Mu Xichen’s heart stirred to feel her soft hand in his palm.
His eyes darkened as he took her hand and led her gently into his embrace.
Lowering his gaze, he noticed her rosy complexion and the corners of her slightly parted lips.
As he walked with his arm around her into the Civil Affairs Bureau, an unconscious smile appeared on his face.
It was a normal working weekday, and the crowd was thin.
The moment they stepped in, one of the staff members at the reception desk recognized Mu Xichen and called out, “Chief Mu?”
Mu Xichen looked in his direction and nodded.
Military personnel had priority according to the law. Even though Mu Xichen had retired from the forces, he was still accorded much respect.
Upon receiving the documents, Li Beinian’s hand trembled slightly as she held the pen.
She had signed more than ten autographs today, but those were forced on her as she was frantic and on the run. They were carelessly and untidily written.
And right now, she looked at the blank signature space and wrote her name with great care, one meticulous stroke at a time.
She turned her head slightly and saw that Mu Xichen had already finished signing the documents. His writing was clean and decisive, fluent, and with great presence.
Just like him.
She finally saw this clearly.
Noticing that she was done, Mu Xichen took the papers from her and handed them over to the staff.
Throughout the process, she merely followed his lead, signing when told, getting fingerprinted when told.
In the end, the host staff said, “I’m the certificate issuer of the Guang City Civil Affairs Bureau, and it’s my honor to certify your marriage.
“May I know if you’re Mr. Mu Xichen?”
“Yes.”
“May I know if you’re Miss Li Beinian?”
“Yes.”
“At this time of great happiness, I would like to ask both of you a solemn question. May I know if you come here to marry willingly?”
Li Beinian paused on hearing this question. She turned to look at Mu Xichen.
He gave her a sidelong glance and narrowed his sharp and beautiful phoenix eyes, then replied calmly, “Yes.”
The certificate issuer looked at Li Beinian and asked again, “Miss Li Beinian, may I know if you marry Mu Xichen out of your own willingness?”
“Uh-huh, yes.” She nodded, and, as though to further affirm this, she nodded again and said, “Yes.”
Mu Xichen’s tensed expression relaxed. He turned his gaze downward, reached out, and took her hand resting on her knee.
As his slightly rough palm gently caressed her hand, Li Beinian’s heart stirred.
This wasn’t a very common situation for the certificate issuer to observe. He glanced at them and continued with the process. “The married life that awaits you from this day forward is the start of new happiness. But there will also be many challenges. I hope that no matter what difficulties and dangerous situations you may face in your life together from now on, you will walk through them hand in hand, that you will tolerate and support each other. Will you be able to do that?”
“Yes.”
They replied in unison.
The certificate issuer finally declared, “Your registration conditions meet the legal requirements. I officially pronounce you lawful man and wife.”
As he held their marriage certificates, Li Beinian noted that they were still warm from the print as she took them from him.
She unrolled the scroll. In the photograph, Mu Xichen was holding her, and his expression was subtle. However, there was an unmistakable hint of a smile on his faintly upturned lips.
While her face had a scarlet glow, full of… er… overflowing love.
Her face heated up, but she mumbled, “How did the picture turn out like this.”
“Let’s take another one with you holding your certificates,” the photographer said, holding up his camera.
Mu Xichen lowered his head to look at her and then put his arm around her shoulder.
She hurriedly held up her marriage certificate, tilting it at an angle so that it touched his certificate.
“3, 2, 1… Smile…”
