Let's Get Married on the First Day of Rebirth - Chapter 9

“Traveling the world is dull, but at least I can be with you…”

As the last line of the song faded, Qu Ange saw Xu Mi turn and walk away. She abruptly stood up, and the surrounding crowd began to applaud. The mustachioed street performer asked her, “What song is that?”

Qu Ange replied, “I—I have something urgent. I need to go.”

She took two steps but was suddenly pulled back. The street musician said, “Hey, miss, you can’t just take my guitar.”

“Oh, right.” She had almost forgotten.

Qu Ange quickly removed the guitar, nodding politely as she pushed through the applauding crowd. Someone asked for her name, but she only smiled without answering. A gentle yet slightly distant smile, a carefully cultivated expression that now seemed etched into her DNA after years of expensive training. Once she broke free from the crowd, her smile collapsed, and she muttered to herself while scanning the surroundings, “Gone again.”

She was about to head to the bus stop on a whim when she turned and saw Xu Mi standing right behind her. At the sight of Qu Ange turning around, Xu Mi tilted her body slightly, her face now hidden in the shadow of the streetlight, her expression unreadable. She said, “There are so many people here tonight. Maybe we can sell more flowers.”

Qu Ange swallowed the question “How was my singing?” and obediently replied, “Oh,” before starting to hawk the flowers.

Perhaps thanks to her earlier performance, the flowers sold quickly this time. The remaining ones, which weren’t as fresh, were given away for free. With the flowers finally gone, Qu Ange sighed in relief, feeling she had salvaged a bit of her image in Xu Mi’s eyes. By the time they headed home, it was already late at night. As they reached the entrance of their neighborhood, Qu Ange recalled the complex expression on Xu Mi’s face as she stood in the crowd during the song. Since her rebirth, this was the first time Qu Ange had seen such a vivid, layered expression on Xu Mi’s face.

During the day, Xu Mi was either expressionless or smirking coldly.

Qu Ange wanted to ask about it, but since Xu Mi didn’t bring it up, she didn’t dare mention it. She felt they weren’t yet at the stage where they could have heart-to-heart talks. They walked in silence for a long time. Once inside, Xu Mi said, “I’m going to make some dumplings. Do you want some?”

Qu Ange eagerly replied, “Yes, please.”

Xu Mi glanced at her sideways. “Aren’t you afraid of gaining weight? Carbs, you know.”

Qu Ange swallowed at the thought of the taste and said, “Scientific weight loss is the way.”

In truth, she later realized she wasn’t the type to gain weight easily, so she didn’t need to worry much about it. Back then, she had been brainwashed into thinking every bite was a sin.

Xu Mi went into the kitchen, while Qu Ange turned on the air conditioner and TV, settling on the sofa to insert her SIM card into the new phone. When it booted up, the familiar if outdated layout gave her a sense of comfort and security. Ten years later, it was no exaggeration to say that phones were a modern necessity.

She picked up the other phone, hesitated, then walked into the kitchen. “Ba—ahem, Mimi, do you want me to help you install your SIM card?”

She had almost called her “baby,” but remembering Xu Mi’s earlier anger, she held back to avoid making things worse.

As she asked, the aroma of dumplings wafted over, and she couldn’t help but swallow hard.

The wontons were made by Xu Mi herself and stored in the fridge. Large wontons with thin wrappers and generous fillings. Xu Mi cooked them in seaweed broth, garnished with chopped scallions and sesame oil. After ladling them out, she added chili oil and vinegar. Each wonton glistened slightly under the light, exuding the fragrance of sesame oil. Xu Mi licked her lips, her eyes fixed on the wontons, unwilling to look away. Then she heard Xu Mi say, “No need.”

Qu Ange cautiously asked, “You, you’d be willing to accept the phone I bought for you, right?”

Xu Mi didn’t respond. She scooped out the wontons and placed the pot in the sink. Qu Ange obediently carried the two bowls of wontons to the table and sat upright like a schoolchild, waiting for Xu Mi to join her. When Xu Mi finally sat down, Qu Ange looked at her with pleading eyes and said, “I really didn’t mean to ignore you. I just wanted to make you happy. I wanted to give you a gift, wanted… wanted you to be happy.”

Nervousness made Qu Ange’s words jumbled, and her voice grew softer and softer. She lowered her head, then glanced up at Xu Mi, her eyelashes fluttering pitifully. Xu Mi couldn’t help but sigh and said, “Let’s eat first.”

Qu Ange had been craving the wontons for ages. She eagerly scooped one up with her spoon and took a big bite, only to immediately spit it out from the scalding heat. Seeing this, Xu Mi stood up, about to fetch a bottle of cold water from the fridge, but then she hesitated, remembering the current tension between them, and slowly sat back down.

Qu Ange didn’t notice this. She stuck out her tongue, panting, and said, “Too hasty, too hasty.”

Once she recovered, she began eating carefully, blowing on each bite first. She glanced up and saw Xu Mi sitting straight, seemingly focused on her meal. Not daring to speak, Qu Ange quietly finished her wontons. There weren’t many, as it was just a light midnight snack. Xu Mi was still eating. The room was silent except for the clinking of spoons against porcelain bowls and the hum of the air conditioner. It was too quiet. Qu Ange licked her lips, searching for something to say, but couldn’t think of anything. Finally, she murmured, “Thank you.”

Xu Mi looked up at her, puzzled.

Qu Ange gazed at Xu Mi’s face and couldn’t help but feel giddy again. She said, “Thank you, baby, for still being willing to cook for me.”

Xu Mi was too tired to correct the term of endearment. After swallowing the last wonton, she wiped her mouth and said, “No need to thank me. I was going to eat anyway. Did you think I’d hog all the food and let you starve?”

Qu Ange replied, “Then accept my phone as thanks for not letting me starve.”

Xu Mi: “…” Something about that logic felt off.

But Qu Ange was already cheerfully handing over the phone. Xu Mi pulled out her old phone from her pocket and suddenly felt lost. She was sentimental even switching to a new phone made her reluctant to part with the old one. But voicing that would sound overly dramatic, even to herself. So she stayed silent, staring at the old phone’s screen for a moment before powering it off.

Qu Ange chimed in, “Hold on, you can save the texts or any other stuff you want to keep onto the memory card. They’ll be preserved.”

Xu Mi was silent for two seconds, then suddenly said, “There’s nothing left. I deleted everything.”

Qu Ange paused briefly while unwrapping the new phone but quickly pretended nothing was wrong. She took out the new device and said, “Let me help you insert the SIM card.”

Xu Mi was somewhat surprised. She had expected Qu Ange to press for details, as in her memory, the other woman was quite stubborn. If something wasn’t made clear, she would feel deeply unsettled. When they first got together, they often argued over such matters. Qu Ange felt Xu Mi tended to bottle things up, speaking only half-truths deliberately to make others uncomfortable.

Of course, Xu Mi didn’t do it on purpose. Later, she tried to change, but perhaps personality was truly innate. She could never quite become the kind of person people found easy to like.

Yet, in just a few short months, Qu Ange seemed to have learned the art of skirting the main issue. With a smile, she looked at Xu Mi, who then said nothing more, simply taking out the SIM card and handing it over. Qu Ange helped her install it and turned on the phone.

The phone came preloaded with some apps ready for use. Qu Ange swiped the screen, spotted WeChat, and asked, “Do you have WeChat? Want to sign up for one? Oh, and you could register for Weibo too. Speaking of which, you cook so well. Have you ever thought about filming videos to share? Once you build a following, you could even make it a career.”

Xu Mi didn’t quite understand and instinctively leaned closer to watch Qu Ange operate the phone. Qu Ange then logged into Weibo on her own device and created an account. When it came to choosing a username, she tilted her head toward Xu Mi and asked, “What do you think would be a good name?”

The distance between them was too close, their breaths mingling in an instant.

Xu Mi froze, her breath hitching as she instinctively wanted to pull back. But Qu Ange grabbed her arm, drawing them so near it almost felt like they were about to kiss. Xu Mi turned her face away, only for Qu Ange’s voice to whisper by her ear, “Let’s get married tomorrow, okay?”

Xu Mi felt her heart pound uncontrollably, her eyes widening as she turned to stare at her.

Then she watched as Qu Ange typed in the Weibo username: “Let’sGetMarriedTomorrow.”

Just as her heartbeat began to steady, Qu Ange added, “Let’s buy early train tickets for tomorrow. I can’t wait any longer.”