Chapter 32

Chapter 32: We Are Legal He clutched the marriage certificate—he was Lin Meiyan's lawful, legitimate husband, making a formal visit to her door. Seeing him agree, Gu Kaihua immediately announced to the surrounding neighbors, "We're closing for the day. Anyone who already ordered breakfast, come with me and I'll refund your money." Most of the customers who came to Linji for breakfast were neighbors from the surrounding area. Hearing Gu Kaihua say this, they naturally waved their hands, "No worries, no worries. What's there to refund? If we can't eat today, we'll just come back tomorrow." "With a big place like Linji right here, it's not like you're going to run off, right?" Everyone laughed at that, and even Uncle Wang chimed in, "Today is Meiyan's happy occasion—a big deal. We old neighbors naturally won't hold her back." To be honest, both Gu Kaihua and Lin Meiyan were somewhat moved. They thanked everyone one by one and put up the closed sign at the door. This was the special treatment Gu Kaihua and Ye Qiuju, as elders, reserved for the Lin family's son-in-law—no, the Lin family's live-in son-in-law. Lin Meiyan didn't actually approve of shutting down business just to entertain Yu Jianghai. She looked up at Gu Kaihua, who glared back with his big eyes, the look clearly saying: You shut your mouth. How could they keep the shop open at a critical moment like this? After shooting her that exasperated glare, Gu Kaihua took the initiative to warmly invite Yu Jianghai inside. "Jianghai, come on, let's go inside and talk." Yu Jianghai didn't like Gu Kaihua glaring at Lin Meiyan, even if he was her elder. Yu Jianghai held Lin Meiyan's hand and didn't let go. "Uncle, wait a moment." That call of "Uncle" nearly sent Gu Kaihua's soul flying. Having the boss of Jianghai Dicai call him uncle—he must have burned enough incense in his lifetime to deserve such fortune. It was only at that moment that he felt a sense of reality. The boss of Jianghai Dicai really had married his niece. Gu Kaihua stood rooted to the spot, nodding repeatedly. "Alright, alright, alright. No rush." Yu Jianghai turned to Secretary Shen and instructed, "Go bring the things from the car inside." Secretary Shen acknowledged with a cheerful "Yes, sir" and dashed off like he had a motor attached, disappearing in a blur. Once Secretary Shen had left, Lin Meiyan looked up at Yu Jianghai. He held her hand tightly and said casually, "Just some small gifts to show respect." Lin Meiyan furrowed her brow, seeming to disapprove. Yu Jianghai seemed to know what she was thinking, and said in a low voice, "Yanyan, this gift should have been delivered five years ago." According to Yu Jianghai's original plan, when word came that the Yu family had been rehabilitated, he should have brought Lin Meiyan back from the island to Jiangcheng together. Their relationship, which had been kept in the shadows all those years, would have moved from darkness into the light. But he never expected Lin Meiyan to simply disappear like that. Gone for five years. Lin Meiyan's eyes suddenly stung with tears. She said nothing, lowering her gaze. Yu Jianghai glanced at her and gripped her hand tightly. Their fingers interlaced. This was the first time in five years—at the entrance of Linji, in front of so many of Lin Meiyan's elders—that their fingers were interlaced. No one knew how long Yu Jianghai had waited for this day. Gu Kaihua and Ye Qiuju had seen the scene. Both were somewhat shocked, clearly not expecting who the dominant one was in this relationship. Yu Jianghai was the one who bowed his head. The two exchanged a glance and quickly looked away, with only one reaction: Didn't see it, didn't see it. They hadn't seen anything at all. However, because Lin Meiyan and Yu Jianghai hadn't gone inside yet, they all stood at the door waiting. A few minutes passed. Secretary Shen then arrived with people carrying gifts. The first thing brought over was a 29-inch Panasonic television. The moment that large LCD screen appeared, everyone at Linji's entrance was stunned. "Th-this—this is an imported Panasonic TV, isn't it?" Even Gu Kaihua was stuttering, for heaven's sake! Secretary Shen nodded. "Yes. Our boss bought it from Xiangjiang." "And not just the TV—there's also a radio and cassette tapes of all of Teresa Teng's songs." The TV and radio were relatively easy to buy, but collecting every single one of Teresa Teng's tapes required some real effort. Sure enough, when Secretary Shen said this, Lin Meiyan couldn't help but look over, her eyes lighting up. She had always loved Teresa Teng's songs. Back on the island, Yu Jianghai had somehow scrounged up a secondhand radio, reassembled it, and found a Teresa Teng cassette tape. She listened to Teresa Teng's songs every single day. On that remote, lonely island, listening to the radio had become one of her few spiritual comforts. Secretary Shen noticed Lin Meiyan's eyes light up, and added, "Over the years, wherever our boss traveled for business, whenever he saw Teresa Teng tapes, he would collect them." Yu Jianghai had searched for Lin Meiyan for five years, and he had collected tapes for five years. During all the days they hadn't seen each other, he had been preparing all along. After hearing all this, Lin Meiyan felt an indescribable mix of emotions. Yu Jianghai, however, didn't think what he had done was anything remarkable—it was simply what should be done. "Let's go inside." His voice was cool and distant, but it only carried a hint of warmth when he spoke to Lin Meiyan. Five minutes later, when she saw the room on the second floor of Linji nearly filled with all kinds of household appliances, Lin Meiyan was at a loss for words. "Yu Jianghai, you don't even live here. Why did you buy so many things?" Yu Jianghai glanced back at her. "I do live here." Lin Meiyan let out a soft "Ah." Yu Jianghai remained calm, his voice carrying an unusual hint of teasing. "If a live-in son-in-law doesn't stay at his wife's house, where else would he go?" Lin Meiyan thought to herself, You have so many houses—more than one, even. You could stay anywhere. Yu Jianghai lowered his eyes, his voice low and husky. "Yanyan, those houses don't have you in them." Yu Jianghai owned many houses, but none of them had Lin Meiyan in them. To him, those were never home. Lin Meiyan understood. She stubbornly turned her head away, looking outside, refusing to respond to Yu Jianghai's words. Fortunately, Secretary Shen had finished moving in all the furniture. Standing nearby like a smiling Maitreya Buddha, he cheerfully introduced, "This big TV goes in the living room. In the evenings when the family of three rests, you can cut up a watermelon and watch some TV." "And this radio." His smile turned a bit more suggestive. "Once Qiaoqiao falls asleep, you can put in a Teresa Teng tape. The boss and Youth Lin can dance a duet." "You can even dance some disco." Disco was all the rage these days. And while helping Yu Jianghai collect these tapes, he had noticed that his boss had also asked him to gather disco music tapes. Lin Meiyan's face felt warm. She looked at Yu Jianghai, who remained expressionless. "Back on the island back then, I saw how much you admired Youth Yue's radio." At that time, Teresa Teng's songs had just become popular. Even in a remote place like the island, people considered listening to Teresa Teng the height of fashion. One song, "Sweet Honey," was irresistible to everyone. Later, when disco became popular, all the young people were crazy about it. Lin Meiyan had been just over twenty then—a fashionable, pretty young girl. Naturally, she hadn't missed out. Lin Meiyan murmured, "That was so many years ago." She loved Teresa Teng's songs, loved "Sweet Honey," loved putting tapes in the radio and singing and dancing along with them. But that was Lin Meiyan's girlhood. Later, she left the island alone, returned to Jiangcheng pregnant, gave birth to her child, raised the child, and opened Linji. Her girlhood had long since drifted away from her. Back then, all she had was life—just surviving. That was all. As for those songs and dances, they were already part of Lin Meiyan's bygone youth. Yu Jianghai said, "Not many years. It's only been five or six." "Yanyan, we'll have many more five-or-six-year periods ahead of us." Lin Meiyan suddenly looked up at him. Yu Jianghai's gaze was resolute, determined—as if he were saying, It will definitely happen. His gaze was too intense. Lin Meiyan didn't dare keep looking. She averted her eyes. Lin Meiyan, approaching thirty, no longer had the passion and courage of her eighteen-year-old self. She was like a snail, daring only to hide inside her thick, safe shell. "These tapes are all Teresa Teng's." Secretary Shen's voice chimed in at just the right moment. "Forty-three in total." "The boss had me start collecting them four years ago." At that time, Jianghai Dicai had not yet risen to fame, and Yu Jianghai didn't have much money. Aside from what he spent searching for Lin Meiyan, almost everything he earned went into these tapes. Whenever he came across one, he would immediately find every possible way to buy the Teresa Teng tape. He said it was a gift for his reunion with Lin Meiyan. After hearing this, Lin Meiyan was stunned. Yu Jianghai, however, remained composed, though his deep eyes betrayed a hint of emotion. "Yanyan, this gift is five years late." "I hope it's not too late, and I hope you like it." A whole box of tapes. A faint, tingling sensation spread through Lin Meiyan's heart—an emotion hard to put into words. She didn't know how to describe it. In the end, it came down to two words: "Thank you." At twenty, Lin Meiyan had especially loved Teresa Teng's "Sweet Honey." She had wanted to learn every single one of Teresa Teng's songs. She envied Youth Yue for having a radio, and envied Youth Yue for being able to buy a tape every month. For Lin Meiyan and Yu Jianghai, that was absolutely impossible. Back then, she couldn't even get enough to eat. The Lin family had fallen on hard times, and Lin Meiyan had lost her family's support. Tapes and radios were a luxury for her. And for Yu Jianghai, it was the same. He watched as Lin Meiyan looked at others with envious eyes, yet he was powerless to do anything. Later, Yu Jianghai took a discarded second-hand radio and patched it up, barely managing to assemble a working one. That radio was always breaking down—it would crackle and hiss while playing, requiring a few taps and knocks on its casing. But to Lin Meiyan, it was a treasure beyond measure. That battered old radio accompanied them through many years in that dim cave. Every time he fixed the radio, Yu Jianghai would think to himself that he would become rich one day. He would have money. He would give Lin Meiyan a real, brand-new, most fashionable radio—not someone else's castoff that was always breaking down. At this moment, both of them seemed to recall the past. Secretary Shen was clever and naturally led Qiaoqiao, Gu Kaihua, and Ye Qiuju downstairs. Once they left, there were no outsiders. Yu Jianghai naturally placed Teresa Teng's cassette into the radio. A moment later, a familiar yet sweet voice filled the air. —Sweet, sweet, you smile so sweetly. —Like flowers blooming in the spring breeze. When that familiar song began to play, Lin Meiyan was dazed for a moment. For an instant, she didn't know if she was at Linji or in the cave. In those countless dark days, they had depended on each other in that cave. Yu Jianghai seemed to sense something. He took the initiative to extend his hand toward Lin Meiyan. She hesitated briefly, but muscle memory made her instinctively place her hand in his. Accompanied by the sweet lyrics, she naturally began to spin. It was a movement she had performed countless times before. When she completed a turn in the crook of Yu Jianghai's arm, Lin Meiyan suddenly snapped back to reality. She looked around, then at Yu Jianghai. Her gaze gradually focused. "Yu Jianghai," she murmured softly. "We're not on the island anymore. We're not in the cave either." "We're at Linji." At the Linji her father had left her—the Linji that she and Yu Jianghai had renovated together, bearing both the traces of Linji and the marks of their shared past. Yu Jianghai's gaze was profound. "We've both started over, haven't we?" No longer the disheveled, destitute versions of themselves from their first meeting. He had achieved success in his career. She had achieved success in hers. They were no longer the weak, helpless versions of each other from those days. Lin Meiyan understood the meaning behind Yu Jianghai's words. They had both started over—not just in their careers, but as individuals. She tried to evade, almost instantly letting go of Yu Jianghai's hand, but the next second he seized it firmly. With one hand, he tilted her face up and lowered his head to kiss her. It began with a hint of hesitation. Lin Meiyan resisted somewhat, but Yu Jianghai deftly parted her lips, and the next moment, he pressed deeper. This made Lin Meiyan freeze instantly. Her eyes flew wide open, staring straight at Yu Jianghai. He felt a little embarrassed by her gaze. He raised his hand to cover her eyes. "Yanyan, don't look at me when we kiss." "Why haven't you learned that yet?" His tone carried an indescribable tenderness. It was just like back then—he had said the same thing. Every time they kissed, Lin Meiyan would curiously keep her eyes open to watch him. Yu Jianghai was also in his first relationship and felt somewhat shy. And so, time after time, he would cover her eyes. They had kissed countless times in that dark cave. They knew each other's bodies and rhythms intimately—perhaps even better than they knew themselves. Such was Lin Meiyan. Such was Yu Jianghai. At this moment, he lowered his head and slowly kissed her lips, parting them with his tongue, until finally, he seemed to abandon his conquest. He turned instead to nibble at her earlobe. Lin Meiyan drew in a sharp breath. Almost instantly, her knees went weak, and she nearly collapsed. Even more so, a warm, tingling sensation spread from her lower abdomen, surging outward like a gentle stream. In that instant, Lin Meiyan's face flushed crimson. Yu Jianghai noticed as well. He suddenly scooped her up, and Lin Meiyan clung to him like a vine. It all happened naturally. As if they had done this countless times before. Even their movements were in perfect sync, effortless. When Lin Meiyan wrapped herself around Yu Jianghai, a moment of clarity broke through her mind. "Yu Jianghai." She raised her hand to push against his head, her almond-shaped eyes holding a flash of lucidity. "We can't." "They—they're all waiting downstairs." She couldn't leave them waiting downstairs while she and Yu Jianghai were upstairs in the throes of passion. Yu Jianghai held her. He knew better than anyone how sensitive Lin Meiyan's body was. He raised his hand and pressed gently, sensing her go completely limp, as if all her strength had drained away. He lowered his head and let out a soft chuckle. "I wasn't planning to continue, you know." He touched his forehead to hers, his voice low and slightly husky. "Yanyan, where did your mind go?" He was teasing her again. Realizing this, Lin Meiyan felt a flash of embarrassment and anger. Almost without thinking, she bit down on his shoulder. Yu Jianghai sucked in a sharp breath. Lin Meiyan snapped back to the present instantly. She lowered her head to look at the man's face—no longer the youthful, brooding boy of years past, but now carrying a mature ruggedness and an air of quiet nobility. In that moment, Lin Meiyan was pulled from the past back to reality. With a slightly unnatural expression, she climbed off Yu Jianghai. "Let's go down," she said softly. Yu Jianghai knew that Lin Meiyan had returned from the past to the present. He wasn't angry—on the contrary, he was extremely patient. This was already a good start, wasn't it? He and she shared over a decade of memories. From the bloom of youth to now stepping into middle age. He still had countless moments to walk her through the past, to make her fall in love with him again. Yu Jianghai had that confidence. He took her hand to head downstairs together, but Lin Meiyan refused. Yu Jianghai tilted his head and whispered low in her ear, "Yanyan, don't make me kiss you in front of others." He would really do it. He'd done it countless times before. At that thought, Lin Meiyan ground her teeth in anger. She raised her hand and gave Yu Jianghai's arm a hard pinch. "Yu Jianghai." Yu Jianghai's expression didn't change. Honestly, it had been years since anyone dared to pinch his arm. He almost missed it. "Like it? Pinch a little longer." Lin Meiyan: "..." Lin Meiyan was so exasperated by his shamelessness that she nearly laughed. Fortunately, they had already reached the bottom of the stairs. In front of the children, Yu Jianghai still had some face to save. He did maintain a sense of decorum, his expression turning more serious and solemn. At least no outsider could tell what Yu Jianghai had been up to before. The moment Lin Meiyan and Yu Jianghai came down, everyone on the first floor instantly turned to look at them—especially at Lin Meiyan's slightly swollen lips. Gu Kaihua winked suggestively, but Ye Qiuju shut him down with a slap. "What? Your eye twitching?" "Want me to give you a couple of acupuncture needles?" At that, Gu Kaihua's twitching immediately stopped. Qiaoqiao stared at Lin Meiyan's mouth for a moment. "Mommy, did you eat chili peppers?" Lin Meiyan felt a flash of embarrassment. She shot a glare at Yu Jianghai, who lied without changing his expression. "Your mommy's mouth was just bitten by a mosquito." He was the mosquito! That was everyone's first thought! Fortunately, Yu Jianghai had thick skin and remained as steady as a mountain. He glanced at Secretary Shen, who understood instantly and pulled out a black briefcase. Taking it, Yu Jianghai first addressed Gu Kaihua and Ye Qiuju. "Uncle, Auntie." This was the first time he'd addressed them so formally in an official setting. It was also the formal acknowledgment of family after the marriage. For Lin Meiyan, Gu Kaihua and Ye Qiuju were the people closest to her. Yu Jianghai treated them with the highest respect. Secretary Shen immediately brought over the gifts—fine cigarettes, fine liquor, and fine tea for Gu Kaihua, and premium fish maw from the island for Ye Qiuju. When Lin Meiyan saw the fish maw, she felt a moment of daze. Back then, she hadn't liked fish maw, but every time Yu Jianghai came back from the sea, he would set aside the fish maw separately, saving up enough to stew a bowl for her. She found it too fishy to eat, but Yu Jianghai would feed her, spoonful by spoonful, coaxing her as she ate. "Yanyan, the living conditions on this island are too harsh. You need to build up your health." "Once your health is good, we'll have a future." So even back then, Yu Jianghai had already been thinking about the future. He had been preparing for it long, long ago. Clearly, Lin Meiyan and he had opposite personalities. In their youth, she had been the most passionate, the first to say she liked him. But her affection had no staying power—she gave up quickly. Only Yu Jianghai remained rooted in place. Just as he had all those years ago. Lin Meiyan couldn't put into words what she felt, so she chose silence. Yu Jianghai wasn't anxious. He knew Lin Meiyan had a knot in her heart. That was fine. They had the marriage certificate now. He could spend a lifetime slowly helping her untie that knot. Finally, Yu Jianghai gave Qiaoqiao a red envelope—a gift meant solely for her. Qiaoqiao looked at the thickness of the envelope and looked helplessly at Lin Meiyan. Lin Meiyan nodded. "Take it." Of everyone present, Qiaoqiao was the one most deserving of that red envelope from Yu Jianghai. To put it bluntly, it was a long-overdue gift. Only then did Qiaoqiao accept it. Her small hands could barely hold it, and she wondered just how much money was inside. Secretary Shen seemed to read her confusion. He spoke up. "Ten thousand." "Our boss's greeting gift for little Qiaoqiao." Of course, in his boss's eyes, even ten thousand felt a bit small. Yu Jianghai seemed slightly displeased with Secretary Shen's loose tongue. Secretary Shen made a zipping motion over his lips and went to stand guard by the door on his own. This made Gu Kaihua exchange a glance with Ye Qiuju. From the way Secretary Shen interacted with Yu Jianghai, it was clear that the former held far more reverence and fear for the latter. However, Yu Jianghai treated their Yanyan this way—because he liked Yanyan, he even showed respect to her family members as well. To be honest, as things stood, Gu Kaihua was actually quite satisfied. From the perspective of choosing a marriage partner, Yu Jianghai was indeed a good match. He didn't say anything else, nor did he pry into the past. He simply said, "Jiang Hai, our Yanyan has had a hard life all these years. Now that you're married, we elders don't ask for great wealth or prosperity—just that you two get along well and take care of each other." Yu Jianghai held Lin Meiyan's hand and nodded. "We will." Being held by him in front of the elders made Lin Meiyan somewhat embarrassed. She tried to pull away, but Yu Jianghai's hands were like clamps, gripping tightly without letting go. Ye Qiuju noticed and smiled. "Alright, alright. You young people go chat." "Old Gu and I will go make lunch. Jiang Hai, stay and have a simple meal with us." "As for Meiyan—" Ye Qiuju seemed to know what Lin Meiyan was thinking. "You keep Jiang Hai company. No need to come into the kitchen." She seemed to know Lin Meiyan wanted to help in the kitchen. Lin Meiyan pressed her lips together. "Let me do it." "Today is a special day for you. It's different." Ye Qiuju declined directly. "All the dishes are already prepared. If I can't handle this much, then I'd really be a fool." After all, she had been helping out at Linji for over a month now. Lin Meiyan let it go. Ye Qiuju led Gu Kaihua into the kitchen to help, while Qiaoqiao handed the money to Lin Meiyan—an extremely thick red envelope. "Why did you give the child so much money?" Lin Meiyan couldn't help scolding Yu Jianghai a little. Even though she was making decent money at Linji now, it would still take her several years to save up ten thousand yuan. Because earning and saving were two different things. Linji brought in a lot of money every day, but after deducting all the costs and expenses, what actually ended up in her hands wasn't much. Yu Jianghai looked down at her, then picked up Qiaoqiao again. His voice was hoarse. "I only regret giving her too little." Qiaoqiao was his daughter. His daughter in Jiangcheng—even if she couldn't command wind and rain, she should at least live a life of wealth and comfort. She shouldn't have to stand under the scorching sun all day for a five-cent bowl of mung bean soup. Qiaoqiao didn't quite understand yet. She looked at one, then the other. Lin Meiyan's face paled slightly. "Yu Jianghai, this is all I'm capable of." She had given everything she had just to give Qiaoqiao the life they had now. Yu Jianghai handed Qiaoqiao to Secretary Shen and told him to take her out to play. Qiaoqiao could tell the adults needed to talk—she was very perceptive. After handing the money to Lin Meiyan, she scrambled down from Yu Jianghai's arms in a flash. "I'll go play by myself." She left. With the child gone, Yu Jianghai spoke more freely. "Yanyan, I'm not blaming you." "I only blame myself for not finding you sooner." If he had found her earlier, would they have had to suffer through all that? Lin Meiyan didn't say anything. She just lowered her head and headed upstairs. The second floor was beautifully renovated—blue wainscoting, clean staircases. She walked ahead, glancing up at everything inside Linji. Every corner bore traces of Yu Jianghai's presence. "Yanyan." She walked ahead while Yu Jianghai spoke to her. She ignored him. Yu Jianghai reached out, grabbed her, and scooped her up in his arms. They were still on the stairs. Lin Meiyan let out a startled gasp, but then remembered the elders were still downstairs. She instantly covered her mouth, her autumn-water eyes glaring daggers at Yu Jianghai. Yu Jianghai's expression was perfectly calm. "I was talking to you, and you ignored me." "So I'll carry you up instead." Lin Meiyan didn't know what to say. She couldn't help muttering, "Yu Jianghai, are you still eighteen?" How could he be so childish. "Yeah." Yu Jianghai answered without hesitation. "Eighteen." Yu Jianghai's memory had stayed frozen at that summer when he was eighteen and met Lin Meiyan. It had always been that way. The reason he had survived all these years, persisted, and found her again—it was all because of those memories. Lin Meiyan understood. She fell silent. Yu Jianghai carried her up the stairs, step by step, as if no one else was around. Each step was steady, as if walking on flat ground. Lin Meiyan suddenly said, "If only you had carried me up last time at Jianghai Dicai." She had worn ill-fitting shoes and climbed all fourteen floors by herself. Yu Jianghai turned his head to look at her, his voice cool and clear. "We can try next time." His bone structure was exceptionally striking—deep-set eyes, thin, cold lips. Beneath his calm words seemed to hide surging waves. Lin Meiyan was momentarily lost in thought. It wasn't until they reached the second-floor living room sofa that Yu Jianghai set her down. He stood above her, looking down. Those eyes seemed to have frost condensed in them—no, it was frost melting. They were too close, so close their breaths intertwined. It made Lin Meiyan uncomfortable. She instinctively leaned back, but every step she retreated, Yu Jianghai advanced one step closer. Finally, their faces were nearly touching, their breaths mingling. Lin Meiyan could clearly see the desire in his eyes. She raised her hand and pushed him away. "Yu Jianghai, there are people downstairs, and Qiaoqiao could come up at any moment." Yu Jianghai pulled back, creating some distance between them. He raised his hand to loosen his tie, revealing a protruding Adam's apple—restrained yet alluring. A moment later, without giving Lin Meiyan a chance to react, he leaned down and surged forward. He no longer held back, kissing Lin Meiyan beneath him with unrestrained, fierce tenderness. Lin Meiyan couldn't push him away. She whimpered, "Someone might come up." Two words escaped from between Yu Jianghai's lips and teeth. "They won't." Secretary Shen would take Qiaoqiao out to play. And Gu Kaihua and Ye Qiuju were cooking. No one would come up at this hour. Lin Meiyan's body went limp from the kissing. Nestled in his arms, she felt as if she were drenched all over—moist and sticky. She couldn't push him away, so she gave up trying. She had assumed Yu Jianghai would go all the way, but unexpectedly— At the very last moment, Yu Jianghai shifted sideways off her. The sofa was narrow, and as he squeezed in beside her, their bodies could only press passively together. Yu Jianghai's eyelids were tinged with red, carrying a faint trace of lingering passion. His voice was restrained. "Yanyan, I have a headache." Lin Meiyan had been frantically straightening her clothes, but at these words, she furrowed her brow instinctively. "Is it the old problem acting up again?" Yu Jianghai hummed in acknowledgment. He raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, each time with force, each time leaving deep nail marks. "Stop pinching." Lin Meiyan knew that Yu Jianghai had a chronic headache—a condition left behind from years of sea wind and diving on the island. Not only that, he also had arthritis and rheumatism, all old ailments from his younger days. Lin Meiyan immediately forgot about fixing her clothes. She sat up halfway on the sofa. "Let me massage it for you." Yu Jianghai nodded, his voice sounding somewhat aggrieved. "You haven't massaged it for me in years." When his headaches were severe, he could only rely on painkillers. He had endured year after year. All just to find her. Lin Meiyan paused briefly. She rose and sat half-kneeling beside his head, her fingers moving swiftly as she pressed them against his temples, massaging gently. "If your headache is really bad, you could have someone else massage it for you. That would help too." "If it's truly unbearable, you could go to the hospital. Those people are more professional than me, after all." Yu Jianghai closed his eyes, breathing in the familiar scent beside him. He gradually relaxed as well. "It doesn't work." "What?" "Their massages don't work." No one's massage worked. Only Lin Meiyan's did. What was Lin Meiyan supposed to say to that? She didn't know what to say. She simply watched as his furrowed brow slowly smoothed out, and her technique gradually grew lighter. Before she knew it, Yu Jianghai had fallen asleep—and deeply at that. Lin Meiyan looked down at him, her fingertip gently tracing his handsome brow and eyes. Thirty-one-year-old Yu Jianghai was no longer young. His handsome features had gained a touch of mature charm, and a few strands of white hair had appeared at his temples. Lin Meiyan paused. She lifted the white hair to examine it closely, then studied Yu Jianghai's face, murmuring, "Yu Jianghai, you've grown old too." I've grown old too. The thirty-one-year-old Yu Jianghai no longer had the youthful innocence or gloom of his eighteen-year-old self. What remained was only maturity and coldness, along with the aggressiveness he concealed deep within his bones. Lin Meiyan looked at him for a long while before finding an electric fan. The old-fashioned fan whirred as it turned. The moment it started making noise— Yu Jianghai instinctively opened his eyes. Those eyes still carried a hint of sharpness, startling Lin Meiyan. "Go back to sleep." Lin Meiyan raised her hand and patted his shoulder. "It's too hot. I turned on a fan. Sleep a little longer." Only when Yu Jianghai saw that it was her did he close his eyes again. But this time, even as he slept, his hand held tightly onto Lin Meiyan, refusing to let go. This left Lin Meiyan with no way to leave. So she waited quietly. She and Yu Jianghai rarely had moments alone together like this. Lin Meiyan listened to the fan blades whirring, then looked down at the sleeping Yu Jianghai. Her heart suddenly grew calm. Yu Jianghai slept all the way until past one o'clock. The food downstairs was already prepared, and Gu Kaihua, having no other choice, sent Secretary Shen up to check on the situation. Secretary Shen didn't want to come either, but he had no choice. He had even brought along his trump card—bringing Qiaoqiao with him to the second floor. The moment he opened the door, Lin Meiyan looked over and raised her index finger to her lips with a soft "shh." Only then did Secretary Shen notice Yu Jianghai on the sofa, sleeping soundly. This shocked him somewhat. His boss could actually fall asleep in broad daylight. Having followed Yu Jianghai for so many years, this was the first time he'd seen it. For Yu Jianghai to fall asleep during the day, there was only one condition: he had to have pulled an all-nighter beforehand, pushing his body to its absolute limit. But he couldn't sleep well because of his severe headaches, which required painkillers. Yet now, without painkillers and without an all-nighter, his boss had actually fallen asleep. Secretary Shen suppressed his shock and said silently, "I'll head downstairs then." He didn't dare step forward to call out to her, afraid of disturbing her sleep. When Secretary Shen left, she took Qiaoqiao with her, and the moment they were gone, the room instantly fell silent. Lin Meiyan hesitated for a moment before reaching out to gently pat Yu Jianghai's face. "Yu Jianghai, wake up." Yu Jianghai was sleeping too soundly, showing no reaction at all. A mischievous idea crossed Lin Meiyan's mind. She reached out and pinched Yu Jianghai's nose, blocking his airway. "Yu Jianghai, still not waking up?" Yu Jianghai caught her hand and opened his eyes. When he saw Lin Meiyan smiling playfully as she teased him, he felt a brief sense of daze. "Naughty." "Always ambushing me when I'm asleep." Those words pulled them both back to the past. Lin Meiyan felt the embarrassment of being caught red-handed. Her face flushed red. "Get up. Let's go downstairs to eat." She walked ahead on her own, but Yu Jianghai pulled her back, tightly gripping her hand. "Let's go down together." Lin Meiyan refused. Yu Jianghai lowered his head, his voice low and husky. "We're legally married." "Holding hands, hugging, kissing—all of it is permitted by law." And even more so—making love was too. Author's note: We should be getting to the lovemaking soon.