Next morning.
Central Party School dormitory.
“Xuebing, Xuebing.” Han Xinghua called. “Wake up.”
“Brother Han?” Dong Xuebing opened his eyes and looked at the time. “Oh, it’s already past 8 am.”
Han Xinghua laughed. “We got to go to the library this morning, and we don’t have classes. You don’t need to rush.”
“Thanks, Brother Han. I might have slept until the afternoon if you didn’t wake me up.” Dong Xuebing got up and quickly washed up. He had been busy with his proposal and sneaking out every night. He returned from Sister Xie’s home quite late and dreamt of their wedding.
It’s almost 9 am when Dong Xuebing is done.
Dong Xuebing was about to go to the library when he received Xie Huilan’s call.
“Are you at your dormitory?” Xie Huilan asked.
“Yes. I am downstairs. What is it?”
“There are no lessons today, and I applied for leave for you. Come out with me, ok?”
“Hey, why did you apply for leave for me? It will affect my results, and I might not graduate.”
“Haha…. It’s alright. I know the Deputy Principal and my parents are friends with the Principal. Getting one or two days off is fine.”
“Where are we going?”
“Let’s talk later. Meet you at the gates.”
“Ok. Wait for me.”
Party School Gate.
Xie Huilan is chatting with a man in his fifties at the guardhouse, and Dong Xuebing immediately recognizes him. He is the Deputy Principal who gave a speech at the opening ceremony. His surname is Wen. The Party School’s Principal has other duties, and he left the Party School to Deputy Principal Wen.
Dong Xuebing walked over, and they turned and looked at him.
Xie Huilan smiles. “Uncle Wen, this is my fiancé, Dong Xuebing.”
Dong Xuebing quickly extends two hands for a handshake. “Principal Wen.”
“Nice to meet you.” Principal Wen laughed. “I have heard a lot about you, Fen Zhou City’s Xiao Dong.”
Xie Huilan narrowed her eyes. “We are getting married in a few days. You must attend our wedding ceremony.”
Principal Wen joked. “I was afraid I might not get invited.”
“How can I not invite you? It’s our honor if you can come. Haha…. Xiao Bing and I got to run some errands, and we shall not bother you anymore.”
“Go ahead. There are a lot of things to prepare for a wedding. I will let your trainers know, and you can let them know if you two need to leave in the future.”
“Thank you, Uncle Wen.”
“Alright. You don’t need to be so polite to me. I had watched you grow up.” Deputy Principal Wen looked at Dong Xuebing and patted his shoulder. “You must treat Huilan well after you two got married. I will not let you off if you bully her.”
Dong Xuebing smiled nervously. “It will not happen.”
Xie Huilan and Dong Xuebing left the Party School and walked along the streets.
Dong Xuebing asked Xie Huilan when there was no one around them. “Is that Principal Wen close to your family?”
“Not really.” Xie Huilan giggled. “We are not very close.”
Dong Xuebing is speechless. “Then why did he say he watched you grow up?”
“Hehe…. Uncle Wen visited our house a few times when I was young. It’s not wrong for him to say he watched me grow up.” Xie Huilan explained. “You had joined the Government for two years, and you should know all the high-level officials in Beijing knows each other. Some are relatives, friends of friends, etc. The relationships are complicated. It can’t be explained easily or can be identified by different factions. Never mind, you will understand when you are at their level. You won’t understand even if I tell you now.”
Dong Xuebing smacked his lips. “Look at you…. You are acting all high and mighty again. Why can’t I understand now? Do you think I am stupid?”
“Haha…. You are not very smart.”
“Hmph! I dare you to say that again?”
“What? Are you going to hit me?”
“Don’t think I don’t dare to do that. I will teach you a lesson if you piss me off.” Dong Xuebing retorted, but he didn’t dare to bully her.
Xie Huilan laughed. “Fine. Today, I am in a good mood and will not argue with you.”
Dong Xuebing felt better. “Should we tell our colleagues and friends in Fen Zhou City about our wedding? Although we are not inviting them, we should inform them.”
Xie Huilan replied. “We can’t invite them even if we tell them. We might as well not tell them.”
“But……”
“Furthermore, Fen Zhou City is rebuilding after the earthquake. What will others think if we get married now?”
“Hmmm…. You are right.”
“That’s why I say we should not tell them.”
“Why did you call me out today? Where are we going?”
Xie Huilan looks at her watch. “My parents said they would do all the wedding preparations, but we got to settle some things ourselves. For example, my wedding dress and our wedding photos. My Mum felt it was too rushed and asked us to settle our wedding dress and photos.”
Dong Xuebing is speechless. “Wedding dress? Don’t you think it’s too rushed?”
“Our wedding is in a few days. Are you thinking of buying my wedding dress on that day?”
“I don’t mean that. I am asking if we can hold it off for two days.”
“We will do it today.” Xie Huilan said and flagged a taxi. She held Dong Xuebing’s arm and got in. “Wang Fu Jing. Thank you.”
The driver nodded.
“This is too rushed.” Dong Xuebing said. “I am not prepared.”
Xie Huilan smiles. “Are you not prepared to take our wedding photos or not prepared to get married? If it is the photos, you don’t need to be prepared as I had made the arrangements. The makeup artist and hairstylist are waiting for us. If you are not prepared to get married….” She looks at him with a smile. “We can stop now as we have not sent out the invitations. You can still change your mind.”
Dong Xuebing quickly explains. “What are you saying? I am not regretting.”
“Hehe…. Then what do you mean?”
“I…. I….”
Dong Xuebing doesn’t know how to tell Xie Huilan his problems.
The taxi stopped outside of Wang Fu Jing. Xie Huilan saw Dong Xuebing did not take out his wallet, and she paid the fare.
Xie Huilan held Dong Xuebing’s arm as they walked along the street, attracting attention from passersby.
Everyone is attracted to Xie Huilan’s beautiful looks.
Dong Xuebing seldom walks with Xie Huilan with her holding his arms, and the attention flattered him. But he felt down when he remembers his problems.
“We are here.” Xie Huilan stopped.
It is a three-story bridal shop, and the windows display many wedding dresses. All of them look expensive and cost at least 10,000 RMB.
“Let’s go.” Xie Huilan held his arm.
Dong Xuebing did not move and pulled Xie Huilan aside. He took out his wallet and gave it to her. “Look at my wallet.”
Xie Huilan is puzzled. “What do you want me to see?”
“You will know when you look at it.” Dong Xuebing felt embarrassed to say it.
Xie Huilan opened his wallet and was stunned. The wallet only has 2 RMB inside. She is amused. “No wonder you are acting weirdly. Haha…. How come you only got 2 RMB? What about your cards?”
Dong Xuebing replied. “I spent all my money on the rings. 300 million…. Although I had won over 100 million RMB in the lottery, it was not enough. I got to borrow 2 million from my mother and 500,000 RMB from my former Leader to raise it. I don’t even have money to buy cigarettes. This is why I did not bring any gifts when I went to your house yesterday. What can I buy with 2 RMB? It’s not even enough to get a few apples.”
Xie Huilan pokes Dong Xuebing lightly. “You are always trying to show off. Don’t get the rings if you don’t have enough money. Why did you borrow money for it?”
“You like that pink diamond, and I must get it for you even if I become bankrupt.”
Xie Huilan smiled and stroked his hair. “You are so good to me.”
“Of course.”
“You are so sweet.”
Dong Xuebing asked after a short struggle. “This is my current situation. Err…. Huilan, can you lend me some money?”
Xie Huilan giggles. “This is our wedding, and we will be husband and wife. You don’t need to ask me to lend you money.”
Dong Xuebing smiles embarrassedly. “But that’s your money.”
“I don’t mind.” Xie Huilan took out a bank card from her wallet and gave it to him. “I have a few hundred thousand inside. I don’t remember the exact figure, and it is our joint assets now. I think this is all of our liquid assets. You will use it to pay for the wedding dress later. The pin is my birthday.”
“Ah…. How can I do this?” Dong Xuebing said, but he still kept the card in his wallet. “I will hold it for you. We should need to spend a lot for the wedding, and we should try to save if possible these few days. I will try to make money when I get the opportunity.”
Xie Huilan held his arm. “Let’s go. Haha….”
