Sugookie

Became a National Couple with My Ex Side Story · Main Couple (Part 6): The Marriage Certificate

February 14th was the day Liang Yixuan and Bian Xu had scheduled to register their marriage.

Although she always said, "Every day is a lucky day with me," in the end, they still needed to pick an actual date. After thinking it over during the Lunar New Year, they decided on this somewhat cliché choice in February.

It was Liang Yixuan who suggested it first. After all, when you think of February, Valentine’s Day is the most symbolic and romantic date that comes to mind.

But Bian Xu initially objected. He said, if their marriage registration anniversary and Valentine’s Day were on the same day, wouldn’t that mean one less holiday to celebrate each year?

Liang Yixuan found it funny, wasn’t that usually something girls cared about more? She hadn’t even thought about it, but here was Bian Xu actually making a fuss.

They went back and forth a bit, and as she listened, she finally understood what he meant.

He was actually jealous—jealous that even Peach the cat often got handmade clothes and little hats from her, while he hadn’t received a proper gift from her yet. So he figured, the more holidays they had, the more chances he’d get.

Liang Yixuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She thought to herself, If Bian Xu kept a diary, his emotional journey might be even more dramatic than mine.

She told him, "If both days fall on the same date, it makes it even more meaningful—maybe that means an even bigger gift?"

Bian Xu thought about it and realized that didn’t sound so bad. That’s when he finally agreed.

February 14th, 4 a.m.

In the early hours of February 14th, Liang Yixuan woke up halfway through her sleep. She felt unusually alert and assumed it was just her internal clock kicking in. But when she glanced at the window and saw complete darkness through the slit in the curtain, she realized it was still too early. She shifted into a new sleeping position and closed her eyes again.

But as soon as she did, the thought hit her—she and Bian Xu were going to register their marriage in just a few hours. A strange mix of excitement and nervousness surged through her, and her heart started beating faster.

It felt just like those sleepless nights before school trips as a child, too excited to fall asleep. No matter how long she kept her eyes closed, sleep just wouldn't return. Everything was quiet beside her. Bian Xu, true to form, was sleeping like a rock—— clearly the kind of person who wouldn’t let anything, even the sky falling, disturb his rest.

She sighed quietly at how sensitive her sleep was and gently changed positions again.

As soon as she turned over, she suddenly heard a low, husky, but clearly awake voice from beside her: "Can’t sleep?"

Startled, Liang Yixuan turned her head. "You’re awake?"

"You are too, aren’t you?"

Anyone who’s ever struggled with insomnia knows how comforting it is to discover a fellow night owl in the darkness.

And it’s even better when that person is lying right next to you.

Liang Yixuan snuggled into Bian Xu’s arms. "You’ve got stuff on your mind too?"

"You’re asking even though you already know," he said, chuckling and pulling her closer.

"Why is it so hard to sleep on a day like this? It’s weird."

Just last night everything had felt totally normal. She hadn’t been overthinking anything before bed either.

And it’s not like today’s a surprise, they’d picked this date long ago and mentally prepared for it. Getting a marriage certificate isn’t like confessing your love or proposing, it’s not suspenseful. So why was her subconscious making her nervous?

"If I had the answer, who would I ask?" Bian Xu said with a quiet laugh. "It’s my first time too, you know."

"Fair enough," she said, then asked, "What time is it now?"

Bian Xu reached for the clock on the nightstand. "A little past four."

Liang Yixuan sighed. "Now what?"

"What do you usually do when you can’t sleep?"

"When I was performing overseas, I’d count sheep. In China, I count dumplings…"

That made Bian Xu laugh. "Does it work?"

Liang Yixuan shook her head.

"What about this?" he said, gently patting her back like you would to soothe a child.

Liang Yixuan blinked slowly.

That motion, only her grandma had done that for her when she was very young.

Every time her grandma did that, she thought she was the gentlest person in the world.

During those few silent seconds, Bian Xu seemed to sense her emotions. "Just try it. Go to sleep."

She gave a soft "mm" and closed her eyes.

She finally managed to fall back asleep.

When she woke again, daylight was already shining through. She heard quiet rustling, opened her eyes, and saw Bian Xu standing by the bed, buttoning the cuffs of his dress shirt.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up. One glance at the clock told her it was nearly 7 a.m.

"Why didn’t you wake me up?"

"I figured since you couldn’t sleep earlier, I’d let you rest a bit more."

"I still need to do my makeup!" Liang Yixuan threw off the covers and got out of bed in a hurry. "I took the day off just for this. There are probably tons of people registering today. If we don’t get in early and miss our slot, I can’t go begging for time off again…"

Listening to her ramble, Bian Xu let out a low scoff. "This is what I get for being nice?"

As she passed him, Liang Yixuan stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, then hurried off to the bathroom.

They hadn’t even officially gotten their certificate yet, and already she was brushing him off with that kind of casual affection didn’t even spare a full sentence.

Shaking his head, Bian Xu went to the wardrobe to grab her outfit.

Liang Yixuan quickly freshened up and changed into a white shirt that matched Bian Xu’s. She put on some light makeup and urged him to grab the documents so they could head out.

"Eat something first," Bian Xu said, handing her a cup of cereal drink. "Finish this before we leave."

She had already made it to the front door but was dragged back, so she drank it while asking him to double-check the paperwork.

"Didn’t we already check it last night?"

Normally, Bian Xu didn’t bother with details like this, he’d always just delegate to his assistant.

But obviously, marriage registration wasn’t something he could send someone else to do. So last night, he had patiently organized all the documents into a folder, copying the method he’d seen Lu Yuan use.

"You know I’ve got OCD—check it again," Liang Yixuan insisted.

At the dining table, Bian Xu opened the folder and pulled out their household registration booklets and IDs, going through everything piece by piece. Just as he finished, Liang Yixuan had downed the cereal and set the cup aside.

He lifted his gaze. "We’ve got an appointment. Why are you in such a rush? You’re gonna make yourself sick from drinking so fast."

"I just want peace of mind. What if we miss our number on such an important day?"

"If that happens, I’ll pull some strings."

"Getting married through the back door? Isn’t that bad luck?" Liang Yixuan dabbed her mouth with a tissue, pulled a lipstick from her bag, and touched up her lips in the mirror. "You done checking?"

Since she exercised regularly, she rarely wore makeup unless it was for a performance.

It had been a while since Bian Xu had seen her with makeup on, so he couldn’t help but glance at her a few extra times while he put the documents back in the folder.

"Don’t worry, it’s all good," he said.

The two of them left the house with their documents.

As expected, the civil affairs bureau was packed with people, it was crowded and buzzing with activity.

They arrived just as the bureau opened for the day. By the time they found parking, a large group of couples had already rushed inside, hand in hand. Some were chatting, asking each other what time they'd arrived. One couple said they had come before sunrise just to make it for this special day.

Liang Yixuan thought to herself—clearly, she and Bian Xu hadn’t been dedicated enough.

They should’ve just gotten up when they were both awake with insomnia at 4 a.m.

She got out of the car on the passenger side and walked toward the building with Bian Xu. She took the document folder from his hand to look for their appointment confirmation. As she was flipping through the papers, she suddenly froze.

Bian Xu stopped too. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, she looked up, confused, and asked, "Where’s your ID card?"

Bian Xu pointed at the folder. "It’s in there. I just checked."

Liang Yixuan looked down again and searched through the folder, but after a long while still couldn’t find it. Bian Xu took the folder from her hands. "You’re this nervous? Let me find it."

He pushed aside the photocopies and looked deeper.

About ten seconds later, he paused, then looked up at her with a blank expression.

From the look on his face, Liang Yixuan could sense something ridiculous had happened.

She tried to stay calm. It’s their first time registering for marriage, she told herself. Maybe he’s just nervous too and misplaced it.

She took the folder over to the bench in the lobby and dumped everything out to check item by item.

Everything was there—except Bian Xu’s ID card.

She thought back for a moment, then looked up at him. "When you were checking the documents at home earlier… didn’t you take everything out?"

Bian Xu slowly nodded.

"And when you put them back, are you sure you didn’t leave anything on the table?"

His silence gave her the answer she dreaded.

Liang Yixuan stared at him, defeated. "Bian! Xu!"

It was rare for her to call his full name like that. Bian Xu gave a small cough. "It’s fine. I’ll have someone bring it."

She took a deep breath and stood there while he made the call.

"Send my ID from the dining table in my apartment to the civil affairs bureau. Now." Bian Xu got straight to the point on the phone.

On the other end, Lu Yuan sounded a bit confused. "Huh? When?"

"What do you mean when? Right now. Immediately."

"Oh, Boss, you’re registering your marriage today? Such an important day, how could you forget your ID!"

"If you’d stop talking and start moving, you’d already be on your way."

Bian Xu hung up coldly, then looked up—only to see Liang Yixuan’s face looking even colder than his.

"Baby, my bad," he said, reaching out to rub her shoulder.

Without saying a word, Liang Yixuan picked up the now-packed folder and walked off toward the information desk.

"Where are you going?" Bian Xu hurried after her.

She was going to ask if there was any way to adjust their appointment, maybe go through some steps early or delay their number but she didn’t feel like calmly explaining anything to him at the moment. So she just walked straight ahead on her own.

As a ballet dancer, she moved quickly and gracefully. Even with his long legs, Bian Xu had trouble keeping up. People kept cutting between them, and several times he tried to grab her hand but failed. By the time she stopped at the information desk, he gave up and casually flexed his fingers.

The staff member at the desk was flipping through documents while glancing up at the two of them.

Liang Yixuan politely asked, "Hi, excuse me, I wanted to ask—"

The staff, clearly used to seeing all kinds of couples, seemed to instantly guess what was going on. Without missing a beat, she pointed in a direction and said: "Divorce is that way."

Liang Yixuan and Bian Xu: "…"