"…Was that a marriage proposal?" Big Sister Ling asked, holding her breath.
"Of course! It's already so obvious…" It was rare for Qiao Jing Jing to be somewhat shy. Even her voice was softer.
Big Sister Ling:
"..."
How the heck was it obvious?!
"So you agreed so easily?" She thought of a possibility and asked in horror, "Don't tell me you have already obtained the marriage certificate!"
Qiao Jing Jing rolled her eyes at her. "How is that possible?"
"That's good, that's good. I know that Teacher Yu is not such an unreliable person." Big Sister Ling breathed a sigh of relief.
"We plan to go back to meet the parents next week. Hmm, you can consider it as us getting engaged." Qiao Jing Jing felt a little embarrassed. "You go with us, okay?"
"It's you two getting engaged. What am I going there for?" Although she said that, still, the fact that Qiao Jing Jing had invited her to witness such an important moment of her life warmed her heart.
"Then I've to start preparing for the wedding?" When it comes to the various aspects of a celebrity wedding, the agent actually has more things to do than the parents.
"Yes, I guess."
"Then we have to do it well." Big Sister Ling had already begun to plan out in her mind the venue, guest list, media list, as well as whom to order the wedding dress from, which photographer to hire, what wedding favours to give in return, whether or not to get sponsor, … All these little details nevertheless needed about a year to prepare. "What kind of wedding do you have in mind? Have you chosen a date yet?"
"I haven't decided on what kind yet. As for the date…" Qiao Jing Jing considered for a moment. "When I've finished shooting my next drama?"
Blackness fell in front of Big Sister Ling's eyes for a moment, and she couldn't help but scream. "The next drama is only 20 episodes and you will be shooting for only two months! You think you can finish preparing for a wedding in two months?! Have you ever been married ah?!"
… She just said it offhandedly. Why such a strong reaction?
After Big Sister Ling held her hand and lamented for a while in a tearful voice, Qiao Jing Jing finally was a little more clear-headed and began to realize that as a young, A-list actress, organizing a wedding really was not a simple, easy task.
Even if they neglected for now the media and reporters, the venue was still a big problem. If they held it within the country, it would be very easy for information to get leaked, thus attracting attention. Holding it abroad could basically be overruled. People in Teacher Yu's confidential work unit were only allowed to go abroad once a year. He did not even get to keep his own passport with him.
Qiao Jing Jing was deeply troubled. Even after both sides' parents had met and her vacation had ended, she still had not come up with any perfect plan. Then one day, Yu Tu's work unit's official account in WeChat, which she followed, posted a notice that called for interested applicants.
She clicked it open, took a look, and immediately excitedly forwarded it to Yu Tu.
Yu Tu:
...
Qiao Jing Jing did not feel like typing, so she made a voice call. "Quickly, go and sign up."
Yu Tu sighed in resignation. "Cut it out, stop joking."
"I am not joking ah, I am serious." She talked non-stop, giving a bunch of reasons. She still want to continue talking when she seemed to hear someone calling out for her. After Qiao Jing Jing gave a quick cry in response, she turned back to the phone to say to him, "I am going to start filming now. Remember to go and sign up. There are only 20 slots but there are so many people in your work unit. You won't be able to snatch one if you're late."
After she finished saying all this, she hurriedly hung up, leaving Yu Tu holding his mobile phone and feeling helpless on the other side.
When Yu Tu answered this call, he had been having a meal with Guan Zai in the canteen. Guan Zai was drinking soup. "What's up?"
Yu Tu put away the phone: "Wedding matters."
Guan Zai immediately became interested. "What kind of wedding are you two going to have? I have not attended a celebrity wedding before. Will it be very grand? Do I have to wear a suit?"
"… She told me to go and sign up for our work unit's group wedding."
Guan Zai almost choked on his soup. "What?"
Yes, the article that Qiao Jing Jing sent to Yu Tu was the "call for interested applicants for group wedding" issued by their work unit's official account.
She had spoken excitedly on the phone about a whole bunch of benefits too having a group wedding. For example–
"There will be no need to worry about the media. We won't be nitpicked on the details of the wedding. We won't need to organize the wedding banquet. We will only need to invite a few close friends and relatives to be our guests. If this is not a dream wedding, then what is a dream wedding? I am being very considerate. When Big Sister Ling finds out, she'll definitely be moved to tears."
"The way of thinking of that big star of yours is really bold and imaginative. But you two do hold the same view. Previously, when you saw colleagues taking part, didn't you say that this way simplified matters and cut down on worries."
Yu Tu frowned, "When did I say that?"
Guan Zai:
"A few years ago, I think."
Yu Tu had no recollection of this.
Guan Zai bit into a steamed bun. "Then you're going to sign up?"
"Sign up for what?" Yu Tu very calmly said, "By tonight, she'll have come up with another style of wedding."
After all, Miss Qiao's wedding plan had already gone from the a beach wedding, to a lawn one, to one held in a hotel, and then back to the beach again.
Unexpectedly, this time Qiao Jing Jing turned out to be very resolute. She asked him about it that night during their video conferencing. After learning that he had not signed up yet, she earnestly urged him to go soon.
She asked him again the next day. Yu Tu said helplessly, "You can't change your mind once you've signed up. Otherwise, you will have wasted what could have been someone else's place. Are you sure you won't change your mind?"
Qiao Jing Jing thought about it for three days this time. Then with a serious face, she said that she had thought through it carefully. Yu Tu was also prepared this time. "How about Uncle, Auntie and Big Sister Ling? If they agree to it, then I have no problem."
Yu Tu felt that Mr and Mrs Qiao and Big Sister Ling would not agree to this. However, a week later, when Big Sister Ling and Mr and Mrs Qiao separately called him and said doing it this way would be very special, Yu Tu finally realized that Qiao Jing Jing was serious. She had even convinced her parents and agent!
Today, he for once was unable to concentrate on his work, so he got off work early.
Arriving at home, Yu Tu sat on the sofa and was somewhat lost in thought.
Without him even being aware of them, there had already been so many changes in his home. She had changed the colour of the curtains. She had put a rug in front of the sofa, and there were several throw pillows of different colours on the sofa. She had also put green plants and fresh flowers everywhere. She had decorated his cold and bland house into a romantic and stylish home.
She has always liked beautiful things. She had to use beautiful cups to drink tea and also had to use a nice-looking plates to eat. Whenever there was any sort of occasion, she needed it to have ambiance. It was as if she could magically make candles and flowers appear, anytime and anywhere.
Therefore, how could she possibly truly want to take part in a group wedding?
Yu Tu took out his mobile phone and found a video that he had watched online two years ago.
He clicked it open. On the video, Qiao Jing Jing was all smiles and getting interviewed. In the seventh minute of the video, the interviewer asked: "If you were to get married, what kind of wedding would you want? What is your dream wedding?"
"My dream wedding ah, let me think. It must be a very romantic one, filled with flowers. I'll invite many friends…"
Yu Tu leaned on the sofa and repeatedly watched this segment several times. Then he suddenly got up, picked up his car key, went downstairs, and drove into darkness.
When Qiao Jing Jing opened her hotel room's door and saw Yu Tu, she was simply stunned. "How come you came here? Could it be it's the weekend tomorrow?"
Feeling uncertain, she wanted to go grab her phone to verify.
Yu Tu pulled her back, closed the door, and asked directly, "Why do you want to take part in a group wedding?"
Qiao Jing Jing was surprised and said, "You drove more than two hundred kilometers to get here, just to ask me this?"
"You said before that your dream wedding must be very romantic and filled with flowers, that you'll invite many friends.
Jing Jing:
"…"
"Wait a minute," Qiao Jing Jing interrupted him. "When did I say that?"
"In 2015, in an interview where you were endorsing a wedding ring."
Qiao Jing Jing was speechless. "You believe that? When you're asked this kind of question during an interview, you can only make something up on the spot."
Yu Tu did not yield an inch. "Then what kind of wedding do you want?"
Qiao Jing Jing was quiet for a while, then asked, "Do you think that I want to take part in a group wedding because I am taking into consideration your financial situation?"
Yu Tu looked at her, "Jing Jing, I want to do my best, too."
Qiao Jing Jing looked into his eyes and gave a sweet smile. "Thank you. Since I want to marry you, of course you have to do your best for me. But this time, I really do only want a simple wedding."
"You know that I am in an industry of fame and money, where everyone is watching. There are too many things I have to consider for my wedding. I want to keep it a secret, but it will be impossible once I do start arranging it. I want to invite only a few of my closest friends, but maybe someone will take offense and blame me. In the end, the whole wedding might turn into a social gathering. We will have to keep interacting and taking photos with people. Maybe a little problem will cause us to become a hot search topic. But if we take part in your work unit's group wedding, these problems will not happen. We can simply be a couple, a bride and a groom. Although it will be with many other newlyweds, I actually feel that only if we do it this way will the wedding be only for the two of us. Just you and me, one-on-one, our hearts and minds only for each other, with nothing to disturb us and no need to care about public opinion and social niceties.
"Also, even if we do have our wedding together with many other people, so what? Every day there are so many people in this world getting married at the same time. We have always been just one—amongst many people—ordinary little husband-and-wife cou—... ah, young husband-and-wife couple."
Qiao Jing Jing laughed at her own joke, and her eyes unwittingly grew warm.
"A wedding is something that is only between two people. It is something you give to me and I give to you." Qiao Jing Jing looked at him with slightly red eyes and asked earnestly, "With such a wedding, then, will you feel any grievance?"