Lin'er handed the pad to Lu Zi and asked, "Here is the document, any thoughts?"
Twenty minutes later, Zi looked up and said to Lin'er, "I want to meet them."
The protagonists of this document were Yu and Nuo, it documented their journey from the closet to coming out, from acquaintance to falling in love, from their student days to the present moment of eight years together. The determination to spend the rest of their lives together.
"Just waiting for your word." Lin'er smoothly took out her phone and created a small group chat on WeChat. The four of them briefly exchanged greetings in the group, set a time, and arranged for a detailed offline discussion.
When Yu and Nuo arrived, Zi and Lin'er had just ordered the hot pot.
Yu was in a leather jacket and black pants, and Nuo was in a shirt with a sweater; one with distinct facial features, the other exuding a gentle aura all over. They looked just like in the photos, with no noticeable differences. But without knowing their story, one wouldn't think these two individuals were a lawyer and a high school math teacher.
The two nodded at Lin'er and Zi in greeting. "Sorry for being late, traffic was a bit congested on the way here," Yu said as he pulled out a chair for Nuo, starting to sterilize the utensils, a gesture that showed he was a "gentleman" accustomed to doing such tasks.
Sensing Zi watching him sterilize the utensils, Yu remarked, "Sorry, I have a bit of OCD." "Enough! Yu. The black leather jacket is already stylish," Lin'er, who had known Yu for some time, knew that this elite lawyer in front of her, dressed in all black leather, had a hidden side.
"You!" Yu's tone softened slightly, leaning back slightly, "How do you talk like that to your senior?"
"This is my first time meeting Lu Zi, can't you let me leave a good impression on the lady?" "You don't need to go on a blind date with Zi, why do you need a good impression?"
Lu Zi: "???"
Nuo poured a cup of oolong tea for Yu and said gently, "Zi, don't mind him. He's nervous because he wants to meet you." The heartfelt post-story reflections and planning ideas written by Zi were sent to these two individuals by Lin'er the next day.
"Nervous to meet me?"
"Yes, we both really like your planning outline. He's rarely talked in person with anyone about our story, so he's nervous." Nuo said to Zi as he handed the tea, his hand falling on Yu's thigh, silently comforting him. At that moment, Zi felt that the suave image of the man in a leather jacket and black pants sitting across from her had crumbled, revealing a genuine and endearing side.
"Nervous?" Lin'er struggled to hold back a laugh, skewering some tripe, her smile giving her away.
"Long time no see, Yu bro. I remember the last time you were nervous was two years ago when Nuo had an appendectomy."
Yu, who was nervous like an old lady outside the operating room for an hour-long surgery, was asked by Lin'er later, "It was just a minor appendectomy, why were you so nervous?"
Yu said, "I felt sorry for my wife."
"You're revealing your husband like this before we even eat, is that really OK?" The seemingly threatening words sounded gentle, Yu asked.
"It's fine. Once it's revealed, you won't be nervous anymore."
Yu scooped up the tripe that Lin'er had put down in the butter pot for over ten seconds. "That's true."
Lin'er felt a pang of jealousy. "I came to eat hot pot, not 'dog food'."
"Don't eat 'dog food', eat hot pot out of a dossier."
"Zi, this is the demeanour of an elite man," Lin'er added five or six slices of tripe to the butter pot.
"Don't be worried." Lin'er and Yu teased Zi back and forth, while Zi poked at her empty bowl with chopsticks, her eyes shining as she looked at the two men sitting opposite her. "I'm just here to have a meal, witness a beautiful love story, and listen to a story on the side."
This hot pot dinner lasted nearly three hours. Zi observed Yu and Nuo's every move during the meal, storing it in her memory.
Warm moments, simple and ordinary, a peaceful life, hand in hand till old age. That's all it takes.
In recent years, with the continuous growth of 'I AM', many people have found their partners through 'I AM'. Seizing this opportunity, 'I AM' established its own wedding planning team, and due to Lin'er's relationship, Zi unexpectedly became the core external member of the planning team. Although Zi's involvement in planning projects is not extensive, each one stands out. As a result, Zi, known as "Full Star Fantasy" planner under the 'I AM, has gained her reputation but is difficult to book.
During the meal, Zi asked the two many small details about life, nearly making Yu blush like the bottom of a buttered pan. When something related to Nuo came up, exhibiting a completely opposite appearance and inner self, even Nuo couldn't help but tease them on the spot.
At the end of the meal, Zi asked the two, as the protagonists of the widely circulated "beautiful love story" on the internet, why they chose her to plan their wedding instead of finding a better, more professional team.
Nuo replied, "Lin'er showed us the planning and on-site videos of your previous three weddings. How should I put it? Watching your planning, one can imagine the two people, and their story, the raw honesty and sincerity of the emotions, devoid of any external embellishments, are simple yet moving."
It turns out, they were deeply moved. Zi thought to herself.
Upon returning home, Zi looked back and forth at that post, watching it repeatedly.