Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 252 - 248: Sister Hua is So Pretty

Chapter 252: Chapter 248: Sister Hua is So Pretty

"Oh, I saw this the other day when I was shopping, and it looked interesting. It just seemed perfect for the two of you."

After dinner, Qin’s Mom chattered as she pulled out two brand-new enamel cups from the lower shelf of the coffee table. They were styled in a retro fashion, white with blue edges, the kind commonly seen in the eighties.

Qin Guanglin took them and looked them over; there were words on them: "For the Leader’s Use."

Well aware of his own status, he passed it to He Fang, "This one’s for you—the leader’s."

"Turn it over and look at the other side." He Fang, catching sight of the cup in her hands, didn’t accept the one Qin Guanglin handed to her, instead reminding him with a squinting smile.

"Serve the People... nice, and it’s a matching set," Qin Guanglin observed the five large characters on the other side and shrugged. "It’ll make a good mouthwash cup."

He Fang’s was for "People’s Use."

"Thank you, Auntie," He Fang said, playing with the cup, her face alight with joy.

Though she knew Qin’s Mom was intentionally or unintentionally urging the two to tie the knot, she had already considered them family.

This was the very chain reaction of living together too early; it’s hard to drag out marriage for too long... He Fang sighed inwardly. Marriage is just a formality, after all. Getting married a couple of years earlier or later didn’t really make a big difference.

She was more concerned about the aftermath, the expected children. If married too early, the pressure to have kids would be relentless, so it might be better to stall on the marriage front for a couple of years.

"How do you respond when your mom nudges you about getting married?"

Once out of the house, He Fang arm-in-arm with Qin Guanglin, walked down the street as dusk began to envelop the city. A light breeze rustled through the leaves of trees lining the road, creating a delicate rustling sound.

"I tell her we’re still young, and then she says I’m nearly in my thirties... hey, you’re not planning on waiting until thirty to get married, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Then... you don’t have a phobia of marriage, do you?"

"You’re the one with the phobia."

"... Right, with a boyfriend as handsome, tall, and debonair, with an abundance of talent and charm, as gentle, considerate, and capable as I am, how could you possibly be afraid of marriage."

"Can you have a little shame, please?"

Laughing and joking their way back to where they lived, Qin Guanglin didn’t get a definite answer. He rubbed his hands and took out his drawing board, planning to slightly edit the words of haste and approaching thirties that he said with Qin’s Mom earlier that evening, and draw them into the comic as a way to nudge her again.

On second thought, agreeing to marriage too easily seemed rather dull. The current situation, with a bit of a challenge, was just right—back when they got together, neither of them had pursued the other, so now he considered this his chance to give her the experience she missed of being wooed.

Besides, getting a house was still a long way off. The grand proposal plan could just take its time.

As He Fang lay on the desk organizing materials for the start of school tomorrow, Qin Guanglin sat on a small stool next to her, doodling away. Every now and then, he looked up to see He Fang’s quiet, focused profile, and felt a tranquil peace in his heart.

"What are you smiling about?" He Fang, after finishing a section, stopped her pen and turned her head, catching Qin Guanglin looking at her.

"In this moment, I feel like composing a poem."

"You know how to compose poetry?"

"No, that’s why I can’t come up with one."

"..."

Qin Guanglin chuckled and looked down, continuing to move his brush over the drawing board.

Although he wasn’t a poet, he could draw.

He Fang shook her head, ignoring him, twirling her ballpoint pen nimbly between her fingers before continuing to write.

In the quiet bedroom, the only sounds left were the soft scratch of pen on paper.

...

The weather in May was neither as gloomy and chilly as early spring nor as fiery hot as midsummer, offering a pleasant climate, not too cold or too dry.

The book signing event was scheduled for Sunday, starting at two o’clock. Just after one o’clock, Qin Guanglin had already driven He Fang over to South City Square. A glance over the area showed that quite a crowd had gathered at the book center, and there was even a large poster standing at the entrance, featuring He Fang’s pen name and the covers of several books.

"Can’t be all your fans, can it?" Qin Guanglin was somewhat amazed. Had it really become this popular so quickly?

"Not sure, if there are too few people, the organizers will bring in some plants so it doesn’t look too bad... Looks like there’s about two hundred people, right? Maybe half of them are plants."

He Fang laughed as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, waving at Qin Guanglin, "I’ll call you after it’s over."

"Okay."

Qin Guanglin responded, closed the car window, and watched He Fang walk in. He didn’t leave immediately.

He had never attended such an event and didn’t know what to expect. He was worried about the large crowd; any trouble would be a hassle—even though there was security, he felt more at ease watching over things himself.

Fortunately, the situation he was concerned about did not arise. As the time neared two o’clock, he could barely make out He Fang through the large glass window, sitting behind a large table with a long, orderly queue in front of it. The lengthy line wrapped around several bends, taking up half of the hall, with new people joining every so often.

So impressive... Qin Guanglin couldn’t help but admire, stepping out of the car to sneakily take a photo at the entrance. He only scurried back into his car, feeling guilty when a security guard gave him a stern look. He sent the picture to Qin’s Mom to show off.

He Fang didn’t appear bare-faced as he usually did when going to work. His face bore light makeup, making him look more mature and somewhat concealing his age. His long hair draped softly behind his back, and his hand moved rapidly with the signing pen. After signing each book, he would raise his head to look at the person in front of him, a faint smile on his face, offering just a nod in response to the praises and thanks.

Thankfully, there were only three books at this point, so signing wasn’t too tiring. Many people had bought the third book on the spot after seeing the signing event and joined the queue for the excitement of it all. Only a little more than half of them had all three books for signing.

"Sister Hua! I didn’t expect you to be so young and pretty too! A beautiful young lady!"

A slightly androgynous voice exclaimed in shock, causing He Fang to pause his pen and look up at the person in front of him.

A girl who looked to be in her twenties, wearing dungaree jeans and dressed like a tomboy with short hair, clenched her fists tightly, her eyes shining as she gazed at him.

He Fang pursed his lips, the smile on his face deepening, seriously looking at her and nodding, "Thank you."

This was the first time He Fang spoke since the signing began. The clear and melodious voice made the girl even happier. Seeing that He Fang had bowed his head again to quickly sign on the title page of the book, she excitedly thanked him with clenched fists.

This trip was a great success.

After signing the book and watching the girl leave with a thankful embrace of her book, He Fang hesitated to speak, but the next person had already approached, and his assistant had already flipped the book open for him. He took one long gaze at the girl’s receding figure and then lowered his head to continue signing with his pen.

Mechanically busy for the afternoon, by not quite five o’clock, the long queue had thinned considerably. The event should have ended much earlier, but since the bookstore kept admitting new people, and with waves of onlookers joining the queue, the event had been delayed until now.

That was also one of the purposes of the event.

As he saw that there weren’t many people left, He Fang stretched languidly and shook his slightly sore right hand. Inadvertently, he spotted the girl in the dungaree jeans standing on the edge of the hall, looking down at the newly released third book.

Feeling He Fang’s gaze, the girl looked up, and just as she saw He Fang’s gentle smile directed at her, she stepped forward with excitement, then glanced at the hall’s clock and stepped back, waving her hand towards He Fang.

When the event ended at five-thirty, she hesitantly approached, scratching her short hair and tentatively asked, "Sister Hua... I’d like to take a photo with you, if that’s possible?"

After she spoke, she felt her request might be a bit much, and quickly shook her head, "It’s okay if you’d rather not, I was just... hehe..."

"Of course, it’s okay," He Fang smiled and nodded. "I’m He Fang, that Sister Hua... sounds a bit odd."

"Thank you, Sister He!" The girl, delighted, bowed slightly.

"No need to be so formal... What’s your name?"

"I’m Gu Xiaoqing!"

He Fang stood up and tidied up his belongings, thought for a moment, and pointed to a restaurant outside. He said to Gu Xiaoqing, "Haven’t had dinner yet, have you? If you’re not busy... let’s go together."

"Ah? Can I, really?" Gu Xiaoqing’s eyes widened in surprise.

"Let’s go."