Liang Yi’en chose an island that Zhu Zhixi had always wanted to visit but hadn’t yet, a place said to have the world’s strangest trees and a landscape like an alien planet.

After choosing, he found Zhu Zhixi. As soon as they met, Zhu Zhixi grabbed his hand, so nervous he could barely speak properly. “Want a drink, Xiao En? Pour me a drink.”

“Who’s pouring for whom?” Liang Yi’en laughed.

Zhu Zhixi slapped his forehead. “I’ll pour for you, wait a moment…”

“Don’t bother, I’ll drink later at dinner.” Liang Yi’en first reported on his task. “I brought the dogs from the shelter, thanks to your brother’s private jet. But many of the dogs that have been adopted couldn’t come.”

Zhu Zhixi smiled and waved his hand, putting down his glass. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Them having their own homes is the greatest blessing for me.”

Liang Yi’en nodded and asked, “Is everything ready? The rings, the bouquet, don’t mess up.”

“There’s no bouquet toss,” Zhu Zhixi said. “I didn’t want a part where people fight over the bouquet, so I prepared a bouquet for every guest who came to the wedding.” Dressed in a snow-white suit, his eyes bright, he whispered to Liang Yi’en, “But yours is different.”

Liang Yi’en was curious. When he took his seat, he saw many familiar faces: Zhu Zhixi’s father and brother, Dr. Li Qiao, and even Snowball’s owner. A photo of Snowball was placed next to her seat on its own little chair.

Upon receiving his bouquet, Liang Yi’en specifically compared it with those around him.

It turned out that his bouquet had many white feathers in it.

Zhu Zhixi had also arranged for an empty seat next to his, with a pair of snow-white wings attached to the back of the chair.

The wedding began at 5:20 in the afternoon. The ceremony was simple. There was no handing-off by the father, nor was there a master of ceremonies. A piano melody flowed through the moist air, and within the melody, there was an extra, special sound.

Tick-tock, tick-tock…

A line of a countdown was projected onto the silk hanging under the tree, the light and shadows swaying, indistinct. In the dreamlike scene, the two of them, separated by a short distance, walked towards each other step by step. Finally, just as the countdown was about to reach zero, they stood together under the giant tree.

Zhu Zhixi did not hold a bouquet. Both of them had wrist corsages, miniature versions of the bouquets. They wore matching white suits with no extra decorations, but they wore Snowball’s diamond stud earrings. Fu Rangyi had even gotten his ears pierced specially.

“Thank you all for coming to our wedding,” Zhu Zhixi said with a smile. “Now, we are going to exchange the rings we’ve been wearing for a long time.”

A wave of laughter came from below the stage. The two of them turned around together and took two things from a flower-adorned stand nearby, but they were not rings, but two hand trowels engraved with their names.

They exchanged the trowels, squatted down, and in front of hundreds of guests, dug in the earth under the tree until they unearthed an exquisite little box.

Inside were the rings their mother had left for them.

“They’re really something,” Zhu Zeran chuckled, then glanced to the side. His own father was crying his eyes out. He glanced to the right, and Fu Rangyi’s doctor friend was also a blubbering mess.

What is this situation… should I squeeze out a few tears too?

He felt around his pockets but couldn’t find any eye drops. When he looked up again, he spotted a familiar figure not far away, leaning against a tree. He froze for a second, then immediately got up and went to find him. After a few steps, he turned back and took the bouquet from his seat.

From the crowd, someone shouted, “Kiss, quick!”

Zhu Zhixi gave Fu Rangyi a sweet smile. Fu Rangyi’s expression was soft, his eyes slightly red. He moved closer, treasuredly cupped Zhu Zhixi’s face, and kissed him.

At that moment, Liang Yi’en saw Zhu Zhixi’s hand behind his back make a “release” gesture. So, following the command, he released all the dogs as planned. They rushed towards the newlyweds, offering their unreserved, furry blessings.

Overwhelmed by the dogs’ excessive enthusiasm, both of them laughed like children, a moment captured by the photographer.

But Liang Yi’en was stunned. Because he discovered that in the pink and blue sky, countless feathers suddenly began to fall, fluttering down like a heavy snow.

Li Qiao started it, cheering and tossing his bouquet into the air. The others followed his lead, happily tossing their bouquets as well.

The two in the middle of the “snow” saw the feathers and showed looks of astonishment. Zhu Zhixi squinted and reached out, trying to catch a gracefully falling feather. Fu Rangyi, however, lowered his head and kissed him again under the tree.

This kiss was light and brief, because they both noticed at the same time that amidst the sea of feathers, a small pink and white butterfly flew over, circling around them, reluctant to leave for a long time.

“That’s Snowball’s soul. He came back to watch the ceremony.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Liang Yi’en whipped his head around. The angel who had been missing for months was smiling, tilting his head, and continued, “I made a special application for it.”

Tears burst forth in an embrace.

The pink and blue sky gradually slid into a deeper violet-blue. Dense lights lit up in the forest, sparkling like a sea of fireflies. At the end of the long outdoor dining table stood a small tower made of candy apples, the sugar coating glistening under the lights.

At the table, everyone was chatting, drinking, and enjoying the food. Suddenly, the sound of the countdown appeared again.

“There’s more?” Liang Yi’en was a little surprised and looked at Zhu Zhixi.

“There’s nothing,” Zhu Zhixi, who had been starving all day, had just wolfed down two slices of pizza. He swallowed with difficulty and looked around.

However, Fu Rangyi, who had just been wiping the corner of his mouth a second ago, now stood up. He gently tapped a champagne glass, bowed to the crowd, and then took a neatly folded handwritten manuscript from his breast pocket.

“Hello everyone. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to come here especially for us, to offer your precious blessings and witness this relationship.”

Zhu Zhixi, his cheeks puffed out, stared at him blankly.

There was no mention of a speech before.

A person who wanted everything to go according to plan was actually breaking the rules at this moment.

Fu Rangyi’s eyes were lowered, his fingers tightening for a moment. He wanted to speak directly but suddenly choked up. Finally, with red ears, he looked down and smiled. “Sorry. Although I have given countless presentations before, honestly, I have never been as nervous as I am now.”

The dining table suddenly erupted in applause, and Zhu Zhixi also quietly pulled on Fu Rangyi’s hanging hand.

“Normally, a speech should be given by a good friend, but… I really wanted to say something myself. Not as Zhu Zhixi’s husband, but as one of his many friends, to talk about what this marriage has brought us.”

Fu Rangyi turned his head, took his hand, brought it to his lips for a kiss, then looked back at his manuscript and continued, “To be frank, in the past, I was full of avoidance, confusion, and distrust towards weddings, seeing them as a form of social bondage, a collective self-deception. Love is the spark of a moment of passion, but marriage is so long. Does a person really need another’s long-term companionship? Or is it just to fit in, to passively choose this common way of life? For a long time, I couldn’t find the answer.”

“I once thought it would be difficult for me to fall in love with any specific person, though I disliked many, just as I loathed this society and era. Many times, I acted like a bystander in this world, an indifferent shell playing the part of a gentle and polite human. Because of my profession, I am always looking back, tracing the tracks of lost civilizations through broken bones and pottery shards. But as a specific person, I had no history, no belonging.”

Hearing this, Zhu Zhixi felt a little sad. He saw Huo Ping sitting at the other end. He revealed only his eyes, but they held the same look as his own.

“But, after meeting Zhu Zhixi, I actually found my feelings as a specific person again.” As Fu Rangyi spoke, he looked at him once more, his tone becoming extremely soft.

“He is the most patient teacher in the world, teaching me to express my sadness, jealousy, and joy. At the same time, he is the best artist. In Zhu Zhixi’s hands, love, this ethereal thing, was shaped into the drips and drabs of daily life. Love is the snowman he gave me, every line of text he wrote for me, his firm choice, his open defense, his light smile, his heavy tears.

Perhaps some of you don’t know him well enough. Zhu Zhixi is… a beautiful individual who will return the love he receives in full, and then some. He is brave, sincere, loves the whole world, loves every specific person and thing around him, and at the same time is full of understanding and empathy for the suffering of others. He is a little god of love, unconditionally sowing the seeds of love, and he also corrected my perspective on the world, making me give up so-called grand narratives and focus on the present, even making me willing to imagine the future, because he is in the future.”

Fu Rangyi turned to the next page, took a deep breath to compose himself, and continued, “With his companionship, I was brave for once. I opened myself up and tasted an unprecedented sweetness, and also felt a heart-piercing pain, viscerally experiencing the weight of life. Standing here today, receiving your blessings, is the luckiest moment in the world. Because of Zhu Zhixi, I realized that beautiful memories in life are like pottery shards, fossils, a snowman that can survive for a long, long time. All the cruel separations in the world will recede in love, back to the most beautiful moment, forming an eternity.”

“So now, please allow me to turn back time to the starting point where our destinies intertwined.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the lights went out. The silk hanging above the long table was suddenly projected with a long string of characters. It was a countdown rapidly reversing, finally stopping at a certain moment—it had once appeared on Zhu Zhixi’s palm and was also engraved on the inside of their wedding rings.

[52 days, 20 hours, 5 minutes, 20 seconds]

Zhu Zhixi’s eyes stung.

Fu Rangyi turned to the side, took his hand to pull him up, faced him, and put down the manuscript.

“This is a certain coffee shop in Universe 1214. You went to the wrong table and sat opposite another Alpha. To be honest, I was a little unhappy, but that’s okay. What I want to say is: Hello, my name is Fu Rangyi. I’m a Virgo, 30 years old, a very ordinary Alpha. Yes, I know you are a Beta. There isn’t even a compatibility rating between us, but that doesn’t matter. I don’t need a counterfeit of love.

My personality is old-fashioned, nitpicky, overly critical, and my words can be harsh. I’m not as interesting as you, nor am I brave enough. The only fortunate thing is that I have a heart willing to correct and change for you. Zhu Zhixi, you are truly wonderful, and I am very lucky not to have missed you.

In a world full of coincidence and randomness, thank you for choosing me, for becoming the eternal highest priority in my life. But this does not mean a relationship of subordination. You are forever free. Please continue to go wherever you want to go. If you can, let me accompany you, lend you my shoulder to lean on when you are tired, take pictures for you, and say loudly to the camera with you…”

He looked at Zhu Zhixi, who was crying so hard he couldn’t catch his breath, and smiled helplessly. He handed him the microphone and encouraged him softly, “Don’t cry, baby. What do we say?”

Although they had never rehearsed it, and although Zhu Zhixi was already a mess of tears, he still picked it up flawlessly: “Mama, look…”

Fu Rangyi dabbed at his tears, his thumb caressing his cheek. He took back the microphone and said with a smile, “Mama, look, the world is so beautiful, and I love him so much.”

At the end of this wedding, the tears he had held back for so long finally fell like diamonds, dripping onto his lover’s hand.

“Zhu Zhixi, Ya’aburnee.”

————————End of Main Text————————

---

The main text is finished! The weather these past few days has gone back to winter, and it really feels like the countdown is flowing in reverse. I can still remember the apprehension I felt when I first posted the first chapter, and all of your fuzzy enthusiasm.

The birth of this whole book was, you could say, “on a whim.” After I finished my last book, my mentality changed greatly. My creative desire was at a very active high point, and I had many ideas in my head even when I was resting. One day, I suddenly wanted to write about marriage first, love later. I hadn’t tried this genre before, so I immediately asked for everyone’s opinion and received huge anticipation. So, with almost no hesitation, I started working on the outline for this book. The idea of extending a countdown through intimate contact was actually written in my memos a few years ago. At the time, I felt this story was particularly suitable for marriage first, love later, so I combined them. The appearance and resolution of the countdown needed a background, so I found another unwritten story synopsis from my memo’s collection of ideas: about an angel responsible for collecting animal souls who ends up stranded in the human world and is picked up by a human (yes, that’s Xiao En and Xiao Yu’s story). So I combined the two into the same world view and wrote this love story with a certain fantasy color.

At first glance, Zhu Zhixi and Fu Rangyi still belong to the broad category of little sun x iceberg, but they have core differences from many characters I have written. Although Zhu Zhixi is cute, his core is actually very, very strong. I would rather use “generous” to describe his essence. This is a child who selflessly shares his love with everyone. Of course, he also has things he cannot face, he panics at the approach of death, he fears separation, but these have never changed Zhu Zhixi’s essence. Even in the final moments before death, he still shines brightly, with a kind of joy in leaving all his full love in this world and then facing death starkly.

In contrast is Fu Rangyi. He seems very rational, strong, and calm, solid as an iceberg, and even very harsh, very good at verbal attacks. But in fact, these are all appearances. His heart is actually still a repeatedly abandoned child—fragile, sensitive, craving love yet resisting opening himself up, repeatedly hurt, yet still maintaining a pure and kind heart. It’s hard to describe Fu Rangyi with one keyword because his own core is a “sense of wandering,” while towards Zhu Zhixi it is “without reservation.” Combined, it’s actually very interesting to ponder. A lost person, who has been wandering for years, yet unreservedly offers everything he has with both hands. This is a love that is almost sacrificial in its expression.

Many people cannot see the real Fu Rangyi, but Zhu Zhixi can. He can see through this person’s essence at a glance, exposing his inability to show and express himself, and from him, he receives a very soft, considerate, and subtle love. The “guidance” of the younger towards the older, and the “care” of the older for the younger, can all be seen in their daily lives.

I have never written a wedding before. Because there’s always a feeling that once the wedding is held, it’s like the dust has settled, the story is over. I don’t really like that feeling. At the same time, I don’t really trust the institution of marriage. But perhaps because this book is different, the romantic stages of Zhu Zhixi and Fu Rangyi are extremely dislocated. They register right away, then start to get to know each other, become friends, propose, have an ambiguous phase, fall in love, experience a heart-stopping major crisis, propose again, and face life and death separation. This dislocation reduces the sense of finality and also makes me feel that this “old couple” really needs a romantic wedding. So after the basic outline was drafted, I decided that the wedding would be the final chapter of the main text.

From January to March, over so many days, I am truly grateful for everyone’s companionship. Although I’ve said this so many times it’s become a bit cliché, I still want to say that without your support, this book would not have been finished. I am a person with very little self-control. It is truly by relying on everyone’s comments and subscriptions, and thinking that I have to be worthy of everyone, that I can update day after day. A while ago, I came across this book on a short video platform. I was surprised to see over a thousand comments. When I clicked in, I found they were all promotional comments for pirated txt files and replies to them. To be honest, I was very sad at that time, with a feeling that my hard work was being devoured. So I quickly closed it and came back to read many chapter comments to recover, hahaha. So when I say that you all have given me strong spiritual support during the serialization period, it is really no exaggeration at all. Without you, there would be no complete Xiao Zhu and Teacher Fu, no this wedding. So every one of you is a “guest” at this wedding.

Zhu Zhixi & Fu Rangyi: Thank you all for witnessing our love together. We’ll see you again in the sweet, sweet extras!