Chapter 90: Ye Zeqian
Rumor had it this building housed a handsome, wealthy “landlord prince,” General Manager Ye, and there wasn’t a soul here who didn’t know him.
Too bad General Manager Ye had a long-term boyfriend. Chasing him was impossible.
Lately, the identity of Xinyi’s boss had surfaced as well: Xu family’s Xu Chaoyan. Which meant this building suddenly had another diamond bachelor.
Just now, workplace elites horrifyingly watched diamond bachelor President Xu dragging gem bachelor Manager Ye, the two of them shamelessly pulling and tugging in broad daylight into the elevator.
During lunch break, people came and went everywhere. The elevator was packed beyond belief.
As soon as Ye Zeqian entered, he felt like suffocating because inside the elevator was actually curry smell! Cheap perfume smell! And chewing gum smell!
He could not tolerate such toxic air.
Between holding it in and asking for mercy, he tugged Li Dong’s sleeve and, hand over his mouth, mumbled, “Let’s get out.”
Li Dong wedged through the bodies. “Excuse me, coming through.” Without a word of complaint, he pulled Ye Zeqian back out.
The instant they cleared the doors, Ye Zeqian exhaled. His face had gone flushed from holding his breath.
“Is it really that bad?” Li Dong studied him. “How do you manage on workdays?” This building had a huge daily flow; the elevator was almost never empty.
“I take the stairs,” Ye Zeqian said.
“I mean…” Li Dong stared. “You do remember your office is on the 28th floor, right?”
Just how far could a germaphobe go?
“Elevators make me sick.” Thinking of that cramped air and those smells, the nausea and dizziness rolled back over him.
The last time, he’d muddled through in a daze, but that trick didn’t always work.
“So you don’t like crowds,” Li Dong said.
“Mm. I prefer places with clean air,” Ye Zeqian said.
“What about a wedding?” Li Dong asked out of nowhere.
“…” Ye Zeqian looked at him in silence and shook his head.
It wasn’t that he had no answer. It was that the word wedding was looping through his body, heart, and mind.
Marriage had always felt far away. Living with someone day and night… terrifying.
“Come on,” Li Dong said. “We’ll take the stairs together.”
He didn’t want to wait for the next car, which might be even more crowded. Hand in hand, he turned toward the stairwell.
At first it was pitch-black; as soon as they stepped in, the motion sensor lit the lamps.
Same old stairwell, same lights, yet it felt different.
Every step today felt warm. He almost didn’t want the climb to end…
“You…” How could there be someone who, in every little way, was this outstanding, and not in some pretentious way either.
In front of him, President Xu could be politely formal, but when surprised he would also say down-to-earth things like “I mean…” He was a genuinely real man.
“Mm?” the man ahead hummed.
“It’s nothing.” Watching his back, Ye Zeqian asked, “I want to know what your life was like overseas.” He must have been surrounded by excellent people, and plenty of passionate admirers.
“There’s a lot to tell. I’ll take my time when we’ve got time.”
The twenty-nine floor stairwell, they walked a full twenty minutes or so.
Li Dong wasn’t flushed or winded.
Ye Zeqian’s breath was a little quick. He looked at the man waiting for him, eyes bright.
“You okay?” Li Dong asked, turning back.
“I’m fine.” He took the stairs every day; today they’d just gone a bit faster.
Traffic wasn’t great for a Monday. With Li Dong driving, they crawled along.
People said you could judge a man’s temperament by his driving.
On a road like this that made you doubt life itself, impatient drivers leaned on the horn or cursed a blue streak, unable to sit still.
Getting to the Civil Affairs Bureau to register their marriage was urgent, but Li Dong wore a calm face, no hint of irritation.
When the line inched forward, he inched forward.
“Does being sealed up in a car make you uncomfortable?” he asked.
“Not really,” Ye Zeqian lied. With unfamiliar people in a car, yes. Which was why he never rode with them.
“I see.” Something about the way Li Dong spoke always put him at ease.
15 minutes later, they finally reached the bureau’s main gate.
Parking was tight. Luckily, a guy was just pulling out. As soon as he left, Li Dong slid his luxury car into the spot.
“Yo…” The driver saw a luxury car and honked once.
Li Dong tapped his horn back.
He parked, unbuckled, and got out.
Ye Zeqian didn’t wait for Li Dong to open his door. He was terrified of leaving a spoiled-brat impression, so he got out briskly on his own.
“Are they open?” Li Dong checked the time.
“2:10. We’ve got a little time,” Ye Zeqian said. He’d been watching the clock, so the answer came easily.
“Let’s walk a bit, then.” The grounds inside the gate were surprisingly green. In land-scarce A City, that was what you called a rich unit.
“Alright.” Ye Zeqian hugged his “carrot” tightly to keep it pristine for handing over later. Not a wrinkle, not a smudge.
There was a group chatting nearby. On any other day, Li Dong would have gone over to shoot the breeze. But next to him stood a keep-out aristocrat who measured the dirt under his soles. Maybe not today.
“The sun’s a little strong.” Ye Zeqian said. Once he sweated, he was unhappy.
Li Dong found it mild and pleasant, perfect for a short bask, but he let it go. “Then let’s head in. There’s air-con.”
Barely 20 minutes passed before Li Dong took a number and he and Ye Zeqian stood waiting in a corner.
Yes, there were chairs in the waiting area. No, they wouldn’t be sitting there. Too many people.
Li Dong glanced at the man beside him and immediately thought of four words: fair skin, fine features. Soon, he was going to marry this beautiful rich “lady.”
“Manager Ye, nervous?” he asked.
“President Xu, I’m not nervous,” Ye Zeqian said.
“Liar.” Li Dong held out his hand. “Here. Borrow mine.”
“You…” Another ambush move. “Thanks, then.” After a beat, Ye Zeqian placed his hand in his.
There were still three or four numbers ahead of them.
By the time it was their turn, the wall clock read 3:20 p.m.
Time is money, as they say. Add up the minutes of two company heads and you were burning through income by the millions.
“IDs,” Li Dong said, handling the paperwork.
At present, two ID cards were all you needed to marry, as long as both parties were willing and confirmed to truly know each other.
How to confirm they truly knew each other?
The registry had a bank of over two thousand questions. It would randomly select one hundred. Score at least ninety-five correct to pass.
Which, you had to admit, was a great way to deepen a couple’s bond.
Picture it: lovers about to register, cramming through two thousand questions overnight.
“IDs are fine. Head to the little rooms and take the test. One person per room,” the staffer said.
The two bosses at the counter were dumbfounded. What, you had to take a test to get married?
Two thousand questions, one hundred random, ninety-five percent accuracy?
F*ck.
Li Dong smoothly gathered their IDs back. “Sorry, we’ll wait a bit.”
Arms folded, Ye Zeqian walked to the dispenser and pulled another number. “One hour. We compare answers.”
Li Dong’s eyes went wide like a startled little seahorse. Looked like they weren’t leaving without a certificate. He’d tangled with someone formidable.
“We’ve never done this. Not knowing is normal.” Manager Ye downloaded a marriage-registration app. The full bank of questions popped up. “Here, I’ll share it.”
“Hold on…” Li Dong pressed his temples. “You want me to learn two thousand questions in an hour?” In all his lifetimes he could do anything except tests. If not, he’d have been a star student ages ago.
Written exams were an anti-human invention.
No way. “By the time we finish, they’ll be closed. How about we come back tomorrow?” A full evening to cram sounded saner. Worst case, pull an all-nighter.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Ye Zeqian said. “It’s not hard.” He grabbed Li Dong’s sleeve so he couldn’t slip away. “We’ll read together and call out answers together. Pass in one go. Hurry, don’t waste time.”
Li Dong took a step; the sleeve held. He looked back at that stubborn face. “Tomorrow we’ll hit the same traffic…”
Dare defy that logic?
“Fine.” Li Dong came back like a man, whipped out his phone, and downloaded the bank at speed. “Favorite color? Mine’s white.”
“Same,” said Ye Zeqian.
“Plane or high-speed rail? I like boats.”
“I get seasick…”
“O type.”
“AB.”
“Exes. Five.”
“…” Ye Zeqian looked up at him once. Put the questions aside first. First discuss what was up with five exes. Very seriously, “President Xu.”
“Two in middle school, three in high school. Foreign blondes didn’t do it for me,” Xu Chaoyan said. In college and after, he’d focused on meaningful things.
“One,” said Ye Zeqian.
They happily kept comparing.
Their number was called with fewer than half the questions covered. More precisely, just over four hundred. Both men wore the look of doomed soldiers.
The clerk blinked. “Huh, you again?” She took their IDs, logged the attempt, and kept their progress. “Off you go. Answer carefully.”
“Manager Ye, we’ll study tonight,” Li Dong said.
Ye Zeqian said nothing and marched into the little room, face solemn and pride in full swing.
He was upset, that much was obvious. Like a sulky kid.
“Yo?” Each time a question appeared, Li Dong clicked his tongue. They were all the ones he and Ye Zeqian had just reviewed. “No way this is a coincidence,” he muttered.
Next door, it took Ye Zeqian the length of a hundred questions to go from miserable to calm.
The pop-up read: Congratulations, Mr. Ye, you passed with 95%.
The five he’d missed were all unfamiliar ones he’d guessed wrong.
He came out with a steady voice. “Let’s go. We’ll study together tonight,” he said, accepting Li Dong’s earlier invitation.
“Okay.” Li Dong didn’t know how to comfort him, and he certainly wasn’t going to admit he’d gotten 100%. “Come on. I’ll cook you something tasty tonight.”
“I don’t want…” Ye Zeqian wavered, and Li Dong’s gentleness somehow made him feel worse.
He didn’t blame Li Dong for being slow, and he wasn’t the sort to demand someone else hit a sky-high pass rate just because he had. He was just… bummed.
“Number 0353, please proceed to Window 8 for registration. Repeating: Number 0353…”
Ye Zeqian checked his slip. 0353.
“President Xu, what did you get?” he asked.
“Mm… just about 100,” Li Dong said.
“Get outta here with your ‘just about,’” Ye Zeqian said. “Hurry up and find Window 8!”
Ten minutes later: photos, signatures, the bureau’s big red seal landed on their file. “This copy stays on record. Your marriage certificates will be ready in three business days. Will you pick them up or have them mailed?”
“We’ll pick them up,” Ye Zeqian said.
Mail? What if it got lost?
“Don’t worry, marriage certificates don’t get lost. If they do, they can be reissued,” the staffer said.
“Thanks. So we can leave now?” Li Dong asked.
“Yes, you’re legally married.”
It felt unreal. As they left Window 8, Ye Zeqian didn’t know whether to step with his left foot or right to make it feel more ceremonial.
“You could jump,” Li Dong suggested.
“President Xu makes a good point,” Ye Zeqian said solemnly, and did exactly that.
Li Dong nearly knelt on the spot. “I tell you to jump and you just jump?” But it was unbearably cute. How had he not known this 27-year-old man could be this adorable?
Author’s Note:
【It’s wedding-gift time again. I’ve always felt the sacred part isn’t marriage itself, but the resolve to truly love and protect one person from now on. So beautiful it hurts.】
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