Chapter 52: Proposal

Chapter 52: The Proposal

On this day, the sky was clear and cloudless, and it was also a rare day off. Lin Zhijin lingered in bed for a while, then remembered the clothes she had soaked in soapy water in the bucket last night, and sighed softly as she got up.

She wondered when washing machines had become available in China—she really didn't like doing laundry at all, especially in winter.

Just as she put on her shoes, she heard a knock at the door. "Xiao Jin, are you up yet?"

"Sister Yue, what's up?" Lin Zhijin opened the door and stepped aside to let her in.

Li Yue looked Lin Zhijin up and down, taking in her very everyday outfit, then gently nudged her arm. "Ever since I had the kid, I haven't had time to go shopping. The weather is nice today—let's go for a stroll. You've got good taste—help me pick out some clothes."

Lin Zhijin also looked over Li Yue's outfit—just an ordinary Lenin-style suit. With work and taking care of the kid, she hadn't dressed up in ages and had even cut her hair short.

She glanced at her watch. "It's still early. I soaked some clothes last night—let me wash those first, then I'll go shopping with you."

"Clothes can be washed anytime. Besides, the water is cold in the morning—wait until noon when it's warmer. Come on, let's go while Shitou is still sleeping—we'll head out early and come back early." Li Yue pulled Lin Zhijin a couple of steps, then stopped. "It's rare to go out—wearing this is too sloppy. I need to change, and you should change too. Put on something pretty!"

Watching Li Yue's retreating figure, Lin Zhijin raised an eyebrow, then a slight smile curled at the corner of her mouth. So today's the day, huh.

She immediately opened the wardrobe and hesitated for a moment between two outfits she had chosen long ago, finally picking the simple and elegant one.

She wore a white shirt, paired with a black long skirt, white socks, and black leather shoes, with a pink cardigan over it. After getting dressed, she turned around in front of the mirror and nodded in satisfaction.

"Xiao Jin, have you changed yet?" Li Yue pushed the door open and saw Lin Zhijin's outfit, smiling as she said, "So pretty! It's mainly because you're pretty, so anything looks good on you. Aren't you going to comb your hair?"

"Give me a sec—almost done." Lin Zhijin didn't do anything fancy, just braided two simple braids that hung over her chest.

For jewelry, she only wore a pair of pearl studs and her usual watch—nothing else.

"Aren't you going to wear a hair clip? I remember you have a few pretty ones." Li Yue looked at her head and asked curiously when she saw nothing there.

"No, simple is better." Lin Zhijin didn't want to stand out too much.

Li Yue thought for a moment, then nodded with a smile. "You're right, this is good—simple, elegant, and pretty."

Lin Zhijin took a cloth bag and put it on her back, following Li Yue out the door. They rode their bicycles for over ten minutes—in a direction that was definitely not toward the shopping district.

"Sister Yue, aren't we going shopping? Where are we going?" Lin Zhijin actually had some guesses, but she pretended not to know.

"Oh, I'm tired of all those shops over there. Someone recommended an old tailor—his craftsmanship is excellent and the prices are reasonable. I'll take you to take a look." Li Yue said with a perfectly composed expression.

Lin Zhijin couldn't help but shoot him a glare. They had already held the wedding banquet and were considered husband and wife in the eyes of all their friends and family. It wasn't like she was childfree—wasn't it perfectly normal for them to have children in the future?

"I'm just happy." Gu Yan hugged her tightly and asked softly, "Do you think we'll have a son or a daughter?"

"Both are fine. What about you—do you prefer a son or a daughter?" Lin Zhijin asked in return.

"As long as you're the one who gives birth to them, I'll love them all." Gu Yan imagined what their child might look like and chuckled softly. "I hope they look like you—they'd definitely be cute."

They finally arrived in the capital. Lin Zhijin looked around—it was a bit old, but that didn't matter. It would only get better and better, and would one day become the number one city in the world.

"Let's go, Su Zhan is over there." Gu Yan scanned the area and led Lin Zhijin toward Su Zhan.

"Ah Yan, sister-in-law, you must be exhausted from the trip. The house has been cleaned. Do you want to go back and wash up first, or eat first?" Su Zhan took the luggage from Gu Yan's hands and asked with a grin.

"Let's go home first." After two days without a shower, plus the smell from the train, Lin Zhijin could smell her own stink—she just wanted to take a good bath and change into clean clothes.

Gu Yan nodded. "Let's go home first."

Su Zhan drove them home. Along the way, Gu Yan introduced place names to Lin Zhijin and shared amusing stories about things that had happened there before.

"There's a skating rink over there—we used to love going there. Further east is the drama theater; they have performances often. Da Zhan, are there any shows recently? Get me two tickets." Gu Yan turned to Su Zhan and asked.

Su Zhan turned the wheel and laughed. "I haven't kept up with that in a while. I'll ask around later. How about taking sister-in-law to the skating rink? Sister-in-law, Ah Yan is amazing at skating—the best among us. Have him teach you."

Lin Zhijin shook her head. Forget skating—she had tried it in her previous life, fallen twice, and never dared again.

"We'll leave the skating for when we're back in Nancheng. We have a lot to do this trip to the capital—not enough time." Gu Yan looked at Lin Zhijin and smiled, letting her lean on him to rest.

Su Zhan saw this through the rearview mirror and the corners of his mouth raised high. All these years, Gu Yan had been alone. It was truly wonderful that he had now found someone to rely on and accompany him.

"We're here." Su Zhan parked the car, took out the key, and opened the door, stepping aside to let Lin Zhijin and the others in.

The house was an ordinary three-sided courtyard, but with a generous footprint—two side rooms on each side of the east and west, three main rooms with two additional wing rooms. In the courtyard stood two jujube trees, and against the east wall was a pomegranate tree, beneath which grew a lush patch of flowers and plants with a few small blossoms scattered here and there...

"This is the kitchen, and that's the toilet. Take a look—if you don't like the layout, we can have someone change it later." Gu Yan took Lin Zhijin's hand and pushed open the door to the main room.

After the proposal, Gu Yan had moved to Lin Zhijin's place. He knew she cared most about the bathroom, and the current toilet was in the southwest corner of the courtyard—quite inconvenient indeed.

"Can it be changed? Does this area have drainage pipes?" She had glanced earlier and noticed the toilet seemed to be a dry toilet.

"I'll find someone to ask later. If not, we can switch to a small Western-style house." The capital had many former concessions, and those houses all had indoor bathrooms.

Lin Zhijin shook her head in refusal. "No need—we won't live here often anyway."

Buying a Western-style house now? Was she asking for trouble? Besides, they wouldn't be staying in the capital long-term.

Su Zhan seemed rough on the outside, but he was actually a very thoughtful person. Before picking them up, he had come over to light the stove and heat up water.

Even though it was already May, the capital was still quite cold. Even in July or August, Lin Zhijin couldn't take cold showers.

After bathing and changing into clean clothes, Lin Zhijin finally had the mood to look around the master bedroom. There was a canopied bed, a large wardrobe, and a dressing table—all made of exquisite huanghuali wood. The quilt had a light blue floral pattern, a very fresh and delicate color. Had Su Zhan picked this out too?

"What are you looking at?" Gu Yan entered the room and saw Lin Zhijin staring at the quilt on the bed. He took the towel from her hands and began drying her hair. "Don't like it? We'll just make do for one night—tomorrow I'll take you to pick out one you like."

"No, I love it. I'll dry my own hair—you go get ready. Don't keep your friends waiting." Lin Zhijin took the towel back and smiled.

Besides Su Zhan and Yang Tao, the others at the meal were people Lin Zhijin had never met before. One was called Xie Xiaofeng, Su Zhan's cousin. Another was called Zhang Yang—despite the masculine-sounding name, she was actually a woman, the adopted daughter of Gu Yan's stepfather. She had short, neat hair and sharp, handsome features—a very cool and dashing young woman.

Besides these two, there was also a girl with long flowing hair, delicate features, and a gentle temperament. She was Yang Tao's girlfriend, a childhood friend who had grown up in the same compound.

"Hello, I'm Jiang Mengwan. I grew up with Ah Yan and the others. How long are you staying in the capital this time? I'll take you out to have some fun later." Jiang Mengwan grabbed Lin Zhijin's hand and looked at her with sparkling eyes.

"Don't be silly—with Ah Yan around, she doesn't need you." Yang Tao pulled Jiang Mengwan to his other side and shot her a warning look.

She'd been like this since childhood—unable to walk straight whenever she saw a pretty face. She didn't even notice how dark Gu Yan's expression had become.

Jiang Mengwan pouted and muttered something about him being stingy under her breath.

Lin Zhijin pretended not to notice their silent exchange and smiled as she greeted them. "Hello, I'm Lin Zhijin. I work at the Women's Federation."

"Hello. I'm a few years older than you—can I call you Xiao Jin? You're so beautiful, how did you end up with this blockhead Ah Yan?" Zhang Yang glanced at Gu Yan and teased.

Zhang Yang's biological father had died in the same battle as Gu Yan's father. After being adopted by Uncle Zhang, seeing Gu Yan who had also lost his father, perhaps out of shared sympathy, she had always looked after him. Over time, they developed a genuine sibling-like bond.

"Ah Yan is wonderful. Being with him is my good fortune." Lin Zhijin smiled softly at Gu Yan.

"I'm the lucky one to have found Xiao Jin." Gu Yan held Lin Zhijin's hand tightly and smiled at her. "You know, Taozi and the others used to say my personality meant I'd never find a wife and would probably die alone. Look at me now—I'm the first among us to get married."

"You really lucked out," Zhang Yang continued to tease.

Gu Yan's friends were all pretty easygoing. Of course, Lin Zhijin knew it was because of Gu Yan, and that was enough—it's not like they'd be hanging out all the time anyway.

They didn't stick around long—after eating, everyone went their separate ways, since they knew Gu Yan and Lin Zhijin needed to rest after that long train ride.

"Tired? Lean on me and take a nap. We probably should've waited a couple days to get everyone together, but Taozi's got to head back to the army tomorrow, and Zhang Yang's gotta get back to the research institute. It's hard to get everyone together again," Gu Yan said, holding Lin Zhijin's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I don't know when I'll be back, but I wanted you to meet my friends."

"I'm not tired." Actually, she felt wide awake now—even her stomach wasn't bothering her anymore.

Su Zhan drove them home, chatted for a bit, then left so the two of them could rest.

She'd said she wasn't tired, but she conked out as soon as she hit the bed. They slept till midnight, woke up starving, made a bowl of noodles, then lay in bed chatting until morning.

"Don't be nervous about going to the Zhangs' tomorrow. Uncle Zhang just looks stern, and you've already met my mom. As for everyone else, if you click with them, chat; if not, just ignore them. We won't be living with them anyway," Gu Yan said. He got along with them fine, but he didn't expect Lin Zhijin to be best buddies with them—just keeping up appearances was enough.

"I'm not nervous—I've got you." Lin Zhijin truly wasn't nervous. After all, the one person she really needed to impress—her future mother-in-law—had already met her and been super kind. As for the Zhang family, just like Gu Yan said—if they clicked, they'd see more of each other; if not, they'd just treat them like distant relatives.

The next morning, Lin Zhijin and Gu Yan grabbed the local specialties from Nancheng and took a rickshaw over to the Zhangs' place.

They'd let everyone know ahead of time, so everyone except Zhang Baijun—Uncle Zhang's son from his first marriage, who really couldn't make it—was waiting in the living room, including Zhang Yang.

"Uncle Zhang, Mom, we brought some local goodies from Nancheng. It's hot out, so you'll wanna eat these fast," Gu Yan said, handing the items to the nanny before turning to Lin Zhijin. "Xiao Jin, this is Uncle Zhang, Li Xue—you already met Zhang Yang yesterday—and Zhang Jing, Zhang Aijun, and Zhang Rui."

Lin Zhijin said hi while checking everyone out. Li Xue was another adopted daughter of the Zhangs who'd kept her original surname. She had a round face, plain looks, and a stern expression that made her seem hard to get along with.

Zhang Yang was just as warm as the day before, inviting Lin Zhijin to sit, pouring her tea, and pushing the fruit and pastries toward her, telling her to dig in.

Zhang Jing lived up to her name—she was a real quiet girl. She smiled at Lin Zhijin, said "sister-in-law," and then went quiet.

As for Gu Yan's half-siblings on his mom's side, they were exactly as he'd said—super lively and energetic. The youngest sister especially was bold and sweet-talking, calling her "sister-in-law" nonstop, sitting right up next to her and asking about her personal life one second, then about Gu Yan's job in Nancheng the next.

"What's this—haven't seen you in a while and now you're a political commissar?" Gu Yan grabbed Zhang Rui and plopped her down in the chair across from him. "Xiao Jin and I already had our wedding banquet in Nancheng. We'll get our marriage license after her birthday next month. This trip back is mainly to throw a small banquet here so Xiao Jin can meet everyone. That's all."

He'd mentioned this to his mom on the phone, and she agreed—it didn't need to be fancy, but they had to throw a banquet so people would know the next generation of the Gu family was married and had officially taken over the household.

"Have you picked a venue? Who's on the guest list? Let me know if there's anything I can do to help," Uncle Zhang said with a faint smile, glancing at the pretty Lin Zhijin.

His stepmother had told him about Lin Zhijin's background, and honestly, he wasn't too impressed. But Gu Yan wasn't his biological son, and his own mother didn't care, so as a stepfather, he figured he shouldn't stick his nose in.

"We've booked the Beijing Hotel. As for the guests—Mom, I've put together a list. Can you take a look?" Gu Yan handed a list to his mother. "The date is set for July 2nd. Are you two free that day?"

His mom took the list and shot him a look. "What are you talking about? This is your wedding—how could I, your own mother, not be there?"

She flipped through the list and added a few names—all old colleagues of Gu Yan's father who were now in high positions. Whether they showed up was another matter, but invitations had to be sent as a matter of courtesy.

"Once you're married, you're a grown-up. You can't be as impulsive as before, doing whatever pops into your head," his mom said, returning the list to Gu Yan.

"I know." Gu Yan knew she was referring to his move to Nancheng.

All in all, the meal at the Zhangs' was pretty nice. As they were leaving, both his mom and Uncle Zhang handed Lin Zhijin red envelopes.

"This..." Lin Zhijin looked at Gu Yan.

"Mom and Uncle Zhang gave those to you—just take them," Gu Yan said with a smile.

Lin Zhijin took the envelopes shyly and said, a little embarrassed, "Thank you, Uncle. Thank you, Auntie."

"Still calling me Auntie?" His mom took Lin Zhijin's hand and gently patted the back of it. "You've already had your wedding banquet in Nancheng—you're husband and wife now. It's time to call me Mom."

Lin Zhijin pursed her lips and, somewhat bashfully, said, "Mom."

"That's better. You two must have a lot to do—go on, and let us know if you need anything." His mom's eyes welled up as she watched them go.

For this trip to Beijing, they'd only brought clothes for the banquet day. Luckily, Su Zhan was reliable and had already scoped out a good wedding supply shop for them.

"This is the place—my cousin got her wedding stuff here last year. Take a look around," Su Zhan said, pushing the door open and showing them around before finding a chair to sit and wait for them to decide.

Looking over the huge selection of wedding supplies, Lin Zhijin only grabbed invitations and wedding candies—she didn't need anything else.

"Let's grab some double happiness decorations too, to put up around the Beijing house," Gu Yan suggested from the side.

"Okay," Lin Zhijin nodded.

Gu Yan wrote the invitations himself while Lin Zhijin packed the candies, with Zhang Jing and Zhang Rui helping. Zhang Yang had returned to the research institute and would come back for the banquet day—otherwise, she'd definitely have been there to help.

"Sister-in-law, these candies are so good," Zhang Rui said, biting into a sesame candy with a grin.

"Is there anything you don't like?" Zhang Aijun, back from a stroll outside, glanced at Zhang Rui. "You're here to help, not to eat. What if we run out of candies later?"

"It's fine—I bought plenty, more than enough. Xiao Rui, just eat as much as you want," Lin Zhijin said quickly, smoothing things over when she saw Zhang Rui's sheepish expression.

That wedding supply shop had a wide variety of candies, including imported ones, and Lin Zhijin had bought a lot.

Zhang Rui stuck her tongue out at Zhang Aijun, then looked at the piles of candies on the floor—indeed, there were plenty—so she confidently grabbed another one.

"Sister-in-law, we're done packing," Zhang Jing said quietly after finishing the work, looking at Lin Zhijin as if waiting for further instructions.

"You've been a huge help today. How about I treat you all to lunch? Barbecue or roast duck?" Lin Zhijin asked with a smile, glancing around.

"No need—if there's nothing else you need help with, we should head back," Zhang Jing said quickly, waving her hand.

Before they came, Gu Yan's mom had specifically told them to leave once they'd helped—their brother and sister-in-law were busy, and they shouldn't add to their burden.

"What do you mean, head back? We need to eat too. Let's tidy up and go for barbecue—I heard that place run by the Russians is really good," Lin Zhijin said, peeking at Gu Yan. "How many more do you have? If it's a lot, we can eat first and come back to finish writing."

"Just three left—give me a moment," Gu Yan said, glancing at Zhang Jing and the others with a teasing smile. "I rarely get to come back. Miss this chance, and who knows when you'll get to mooch off me again."

Zhang Jing tried to decline, but Zhang Rui was already cheering about mooching off him, and even Zhang Aijun, though trying to look composed, couldn't hide the smile tugging at his lips.

After treating the younger siblings to a big meal and sending them home, Lin Zhijin went back to pack up, while Gu Yan had to deliver invitations door to door.

Fortunately, most people lived in the same compound; for those farther away, they sent invitations through relatives and friends. Whether they showed up was up to them.

On July 2nd, the sky was clear and cloudless. Everyone who received an invitation came, and those who genuinely couldn't make it sent representatives. It was then that Lin Zhijin realized just how extensive the Gu family's connections were—many of the guests were figures she'd only read about in history books.

With Gu Yan's mom and Gu Yan himself hosting up front, all Lin Zhijin, as the bride, had to do was smile gracefully.

After the meal, Lin Zhijin and Gu Yan saw off each guest one by one. Several big names who'd made it into textbooks smiled warmly at them, kindly advising them to live well together and to come to them if they ever needed anything.

"Exhausted, aren't you?" Gu Yan said, noticing Lin Zhijin rubbing her nearly stiff face from smiling. He said goodbye to Uncle Zhang and his mom and prepared to take her home to rest.

To be honest, Lin Zhijin had thought she could stay calm, but actually dining with such important figures had been quite mentally taxing.

Kicking off her high heels, Lin Zhijin stretched and lounged sideways on the arhat bed. "I didn't mess anything up today, did I?"

"You did wonderfully today. All the uncles said I've married a great wife," Gu Yan said, wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Don't worry—they really like you. Besides, you're not living with them. Sweetheart, your birthday is in a few days—how about we get our marriage certificate that day?"

Lin Zhijin leaned back, nestling into Gu Yan's arms. "Sure."

Author's note:

None.