Late at night, Rong Xiu rested his head on Fan Xia’s arm. His gold-rimmed glasses were placed on top of a book on the bedside table. His messy hair fell softly on his forehead, the ends brushing against the small mole under his left eye, looking extremely tender under the warm orange light. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling.

Suddenly, a pair of hands covered his eyes. Fan Xia’s voice sounded in his ear like a moist sea breeze: “Why aren’t you asleep yet? You’ve been staring at the ceiling for so long, aren’t your eyes sore?”

“I can’t sleep,” he said softly, his thin lips parting. The lower half of his face not covered by her hands had an indescribably mysterious beauty.

In the darkness of his vision, his hand slowly grasped the wrist covering his eyes. The slender white wrist bones were taut. His pale thin lips were like a bowl of epiphyllum blooming alone under the heavy night sky: “Fan Xia, I feel like this isn’t real. Just yesterday I was being cursed by the whole world, and today I can marry you. I’m so happy… but also so scared.”

“What are you afraid of?” Fan Xia turned up the lights and sat up to look at him. The clock on the wall showed it was 3:30 in the morning.

The light in Rong Xiu’s long, enchanting eyes was moist and fragile: “I’m afraid you’ll suddenly change your mind. I’m afraid it’s just a temporary impulse. I dare not sleep. I’m afraid that when I wake up tomorrow, you’ll tell me we’re not going, not getting married.”

Happiness came so suddenly, giving him an inexplicable sense of fear.

Fan Xia hadn’t expected Rong Xiu to be like this. At this moment, he was anxious, helpless, and frightened, completely different from the decisive CEO on the business battlefield. She hadn’t thought that after they got together, Rong Xiu would become insecure. Why?

She kissed the small mole under Rong Xiu’s eye, promising over and over again to comfort the insecure Rong Xiu: “That won’t happen.”

Rong Xiu held her hand: “Then can we go now?”

“What?”

“Go queue at the civil affairs bureau now.”

“…Okay.”

Fan Xia didn’t know why she agreed to Rong Xiu’s crazy decision. At 3:30 in the morning, they got dressed and drove to the city center. Worried about disturbing the live-in servant on the first floor who prepared meals for the pregnant Rong Xiu, they didn’t turn on the lights and tiptoed out quietly, just like rebellious high school students sneaking out at midnight to surf the internet, avoiding the security guard.

Fan Xia quietly opened the door and reached out her hand to Rong Xiu inside.

Rong Xiu was like a student climbing over the wall for the first time, excited and curious. He placed his hand in her palm and fell into her embrace.

However, they overlooked the automatic closing door making a dull mechanical sound. The sound wasn’t loud, but in the quiet night, it was no different from setting off firecrackers in a silent room.

They looked at each other.

“Quick, let’s go!” Fan Xia suddenly shouted, pulling him along.

The two of them laughed as they hurriedly got into the car and sped off in a flash.

The car had already driven far, but Rong Xiu was still laughing, and so was Fan Xia. The sea breeze gently blew in through the gap in the car window.

Although they were already adults, they were doing something incomprehensible and inexplicable. But under the moonlight, Rong Xiu rarely showed a happy smile. The cold moonlight fell into his eyes, as if reflecting a brilliant starry sky.

When they reached the city center, it was already 4 am. The winter dawn streets were cold and empty, desolate, with a chill in the air. Only across the street in front of two large open bars were a few three-wheeled carts selling street food. One cart had a sign for grilled cold noodles, one for jianbing (Chinese crepes), and one for grilled squid and grilled gluten, 3 skewers for 10 yuan. Because there were few people at this time, some of the owners were dozing off leisurely, while others were playing on their phones.

Fan Xia closed the car window and asked, “Are you cold?”

“Not cold,” Rong Xiu shook his head. His eyes locked onto those few food carts not far away and said, “Fan Xia, I want to eat that. Will you buy it for me?”

His slender hand pointed at the jianbing.

Fan Xia shook her head disapprovingly: “No, you’re pregnant now. You need to eat something nutritious.”

Rong Xiu’s eyes darkened. Suddenly, he pulled Fan Xia’s hand and pressed it to his lower abdomen. A sly light flashed through his slender eyes, like a little fox: “But your daughter wants to eat it.”

A killing move.

Fan Xia smiled, helpless yet indulgent, and nodded in compromise: “Alright, alright. I’ll go buy it for you.”

“I want to go with you,” Rong Xiu held her hand.

“Okay.”

The two got out of the car together and came to the jianbing stall, but the owner wasn’t there.

The grilled cold noodles owner next to them said, “The owner stepped out for something. Why don’t you buy from me instead?”

Rong Xiu hesitated for a moment, about to agree.

But Fan Xia shook her head and said, “My husband really wants to eat this… Can I make it myself and pay you when I’m done?”

Rong Xiu looked at her in surprise, his gaze deep and intense.

The grilled cold noodles owner nodded: “Of course that’s fine.”

So Fan Xia started to make it herself.

“You know how to make jianbing?” Rong Xiu asked.

“I used to eat it often. After watching for a long time, I have some impression. I remember the general steps.” Fan Xia stood at the stall, first spreading the batter, then adding an egg, flipping it over and spreading some sauce, adding a crispy fritter, then some ham and pork tenderloin. No, those are all processed meats.

Fan Xia put the ingredients back, added two pieces of lettuce, and finally wrapped everything up. A messy and pitiful-looking jianbing was ready.

The grilled gluten vendor glanced at the finished product and after a while said, “Actually, you don’t need to pay for this one.”

“I think it’s quite good,” Rong Xiu took out his phone to scan and pay, picked up the jianbing wrapped in paper, took a bite, and before he could even taste it properly, he started saying, “Delicious, delicious.”

The grilled gluten vendor pursed his lips, thinking: You two are really something, coming here to show off your love.

“Is it really delicious?” Back in the car, sitting in the back seat, seeing Rong Xiu continue to eat as if he wasn’t pretending, she couldn’t help but ask. Rong Xiu nodded, “Very delicious.”

Fan Xia watched him eat with focus, as if he was eating some exquisite delicacy. Suddenly she thought, given Rong Xiu’s family background, he probably only ate French or Italian cuisine when dining out. Street food like jianbing probably didn’t fit his image as a cold, rich second-generation heir.

So she asked, “Is this your first time eating street food?”

Rong Xiu paused for a moment and said, “No, I’ve eaten it many times before.” During university.