Time Travel: The Queen's Coronation

After the sixth round of revisions, my thesis is finally finalized. Thinking back on it, it's been a long journey. The repetitions have made me question my own abilities. After the second round of revisions to my defense slides, Professor Jiang has given me the nod of approval. All I have to do now is wait for the defense. The school has also announced that the defense will take place in early May, so we'll have to return to Yenching, and our child will stay with my parents back home. On May 5st, Rong Zixuan and I boarded a flight to Yenching. We used to take the high-speed train, but now, with our increased financial resources, we can choose to fly without hesitation.

"Aqing, the 15th is my birthday. Can we go get the marriage certificate on that day?" Rong Zixuan asked me expectantly.

"Do I have to collect it on that day?"

"That day was my birthday, and I turned 22, so I could get the marriage certificate!"

"But that day is your birthday. Wouldn't it be bad if the two dates overlap?"

"It would be great if they overlapped! From now on, every birthday of mine will also be our wedding anniversary!"

"Uh..." I hesitated and thought.

"What are you still hesitating about? There's nothing going on between Zhu Yinyin and me!"

"Really? But I still found a lot of lies!"

"Yes, I admit that I do chat with her from time to time, but she always takes the initiative to talk to me, and I just say a few perfunctory words."

"Hmm!" I answered indifferently.

"Ah Qing, you have to believe me, we have a child! The very least a husband and wife should have is trust in each other!"

"But you never told me the truth!"

"I'm afraid you'll misunderstand and cause unnecessary trouble."

"Unnecessary? Do you think I'm such a unreasonable person? You can tell me what happened. I have my brain and I can make my own judgment!"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you everything later! Then you have to promise me that you'll get the marriage certificate on my birthday!"

"Ok!"

"That's great!" Rong Zixuan said happily, holding my hand.

About three hours later, the plane landed in Yanjing and we took a taxi back to Jinghua.

"I'm back!" I pushed open the door excitedly.

"Don't move!" Zheng Lan said on the bed, then got off the bed and looked around at me.

"What are you doing?" I asked confusedly.

"I'm watching how you've changed since you became a mother."

“Are there any changes?”

"As for her figure, it's pretty much the same as before. But her overall temperament has become more mature. She's a generation younger than us, a young girl now a young woman!"

"Are you calling me old?" I said as I walked to my desk.

"Qing'er, you have indeed matured a lot!"

"Ning'er, you are kidding me too," I picked up the mirror on the table and looked at myself.

"Qing'er, you have really become more mature and more elegant."

"Mature and elegant, can I understand that as old?"

"You may think so," Zheng Lan said, putting her arm around my shoulder and looking at me in the mirror.

"Not too old, is it?"

"Giving birth consumes a woman's energy and accelerates aging."

"Lan'er, don't scare her." Hu Ning came over and pulled Zheng Lan away.

"Qing'er, you're still young and can recover. It's okay. You're just a little tired. Just get more rest."

I looked in the mirror and saw I was indeed tired. My once-clear double eyelids had become double eyelids, and my eyes had become smaller and duller. But with my baby crying all night, how could I possibly sleep? I could only catch up slowly.

During the defense, I was unlucky enough to be the first one to speak. Being the first one was incredibly stressful, as all the teachers hadn't yet fully grasped the topic, and there was a high chance I'd be given a hard time. However, I walked up to the podium with my head held high, determined to impress everyone! I meticulously presented my thesis to the judges. The teachers were incredibly energetic at first, peppering me with questions one after another. My defense alone took almost an hour. But being the first was worth it. Afterward, I simply watched them speak as a spectator, without the agonizing wait. The next day, the defense results came out, and I was fortunate to have secured first place in our major. Unfortunately, I had to go through another defense, the next one at the college level, where the top students from each major competed for a spot at the university level.

I don't know if it was good luck or bad luck, but I was once again selected first for the college-level defense! This time, the judges were college leaders and department heads, a higher standard than my own defense, and the atmosphere was a bit overwhelming. I presented my paper again, answering questions from the leaders, and ultimately, I advanced to the university-level defense with first place in the college. Honestly, I really didn't want to defend it again, and the bonus wasn't appealing to me. Having to explain the same content three times to different people and answer different questions was a bit of a numbness. But I also empathized with the experience of a teacher repeating the same content multiple times!

The university-level defense was far more demanding than the professional and departmental defenses. The judges were all university leaders and senior professors, and the moment I stepped on stage, I felt a surge of pressure. I was the last one to speak at the university-level defense, a completely different lottery result from the previous two. This time, I waited agonizingly, and watching those before me, one after another, rendered speechless by the questions, only exacerbated my anxiety. By the time my turn came, the judges, being the last, ignored the time limit. Furthermore, I had some success in computer science, building systems and projects independently without relying on professors to secure projects, and even securing projects for professors and the university. So, many professors were familiar with me. Each question was increasingly detailed and probing, and my defense took over two hours before the senior professors finally gave me the OK. Ultimately, I won first place at the university-level defense, my thesis was recognized as an outstanding thesis, and I was awarded the title of Outstanding Graduate. I also gave a speech as a student representative at the graduation ceremony.

After I finished my defense and walked out of the auditorium, Rong Zixuan was waiting for me at the door with a big bouquet of roses. When he saw me come out, he hurried to meet me.

"Thank you for your hard work!" and handed the flowers to me.

I happily took the flowers and asked, "Have you been waiting for a long time?"

"It's not that bad, but after such a long time, those old professors won't give you any trouble, right?"

"It was definitely difficult. The questions they asked were more tricky than the last. When I was giving a speech on stage, they were wearing reading glasses and carefully reading my paper. I was so scared!"

"It's okay, it's all over." He hugged me and walked forward.

"I'm hungry"

"Then let's go eat! But you must be first, our A-Qing will always be the best!"

"That's not necessarily true! The students from other colleges are also very capable. They can handle any challenges thrown by the old professor one by one. I'm not sure I can beat them."

"So what? With you here, you must be the best!"

"Don't praise me, I'll get carried away"

"This isn't a compliment, this is the truth! Hey, tomorrow is my birthday, let's go get the marriage certificate tomorrow morning. What time does it take? I have to go to work at 8, so let's go out at 7!"

"No, why get up so early? We don't have to go to class! We can just leave at ten o'clock."

"Ten o'clock? What if there are too many people and we don't get a spot in the morning?"

"If I can't get a spot in the morning, I'll definitely be able to get one in the afternoon. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'm so anxious! Once we get the certificate, we'll be officially married, legally recognized!"

"Although we haven't obtained a marriage certificate, we already have a child and are de facto husband and wife. Are you still afraid that I'll run away?"

"I'm really scared!"

"Okay, then we'll leave at nine. No earlier. I've been preparing for my defense these past few days. I'm exhausted from one defense after another."

"Ok, Ok!"

That night, I set an alarm for 8:00. When it went off in the morning, I picked up my phone and saw Rong Zixuan had already sent me numerous messages, the earliest one from 6:00! Oh my god, how excited he was! It was already 9:30 by the time I put on my makeup, got dressed, and left. As I was getting ready for 9:00, Rong Zixuan started calling me like crazy. I told him I needed to put on makeup, but he kept calling, so I had no choice but to ignore him. When I left the dormitory, I saw him anxiously waiting.

He saw me and trotted over to me. "Why are you so slow? It's too late. Hurry up." Then he pulled me away.

He rented a car and drove directly to the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, saving a lot of time by not having to change cars. It was already past half past ten when we arrived at the Civil Affairs Bureau. He entered the hall and hurriedly looked for the registration machine to get a number. Seeing that there were only three people in line in front of him, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the chair as if relieved.

I handed him a tissue and said, "Here, wipe it off. You're sweating all over. It won't look good in the photos later."

He quickly took it and began to clean it, then went to the lobby mirror to fix his appearance. When it was our turn, he smiled brightly, and the photographer even told me to smile even brighter, like my husband. We received our red marriage certificate, and as we walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, he kept kissing it. He even turned around to kiss me, but I blocked his gaze with my hand.

"Hey! You just kissed the marriage certificate, that's dirty, don't kiss me!"

"What's dirty about it? It's new!" He showed me the marriage certificate.

"New ones are also dirty. Who knows what kind of paint was applied when the certificate was produced, and what kind of glue was used when it was bound? The binding process is also dirty!"

"Okay, let's take a picture. I want to announce to the world that we're married!" He took out his phone, put his arm around me, and took several selfies holding up the marriage certificate. He then edited the text and posted it on various accounts. After that, I received many private messages with well wishes.

Rong Zixuan was so elated that his roommates started clamoring for a wedding banquet. The next day, he invited all the faculty and classmates from his department to a dinner at a downtown hotel, treating it as our wedding banquet. We, the newlyweds, toasted at table after table, but it was Rong Zixuan who drank. I was still breastfeeding and didn't drink. Our wedding banquet was also a professional gathering, and our four years of university youth would soon come to a perfect end!