Lu Huaizheng parked the car by the lake. As the two spoke, the lake's surface seemed to be sprinkled with a thin, pale layer of golden specks by the moonlight, scattering a dazzling light. Yu Hao looked up, the moonlight enveloping the front windshield, and met the pair of eyes before her, which were as deep as pools of water. For a moment, she was speechless.

"Beep beep—"

A car on the side wanted to get out and honked its horn loudly at them.

Lu Huaizheng smiled, closed the car door, walked around the front of the car, and got into the driver's seat. Once the car merged onto the main road, neither of them said another word.

It wasn't until they reached the first intersection ahead that Lu Huaizheng, leaning against the window while waiting for the red light, remembered to ask, "Where do you live?"

Yu Hao told him her address.

Lu Huaizheng hadn't been to that area much. He was about to reach for the GPS, but Yu Hao said, "I know the way, you just drive."

He pulled his hand back, leaned back in his seat again, and his gaze idly wandered over the streetscape outside the window as he waited for the light.

As soon as the light turned green, he released the brake, and the car slowly followed the traffic in front.

"After one more traffic light, turn left."

Lu Huaizheng gave a low hum of acknowledgment.

"How did you know about that ox tongue..." She didn't finish her sentence.

Lu Huaizheng understood what she meant. Leaning back in his seat, his eyes fixed firmly on the road ahead, he didn't answer.

Yu Hao thought he wasn't going to answer. As the car turned left, the turn signal blinked on, and she suddenly heard his light voice say, "I saw it when I was smoking at the entrance. It was written in black and white on the advertising board: Saturday special."

After speaking, he glanced at her sideways and asked with a smile, "What? Did you think I've been here with someone else?"

Yu Hao was silent.

He curled his lips again. "I'm not that free."

"I've been to Qin Qingmen."

Yu Hao blurted out of nowhere.

Lu Huaizheng abruptly turned his head.

Yu Hao met his eyes. "I found the Lover's Eye you told me about."

In high school, he often spun tales for her. In truth, he couldn't even remember what stories he had made up back then. Most were things he had read in books as a child or heard from his grandfather. With a bit of embellishment and processing, he forged one incredible story after another to tell Yu Hao. At first, he just wanted to tease her, but later he discovered she listened with exceptional seriousness every time. At the end, she would still be wanting more, chasing after him asking, "And then what? And then what?"

And then he would leave her in suspense, smiling and refusing to say more.

In reality, there was no 'and then what'. He simply couldn't make up any more. It was just that she was so easy to fool.

Later, he told her about Lover's Eye. It was a place he had visited in the countryside with his grandfather as a child. There was a famous mountain in Qin Qingmen, a mountain unlike others with its emerald green slopes and varied heights. The summit was bare, the entire mountain covered in piles of jagged rocks. A lake's water lapped through them, and over time, the wind and sun wore away the stones' sharp edges. These jumbled rocks had weathered into peculiar peaks, attracting waves of tourists who flocked to see them.

The most famous was Lover's Eye, a secluded and empty valley at the foot of the mountain. When birds flew by, their soft chirps were like the long, murmured whispers between lovers.

The tourists who went there would carve each other's names on the rocks for good luck.

When Lu Huaizheng told her this back then, he had patted Yu Hao's head and said, "Next time I go, I'll carve both our names on it."

Those were just the jokes of youth. He came from a well-mannered family and disliked graffiti the most. On snowy days, he would occasionally write her name as a form of relief; the marks would vanish with a wipe, leaving no trace.

If he were to seriously go and carve their names on Lover's Eye, he would truly feel embarrassed. It wasn't something a real man would do.

Lu Huaizheng came back to his senses. The car had just stopped where she lived. He turned off the engine, rolled down the window, and smiled. "Is that so? Did you go looking for your name?"

Yu Hao's face reddened, and she uncomfortably turned away. "No."

He took a pack of cigarettes from the armrest box, held it in his hand, and casually shook one out while looking down. "Were you disappointed you didn't find it?"

Hearing no reply, Lu Huaizheng looked up at her and found Yu Hao staring at him in a daze.

The already cramped space of the car suddenly felt constricting because of her scorching gaze. Her eyes were darker and brighter than most people's, and because she didn't know how to beat around the bush, they held a kind of direct frankness.

She truly wore almost all her emotions on her face, with no idea how to hide them.

From her flustered state on the night of the wedding banquet, to her evasiveness on the day at the Military Region, to her bold eagerness now, he saw it all clearly.

He could almost guess what she was going to say next.

The atmosphere in the car was enchanting, a subtle fragrance wafting through the air. 'It must be her perfume,' Lu Huaizheng thought. 'It's very faint and smells nice, making you want to get closer.'

"Lu Huaizheng."

Her voice had softened too, a bit like back when he used to tease her, and she would chase after him in a fit of pique until he caught and subdued her with a reverse grip, at which point she would plead for mercy in a soft voice.

Lu Huaizheng felt inexplicably hot, and beads of sweat even appeared on the back of his neck.

He had heard this name thousands of times. In high school, she had called him Lu Huaizheng, Lu Huaizheng just like this. No matter what his friends called him, she always called him a crisp "Lu Huaizheng".

And with his slavish nature, he would always answer especially quickly. One second he'd be chatting idly with Jiamian, the next he'd hear her call him, and before his head even turned, he'd first respond with a "hm," then turn back to find her in the crowd. Upon spotting the girl's figure, he would smile, quickly end his conversation with Jiamian, and run over to her.

Jiamian said he was too eager and wouldn't be cherished.

Just now, when she called his name, he had been looking down, pulling a cigarette from the pack and about to put it in his mouth. Hearing her, he had almost subconsciously responded with a "hm." The cigarette was still pinched in his fingers by his lips. He paused and turned his head to look at her.

He raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to continue.

The pale moonlight filtered through the treetops, landing gently on the car roof. A little of the residual light fell on her face, making her glistening eyes seem even more captivating.

Lu Huaizheng felt he was no longer that greenhorn from back then. 'This is nothing.'

The next second,

"Actually, I was pretty happy today."

Yu Hao said with a smile. The smile was dazzling, the corners of her mouth holding faint dimples.

Lu Huaizheng put the cigarette back into the pack, having lost the mood to smoke. He tossed it back into the armrest box, turned his head to casually look out the window, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "I could tell. It was practically written on your forehead."

She stared at him and asked sincerely, "Really? Am I that obvious?"

Lu Huaizheng turned his head back and looked at her. "Want me to be honest?"

She nodded.

Lu Huaizheng leaned forward a bit. The man's breath suddenly drew closer. Yu Hao, like an old monk in deep meditation, kept her eyes wide open and motionless as she looked at him. She heard him say slowly, word by word, with a smile, "Because I know you too well."

After speaking, he casually unbuckled her seatbelt. "You can go home now."

...

As Yu Hao went upstairs, she was still immersed in his final, ambiguous gaze. She felt as if she had suddenly become transparent in front of him, yet she didn't know, did he really understand her?

After twelve years apart, he really had gotten better at...flirting with girls.

Her mind couldn't help but wander to the conversation he had with Wu Heping in the psychological release room that day, a conversation that made one blush, their heart race, and their imagination run wild.

Is this perhaps the so-called innate flaw in men?

As she entered her apartment, she heard a car engine roar downstairs. He must have driven away. Perhaps he had sat in the car and smoked a cigarette before leaving.

Feng Yanzhi was leaning against the window, watching her with folded arms and an interested expression. "You didn't come back in Little Shen's car? Whose car was that downstairs?"

Yu Hao lowered her head to change her shoes without looking up. "A friend's."

Feng Yanzhi's interest was piqued. "Male or female?"

Yu Hao answered truthfully, "Male."

Feng Yanzhi nodded. "What does he do?"

Yu Hao tossed her keys into the bowl and stood in the entryway, glaring at her sideways.

Feng Yanzhi clicked her tongue. "What? Can't I show a little concern?"

Yu Hao couldn't be bothered to respond. She turned and walked into the bathroom, but Feng Yanzhi followed her like a lingering ghost. "Is there really no chance with Little Shen?"

Yu Hao lowered her head, scooped up a handful of water to splash her face, and said in a muffled voice with her face covered, "Mom, if I promise you I'll get married this year, will you stop bothering Senior Brother Shen?"

Feng Yanzhi's eyes lit up. "Okay, but don't bring home some riff-raff. Your father and I will have to approve. We don't demand someone with Little Shen's qualifications, but he has to have a decent job, at least."

Yu Hao thought for a moment with her head down. Being a soldier counted as a decent job.

"Fine."

She nodded in agreement.

Only then did Feng Yanzhi happily go to find Old Yu. Old Yu was half-leaning against the headboard, nestled in the covers, reading a book. A dim lamp was lit on the bedside table.

Feng Yanzhi pushed the door open and, with a backhand motion, left it ajar with just a thin crack.

"Our daughter is getting married."

Pfft!

This scared Old Yu so much he almost tumbled off the bed. He shot up from the bed, dropped his book, took off his reading glasses, and stared at Feng Yanzhi, dumbfounded and frowning. Then, with a thunderous voice:

"What?!!!!!!"

Feng Yanzhi cried "Aiyo" and covered her ears. She walked over and shushed him quietly by the bedside.

"Keep your voice down. I just heard her say it. She promised me she'd get married this year."

Old Yu was utterly skeptical. "She promised you she'd get married this year?!" He found it unbelievable. Frowning and exasperated, he pointed his glasses at Feng Yanzhi. "Did you push her too far? Is that why she said she'd just find someone random to marry? I'm officially informing you, Comrade Feng Yanzhi, if you push her again, if you push her again! If you push her again, I'm divorcing you!"

Feng Yanzhi was stunned, her expression changed drastically, and she said in a cold voice, "Say that again?!"

"I'll say it again!" Old Yu huffed. "I said if you force our daughter to get married again, I'll make sure you don't have a husband!"

"Whoever doesn't go through with it is a coward! Let's go to the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow!"

Feng Yanzhi was not one to be threatened. Given her temper and personality, she was fully capable of going through with it in a heartbeat by gritting her teeth and stomping her foot. And Old Yu was someone who knew very well how to back down.

He pouted for a moment and stopped talking.

Seeing her expression soften a little, he quickly changed the subject. "What exactly did Hao Hao say?"

Feng Yanzhi was still fuming. "Go ask her yourself!"

"I was just saying that in anger, don't be mad. I'm just worried you'll push our daughter too far, and she'll just find some stranger of dubious origin to marry. Wouldn't that ruin her whole life?" Old Yu said appeasingly.

With her hands on her hips, Feng Yanzhi said irritably, "Just now, I saw her from the window coming back in a strange man's car. The two of them sat in the car for a long time, who knows what they were doing. When she came in, her face was still all red. It's probably that guy."

Old Yu made a disgusted face. "Aren't you bored? It's the young folks' business, and you're spying on them?"

Feng Yanzhi snorted.

"I even wrote down the license plate number. Tomorrow, I'll have someone investigate and find out what this guy's background is."

...

The author has something to say:

For the first two volumes, I actually wrote mostly from Lu Lu's perspective. Later on, I might write more from Hao Hao's perspective. This story is a bit long, so please don't rush me, or else I'll get anxious and start crying.

Here's a post-marriage extra:

Yu Hao loves to wear ripped jeans. Sometimes she even likes to buy them and cut the holes herself. Lu Huaizheng has quite a few complaints about this. One night, while Yu Hao was cutting holes in her new jeans, he was leaning on the sofa with one hand behind his head watching a ball game. He would glance at Yu Hao from time to time and suddenly say, "You're going to get chronic arthritis in your legs when you're older, believe it or not?"

Yu Hao ignored him. After she finished cutting, she put the pants away. The next morning, she woke up and took a look.

...

The holes had been sewn up.

On top of them was a note written in his strong, powerful handwriting.

"I've gone back to the unit. I've patched up the pants for you. If you dare cut them open again, I'll make you pay tonight.

The author has something to say:

Some people say they can't see that Lu Lu likes Hao Hao, but rather that Hao Hao likes Lu Lu more.

(Scratches head)

The two of them haven't seen each other for twelve years. Realistically speaking, it's almost impossible for them to get together. Their feelings right now are indeed very faint, and with the blank twelve years in between, they barely know each other. It's definitely impossible for them to be madly in love.

But this is only chapter twenty. They've only been reunited for a little over a month, so of course, it won't be too intense.

The main part comes later.