Luo Xiao couldn’t focus on the screen anymore.
He blinked in disbelief. “Marry…? You mean it?”
“Yes! Marry!” Wen Ran, still bare, laid over him, neck craned, eyes sparkling.
“Let’s get married!” he repeated, utterly convinced it was the natural next step. “We have to get married, don’t we?”
“I like you, and you like me—so why not get married?”
“Being in love means being together, right?”
“And being together… doesn’t that mean marriage?”
Wait, wait.
Luo Xiao felt completely taken aback.
He looked at Wen Ran. “Do you understand what marriage really means?”
“We just got together.”
Luo Xiao thought Wen Ran’s impulsiveness was driven by excitement. We just started, he reminded himself.
“Don’t you like me?” Wen Ran asked, eyes still bright, expression earnest.
“Of course I like you,” Luo Xiao replied.
Wen Ran immediately responded: “If you like someone, shouldn’t you be together?”
“And marriage is just the ultimate form of being together, right?”
“Marriage is serious,” Luo Xiao said calmly. He couldn’t just agree to marriage on a whim. That’s not how it works.
“It’s not just about you and me—it involves our families, your parents, my parents,” he explained.
“Of course, I’ll tell my family!” Wen Ran said, his pale eyes serious. “It’s not only about us, we have to let our families know.”
“I’ll go tell my mom right away and get her to agree to our marriage!”
Then he added immediately: “If we like each other, we should be together. Being together means marriage—what’s the problem?”
“Or are you weighing something? Wondering if I’m legally qualified to be your partner?”
“Do you think I’m not worthy?”
“Of course not.”
Luo Xiao hadn’t thought that and wouldn’t think that. He didn’t need to weigh anything—liking someone was enough.
“Then what are we waiting for?”
Wen Ran’s face lit up with joy. “Marriage!”
“Don’t you want to hold each other’s hands tightly from the very start?”
“Your free will chose me, and I chose you. Don’t you want our bond—the choice we made together—recognized and sanctioned by law?”
“Don’t you want to show the world how right your choice is?”
“Don’t you want to act decisively, without hesitation, with full courage?”
Luo Xiao’s mind screamed this is too sudden, too reckless, too early.
But Wen Ran’s fervent gaze, his declaration filled with courage and determination, stirred something in Luo Xiao. His free spirit resonated with Wen Ran’s free spirit.
Could he resist? Should he resist?
Where’s the harm?
Wen Ran was right—if you like someone, you’re together; if you’re together, you get married. What’s there to hesitate about?
Nothing was improper or unserious.
Wen Ran was his choice, his heart’s desire—the one who made his heart race.
Luo Xiao looked at him and, almost as if crossing a chasm, said aloud: “Alright. We’ll get married.”
“You agree!” Wen Ran exclaimed, overjoyed, kissing Luo Xiao.
Kissing led to closeness, forgetting all else. Phones were set aside. They possessed each other in full.
Afterwards, Wen Ran was limp and sweaty, sprawled across the center of the bed.
This time, when Luo Xiao asked if he was hungry, Wen Ran nodded—he was genuinely ready to eat.
He finally felt tired, aware of soreness and discomfort, especially in his butt, and he was very sleepy. He ate a few bites, then curled up under the covers and fell asleep.
Previously, he slept alone in his little nest of stuffed animals. Now, with Luo Xiao’s warm and solid embrace, Wen Ran felt comforted and fell asleep quickly.
Luo Xiao waited until Wen Ran slept, then tidied up—clearing dishes, putting away brushes and palettes without touching the half-finished paintings, changing the bedsheet, and wiping Wen Ran down with a warm towel.
Returning to Wen Ran, he lay beside him, listening to his steady breathing, feeling his heartbeat, surrounded by the lingering scent of paint and passion. It felt real, yet dreamlike. A moment ago, did I imagine I’d be marrying Wen Ran?
He liked Wen Ran, yes—but marriage? They had known each other less than ten days.
Crazy? Like announcing you’re climbing the Himalayas on foot.
Luo Xiao smiled, kissed Wen Ran’s face. Let’s do it.
After all, it wasn’t just him—Wen Ran was with him.
He wanted to see where their freely chosen hearts would take them.
Before sleeping, Luo Xiao replied to Luo Feng: [Plans have changed, we’ll talk later]
The next morning, Luo Xiao woke at seven. Seeing Wen Ran still asleep, he cuddled him and fell back asleep.
By ten, Wen Ran finally woke, groggy, body aching everywhere.
“Uncomfortable?” Luo Xiao asked, stirring.
“Mm,” Wen Ran murmured, wincing. “My waist, my arms…”
…and his butt.
Ah…
Wen Ran finally felt his body’s true feedback: soreness, pain, exhaustion from painting all day.
He struggled to sit up but wasn’t upset; in fact, he was happy, leaning into Luo Xiao’s arms: “You’re amazing.”
Incredible. Overwhelming pleasure.
It was Wen Ran’s first time feeling this kind of bliss.
He pressed his face against Luo Xiao’s neck, rubbing like a spoiled child, thinking, I want this every night—it’s amazing.
First, he checked if Luo Xiao was comfortable, then glanced at the canvases. Two half-finished paintings, one on each side.
Satisfied, he went to the bathroom, mood bright.
Returning naked, Wen Ran pounced on Luo Xiao, kissing him: “We agreed, right? Marriage?”
After a night together, he hadn’t forgotten. He was passionate about painting, not drunk—no memory gaps.
“Yes, marriage,” Luo Xiao affirmed, kissing him back.
YES!
Wen Ran immediately smiled, kissed him again, and decisively said: “Skipping breakfast—before noon, I’m going home to tell my mom about our marriage.”
“So urgent?” Luo Xiao wanted to pull him back for more intimacy.
“Of course!” Wen Ran said, turning to shower. “A minute earlier telling her means a minute earlier getting married.”
Voices drifted from the shower: “I’m going home, you do whatever you want. Except the two paintings, touch whatever else you like.”
Luo Xiao followed into the bathroom.
Not long after, amid the shower sound, Wen Ran couldn’t hide his soft moans: “Don’t… ah… I really… I can’t…”
So Wen Ran went home later than expected.
When he arrived at Wen Pingping’s large flat, lunch was over. She was playing mahjong with Wen Ran’s aunts and a neighbor.
The door to the lounge was open. Wen Ran entered silently. Wen Pingping looked up, startled: “Ah! You scared me!”
Others also noticed him.
No surprise—until Wen Ran dropped a sofa cushion, then knelt on one knee, then the other, facing the four seated at the table.
The four were speechless.
Auntie reacted first, looking up: “Did I forget to turn off the soup? I better check.” She got up and left.
Second aunt followed: “I forgot the stove too, what a mind…” and left.
Neighbor aunt: “Did my dog bark? Better check,” patting Wen Pingping’s hand as she left.
Now only Wen Pingping and Wen Ran remained. She leaned back, exhaled, and said: “Alright, spill it. What did you do this time?”
She guessed: “Opening a dog or cat business again? Or… abstract painting?”
“How much this time?”
“A million?”
“Two million?”
“Mom…”
“Stop.”
Wen Pingping rubbed her temples, eyes closed. “Before you tell me what this is, don’t call me ‘Mom.’”
“Say it.”
Wen Pingping braced herself.
“I slept with him,” Wen Ran said.
“…?”
Wen Pingping: “You’re 24. Don’t tell me about sleeping with a man, okay?”
“And then?”
Wen Ran, clear-headed and determined, declared: “I want to marry him.”
Wen Ran finally spoke, looking up at Wen Pingping. “Is that okay?”
Wen Pingping froze—she never expected this. Stammering, she blurted, “Ma… marriage?”
Then came the next questions: “So soon?”
“Is it you who’s pregnant, or him?”
She jumped up, voice rising. “Has the baby already been born?! A boy or a girl?! Twins?! Two boys, two girls, or a boy and a girl!?”
Wen Ran: “…………”