Alright, alright, then you two can enjoy your time together. This old woman won't worry about these things anymore."

She paused, then added, "But you all have to listen to me when it comes to the wedding."

Bo Yan chuckled, placed his hand on Mu Siwan's shoulder, and slowly pinched her earlobe, his tone nonchalant.

"Okay, whatever you say."

-

By the time we returned to Muyan Garden, it was already late at night.

Bo Yan sat cross-legged on the cushion, building Lego, the pieces clattering all over the coffee table. Mu Siwan nestled on the sofa, drawing, the pen moving slowly, making a soft, scratching sound like autumn leaves brushing the floor. Grace curled up next to the TV cabinet, head resting on her tail, lazily flicking her tongue. The TV was on, the volume turned down low; no one was listening to what was playing, only the background noise kept it from being too quiet.

As Bo Yan listened to the scratching sound of the pen tip, the Lego in his hand suddenly lost its appeal. He looked up.

Mu Siwan wore a long white sweater, the neckline loose, revealing a section of her collarbone. Her ankles peeked out from the edge of the blanket, slender and white, with a bone chain draped over them, the pendant askew. She was nestled quietly in the sofa, like a crumpled cloud.

Bo Yan stared at it for a while, feeling a strange itch in his heart. He reached out and touched the bone chain on her ankle, his fingertips hooking the pendant and swaying it casually.

"Next Thursday, I'm applying for a private flight. How about we go on a trip abroad?"

Mu Siwan's gaze was fixed intently on the painting, her brush still moving. He wasn't in a hurry, continuing on his own. "Go skiing in Switzerland, see the Northern Lights in Iceland? Or is there anywhere else you'd like to go? We can take our time to go there in the coming days."

After waiting a while without receiving a reply, Mu Siwan was still drawing. Her brows were furrowed, and the pen tip moved slowly across the paper, as if she were struggling with something. Bo Yan rubbed his cheek unhappily, took apart the misassembled part, and put it back together.

"Hey, Mu Siwan, can you talk to your husband for a second?"

Mu Siwan finally looked up, her eyes filled with a hint of bewilderment at being interrupted, as if she had just been dragged out of another world. She looked at him, and it took her two seconds to process what he had just said to her.

"But I have to go to work on Thursday."

Bo Yan's hand paused in mid-air, holding the parts. "...Then, our world for two..."

Mu Siwan was even more confused. "Wasn't it something you made up to help me out of that predicament?"

She felt her logic made perfect sense. If there were no feelings between them, why would they have time alone together? This didn't fit the agreement, nor did it align with their usual way of interacting. She had never considered that what Bo Yan said at the old house was true.

Bo Yan gritted his teeth, and the parts clicked between his fingers.

The Lego set I just assembled is completely destroyed.