ACBAM 22: Marriage Registration

Tan Zhao couldn’t tell whether he was more shocked by the financial trouble or by the fact that Gu Weiyang was getting married.

“Weren’t you… in a one-sided crush?” It took Tan Zhao a long while to find his voice.

“Mhm, but that doesn’t get in the way of getting married.” Gu Weiyang, in a good mood, walked into the guest room, casually turned on the light, and stepped out onto the balcony.

The guest room’s balcony was about a meter away from the master bedroom’s balcony. Although he couldn’t see what was happening inside the room, he could clearly see that the master bedroom’s floor-to-ceiling windows were shut. Only a sliver of light seeped through the gap in the heavy curtains.

Tan Zhao was still in shock on the phone. “Isn’t the person you’re marrying the one you had a one-sided crush on?”

“It is him,” Gu Weiyang said, glancing toward the neighboring room and lowering his voice.

Tan Zhao was baffled. “Then if you two are getting married, why is it still a one-sided crush? Why would he want to marry you?”

“Good question.” Gu Weiyang rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe my character is trustworthy.”

Tan Zhao: …

He really shouldn’t have asked.

“So why did you call? Just to show off your relationship?” Tan Zhao resisted the urge to hang up and asked.

“Of course not,” Gu Weiyang said.

Tan Zhao felt a bit relieved, thinking Gu Weiyang still had some conscience.

Then he heard Gu Weiyang’s voice come through the receiver, “It’s mainly to remind you not to forget my wedding gift money.”

Tan Zhao: …

Tan Zhao hung up the phone with a cold expression.

He really shouldn’t have thought Gu Weiyang had a conscience.

A minute later, Gu Weiyang received a WeChat transfer from Tan Zhao for the maximum limit of two hundred thousand, with a note: “Take my blessings and get out of my life.”

Gu Weiyang couldn’t hold back a soft laugh.

—

That night, Gu Weiyang stayed out on the balcony and let the wind blow over him until the lights next door went out, then finally returned to his room.

After returning, Gu Weiyang barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes, the words “registering the marriage” would flash through his mind, keeping his brain in a constant state of excitement. In the end, he only managed to get an hour or two of light sleep. By five in the morning, he was fully awake and couldn’t stay in bed any longer, so he simply got dressed and went out for a morning run to burn off some energy.

On the way back, Gu Weiyang took a stroll through the nearby morning market and bought a bunch of breakfast items that Su Shijin might like. He got home a little after seven.

Not sure if Su Shijin was awake yet, he simply left him a message letting him know there was breakfast downstairs, then went upstairs to take a shower.

After his shower, Gu Weiyang was still feeling a bit warm, so he threw on a loose sleeveless top and headed downstairs only to run into Su Shijin, who was already having breakfast in the dining room.

“Morning, Mr. Gu.” Su Shijin swallowed his bite of food and greeted him first.

Gu Weiyang paused for a second. “Morning.”

Gu Weiyang hadn’t expected Su Shijin to be up this early. He went into the kitchen, took a sip of cold water to steady himself, then walked over and sat across from Su Shijin, asking, “Did you sleep well last night?”

Su Shijin nodded. “Pretty well.”

Aside from occasionally rolling over and accidentally pressing on his injured ankle then waking from the pain, this was the first time Su Shijin had slept so soundly in an unfamiliar place.

Considering that when he moved into the apartment he bought for himself, it took him over half a month to get used to it.

Su Shijin suspected it might have something to do with the lingering scent of Gu Weiyang’s pheromones in the room. Even though the bedsheets had been changed and the room aired out, the bed was still the one Gu Weiyang often slept in, and when Su Shijin lay down, he could still catch a faint trace of alcohol.

He had originally thought the smell of alcohol would irritate his glands and keep him awake, but the result was completely unexpected.

Gu Weiyang’s pheromones seemed to soothe him even more than anticipated, which was likely why he slept so comfortably and woke up feeling refreshed.

Hearing that, Gu Weiyang felt relieved. As long as Su Shijin was able to rest well, that was all that mattered.

After breakfast, Gu Weiyang got up to clear the table, while Su Shijin maneuvered his wheelchair upstairs to retrieve the packages he had opened the day before. He also brought down his crutches.

Along with his ID card and household registration booklet.

When Gu Weiyang came out of the kitchen after tidying up, his eyes immediately landed on the household registration booklet lying on the coffee table, and his heart couldn’t help but skip a couple of beats.

He glanced at the time—just after eight. The civil affairs bureau opened at eight-thirty, so heading over now would be just right.

Su Shijin was adjusting the height of his crutches. He had used them when he got up that morning, but the height hadn’t been set properly, making them uncomfortable to use.

Noticing Gu Weiyang looking over, Su Shijin explained, “It’s not that convenient to go out in a wheelchair.”

“It’s fine. The wheelchair can be folded and put in the trunk. I measured the size and it’ll fit. It’s better to stick with the wheelchair,” Gu Weiyang snapped out of it, walked over, and stacked the cardboard boxes by the door to prevent them from being a tripping hazard for Su Shijin.

Hearing that, Su Shijin decisively set the crutches aside.

Using the wheelchair really was much more convenient because he didn’t have to worry about accidentally bumping his foot on the ground.

Besides, crutches were honestly hard to use. Su Shijin was worried that if he didn’t handle them properly, he might end up tripping, making things worse. Crutches were fine for walking just a few steps at home, but anything more than that was pushing it.

Su Shijin hadn’t even realized how much more delicate he had become. At least before Gu Weiyang started taking such considerate care of him, he had planned to grit his teeth and walk by holding onto the walls at home.

As for Gu Weiyang, even with Su Shijin asking him to carry him around every day, he didn’t think Su Shijin was being delicate because being afraid of pain didn’t count as being delicate in his eyes.

After moving the cardboard boxes and any chairs or tables that might block the wheelchair out of the way, Gu Weiyang said to Su Shijin, “I’ll go upstairs and change, then we’ll head out?”

Su Shijin nodded in agreement.

Gu Weiyang went upstairs and picked out a white shirt similar to the one Su Shijin was wearing so they would look good together in the marriage registration photo. Then he spent ten minutes styling his hair, finishing it off with a bit of gel.

If it wouldn’t have seemed too over-the-top, he honestly would’ve hired a stylist to come over and do his hair.

Worried about making Su Shijin wait too long downstairs, Gu Weiyang slipped on a wristwatch-style suppressant and headed down.

Hearing footsteps, Su Shijin looked up, and his gaze paused slightly.

Gu Weiyang adjusted his cuffs a little awkwardly and asked, “Does it look bad?”

He rarely wore white shirts—black was more his usual style—so he wasn’t sure if he looked strange in it.

Su Shijin shook his head. “No, you look great.”

Gu Weiyang really suited having the hair at his forehead brushed back. He had strong bone structure, striking features, and sharp brows with starry eyes. It was the kind of handsomeness that grabbed attention at a glance.

Compared to the version of him with bangs, the Gu Weiyang without bangs carried a more mature and commanding presence.

Gu Weiyang felt a little giddy from the compliment. He cleared his throat to cover up his unease and said, “You look great too.”

Su Shijin was caught off guard by the praise, his ears turning red. He quickly changed the subject. “Shall we head out now?”

Gu Weiyang had been dying to leave for a while. After double-checking that he had both the household registration booklet and their ID cards, he nodded.

—

The civil affairs bureau was a bit of a drive from Gu Weiyang’s place. By the time the two of them arrived at the entrance, the bureau had already opened.

It was the first time either Su Shijin or Gu Weiyang had been to the civil affairs bureau, so they had looked up the entire process online. Fortunately, with guidance from the staff, the procedure wasn’t too complicated and only the photo for the marriage registration took a bit more time.

Because the back of Su Shijin’s wheelchair would show up in the photo, and the wheelchair made it hard for them to sit close together, the two ended up sitting on a long bench.

They maintained a very polite distance, smiling at the camera.

The photographer frowned. “Why are you sitting so far apart, move closer!”

Gu Weiyang glanced at Su Shijin and cautiously scooted closer, until their arms were touching.

The photographer still wasn’t satisfied, barking out directions non-stop, “Come on, come on, get closer, even closer! What, you two barely know each other? Why are you sitting so far apart?”

“Tall one—hold your partner, pull him in closer!”

“Don’t you know how to wrap your arm around his waist? What are you, shy lovebirds on your first date? Hold his waist and get closer!”

Under the pressure, Gu Weiyang started getting nervous too. He reached out tentatively, letting his hand rest lightly on Su Shijin’s waist.

The photographer shouted, “Tighter!!”

Su Shijin quietly leaned into Gu Weiyang’s chest and murmured, “Just hold me, don’t hold up the line for the people behind us.”

Gu Weiyang’s Adam’s apple bobbed, then he suddenly tightened his grip around Su Shijin’s waist, pulling him firmly into his arms. Their bodies pressed tightly together, and even through the fabric, they could feel each other’s warmth.

The photographer, finally satisfied, said cheerfully, “There we go, much better! Now, tilt your heads toward each other, look at the camera, and smile~~”

As the flash went off, the photo of the two of them smiling and pressed close together was affixed to the marriage certificate, stamped with the official seal.

Holding the certificate in his hands, Su Shijin still felt a bit unreal. It was hard to believe he had actually registered a marriage with a man he had only interacted with a few times.

Gu Weiyang also stared at the photo on the certificate, dazed for a moment, before remembering to place his and Su Shijin’s certificates side by side. He pulled out his phone and took a picture of them holding the documents together, deliberately making sure both of their hands were in the frame.

Su Shijin looked up in confusion.

Gu Weiyang explained, “To show my family.”

Su Shijin understood and nodded, then suddenly remembered something.

He had registered the marriage… but hadn’t told his grandfather yet.

Ever since that phone call about the blind date, he hadn’t spoken to his grandfather again.

Maybe he could find time to go back this weekend and tell him in person.

Su Shijin didn’t want to be bombarded with questions over the phone, so he decided to wait until the weekend to go home and explain everything. He will put it off for a week if he could.

Meanwhile, Gu Weiyang had already edited the photo they just took, adding a border of hearts around it. Then he sneakily turned to the side and drafted a post for his Moments, writing a shamelessly sentimental line: Good thing it’s you.

[Photo attached: the two of them holding their marriage certificates]

When he posted it, Gu Weiyang very deliberately set it to be hidden from Su Shijin.

Gu Weiyang didn’t have many friends, and since his social circle barely overlapped with Su Shijin’s, he wasn’t worried at all that Su Shijin would see the post.

After smugly showing off his happiness, someone commented almost instantly.

He opened it to see.

Tan Zhao: Happy again huh bro/. Bring sister-in-law out for a game of pool sometime①

Gu Weiyang: …

He didn’t really get Tan Zhao’s 5G-level internet slang and quietly chose to ignore it.

“Do you want to go home and rest first?” Gu Weiyang put his phone away and looked down to ask.

Su Shijin was just about to nod when his phone rang. The caller ID read: Grandpa.

Su Shijin gestured for a moment and answered the call. “Grandpa.”

Heavy breathing came from the other end of the line, and only after a long pause did an elderly voice speak, “Shijin, you’ve grown up and you’ve become successful. You got married, and yet your grandpa had to find out through your newlywed partner’s Moments post?” 

Su Shijin: …

He silently looked up and stared at Gu Weiyang.

Just now, after casually glimpsing the caller ID, Gu Weiyang suddenly realized that he had forgotten… to block Su Shijin’s grandfather.

Faced with Su Shijin’s silent and questioning gaze, Gu Weiyang turned his head and guiltily looked away.