Nan Yu didn't give an immediate answer.
It was crucial to find a father for Little Chestnut, and she couldn't make a hasty decision.
Seeing her hesitating, Zhou Yu didn't press further. Instead, he just smiled gently and said, "You can take your time to think it over. Or we can start as boyfriend and girlfriend to develop our feelings."
"Senior, you've already helped me a great deal," Nan Yu bit her lips. "Moreover, this is no trivial matter."
A lifelong event couldn't be treated lightly.
Zhou Yu laughed helplessly. "Do you think I'm joking with you? Or can't you see my feelings for you?"
Nan Yu was taken aback.
It wasn't that she was truly blind to his affection.
Zhou Yu's attitude towards her had shown signs before, and their recent interactions had become even more ambiguous.
She was already a mother now, no longer a naive young girl. Naturally, she could understand his intentions.
It was just that she wasn't ready.
She wasn't truly prepared to start a new life.
To be precise, she wasn't ready to accept that she would spend the rest of her life with another man.
So she gently told Zhou Yu that she hadn't adjusted her state of mind yet.
This so - called "state of mind" actually meant that she hadn't let go of the person in her heart.
It was impolite to invite a new person in when her heart was already occupied.
As a fellow musician, Zhou Yu understood her delicacy. He just nodded and said that he would wait for her reply.
The implication was: I'll wait for you.
After Nan Yu had taken Little Chestnut home for a month, Aunt Li suddenly had a relative getting married in her hometown. So Nan Yu gave Aunt Li a one - week leave.
During this month, Nan Yu had more or less mastered how to take care of a child, so Aunt Li left for her hometown without worry.
However, on the third night after Aunt Li left, Little Chestnut had a high fever.
It was Zhou Yu who drove over at two o'clock in the morning. He took the mother and son to the emergency room and comforted Nan Yu.
From registering to getting the medicine, and then to asking the doctors and nurses about the precautions, Zhou Yu handled all these procedures.
If Nan Yu had been alone, she would have been hard - pressed. She definitely couldn't have watched over the child and got information from the doctor at the same time.
It was hard for her not to be touched.
Some decisions are made in an instant.
Suddenly, she said, "Zhou Yu, let's get married."
Nan Yu knew that she was being hasty.
But Little Chestnut needed a father.
This family needed another person to participate so that life could go on smoothly.
Zhou Yu was caught off guard. "What did you say? Wait a minute..."
Then he came to his senses and looked at her.
After a moment, his gaze landed on her face.
Afraid that he didn't hear clearly, Nan Yu repeated, "Zhou Yu, I agree now..."
"Okay," Zhou Yu said in a gentle voice, looking at her tenderly. "I'll go take care of Little Chestnut first."
Nan Yu couldn't tell what she was feeling.
She always felt that at the moment she said it, something had been settled.
This was the best outcome.
...
Nan Yu and Zhou Yu went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their marriage certificate, but due to the policy in Jingbei, they needed to have lived there for three years to register.
Helplessly, their plan to get the certificate was put on hold for the time being.
But not getting the certificate didn't mean not having a wedding.
The date of the wedding was set, and then came the intensive preparations.
Choosing the wedding dress, taking wedding photos, buying the diamond ring... Zhou Yu arranged everything, and Nan Yu just needed to make choices.
When taking the wedding photos, the photographer's most frequent words were, "Smile more, bride - to - be."
She had to force a smile and cooperate with the photographer to complete all kinds of intimate actions.
For some close - up shots of kisses, Zhou Yu would say in advance that they could pull the camera back and take the photos in a misaligned way.
He didn't want her to feel embarrassed and arranged everything according to what made her comfortable.
When the photos came out, they unexpectedly looked very well - matched.
Nan Yu thought to herself that even the appearance of being in love could be created through photo - editing.
Watching the elegant decoration in the small Western - style building gradually being replaced by the festive red, Nan Yu remained calm.
Aunt Li was holding Little Chestnut and smiling. She told the child to point at the wedding photos on the wall and call "Dad".
Nan Yu didn't say a word. She just turned around and went back to her room.
She told herself that she had to learn to adapt.
...
When Qu Jiaran heard that Nan Yu was going to have a wedding, she happily sent a whole set of high - end custom - designed jewelry, each piece adorned with shiny big diamonds.
Nan Yu said helplessly, "These styles are too flashy. I won't wear them."
"Just consider them your personal assets. If things don't go well in the future, they can be your savings," Qu Jiaran said generously. "From now on, I'll be your family. No one can bully you."
Nan Yu couldn't help laughing, but after that, she was mostly touched.
Qu Jiaran seemed careless on the surface, but sometimes she was really heart - warming.
The so - called "family" was a joke, but it was true that she would stand up for Nan Yu.
The wedding was set for early June. Jingbei had already entered early summer, and the temperature wasn't too high.
Since the wedding was held in Jingbei, there weren't many acquaintances. Most of the invitations were sent out by Zhou Yu.
Qu Jiaran specifically asked Zhou Yu for two invitations.
Zhou Yu didn't think much of it. He just assumed that Nan Yu had other friends in Jiangcheng besides Qu Jiaran and asked her to pass them on.
Who would have thought that Qu Jiaran would immediately send one to Tan Linyuan.
Qi Zhu couldn't stand it and couldn't help saying, "Jiaran, there's no need to rub salt into Mr. Tan's wounds."
Qu Jiaran rolled her eyes. "You don't understand. I have a deep - seated hatred for him."
Qi Zhu had never heard that Qu Jiaran and Tan Linyuan had any enmity.
If anything, at most they didn't get married before, but Qu Jiaran wasn't the kind of person who would haggle over every detail.
In fact, Qu Jiaran's grievance wasn't really about this.
It dated back a long time ago.
Qu Jiaran's feelings for Tan Linyuan had actually ended even before Nan Yu appeared.
She had high ambitions but was always ignored by Tan Linyuan, which was enough for her to bear a grudge.
What she hated the most was that Tan Linyuan had almost no weaknesses. No matter how sarcastic she was, she couldn't hurt him.
It wasn't until Nan Yu appeared that she found out that this man also had a soft spot.
She wanted to take everything related to Tan Linyuan and destroy it.
But Qu Jiaran had no intention of harming others. So at first, she just wanted to create a scene of competing with Nan Yu for a man, making Tan Linyuan exhausted.
During this process, Nan Yu's actions made her feel guilty:
Everything about herself was fake, but Nan Yu's attitude towards her was real.
Genuine concern, genuine pity, and a genuine reluctance to owe her.
Qu Jiaran felt bad about it, and this gradually developed into a kind of love and possessiveness for Nan Yu.
A girl as good as Nan Yu wasn't something someone as fake as herself deserved; and a man as annoying as Tan Linyuan certainly didn't deserve her either.
So there was that sentence: "We rats in the dark should stay in the sewers."
Now, the fight between Qu Jiaran and Tan Linyuan was over, but she wanted to protect Nan Yu forever.
She was what was commonly known as a true fan.
Sending the invitation wasn't the end. Qu Jiaran also sent a text message to Tan Linyuan to add fuel to the fire.