Abstinence Pei, don't be too sweet when chasing your wife

At six o'clock in the morning, the lights in the Pei family's storage room were on.

Pei's mother took out a large cardboard box, which contained the Icelandic wool tapestry that Pei Luonan had brought back. There was a thin hemp rope sewn on the edge of the tapestry, making it easy to hang it anywhere.

Mother Pei carefully passed the copper hook through and measured the distance three times to ensure that it was hung in the center of the fireplace, exactly 1.6 meters from the ground, "so that Fanxing can see it when she looks up from the sofa."

In the courtyard, Pei Luochuan was directing three workers to set up a tent.

A 4-meter-long aurora-colored light strip was wrapped around the 50-meter-wide blue tent. He squatted on the ground to measure the distance and drove a wooden stake every 30 centimeters.

"Mom said the tent needs to face the Big Dipper. Last night I used the Star Map app to measure it. At two in the morning, the spoon handle was pointing right at the tent door. Sister Fanxing said this is the easiest way to see the aurora borealis when camping in Iceland."

As soon as the workers fixed the tent nails, he went in to lay out the moisture-proof mat. Inside the mat was the Icelandic wool blanket recommended by Gu Fanxing. "This blanket is expensive. My brother secretly bought two. I put one here, and the other... you know."

At ten o'clock in the morning, Pei's father came out of the study holding an old photo album.

There is a yellowed photo on page 37 of the album. It shows 6-year-old Pei Luonan wearing overalls and standing under a ginkgo tree, with a 20-centimeter-wide empty space next to him - this was something Pei's mother specifically asked the photographer to reserve, saying, "When my daughter-in-law comes home, it will be just right to put the photo of the two of them there."

When the doorbell rang, Pei's mother was brushing honey on cloudberry scones in the kitchen.

The 12th scone had just come out of the oven, and the aroma of butter mixed with the sweet and sour taste of cloudberries filled the entire kitchen.

She wiped her hands and ran out, and saw Pei Luonan holding Gu Fanxing's hand standing under the porch.

She was wearing a lavender dress, the Rachmaninoff stone around her neck shone softly in the sunlight, and the wicker basket in her hand contained six cloudberry breads.

"Auntie, I made this dough with Icelandic yeast and fermented it for a full eight hours. Would you like to try it? I made a low-sugar version because I'm afraid you might not be able to sleep at night if you eat too much sweet food."

"Come in quickly!" Mother Pei took the basket and stuffed it into the kitchen, her eyes flickering over the two people's clasped hands - Pei Luonan's thumb was gently stroking the back of Gu Fanxing's hand. This little action was his habit when he was nervous.

When she counted to the fifth time in her mind, she suddenly winked at Pei Luonan, "Go to the study and help your father find some old photos. Third Aunt said she wanted to see you swimming naked when you were 5 years old. She said you were much cuter than the sullen look you have now."

The living room was already filled with 15 relatives.

Second Uncle was holding a mahogany tea tray with a diameter of 25 cm, pouring this year's new tea for Sixth Aunt. The twined branch patterns carved on the edge of the tea tray still retained traces of Gu Fanxing's wiping when he came last time.

The three juniors gathered around the coffee table, fiddling with the volcanic rocks that Pei Luonan brought back from Iceland. Tiny ice crystals could be seen in the pores of the rocks.

"My brother carved this out of a glacier. He says it contains air from ten thousand years ago. He originally wanted to make a pendant for Sister Fanxing, but he wore out three pieces before he could make it."

As soon as Gu Fanxing sat down, he was surrounded by a barrage of greetings.

“Are ice caves in Iceland 50 meters deep?”

"Is there ice everywhere?"

"Luonan didn't bully you, did he? He always stole Luochuan's candy when he was a kid!"

She answered them one by one with a smile. When she talked about discovering the heart-shaped ice pattern in the Blue Ice Lake, Pei Luochuan suddenly interrupted: "My brother's face was red at the time. He had dozens of photos of the ice pattern saved in his camera. I asked him to delete a few to free up memory, but he wouldn't let me touch them, like he was protecting his treasures."

"Pei Luochuan!"

Pei Luonan frowned, but was stopped by Gu Fanxing with a smile.

Her fingertips gently touched the stone at her neck. "Actually, the ice pattern is so beautiful. Anyone who sees it will be moved. The sun was shining brightly that day, and it looked like stars were twinkling in the ice pattern."

When the dinner kicked off on the terrace, the layout of the long table amazed everyone.

The salmon in the 12 volcanic stone baking trays were shiny with oil, and the fish skin was sprinkled with sea salt that Pei Luonan brought from Iceland. "This salt is filtered from volcanic rocks. My brother said it is three times fresher than ordinary salt."

Three plates of cloudberry preserves were arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper, and each "star" was covered with a thin layer of icing sugar. "Sister Fanxing taught my mom how to make it. The sugar must be boiled to exactly 3 degrees, otherwise it will melt."

The most eye-catching thing is the three-layer cake in the center - the top layer is made of fondant to look like a blue ice lake, and two little dolls are standing hand in hand on the heart-shaped ice pattern, and even the eyelashes are carefully pinched to be 3 mm long.

"The cake chef said that this was the most eye-catching fondant he had ever made. It took him 5 hours just to draw the icing pattern."

"This cake was designed by Fanxing, right?" Liu Po ​​scooped up a spoonful of reindeer meat pudding topped with a cloudberry. "It's even more exquisite than the ones I had in Norway! Luo Nan, you have to treat her well. It's hard to find a girl as clever and skillful as her."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Luochuan suddenly turned off the lights on the terrace.

He held up his phone and shouted, "This is the aurora projection I created using eight different programs. It's exactly the same as the aurora during Iceland's substorm! My brother had the tech department work overtime to make it, saying it was a surprise for Sister Fanxing!"

"How romantic!" The younger generations immediately clapped their hands, "Brother Luonan, confess your feelings! It would be a shame not to confess in such a good atmosphere!"

The third aunt came over with a wine glass and deliberately bumped into Pei Luonan's arm, causing a few drops of wine to spill onto the tablecloth.

"I think it's better to do it all at once and get the marriage certificate this weekend!"

"Yes!" Grandma Liu immediately replied, "When I was Fanxing's age, Luonan's uncle was already old enough to help with the cooking! Back then, we got married as soon as we fell in love, and we lived happily just the same."

Gu Fanxing's fingers were tightly gripping the tablecloth, and the tips of her ears were as red as freshly picked cherries.

Pei Luonan held her hand, the warmth of his palm coming through her skin, he could feel her fingertips trembling slightly: "Thank you for your concern, but this matter is not urgent, we have to take it slowly."

His gaze swept across the red corners of Gu Fanxing's eyes. She was staring down at the tip of her shoes.

"Getting a marriage certificate is a lifelong thing, and it can't be rushed."

"Your relationship is so stable, you can settle down now!" Third Auntie insisted, "Back then, your uncle and aunt got married after knowing each other for only two months, and aren't they still very much in love now?"

"That's right! Luo Nan, are you insincere?"

Second Uncle knocked on his wine glass. "Or do you want us elders to wait until our hair turns gray?"

Pei Luonan frowned slightly, and was about to speak when his mother held his arm: "Child, know your limits."

She winked at Pei Luonan and turned to the crowd.

"Luonan is a caring person and doesn't want to let Fanxing down. Look at him, when he was taking pictures of Fanxing in Iceland, he even spent a lot of time adjusting the lighting angle, for fear that the picture would be ugly. This kind of meticulousness means he must be reliable."

She changed the subject, her voice softening. "But everyone means well, and they all hope for the best for the children. Luo Nan, can you just say a few words to reassure us elders? Just give us some thoughts."

Pei Luonan looked at Gu Fanxing, her eyelashes trembling slightly under the projection of the aurora, like two frightened butterflies resting on them.

Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just looked up at him, the panic in her eyes gradually subsiding.

"Okay," Pei Luonan's voice was particularly clear in the night wind, with a hint of imperceptible tenderness, "We will consider it."

"That's right!" Pei's mother immediately clapped her hands and laughed, turned off the recording phone, and smiles filled the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

She winked at Pei Luochuan, who immediately raised his camera: "Come on, take a picture! Just treat it as a 'memorial photo'! When we get the marriage certificate, it will be really interesting to compare them!"

When the flash came on, Pei Luonan's shoulder moved close to Gu Fanxing's, and both of them had happy smiles on their faces.

Pei's mother looked at the two people in the light and shadow, quietly took out her cell phone from her pocket, and sent a message to her best friend Sister Wang at the Civil Affairs Bureau: "Old Wang, leave your number at 9 o'clock on Monday morning. My son and daughter-in-law want to get their marriage certificate." The moment the message was sent successfully, a meaningful smile appeared in her eyes.