AFMWDX Chapter 9

TL: Hua

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Yu Qingtang, like a reckless fool, spoke the words impulsively, fueled by the warmth in his chest.

At least the outcome was good; it didn’t lead to bewilderment or gentle refusal. It was a bit like children playing house, their lives entrusted to each other just like that.

That night, the person who was about to leave stayed, remaining as his fiancée.

The next morning, Yu Qingtang looked at the neatly folded quilt placed in the corner of the sofa and began to self-reflect. He was already his fiancé, yet he made him sleep on the sofa; it seemed a bit cruel.

Although the apartment was a two-bedroom, the other room was a study, and only the bedroom had a double bed. The living room sofa was very narrow, and Xu Baizhang, being tall with long legs, would surely be uncomfortable lying there all night.

Actually, he didn’t mind sleeping in the same bed before marriage.

He received a WeChat message on his phone.

Xu Baizhang: [Are you up yet?]

[Yeah. Does your waist hurt? You worked hard last night.]

After sending the message, Yu Qingtang realized something was off. He was about to recall and resend it when the reply came.

Xu Baizhang: [Doesn’t hurt, the sofa’s soft. Not hard at all.]

Yu Qingtang chuckled at himself, realizing his mind was unhealthy; the other person wasn’t thinking in that way at all.

Xu Baizhang: [Breakfast is in the microwave. Heat it before you eat, and drink your medicine half an hour after the meal. /smile]

[Understood. /playful]

Yu Qingtang sent him a picture of the glasses and the armband.

[[Pic] This was left at my place. I’m free this morning; should I bring it over to you?]

Xu Baizhang: [No need, I’ll pick it up after work. I have a house call now; talk later.]

A few seconds later, another message from Xu Baizhang came in.

Xu Baizhang: [Are you busy this afternoon?]

[No. I’m taking a day off today. Do you have any plans?]

Xu Baizhang: [Let’s go buy wedding rings.]

Several minutes passed, and Yu Qingtang’s gaze still lingered on those two words, feeling dazed.

Dr. Xu was much more adept than him.

Putting down his phone, Yu Qingtang put away the glasses and the arm band. He squeezed the armband, stretching it twice. It was an elastic band style, with good elasticity. If he were to use it to tie…

“Boom,” a wave of heat surged to Yu Qingtang’s ears. He pressed the bridge of his nose and put the armbands into the drawer.

What on earth was he thinking?

But even if he didn’t take the armbands, didn’t he wear glasses to see…?

Yu Qingtang brought the lenses closer to his eyes.

No prescription; they were plano lenses.

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After lunch, the two of them arrived at a wedding ring store in the city center, overwhelmed by the dazzling array of styles.

Xu Baizhang asked him, “Do you like ones with diamonds?”

While men’s rings didn’t have as many intricate patterns as women’s, many still featured small diamond chips set into the band or even diamonds or gemstones set on the inside.

“No, I don’t think so. For daily wear, it’s too elaborate and inconvenient,” Yu Qingtang asked him back. “What do you think?”

Xu Baizhang: “I think so too.”

The two walked towards the plain band section.

There were still many styles here. Yu Qingtang asked, “Do we want gold or platinum?”

Xu Baizhang: “What do you think?”

Yu Qingtang: “From a value retention perspective, gold might be more suitable?”

Xu Baizhang: “From a metal reactivity series perspective, gold is also more stable than platinum.”

They exchanged smiles, and their options narrowed down to the minimum.

No jewels or diamonds, plain bands, gold.

Yu Qingtang: “I think this one…”

Xu Baizhang: “Look at this one…”

They pointed to the same pair of matching rings.

A fine matte finish, no patterns, simple circular bands, exquisite and elegant.

The sales assistant walked over. “You two gentlemen have excellent taste; this is a piece by a renowned designer.”

Xu Baizhang said, “Do you like it?”

Yu Qingtang smiled and nodded.

The sales assistant clasped his hands in front of him. “What ring size do you two wear?”

Neither of them had experience wearing rings.

“No problem, I’ll get you the right sizes,” the sales assistant asked again, “Are you two a couple or planning to get married?”

Engagement rings are worn on the middle finger, while wedding rings are worn on the ring finger, and the sizes are slightly different.

Xu Baizhang: “Getting married.”

Sales assistant: “Okay, please wait a moment.”

In less than two minutes, the sales assistant returned with rings of the same style but different sizes.

He first picked up a small ring and stood in front of Yu Qingtang. “Sir, your fingers are slender. This size should be fine.”

The sales assistant, wearing black Lycra gloves, held the ring with his right hand and extended his left. “Sir, let me put it on for you.”

Before Yu Qingtang could extend his hand, Xu Baizhang quickly intervened, “Let me do it.”

The sales assistant understood and handed the ring to Xu Baizhang.

His palm was held, and the cool ring slowly slid onto his finger from the tip, brushing past knuckles and veins, fitting perfectly at the end of his ring finger.

Warm spotlights shone from above, and the ring’s surface glowed with a matte finish.

It was a simple action, yet Yu Qingtang felt nervous. This feeling reminded him of a proposal.

Xu Baizhang didn’t let go, continuously rubbing his ring finger. The metal was cool, but his fingertip was burning hot.

If this touch counted as holding hands, then today was their first time holding hands.

Xu Baizhang stared at Yu Qingtang’s hand. The matte ring seemed to have words, densely packed with his name. The ring was worn by him, so the person wearing the ring should also belong to him.

He regained his composure and said calmly, “It looks great.”

Yu Qingtang nodded. It did look great, and he really liked it.

The sales assistant said, “Would you like to try half a size larger, sir? If you’re worried about gaining weight in the future, you can choose a larger size, and we’ll size it for free.”

“No need, this one is perfect.”

Yu Qingtang took the other ring from the sales assistant and, in the same manner, placed it on Xu Baizhang’s left ring finger.

The size was suitable, and the style matched.

The other’s skin was about half a shade darker than his, but overall, he wasn’t someone with a very dark complexion. Gold jewelry could be quite picky; it would look out of place if the skin tone didn’t match, but this ring seemed like it was meant to be on his hand.

It was funny to think about, but every time he looked at Xu Baizhang’s hand, he always felt like it was missing a scalpel.

“Are you two gentlemen satisfied? Would you like to try other styles?”

“No need.” Xu Baizhang confirmed Yu Qingtang’s reaction and took out his bank card. “Issue invoice.”

Yu Qingtang didn’t contend for the payment of the rings. He clearly felt that Xu Baizhang was eager to be the one to pay.

The sales assistant took out the ring box. “Would you two like to wear them or have them packaged?”

“Wear them.” Xu Baizhang asked him, “Is that okay?”

Yu Qingtang withdrew the hand that was about to take off the ring. “Okay.”

Wearing the wedding ring brought a stronger sense of responsibility.

It was a strange feeling. Although they had only met a few times, they were about to get married.

Rationally, it was indeed impulsive, but putting rationality aside, he thought getting to know each other slowly after marriage wouldn’t be bad either.

Many similar plots were in the audio dramas he voiced: arranged marriage followed by love, full of surprises.

“What do we need to prepare next?” Yu Qingtang twirled the ring. “Oh, right, let’s visit your parents first.”

Although the engagement was between the two of them, it involved two families.

Xu Baizhang was as calm as warm water. “My mother passed away when I was eight, and my father died when I was fourteen. I don’t interact much with relatives; I’m on my own in Yangcheng.”

Yu Qingtang’s heart sank. He hadn’t expected this and should have asked earlier, “I’m sorry.”

Xu Baizhang: “Do you mind?”

“I’m marrying you, not your parents, so what’s there to mind?” Yu Qingtang smiled at him. “Also, after we get married, you won’t be on your own anymore. I’m your spouse, and my parents will be your parents.”

Xu Baizhang felt a surge of warmth. “Qingtang, thank you.”

Yu Qingtang disliked such bittersweet emotional situations. “Alright, let’s not talk about that anymore. We still have many things to prepare. For example, after we get married, will we live at your place or mine?”

Xu Baizhang: “What do you think?”

Yu Qingtang: “I’m fine with either. But as you can see already, my place is a small two-bedroom apartment and not close to your workplace. If you don’t mind, I can move to your place.”

Actually, Yu Qingtang’s apartment was also good. Although not large, its location and layout were excellent. He had bought it as a brand-new second-hand apartment; the original owner had prepared it as a wedding home for his son and was forced to sell it urgently.

The only drawback was the traffic on the main road in front of the building, where it was common to be stuck for one or two hours during peak hours.

Yu Qingtang remembered Xu Baizhang mentioning that his apartment was a three-bedroom, slightly off-center but with good traffic conditions.

Xu Baizhang: “I want to buy a new house, closer to your workplace. The important thing is convenient transportation without traffic jams.”

“Great, then let’s choose a community between the TV station and the provincial hospital; that way it’ll be convenient for both our commutes.”

Buying a house was also a good idea. They could split the cost, and having both their names on it would give them a stronger sense of belonging.

Yu Qingtang didn’t have a high desire for consumption. His current apartment was paid for by his parents, and he had saved some money himself in the past two years. According to Yangcheng’s housing prices, to purchase a three- or four-bedroom apartment with good ventilation and light, paying half the down payment would be more than enough, and they could slowly repay the rest of the loan.

He didn’t ask Xu Baizhang about this idea. The other party’s financial ability was better than his; he drove a top-tier car, and his suits were all custom-made. Paying half the down payment certainly wouldn’t be an issue.

The house matter was pleasantly decided, and taking advantage of the free afternoon, they visited several housing developments, enjoying the process.

However, after half a day, the available ready-to-move-in homes either had poor floor levels or unsatisfactory layouts. Since they were only getting married once, neither of them wanted to settle for just any marital home.

Yu Qingtang took a liking to a pre-sale property, with official handover scheduled for next spring. He didn’t mind, but Xu Baizhang seemed unwilling to buy a pre-sale property, even though the price was significantly lower than ready-to-move-in ones. Their house-hunting plan for the day failed, but neither was discouraged, deciding to look again in a couple of days.

Since their engagement was set, Yu Qingtang’s life began to change. In the past, he would come home from work with no concept of eating; he’d just grab a bite if he was hungry or simply skip meals if it felt like too much trouble.

Now, he ate three meals a day, and a hot dinner awaited him as soon as he got home.

His cold home now felt lived-in. Yu Qingtang sat on the sofa, browsing housing information. He picked up a slice of apple and turned his head toward the kitchen, where Xu Baizhang, wearing a dark blue apron, was stirring a dish with his back to him.

A man who could cook was incredibly charming.

The bitten apple slid down his throat. Yu Qingtang lowered his head and rubbed the ring on his ring finger.

He was really getting married. There was a slight nervousness, but mostly anticipation.

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