The Sickly Double Doesn't Want to Be Spoiled - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Surprisingly, there were already many people waiting in the Civil Affairs Bureau early in the morning.

Meng Yuan glanced at the time when it was only ten o’clock. As he followed behind Lu Cong through the door, he scanned the waiting area: seven couples, making eight including them.

“Are they all here to get married?” he muttered to himself in surprise.

Lu Cong overheard, glanced back at him, and pointed his finger: “What else? The ones getting divorced are over there.”

Meng Yuan was even more shocked. There were actually fewer people getting divorced than getting married!

What was going on? Didn’t the news always say the marriage rate was terrifyingly low while the divorce rate rose every year? Was the big data inaccurate for their city?

Before stepping through these doors, Meng Yuan had spent quite a bit of time mentally preparing himself, thinking of this as responding to the national call and contributing to the country. It turned out they didn’t need him at all; everyone was contributing.

He tugged on Lu Cong’s sleeve and whispered, “Are the people in our city always this enthusiastic about getting married? Won’t we be cited as ‘Advanced Workers’ next year?”

Lu Cong: “…”

The expression he gave Meng Yuan was hard to describe. “What are you thinking? Usually, there are long queues for divorce while the marriage side is deserted.”

“Then why today…”

“It’s an auspicious day,” Lu Cong said. “I specifically looked it up. Today is the most suitable day for marriage. Everyone probably had the same idea.”

After saying this, the corners of his mouth even curled up slightly.

Meng Yuan: “O.O” His mouth dropped open.

Lu Cong: “Why are you making that idiotic face?”

Meng Yuan closed his mouth. “How can you be superstitious?” he couldn’t help but say.

Hearing this, Lu Cong frowned. “How is this superstition? This is wisdom passed down by our ancestors; there’s nothing bad about it.”

Meng Yuan: “…You Fine, you’re right.”

“And today isn’t just any auspicious day,” Lu Cong emphasized, as if to prove the correctness and uniqueness of his choice. “Today is the single best day for marriage in this entire year. The next time such a day comes around will be next year.”

“That’s impressive.” Meng Yuan once again made that “idiotic” face Lu Cong had mentioned.

Lu Cong stopped trying to prove himself and lifted his chin; judging by his proud profile, he clearly felt he was indeed quite impressive.

Meng Yuan: “…”

No wonder they were only getting the certificate now!

Meng Yuan suddenly had an epiphany. The contract had been signed long ago and it had been almost half a year. Lu Cong even had time to take him on an overseas trip, yet he had never mentioned the certificate. It turned out he had picked the date long ago.

“Then, for your company’s new product launches or strategic adjustments every year, do you have to check the almanac for those too?” Meng Yuan asked.

Lu Cong raised an eyebrow. “How did you know?”

Meng Yuan: “…”

A strange sense of pride appeared on Lu Cong’s otherwise expressionless face. “I even check it for the annual meeting.”

Meng Yuan: “…You win.”

He found an empty seat and sat down, pulling his phone from his pocket, intending to watch some short dramas to pass the time.

“What are you sitting here for?” A voice fell from above.

“Waiting for our number?” Meng Yuan suggested tentatively, pointing to the large screen in the waiting area. “There are seven couples ahead of us. I reckon it’ll be a while.”

Lu Cong didn’t speak. Meng Yuan inexplicably felt that the other man was looking at him with a look of complex sympathy.

Yes, sympathy.

“What’s wrong?” Meng Yuan asked, bewildered.

“Next, I might have to break your understanding of how things work again,” Lu Cong said.

Meng Yuan: “?”

A staff member stepped forward at the right moment, wearing a professional smile. “Mr. Lu, you’ve arrived. Apologies for the lack of a proper welcome. We will process your registration immediately. Please follow me this way.”

Meng Yuan: “!”

This works too?!

He looked at Lu Cong. Lu Cong was already being ushered away by the staff, his strides fast and large. Halfway there, he turned back and asked:

“How long do you plan on sitting there?”

“Coming, coming…” Meng Yuan tucked his phone away and hurriedly followed.

…

The staff led them into an elegantly decorated lounge. The temperature was pleasant; mineral water and wedding candies were laid out on the coffee table, and large red “Double Happiness” characters hung on the wall.

This was the first time Meng Yuan realized that a Civil Affairs Bureau could have a VIP reception room like this. Was it something that actually existed, or was it just a setting of this world?

He sat on the sofa; it was so soft he almost sank halfway into it.

The staff member placed two forms in front of them. “Please fill out the application forms, and then we can go take the photos.”

Lu Cong gave a slight nod. “Thank you for your hard work. You may go now.” His tone was as flat as if he were in a daily meeting.

Meng Yuan picked up a pen and started filling it out. Name, gender, ID number, registered address… he could write these with his eyes closed.

He scribbled away. When he reached the date of birth, he didn’t stop, writing his own birthday in one go then he suddenly froze.

He was born on the summer solstice, June 21st, but the original owner’s birthday was one day earlier, the 20th. After a second’s pause, he crossed out his own birthday and changed it to the 20th without a hint of hesitation.

Looking up, he found Lu Cong watching him, his gaze moving from Meng Yuan’s face to the form.

“Wrote it wrong,” Meng Yuan laughed sheepishly. “A slip of the pen.”

Lu Cong’s gaze felt heavy. Meng Yuan subconsciously avoided eye contact. Fortunately, Lu Cong didn’t press him further; he called a staff member to bring a fresh form.

“This kind of document shouldn’t be altered at will,” Lu Cong said. “Write slower this time. Don’t let your hand slip again.”

Feeling slightly guilty, Meng Yuan nodded. “Okay, got it.” Pointing to the occupation column to change the subject, he asked Lu Cong: “What should I put for occupation?”

Lu Cong glanced at it and said casually, “Anything is fine.”

“Oh.” Meng Yuan thought for a moment and wrote “Unemployed.” He pushed the form forward. “Done.”

Lu Cong also signed his name on his own form. Finished, he stood up to leave.

Meng Yuan followed him. Just as they reached the door, he remembered something and turned back to the staff member. “Um, excuse me, where is the restroom?”

“This way, please follow me.” The young lady smiled sweetly.

…

Lu Cong waited at the door of the photo room for five minutes. He glanced down at his watch, his brow furrowing slightly. Meng Yuan still hadn’t come out. What was taking that guy so long?

Song Zhen stood silently to the side. Seeing Lu Cong’s tense face and the occasional impatient tapping of his fingers, he asked tentatively: “Boss, should I go take a look.”

“No need.”

Despite saying that, Lu Cong had already started walking toward the restrooms. After just two steps, Meng Yuan ambled around the corner from the other end of the hallway, holding a disposable paper cup and drinking as he walked.

Meeting Lu Cong’s eyes, he grinned and said naturally, “I was thirsty. Do you want some water too? There’s a water dispenser over there.”

Lu Cong looked at him and said nothing. His back slowly relaxed again.

“Hurry up and take the photos,” he said, turning back. “Don’t waste time.”

Meng Yuan didn’t mind. He tossed the paper cup into a nearby trash can and went in with him.

Inside the photo room, the photographer was adjusting the lights. Seeing them enter, he greeted them warmly: “Come, come, come. You two sit here. Yes, right in front of that red background.”

Meng Yuan walked over and stood in the designated spot. Lu Cong stood beside him.

“Closer, yes, a bit closer,” the photographer poked his head out from behind the camera. “You two are newlyweds, right? Don’t be so stiff. Give us a smile.”

Meng Yuan curved his lips and gave a sweet smile.

“Ah, just like that! Great, great,” the photographer said happily. “You’re very photogenic! The gentleman next to you Mr. Lu please smile.”

The photographer reminded Lu Cong again.

Lu Cong didn’t like smiling. He always felt he wasn’t as handsome when smiling compared to having a cold face. Did one have to smile for a wedding photo? He didn’t want to follow that rule.

Lu Cong stubbornly kept his face tense.

“What are you doing?” Meng Yuan whispered. “Hurry up and smile so we can finish the shoot and be done. You’re wasting time. You were just lecturing me about how you’re so hypocritical.”

Lu Cong: “…”

He explained: “You can take the photo without smiling.”

“But who doesn’t smile when they get married? You usually smile quite a bit, why are you being so…” Pretentious? Meng Yuan didn’t dare say the last word.

Lu Cong found it absurd. When did he ever “smile quite a bit”?

“Oh, just hurry up and smile,” Meng Yuan tried to act cute. “Once you smile and he finishes the photo, I can go eat! I’m so hungry!”

Lu Cong: “…”

He looked at Meng Yuan silently. Meng Yuan was indeed a bit too thin. Wearing the brand-new white shirt, his shoulders were propped up by sharp bones; his collarbones were visible, his neck was slender, and he seemed to sway hollowly inside the shirt.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked instinctively.

“I want you to smile.”

Lu Cong was stunned. A momentary flash of awkwardness crossed his expression, and he turned his head to clear his throat. Suddenly he paused, as images flashed through his mind.

Not long ago, on the boat on the river below the company building, Meng Yuan had dragged him into taking photos. That day, he had stuck to his principles and refused to smile no matter what. As a result, this guy had turned around and photoshopped him, turning him into a “pseudo-human” with a weirdly upturned mouth.

A jolt of shock hit Lu Cong, and his back even started to sweat. He stared at the camera lens in front of him. The photographer was still waiting patiently.

He slowly turned up the corners of his lips.

Thirty years of life flashed by, and finally, on his wedding day, he abandoned the principles he had always held dear. He smiled at the camera. He surrendered to the power of a “divine photoshopper” named Meng Yuan.

Click!

The flash went off. Their smiles were frozen in time.

…

Ten minutes later, in the car.

Meng Yuan held the open red book in his hand, staring at the photo against the red background, struggling hard to suppress his laughter. Lu Cong sat beside him with an expressionless face.

“I told you I shouldn’t smile,” he said in a stiff tone.

“No, no, it looks great… hahaha…” Meng Yuan leaned back, laughing.

In the photo, the corners of Lu Cong’s smiling mouth were identical to the ones Meng Yuan had manually edited before. Meng Yuan was laughing so hard he nearly fainted.

Lu Cong: “…”

He snatched the marriage certificate from Meng Yuan’s hand, closed it, and set it aside.

“The wedding banquet is in half a month,” he said, forcibly changing the subject.

“The end of the month?” Meng Yuan finally turned serious, wiping away his tears. “Isn’t that soon? Is the venue set? What about the guest list? Who’s handling the itinerary? I don’t know anything, don’t blame me if I make a fool of myself.”

Lu Cong’s fingers paused. He looked up at him. Meng Yuan’s gaze was very honest to the point of being nonchalant, as if it didn’t concern him.

“Preparations began long ago. Qin Qing will follow the whole process,” Lu Cong said. “You only need to attend.”

“That’s good.” Meng Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t worry, I’ll perform well. But do I need to give a speech? Who’s writing the script?”

Lu Cong watched him quietly.

Meng Yuan shrunk his neck. “It’s not that I want to be lazy, but my literary talent is really terrible, basically zero. I rarely even passed my primary school essays. I’m just afraid of embarrassing you…”

Meng Yuan waited for two seconds. Receiving no response, he turned to look at him. Lu Cong’s expression was a bit complex.

“What is it?” Meng Yuan blinked. “Did I say something wrong?”

Lu Cong seemed to want to say something, but in the end, his lips just moved and he said nothing, turning his head away. “Nothing.”

The car fell silent, and Meng Yuan stopped talking.

After a long time, Lu Cong pulled out the marriage certificate again. He indeed looked a bit strange in the photo. He would have looked quite handsome if he hadn’t smiled—what a pity. But although Meng Yuan was smiling, it didn’t look like he was really smiling.

Lu Cong looked down at the photo, feeling strange about the thought that had suddenly popped into his head. Clearly, Meng Yuan’s smile was sweet and flawless. But Lu Cong just felt something wasn’t right.

After thinking for a long time, he finally understood. It was because Meng Yuan was like this with everyone.

He smiled like this when talking to Qin Qing, he smiled like this when acting cute with Auntie Li, and he even smiled like this when thanking Song Zhen for giving him the strawberry-flavored cake. Today wasn’t special to him. Even though today was the moment he moved from being single to being married, binding his fate to another person.

Meng Yuan smiled so sweetly and calmly, like he was completing a task that had to be done, without any extra expectations. In fact, he seemed to be looking forward to lunch much more.

“Are you unhappy?” Meng Yuan asked suddenly.

Lu Cong looked up, moving his gaze from the photo to Meng Yuan. “What about you?” he asked back.

“Me?” Meng Yuan pointed to himself, not expecting Lu Cong to ask him. “I’m just the same as always,” he laughed, bewildered. “Just… normal, I guess. Going through the motions, finishing the paperwork. There’s nothing to be happy or unhappy about.”

“Speaking of which, Sister Qin Qing sent me the banquet itinerary just now. I wanted to thank you,” he scratched his neck, feeling a bit shy. “It’s only a two-year contract, yet you’re making it so grand. It’s too expensive.”

The air grew quiet.

Meng Yuan sensed the atmosphere felt wrong but didn’t understand why. He blinked a couple of times at Lu Cong. Lu Cong was looking at him with a heavy gaze, his thoughts unreadable.

Being stared at like this for so long, Meng Yuan inevitably felt uncomfortable and lowered his head to look away. “What’s the matter?”

Lu Cong didn’t respond for a long time. After an unknown amount of time passed, he took a deep breath.

“Let’s go eat.”