Beijing Colors Lingering

When the weekend arrived, He Zhenzhen woke up, got out of bed, and slowly walked to the lobby on the first floor.

When she saw the man standing not far away, she froze, her yawning motion gone.

Why is this man here so early?

She just rinsed her mouth in the bathroom; she hasn't even washed, moisturized, or put on makeup yet!

He Zhenzhen quickly covered her face with her hands and turned to walk into the elevator.

Qi Mingyuan had already walked to He Zhenzhen's side. Seeing her actions, he curled the corners of his lips, reached out and pulled her into his arms, "Why are you running?"

He Zhenzhen continued to cover her face, saying in a muffled voice, "I haven't washed my face yet..."

Qi Mingyuan tightened his arms, then slowly removed her hands with his other hand, smiled casually, and said lazily, "So what? It's not like we haven't seen this before."

After saying that, he pinched her cheek and then stroked her earlobe.

He Zhenzhen and Qi Mingyuan have known each other since childhood and were neighbors living in the same villa area. They would visit each other during holidays and had long seen each other's bare-faced appearance in the morning.

He Zhenzhen avoided Qi Mingyuan's hand, rested her forehead on his chest, and muttered softly, "Didn't I tell you to pick me up later? Why are you here now?"

The two had agreed to go out today, and He Zhenzhen asked Qi Mingyuan to pick her up at 11 o'clock. It was only 9:30 at the moment.

Qi Mingyuan leaned down and held her tightly in his arms, whispering in her ear, "I couldn't wait to see you, so I came over as soon as I woke up."

The hot breath sprayed against He Zhenzhen's ear, causing her to shiver involuntarily. She turned her head and asked, "Didn't you eat breakfast?"

Qi Mingyuan kissed her cheek and said very naturally, "Yeah, I haven't eaten. I was thinking of having a meal at your place."

He Zhenzhen blushed slightly and said softly, "I'm hungry, let's go have breakfast first."

Upon hearing this, Qi Mingyuan released He Zhenzhen, took her hand, and walked towards the restaurant together.

After finishing breakfast, He Zhenzhen returned to her bedroom and began washing up, skincare, and makeup, while Qi Mingyuan sat quietly in the living room waiting for her.

As they were leaving, He Zhenzhen noticed that the claw machine was once again filled with exquisite gift boxes.

He Zhenzhen had previously instructed the housekeeper to move the claw machine into the hall, and she also took out all the gift boxes inside.

She turned to look at Qi Mingyuan, her face full of surprise, and asked, "Did you just send this gift today?"

"Okay." Qi Mingyuan nodded and patted the top of her head. "You can play with it slowly when you have time."

-

He Zhenzhen closed her eyes to rest not long after getting into the car. Just as she was about to doze off, she felt someone gently patting her cheek.

Seeing this, she slowly opened her eyes and asked in a soft voice, "Have we arrived?"

Looking at her adorable appearance, Qi Mingyuan couldn't help but kiss her lips. "We've arrived. We should get off the bus now."

He Zhenzhen only realized that Qi Mingyuan had taken her to a temple after she got out of the car; she had forgotten to ask him about it earlier.

He Zhenzhen looked up at the plaque at the temple's main entrance, which bore three characters written in a flamboyant style: "Bodhi Temple".

This is the largest temple in Beijing, with a thriving incense offering and numerous visitors.

He Zhenzhen asked curiously, "Why did you bring me here?"

Qi Mingyuan did not answer, but simply took her hand and walked into the temple.

The two arrived at an ancient tree covered with red ribbons, each with a wooden plaque attached to its end.

He Zhenzhen knew this was a marriage tree, and many couples came here specifically to hang their own marriage plaques.

A gentle breeze swept by, causing the dark green leaves and red ribbons to sway softly, and the wooden plaques to clink together, making a soft sound.

He Zhenzhen blinked, turned to look at Qi Mingyuan, and said with a smile, "You brought me here just to hang up a marriage plaque?"

“Okay,” Qi Mingyuan nodded, and led He Zhenzhen to the wooden table next to him.

He released He Zhenzhen's hand, picked up a calligraphy brush, and wrote two names on a wooden plaque—

"Qi Mingyuan and He Zhenzhen".

On the back of the wooden sign, a passage was engraved—

"Holding your hand, we grow old together. Through countless lifetimes, we will be together forever."

He Zhenzhen stared at Qi Mingyuan's movements, her eyes sparkling. She watched as he tossed the marriage plaque upwards, and it hung steadily on the highest treetop.

He Zhenzhen exclaimed softly, then looked away and turned to look at Qi Mingyuan, her eyes filled with smiles and her tone tinged with joy: "Wow, you threw it so high."

Qi Mingyuan raised an eyebrow, a smile curving his lips, and said proudly, "No problem, my arm strength is excellent."

He Zhenzhen looked at Qi Mingyuan, a question flashing through her mind, and asked, "Qi Mingyuan, have you ever been in a relationship before?"

Qi Mingyuan raised his hand and gently flicked He Zhenzhen's forehead, replying to her with a hint of annoyance, "Of course not. We've known each other since we were little. If I had a girlfriend, wouldn't you know?"

He Zhenzhen brushed Qi Mingyuan's hand away, touched her forehead, and voiced her question: "Then why do you look like you're dating for the first time? How come you know everything?"

“He learned it all on his own,” Qi Mingyuan said meaningfully. “It’s the same in other areas.”

"In which aspects?" He Zhenzhen asked, looking confused.

Looking at He Zhenzhen's innocent and bewildered expression, Qi Mingyuan's heart stirred slightly, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his deep, dark eyes darkened a bit.

After a moment, he said in a low voice, "You'll find out later."

He Zhenzhen frowned slightly and muttered in dissatisfaction, "What kind of riddle are you playing?"

"It's nothing," Qi Mingyuan coughed lightly, trying to cover it up.

He Zhenzhen was a little unhappy with Qi Mingyuan's attitude and glared at him irritably.

He Zhenzhen stretched out her finger and poked Qi Mingyuan's firm chest, then pouted and said with considerable dissatisfaction, "Tell me quickly."

Qi Mingyuan's lips curved slightly as he took He Zhenzhen's hand, then leaned down, wrapped one arm around her waist, and pulled her into his embrace.

Qi Mingyuan touched her forehead to hers, subtly changing the subject, and said softly, "Legend has it that if couples kiss under the marriage tree, they will be together forever."

He Zhenzhen was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and asked curiously, "Who told you this? I've never heard of this legend before?"

Qi Mingyuan replied to her with great pride, "Because I made it up on the spot, but it will definitely work."

As soon as she finished speaking, He Zhenzhen looked slightly speechless. Qi Mingyuan had only been serious for a few days, and now he had reverted to his old ways.

Qi Mingyuan hugged the person in his arms even tighter, then covered her lips with his own, gently caressing them.

A moment later, a tender kiss ended.

He Zhenzhen leaned against Qi Mingyuan and couldn't help but ask, "Is this a suitable place for us to kiss? This is a temple..."

Qi Mingyuan calmly replied, "This is under the marriage tree, and we are a couple, so of course we can."

He Zhenzhen nodded slightly, feeling that what Qi Mingyuan said made some sense, and stopped dwelling on the issue.

At noon, the two stayed at the temple for a vegetarian meal.

Before they left, Qi Mingyuan asked for a peace lock and gave it to He Zhenzhen.

He Zhenzhen lowered her gaze, staring at the peace lock in her hand, with the words "Zhenzhen" engraved on the back.

She looked up at the person beside her and smiled brightly, "Where shall we go this afternoon?"

Qi Mingyuan took He Zhenzhen's hand, intertwined their fingers, and led her out of the temple, asking her, "How about we go to the amusement park?"

“Okay.” He Zhenzhen nodded with a smile. “We haven’t been to an amusement park in a long time.”

The afternoon sun was warm and gentle, falling on the two of them, and occasionally the chirping of birds could be heard from the quiet temple.

(over.)