Will We Always Be This Happy?

...What future did they even have?

Lin Yang mocked herself inwardly; her gaze drifted downward.

Nothing more than waiting for Xu Zhitong to regain her memory and accept Xu Zhitong’s verdict.

She had made her choice. The consequences were hers to bear.

Lin Yang fell silent, pain and bitterness swelling in her chest. After a quiet moment, the fluffy head resting on her shoulder nudged against her.

Xu Zhitong lifted her head and pressed a soft kiss to Lin Yang’s cheek.

Blinking, she said, “Don’t be sad. I just went and checked the spoilers; do you want to hear them?”

“...” Lin Yang’s thoughts were still far away; she didn’t quite understand what Xu Zhitong was saying.

Seeing no reaction, Xu Zhitong took that as permission and began reciting the spoiler.

“The killer is the housekeeper. They’d been taking care of the old master for many years and wanted to steal the inheritance. But the bride had already seen through the housekeeper’s scheme; it was actually a fake death.”

Xu Zhitong tilted her head and held up her phone for Lin Yang to see. “Look, at the end the bride kisses her lover in front of the big flowerbed at their estate. It’s super romantic, and the diamond ring is huge.”

Lin Yang, who had been spoiled out of nowhere: “...”

Xu Zhitong asked with studied casualness, “Do you think this bride’s diamond ring looks nice?”

Lin Yang’s expression was a little wooden.

Xu Zhitong looked at her with bright, innocent expectation.

After a moment, Lin Yang finally focused on the phone screen.

The lovers were kissing; the hand wearing the oversized diamond ring rested on a shoulder in the foreground, obvious at a glance, as if proclaiming their happiness to the world.

Lin Yang couldn’t draw any happiness from it. She could only answer from the perspective of public taste. “It looks nice.”

As long as a diamond ring was big and sparkly enough, there was nothing not to like.

“Oh, oh.”

Xu Zhitong was already thinking about searching the brand by image in a moment.

She put her phone away and hummed twice.

It was obvious she was planning something.

Lin Yang paused, then looked at Xu Zhitong. “Why are you asking about this?”

Xu Zhitong blinked rapidly and played innocent. “My mom wants to buy a new diamond ring. Their thirtieth wedding anniversary is coming up soon, and I was thinking I could use the money I earned to get them one.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course.”

Lin Yang said, “I know a few brands’ VICs. If Auntie wants to go see them at the counter, I can introduce her to the SA. I can also use my account.”

Xu Zhitong thought, Perfect.

She said, “Sure, then send it to me and I’ll pass it on to her.”

If she could get a VIC, it was definitely a brand Lin Yang liked.

Wouldn’t that kill two birds with one stone, or several birds with one stone?

Xu Zhitong was secretly pleased with the excuse she’d just come up with under pressure.

Lin Yang took out her phone, pulled up the contact, and sent it to Xu Zhitong, while also greeting the other party.

After that, she let out a soft sigh.

She really couldn’t put her mind back into a movie she already knew the ending of.

She swallowed a mouthful of wine and pressed down the wild, sprawling emotions in her heart.

Clearly, there was another person beside her who also wasn’t paying attention to the movie.

Xu Zhitong had never been very patient with films to begin with.

For most suspenseful works, she had to look up the ending spoilers in advance before she could sit through them.

She tilted her head and secretly watched Lin Yang drink.

The wine went down her throat; that smooth, graceful neck moved faintly, white and lustrous.

She wanted to kiss it.

She wanted to leave countless marks on Lin Yang that belonged only to her.

Xu Zhitong thought that perhaps her appetite for happiness was a bottomless pit.

Otherwise, why, even in such a happy place, did she still feel an endless lack when it came to Lin Yang?

But the tutorial had said she couldn’t kiss the neck too hard; there were a lot of blood vessels there, and it was fragile.

Xu Zhitong stared longingly for a while before realizing Lin Yang’s attention didn’t seem to be on the movie either.

Her long eyelashes trembled, and she seemed absorbed even by the wine in her glass.

If they weren’t watching the movie, then why not do something more suitable for the two of them?

Xu Zhitong sneaked an arm around Lin Yang’s slender waist and said, “Yangbao, is the movie not good?”

Lin Yang came back to herself. “It’s all right.”

“You’re lying,” Xu Zhitong said, taking the wineglass from her hand and scolding her in a mock-fierce tone. “You didn’t even watch it. Who were you thinking about?”

Lin Yang froze. “I wasn’t...”

Xu Zhitong shouted dramatically, “Are you trying to stray? Why are you sitting next to me thinking about someone else!”

Lin Yang’s expression shifted from absent-minded to confused.

Seeing no sign that she was going to coax her, Xu Zhitong immediately gave herself an out. “I can’t be appeased anymore unless you sit on my lap and kiss me.”

Lin Yang: ?

Xu Zhitong ran through the whole routine too quickly. It took Lin Yang quite a while to react.

Then she smiled helplessly.

“You gave me the spoiler yourself, then accused me of not watching the movie properly. What’s so interesting about a detective film when you already know the killer?”

Xu Zhitong kept staring at her stubbornly. “Then what were you thinking about just now?”

“...”

Lin Yang couldn’t explain it, so she pressed her lips together, paused the movie, and turned to face Xu Zhitong for a moment.

She kissed Xu Zhitong.

“Thinking about you, Xiaotong,” Lin Yang said, lowering her eyes and softly yielding. “These days feel so happy. I was thinking, will it always be this happy?”

Xu Zhitong said matter-of-factly, “It will.”

She leaned against the sofa back and pulled Lin Yang over to sit on her lap, the two of them facing each other.

Lin Yang was so light that even when she sat there, she didn’t seem to add any weight at all, like a butterfly that might fly away at any moment.

But butterflies only landed on her flower.

The butterfly felt happy to land on her.

Xu Zhitong couldn’t stop herself from feeling lightheaded at the thought. Happiness blinded people; she was almost at a loss.

Lin Yang also felt happy to be with her.

So many sweet feelings seemed ready to overflow that Xu Zhitong, looking at Lin Yang sitting face-to-face with her, nearly blurted out her plan.

She would buy Lin Yang a huge diamond ring, prepare a surprise, and propose to her.

As long as Lin Yang agreed, that was enough; they would enter the halls of marriage.

Xu Zhitong held back and held back, and in the end could only hint at it with restraint.

“Yangbao, we’ll be happy forever, forever and ever.”

Lin Yang didn’t understand the implication and only thought it sounded like a reverse prophecy.

She smiled.

Xu Zhitong was dazzled; she lifted her face and clung to Lin Yang as she kissed her, tasting the wine on her lips.

The dense little pecks were stopped gently by Lin Yang just as they were about to slip into her collar.

Lin Yang touched Xu Zhitong’s cheek. “Xiaotong, I’m a little tired.”

In the light, Lin Yang’s face was partly backlit; her gaze really was a little hazy, wrapped in the scent of wine.

Xu Zhitong thought that Lin Yang had already gotten wet once today, and now she was tipsy from drinking. But what she wanted was for the two of them to do their most genuine things when they were both very sober.

So she consideredately said, “Okay, then go to bed early.”

Lin Yang went back to the bedroom ahead of time. Xu Zhitong stayed behind to tidy up the living room, including all the things their moms had sent over.

After being busy for quite a while, she washed up and slipped into the fragrant bed.

Her hand reached out from under the covers and clasped Lin Yang’s; after a while, she quietly went to feel for the base of her ring finger.

Only then did she sleep peacefully.

-

Xu Zhitong had been behaving slyly and “obediently” for several days.

Her moms returned from their trip, but it didn’t seem to have much impact on the two of them’s life.

They even took their privacy perfectly into account and never came to Xu Zhitong’s place once.

They only occasionally had the property manager bring over some delicious ingredients bought from various places.

Xu Zhitong then carefully studied her cooking skills at home.

And she really did get better and better at it.

Lin Yang had originally thought she would lose her appetite because of the impending judgment, but she still ate quite a lot.

Only then did she suddenly realize that over this period, eating together with Xu Zhitong and being fed in all sorts of ways had made her appetite much larger.

She went to weigh herself in the walk-in closet of the master bedroom; after one month of cohabitation, she had actually gained five pounds.

Xu Zhitong came over to look and happily picked her up and spun her around once.

“Goal achieved!” Xu Zhitong said. “Yangbao, you really were too skinny before.”

Lin Yang shoved Xu Zhitong away, annoyed. “Are you raising a pig, Xu Zhitong?”

Whenever she got angry, she called her by her full name.

Xu Zhitong felt like she was being scolded by her wife; beside the thrill, she also felt utterly innocent.

Blinking, she said, “Being too thin is bad. You’ve only gained a tiny bit of weight; there’s barely any flesh on your waist. Besides, it means we’re happy together; this is called happy fat.”

Lin Yang said, “Then don’t you have happy fat? Your abs are still there?”

Xu Zhitong: “!”

Panicking, she looked down and felt around.

She took a breath in; thankfully, the lines were still there.

But why did they seem a little less obvious than before?

Xu Zhitong felt like the sky had collapsed.

Lin Yang gave a low, amused hum. “After you eat from now on, you’re not allowed to just sit around anymore, understand?”

Xu Zhitong: TT

She was going to look up ab workout tutorials right away!

Actually, both of them had been on the slim side to begin with, so with such a small starting point, the happy weight gain wasn’t very obvious.

Still, with the numbers to compare them, the two of them added a new item to their post-meal routine: digestion walks.

The upscale residential complex they lived in had excellent landscaping; the traditional-style gardens had clear layers to them, and there was even a little hill that looked like a park.

A lap around it was enough to digest most of their meal.

But on the second day of their walk, they unexpectedly ran into Xu Ran and Lu Zhiwei.

Xu Ran and Lu Zhiwei had originally intended to avoid them.

But there was only one path on that hill, so they ran straight into each other.

From far away, they’d already seen their daughter, and Lin Yang beside her.

Their daughter was still the same, but this was the first time they were seeing Lin Yang in person.

The quiet girl they had only ever seen in a class group photo was now grown up and even more strikingly beautiful.

Her brows and eyes were like an ink wash painting; her gaze was very dark. From a distance, she seemed cold, but when she was focused on watching Xu Zhitong walking beside her, she was anything but.

Their daughter was even more lively than she was in front of them; her eyes were bright, and she was also glued to Lin Yang, her mouth never stopping. Even from far away, they could hear her rambling on about all sorts of trivial little things.

She’d be intolerable to dogs out there, and yet Lin Yang was listening so seriously.

Xu Ran and Lu Zhiwei each pulled at the other, but there was no second path to slip away on.

In the end, Xu Zhitong spotted them.

She greeted them naturally. “Mom! You two are out for a walk too?”

Lin Yang stiffened.

She looked at the two women not far away and paused, then straightened her dress as discreetly as she could.

Xu Ran was calmer; Lu Zhiwei couldn’t quite hide her curiosity. Arm in arm with Xu Ran, she looked them over secretly.

They were even prettier up close.

So beautiful; she’d want her as her daughter too.

For some reason, Lu Zhiwei felt a little excited.

No wonder her daughter had married so quickly. If Xu Ran had been this beautiful when she was young, Lu Zhiwei would have rushed to marry her early and lock her down too.

Lin Yang didn’t know what they were thinking. She lifted her eyes and politely said, “Hello, Auntie.”

Xu Ran said, “Hello. You two are... out for a walk?”

Lin Yang said, “Yes. We’re digesting our food after dinner.”

Xu Ran laughed. “That’s good. Walk a hundred steps after a meal and you’ll live to ninety-nine.”

Lu Zhiwei pinched Xu Ran once.

What was she saying with some old-school saying like that? She was making the girls think they were both terribly tacky!

Neither of them spoke after that, and the atmosphere grew a little awkward.

Xu Zhitong blinked and looked from side to side. “So, Mom, are you two busy?”

Xu Ran said, “All right, then we’ll...”

Lu Zhiwei hurriedly cut her off. Did Xu Ran have no social awareness at all? Couldn’t she tell Lin Yang was embarrassed? If they just left like that, people would think they weren’t welcome.

“Wait a second, sweetheart, and Xiaoyang too,” she said with a smile toward Lin Yang, showing goodwill. “Since we’ve run into each other, your mom and I went to the farmer’s market this morning and bought some fresh hairy crabs; they’re still in the water tank. Come by our place and take half of them back, and steam them tomorrow?”

Hairy crabs, huh.

Xu Zhitong was tempted, looking at Lin Yang with a face that said she wanted to say yes.

Lin Yang somehow became the one making the decision. She said, “Sure, thank you, Auntie.”

Xu Zhitong followed suit sweetly. “Thank you, mommy!”

Lin Yang, a little unnaturally, went with Xu Zhitong and walked behind Xu Ran and the others.

Their moms lived in the building opposite Xu Zhitong’s, facing the kitchen and guest room side of Xu Zhitong’s place.

When they got there, Xu Ran went to the kitchen to tie up the hairy crabs and bag them. Lu Zhiwei turned and went back to the bedroom; after a while, she came out with a red envelope tucked in her pocket.

She ignored Xu Zhitong, who was teasing the fish in the tank.

Lu Zhiwei pulled Lin Yang aside.

This was also her first time playing this role, so she wasn’t very practiced. After fumbling around for a bit, she took the red envelope from her pocket and placed it in Lin Yang’s hand.

The speech she had been rehearsing these past few days suddenly got stuck at the tip of her tongue.

“It was a little rushed, so I didn’t have time to choose any proper meeting gift. This is just a little thought from Auntie.”

The red envelope was a thick stack; by touch alone, it had to be worth five figures. Lin Yang froze for a moment and quickly said, “Auntie, I can’t accept this.”

Lu Zhiwei used her smile to show her friendliness, while also covering up the fact that she’d forgotten her script. “We’re family; no need to be polite. Just take it. We’ve always heard little Xioang mention you, and now we finally get to meet you. You’re even more outstanding than she said, and thank you for always being so tolerant of her. The days ahead are still long.”

Lin Yang vaguely sensed that Lu Zhiwei might understand things at a deeper level than Xu Zhitong’s misunderstanding.

How had they become family already, and what had Xu Zhitong told her mother...

She had some doubts, but meeting Lu Zhiwei’s sincere gaze, and with no experience in this sort of thing, Lin Yang couldn’t bring herself to say anything too forceful in refusal.

After a pause, she said, "...Auntie, then I’ll accept it with gratitude. Thank you."

Lu Zhiwei smiled in satisfaction. “Want to take some fruit back too? We bought some fresh strawberries this morning; they’re very sweet. Little Xioang said you like sweet things, so you should like them?”

Lin Yang found it hard to accept this kind of familial kindness and stiffened slightly. “Thank you, Auntie.”

Lu Zhiwei said with a smile, “Such a good girl.”

She turned to fetch the fruit.

Before long, a bag of things was ready.

It was handed to Xu Zhitong, with instructions to be careful and not let the crabs get out.

The moment Xu Zhitong took it, she put on an exaggerated act of finding it heavy.

Xu Ran said, “What’s heavy about it? Where did all that exercise-strength you usually have go?”

Xu Zhitong said, “I’ve gotten so fat from all the muscle I ate away!”

It had been a long time since they’d seen their daughter act this spoiled and coquettish. Xu Ran found it amusing and said, “Lin Yang is right beside you; aren’t you embarrassed?”

Xu Zhitong said naturally, “When you marry a chicken, follow the chicken; when you marry a dog, follow the dog. She doesn’t mind me.”

Mentioning marriage like that; this was still their first time meeting, and she’d gone a little over the line in front of both sets of parents.

Lin Yang felt it wasn’t appropriate, but found that Xu Ran and the others didn’t have any unusual reaction.

Lu Zhiwei even glanced at her with a smile before turning to Xu Zhitong and saying, “All right, go back and enjoy your little two-person world. Your mom and I are going to watch TV dramas.”

Lin Yang: ...?

Her heart gave a slight jolt.

Auntie and the others... couldn’t possibly be misunderstanding in the way she thought, could they?