At twenty-four, Gu Nianyi married a complete stranger, shattering the calm of her everyday life.
At the time, all she knew was that Lu Jin’an was the eldest son of South City’s prestigious Lu Family—a promising surgeon with a bright future ahead.
Their first meeting took place at the Civil Affairs Bureau. He arrived two hours late, his refined features sharp and angular, radiating an aloof chill.
After the wedding, the two of them lived like ships passing in the night. Lu Jin’an casually tossed their marriage certificate into a drawer.
One day, Gu Nianyi visited the hospital and overheard him chatting idly with friends in his office. When they asked about this sudden marriage, Lu Jin’an replied indifferently, “It’s merely fulfilling an elder’s dying wish.”
A man who refused to inherit the family business and remained unmoved by romance—how could he possibly care about a marriage?
One evening after their wedding, Gu Nianyi wept alone in the second bedroom. Lu Jin’an hesitated for a moment before pulling her into his arms, letting her tears soak through his shirt.
The next day, he awkwardly searched online for ways to comfort a woman, then dashed around the city collecting every collaboration edition of her favorite plush toy.
His friend teased him. “Figuring out how to coax your wife? Sounds like you’ve fallen for her.”
Lu Jin’an paused mid-step, his gaze darkening. “I just don’t want her to cry.”
Later, a once-in-a-century deluge struck South City.
Gu Nianyi, out collecting meteorological data, found herself trapped by the ferocious storm and cut off from the outside world.
Lu Jin’an was the one who shoved aside the barrier blocking her path.
It was the first time Gu Nianyi had ever seen him in such a disheveled state—his thin shirt drenched by the rain, his knuckles marred with streaks of blood.
He approached her step by step and said softly, “Wife, come here for a hug.”
***
Little Theater
They had shared a bed for months with nothing happening between them. Gu Nianyi began to wonder if Lu Jin’an might be incapable.
She sought an online consultation: “I suspect my husband has some hidden condition. How can I gently convince him to see a doctor?”
Sunset light filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting a glow on two empty boxes on the floor. Gu Nianyi recalled the man who had ravaged her body last night.
Beside her, Lu Jin’an smiled and asked, “Wife, do I still need to see that doctor?”
Cicadas sang through the height of summer, tides rose and fell, and the world turned in its endless changes.
From the moment we met, our days together stretch endlessly before us.
