Chapter 18: Kiss
Even as she returned to Hui Fu Garden and right up to the moment she stepped inside, Ming Fei still felt a little disoriented.
The ups and downs of the day had greatly impacted her, her emotions like a rollercoaster, sometimes climbing to the peak to meet the sun, sometimes plummeting into a long blizzard.
Only when she pushed open the door and returned home did she feel like she had finally gotten off the ride.
“Mommy!”
Ming Fei squatted down and hugged her small daughter, her voice a little hoarse as she spoke.
“Zaozao.”
Ming Zaozao, with her two pigtails, let her mother hold her: “Mommy, Baby learned a new dance today~”
Ming Fei’s mood eased somewhat, and the fatigue in her eyes faded. She picked up Ming Zaozao with one arm, changed into slippers, and walked towards the living room.
“What dance did Zaozao learn?”
Ming Zaozao: “Robot dance, Flower(Hua Hua) taught Baby.”
008, around the corner, played a video of Ming Zaozao learning to dance. Although it was only thirty seconds long, it completely healed Ming Fei, who had experienced such a bumpy day.
She praised: “Which little one is so amazing?”
Ming Zaozao puffed out her chest proudly: “It’s Baby!”
Ming Fei kissed her face: “Is Zaozao a dancer?”
Ming Zaozao didn’t yet understand what a dancer was. After listening to 008’s explanation, she smiled radiantly. Ming Fei played with her daughter on the sofa for a while. When the pre-ordered dinner arrived and they began to eat, Ming Fei received another message from Zhu Yiqiao.
The Chief Judge’s messages were always concise and straightforward.
[Move after registering the marriage tomorrow.]
[These two villas are close to Q University. Choose one for cohabitation.]
Attached were two transmission links. Ming Fei clicked on them and found they were the internal systems of the villas. She could directly see the layout, panoramic view, and other aspects of the villas.
Ming Fei bit her lip, exited the links, and immediately replied to Zhu Yiqiao.
[Chief Judge Zhu, Zaozao and I can live in either one. Your convenience and needs are the priority.]
[You make the choice.]
After the message was sent successfully, Ming Fei realized that she hadn’t changed the way she addressed Zhu Yiqiao. She quickly sent an apologetic cat emoji and was about to type “sorry” when the other party replied first.
[The choice is yours.]
[If you don’t want to live in the main urban area, other areas are also up to you.]
The main urban area was very convenient in all aspects. Ming Fei projected the images of the two villas onto 008’s display screen and decided to let Ming Zaozao choose which house to live in.
Ming Zaozao was very focused when eating, and she wasn’t a picky eater. At the moment, she was eating with relish, her cheeks bulging with meatballs. She only looked up from her bowl to the display screen when her mother called her.
“Wow~ So pretty!”
Ming Fei said, “Zaozao, see which one you like.”
Although she didn’t quite understand what this had to do with eating, Ming Zaozao still listened to her mother. After looking at the images of the two villas without blinking, she chose the first one without hesitation.
“The first one!”
Ming Fei responded, “Zaozao likes the first one?”
“Mm-hmm!” Ming Zaozao nodded. “The first one has a beautiful garden, Mommy likes flowers, and there’s a big lake, Mommy likes fishing! So, Baby likes the first one!”
Ming Fei’s heart softened: “As long as Zaozao likes it.”
“If Mommy likes it, Baby likes it!” Ming Zaozao was still thinking about her creamy mushroom soup. After finishing, she asked, “Mommy, can Baby eat now?”
“Of course.”
Ming Fei picked up a piece of tender fish for her daughter before looking down to reply to Zhu Yiqiao’s message.
[I just asked Zaozao.]
[Based on Zaozao’s opinion, the first one is more suitable.]
Because of the previous mistake in her address, Ming Fei was very careful and cautious when typing the new address, not wanting to make any more mistakes.
[Jiejie, what do you think?]
[[Kitten offering fish.jpg]]
The person she called “Jiejie” replied very quickly.
[The first one.]
[Tomorrow morning at nine, don’t be late.]
Mentioning this, Ming Fei subconsciously straightened up, as if about to enter a solemn church.
[Okay.]
[I’ll be there on time.]
After a while, the other party didn’t reply. Ming Fei put down her phone and was about to continue eating when she found that Ming Zaozao next to her had already eaten until her belly was round, like a rolling cat.
“Mommy, Baby is full!”
Ming Fei’s eyes crinkled with laughter: “Zaozao is so amazing.”
Ming Zaozao pushed all the dishes towards her mother. After making sure her mother could reach them, she propped up her chin with her hands and asked,
“Mommy, will Pretty Auntie be back tomorrow?”
Ming Fei paused: “Zaozao.”
“Mm?”
“Would you like to live with that pretty auntie for a while?”
“Okay.”
Ming Fei continued: “What if we have to move if we live together?”
Ming Zaozao blinked in confusion. Even though she was a little reluctant, she still nodded.
“Wherever Mommy is, Baby is there.”
In the past two years, Ming Zaozao had been Ming Fei’s greatest comfort. She didn’t want to hide anything from her daughter, but whether or not to let her daughter know about Zhu Yiqiao’s other identity after the contract marriage was something she could only wait for Zhu Yiqiao to decide.
So, in the next five minutes, she only told Ming Zaozao about the upcoming move.
“Okay!” Ming Zaozao accepted it quickly. “Baby will bring the gifts Mommy gave me!”
“Don’t you want your other toys?”
“Yes, but the gifts Mommy gave me are the most important!”
After saying that, Ming Zaozao got down from the baby chair, ran to the sofa, picked up her strawberry backpack, and said with determination,
“Baby is going to pack now!”
Ming Fei chuckled: “Okay.”
The weather in Xi He City had been good for almost a week.
Wednesday was still sunny and cloudless.
The Civil Affairs Bureau, responsible for marriage affairs in the Independent State of Yi Meng, was located on Beiming Avenue in the main urban area, only five kilometers away from Ming Fei’s Hui Fu Garden, a ten-minute ride by self-driving car.
Even so, Ming Fei still got up and left early, arriving at the government building forty minutes early.
She was wearing a brown trench coat over a white shirt, a must-wear for marriage registration. Her beautiful face was free of makeup, and her red lips were pressed into a thin line due to nervousness.
With thirty-five minutes left until the appointed time, Ming Fei stood alone by a maple tree, glancing at her watch from time to time. Until 8:45, she was the only person near the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Although Ming Fei had recently reviewed the latest survey data on marriage rates and birth rates in the Independent State of Yi Meng, she was still a little surprised by the lack of people.
As far as she knew, the marriage rate in the Independent State had fallen to a low point. The reasons were not complicated, mainly due to changes in people’s thinking, and the lingering fear from the century-old viral history. During those cruel years, various conflicts and events had led many people to believe that marriage was the biggest deception in the world.
The temperature difference between day and night in Xi He City was significant. As the cold autumn wind blew past, Ming Fei turned and stood to the right of the maple tree, thus missing a black hovercar entering the parking garage.
At 8:55 am, Ming Fei was still waiting quietly, with no intention of sending a message to Zhu Yiqiao to ask.
Because she knew very well that in this marriage agreement, she would always be the one obeying, waiting, and accepting. As long as Zhu Yiqiao didn’t arrive, even if she had to wait until the end of the day, she would continue to wait.
Sunlight cast dappled shadows on the maple tree, and a few maple leaves fluttered down. Ming Fei took out a piece of paper and walked forward to pick up all the fallen leaves. She planned to take two back to make maple leaf bookmarks and throw the rest into the trash can for the cleaning robots who hadn’t started working yet.
Thinking this, she smiled.
When she stood up again, the smile hadn’t yet faded from her face when she saw Zhu Yiqiao, dressed in a black trench coat, standing a few steps away.
She subconsciously called out, “Zhu—”
She swallowed the rest of the words and said softly, “…Jiejie.”
Zhu Yiqiao didn’t respond, and Ming Fei didn’t mind. To be honest, she wasn’t used to addressing Zhu Yiqiao this way. Because of her repeated abandonments before transmigrating, she gradually became the oldest child in the orphanage, and until her transmigration, it was always other children calling her “jiejie.” After transmigrating, even though she was the youngest in the academy, she had never addressed any of her colleagues this way.
Therefore, every time she called Zhu Yiqiao “Jiejie,” she would feel awkward, embarrassed, and even nervous. Zhu Yiqiao’s lack of response was the best answer.
As her thoughts wandered, Ming Fei kept three maple leaves in her bag, threw the rest into the mobile trash can, wiped her hands clean with flower-scented wet wipes, and then quickly walked to Zhu Yiqiao’s side.
At this time, there were two minutes left until the Civil Affairs Bureau opened. They stood under the dappled shadows of the trees, maintaining silence for half a minute before Ming Fei softly asked,
“…Jiejie, have you had breakfast?”
“Mm.”
Ming Fei didn’t know what else to say. She wasn’t good with words. Compared to 008, who scored full marks in social interaction, she could only get a 22 at most, two of which were for sympathy points.
Just as she was about to let the silence continue, the woman beside her suddenly asked, “Have you been waiting long?”
Ming Fei subconsciously shook her head: “No, just a little while.”
Zhu Yiqiao’s voice was flat: “I’ve arranged for people to go to Hui Fu Garden.”
“Won’t that be too much trouble for you?” Ming Fei explained, “I packed everything I need to move last night. I can just make two trips by car.”
The closed protective door of the Civil Affairs Bureau finally opened slowly from the inside, welcoming the morning light. At the same time, Ming Fei heard Zhu Yiqiao’s reply.
“—It’s no trouble.”
At this point, Ming Fei didn’t insist: “Okay, then let’s go in first.”
They walked in together. Ming Fei thought the staff of the Civil Affairs Bureau would be surprised to see Zhu Yiqiao, but in fact, as if it had been pre-arranged, none of the staff showed any surprise, and were even calmer than the intelligent robots in the hall upon seeing Zhu Yiqiao.
Ming Fei didn’t dare to waste Zhu Yiqiao’s time and cooperated throughout the entire process. However, when signing, she still couldn’t help but freeze for a moment.
“Ms. Ming, please confirm that you are signing of your own free will.”
Reminded by the staff member, Ming Fei signed her name without hesitation.
Her handwriting was beautiful and delicate, completely different from the powerful strokes of the person beside her. When the two clear signatures were projected onto the display screen, Ming Fei stared unblinkingly as the bright red marriage seal of the Civil Affairs Bureau was stamped.
“Congratulations to you both. Please follow me to the photo room to take a photo. After completing the last step of uploading the photo, you can receive your marriage certificate.”
Ming Fei silently followed Zhu Yiqiao. When they arrived at the photo room, she smoothly took off her trench coat, ready to take the photo in her white shirt.
There was no photographer in the photo room; the whole process was operated by AI. Ming Fei stood next to Zhu Yiqiao and gave the camera a small smile.
The AI named Sweet reminded them: “Please move closer to each other.”
Ming Fei took the initiative to move closer.
This was the closest she had ever been to Zhu Yiqiao since she met her, so close that she could smell the faint, cold fragrance on Zhu Yiqiao, so close that she was stiff as a wooden figure.
Sweet reminded them again: “Please be advised that the Independent State of Yi Meng and Taiya jointly issued new regulations on September 26. To ensure the authenticity of marriage and reduce the risk of marriage fraud, both countries have re-adjusted the requirements for marriage applications and the standards for marriage photos. Congratulations on passing all the previous procedures, but if the photo standards are not met, the photo will be considered invalid, and the previous seal will also be voided.”
Ming Fei felt inexplicably nervous.
“—The photo standards are as follows.”
“—Kiss your partner’s forehead, cheek, or lips. No obstructions are allowed.”
Ming Fei, startled by the new regulations, awkwardly and helplessly took half a step back, almost falling off the step due to her loss of balance.
The person beside her caught her in time. After regaining her footing, Ming Fei subconsciously wanted to say thank you, but lost her voice when she met Zhu Yiqiao’s cold and distant gaze.
Then, Sweet announced.
“—Ten-minute time limit, starting the countdown.”
“—Five, four, three, two, one.”
Ming Fei’s heart raced, pounding like a drum, almost crumpling the corner of her shirt in her grip.
Sweet issued its final prompt.
“—Timing officially begins.”
“—Please follow the instructions.”
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