Volume One, Chapter 2: Auntie, You Even Held Me When I Was Little

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If that were really the case, it would be quite a story...

But it had to be a coincidence! How could the world possibly hold such an absurdly unlikely coincidence? It was probably just a matter of sharing the same name.

Lin Chen shook his head, finding himself rather ridiculous.

Perhaps because Aunt Xu Mi had often visited their home when he was little, and he had adored her so much that every time he saw a beautiful girl, he was reminded of her.

Come to think of it, after Aunt Xu Mi moved away, she and his mother had gradually lost touch. He had no idea where she was now or how she was doing...

She had probably married and had children, just like his mother, right?

He wondered which lucky bastard had managed to marry her.

“Xiao Chen, let’s go. It’s time for the wedding.”

The old woman’s voice pulled Lin Chen back to reality.

“All right, Auntie.”

Lin Chen hurriedly closed the marriage certificate and followed her.

...

An hour later, Lin Chen followed the old woman to the hospital room where Xu Mi lay.

The wedding was about to be held there.

With the help of her relatives, Xu Mi had already been changed into a bright red traditional wedding gown.

The gown was beautiful, but it did not fit her particularly well.

After lying in bed for so long, she had grown painfully thin. Even the gown, tailored to her measurements, hung loosely from her frail frame.

The relatives who had come to help busied themselves nervously.

Yet no one spoke. Even their footsteps were light and cautious, as though they were afraid to make the slightest sound.

The room had been decorated with festive touches, but an oppressive air hung over it all. The large red character for happiness pasted beside the monitoring equipment was especially glaring.

Lin Chen stood beside the bed, staring at Xu Mi without blinking.

Her face was pale, her eyes tightly shut. Having relied on intravenous nourishment to stay alive for so long, she had become emaciated beyond recognition.

As he watched her, an indescribable emotion suddenly rose within him.

A dull ache, something close to heartache.

And when he thought of how she would pass away a month from now, the feeling grew even more intense.

...

Once the relatives had finished their preparations, the wedding officially began.

Since Xu Mi was unable to move, the ceremony was kept as simple as possible. The traditional rites of bowing to Heaven and Earth and paying respects to the elders were all omitted.

The master of ceremonies merely read aloud the marriage document.

“When two families join in marriage, their union is sealed beneath one roof. May this fine match endure forever, their hearts and names joined as one. Today, the peach blossoms blaze with beauty, suited for a home and family; may the years ahead bring flourishing descendants, prosperity, and glory. With this pledge of growing old together, we inscribe their vows upon the vermilion scroll, and record their red-leaf alliance in the register of paired mandarin ducks. This covenant is presented to Heaven and Earth above, and announced to the ancestors below.

The ceremony is complete!”

With those final words, the wedding officially came to an end.

After hearing the marriage document, the relatives all had tears in their eyes.

His cousin Ye Yun was especially red-eyed as she said, “Auntie, the wedding is complete. From now on, Cousin has a home and a husband. She’ll never be all alone again. You can rest easy now!”

The old woman was already weeping. Upon hearing her niece’s words, she could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

Watching everyone cry together, Lin Chen suddenly felt another indescribable emotion well up inside him.

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He knew perfectly well that he was nothing more than a tool brought in to bring good fortune to the bride.

Whatever happened a month from now, he could simply take the money and leave.

Yet for some reason, when the wedding was completed, his heart felt unbearably heavy. He suddenly had the sense that his fate had become bound to that of another person.

...

After the wedding, the relatives gradually left.

Only Lin Chen, the old woman, and Xu Mi remained in the room.

Once she had calmed herself, the old woman sat at the head of the bed, took Xu Mi’s hand, and began murmuring to her.

“Sweetheart, you always said you didn’t want to get married, but your mother couldn’t bear to see you remain all alone at the end of your life. So I took matters into my own hands and found you a husband.

“His name is Lin Chen. He’s twenty-three, a fine and handsome young man. Today is your wedding day.”

After saying this, the old woman turned to Lin Chen.

“Xiao Chen, come over and talk with Sweetheart for a while.”

With tears in her eyes, she rose unsteadily from her chair and gave up her place.

“The doctor said she can hold on at most until the end of this month. And I’m not in good health myself. From now on, I’ll have to trouble you to come and keep her company every day.”

Lin Chen was feeling low as well, but he nodded firmly.

“Please don’t worry, Auntie. Xu Mi has married me, which means she is my wife. I will take good care of her. It’s my responsibility and duty as her husband.”

He was not saying this because of the million he had been promised. He meant every word from the bottom of his heart.

Just an hour ago, he had intended only to do the job and collect the money.

But after the wedding, something inside him had changed.

He wanted to stay by her side and accompany her through the final stretch of her life.

He could not explain why.

He would simply call it—

an act of pure selfishness.

“All right. If you can think that way, I’m relieved. You two talk. I’ll go home first.”

With that, the old woman freed herself from Lin Chen’s support and walked shakily out of the room.

After watching her leave, Lin Chen turned his gaze toward Xu Mi.

The sight made his heart tremble again.

Not for any other reason—

she was simply too thin.

Thin enough to break one’s heart.

Even so, her features still revealed that before falling ill, she must have been extraordinarily beautiful—perhaps even more beautiful than in the photograph.

“Big sister... No, Auntie? Hmm... That doesn’t sound right either.”

“How about I call you my wife?”

“That’s what I ought to call you. We’ve obtained our marriage certificate, so we’re legally married... Anyway, if you don’t say anything, I’ll take that as consent, all right?”

“Wife. Hehe... My wife! My wife, Lin Chen’s wife!”

“Wife, did you know? Aside from you, I also know someone named Xu Mi. She’s about your age and incredibly beautiful too. Do all women named Xu Mi happen to be especially beautiful?”

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Since there was no one else in the room, Lin Chen felt free to speak without restraint.

As he chatted, he held her small hand in his palm and gently rubbed it.

Her hand was cold and soft, strangely soothing to the touch.

It was then that he suddenly noticed a black birthmark shaped like a plum blossom on her wrist.

Lin Chen froze.

He murmured, “Good heavens, what are the odds? You’re both named Xu Mi, and you both have a plum-blossom mark on your wrist...”

He had only spoken halfway when realization struck him. He abruptly slapped himself across the face.

What coincidence?!

The thin woman lying before him was the very Aunt Xu Mi from his childhood memories!

“This...?”

“This...!”

Lin Chen did not know whether he ought to laugh or cry.

By some bizarre twist of fate, he had actually married his mother’s best friend!

After standing there in a daze for a long while, Lin Chen continued rubbing Xu Mi’s little hand and said with a helpless, incredulous smile, “Aunt Xu Mi—no, Xu Mi, my wife. You probably won’t believe this, but do you know who I am? My name is Lin Chen, and my mother is Zhao Xiuxiu...

“Does that name sound familiar? She was your classmate and your closest friend. You used to visit our house all the time and even held me in your arms. Later, you moved away because of work... You really don’t remember any of that?”

When he finished speaking, Lin Chen looked at Xu Mi expectantly.

But she continued to lie there in complete silence, without the slightest response.

Thinking she could not hear him, Lin Chen continued talking to himself.

“My wife, fate really is a strange thing. When I was little, my mother once asked me what kind of wife I wanted when I grew up. I told her I would definitely find someone like you.

“Everyone in the house burst out laughing and said that by the time I grew up, you would already be old...

“But now that I think about it, you haven’t aged at all. You’re still so beautiful! My wife, you have to wake up soon! Your little husband has grown up. Don’t you want to take a look at him?”

Lin Chen kept talking, completely unaware that after hearing his words, Xu Mi’s eyelids had begun to twitch.

“My wife, I never imagined that the dream I had as a child would actually come true. I’m starting to look forward to spending my life with you.

“You have to wake up soon. You can’t die!”

“Then again, if you do wake up, how are you going to face my mother? She sees you as her best friend, but you’ll have to call her Mom... Tsk, tsk. Just imagining that scene is embarrassing enough!”

After indulging in the thought for a moment, Lin Chen could not help but giggle.

It was at that very moment that Xu Mi, who had been lying motionless on the bed, moved her fingers.

At first, Lin Chen thought his eyes were playing tricks on him and paid it no mind.

But a few seconds later, her fingers moved again. Only then did Lin Chen leap to his feet in utter shock.

“Damn, wife, are you about to wake up?”