MTB - Chapter 48
Chapter 48: “I caught you.”
After that, the two tacitly treated everything that had happened at the old residence as an unspoken secret, and no one brought it up again. Tang Yuelou only took back items of a personal nature and a few old books that Yun Yang was interested in. She left the rest for the new owner of the house to deal with, casting it all into the long river of time behind them.
Yun Yang was deeply moved by this. She composed a long message for Yun Guangwen, and after sending it successfully, she deleted his contact information, putting a period on the past.
She was still in contact with Ping Wan. Ping Wan, through some unknown means, had actually managed to persuade Yun Guangwen to stop contacting Yun Yang. She asked Yun Yang if she had considered getting married abroad to give their relationship an official status.
Yun Yang figured Tang Yuelou was probably somewhat resistant to the idea of “marriage,” and she herself wasn't particularly interested in such things, so she brushed it off with a casual excuse.
But they did have a wedding to attend—Ouyang Jun’s.
How to put it… “attending the wedding of your same-sex ex to her opposite-sex current partner” sounded awkward no matter how you framed it. Under normal circumstances, it would be the beginning of a melodramatic soap opera. But Ouyang Jun had helped them a great deal, and everything was out in the open, so it wasn't awkward at all. Both emotionally and logically, they had no reason not to go.
Ouyang Jun’s fiancé was a foreigner working in the country named Jackson, whom she had met while studying abroad. The ceremony was a simplified lawn wedding held in the suburbs of Beicheng. Yun Yang had little interest in her own wedding but was exceptionally enthusiastic about others’. As soon as she arrived at the venue, she headed straight for the bride’s prep room to watch Ouyang Jun get her makeup done.
“Why have a wedding in the winter? Isn’t it cold in a wedding dress?” Yun Yang asked curiously.
“We’re both very busy, and Jackson has vacation for Christmas, so we decided to get it done as soon as possible.” With the makeup artist’s help, Ouyang Jun applied her lipstick and smiled. “We’re planning to have two weddings. This one is just for friends. The next one will be after the New Year, purely a formality for my parents’ sake. Otherwise, they’ll never stop worrying.”
Yun Yang sighed with genuine feeling. “Getting married is so exhausting.”
“All ceremonies are exhausting,” Ouyang Jun said, putting on her earrings. “Where’s Tang Yuelou?”
“Oh, her,” Yun Yang said with a placid smile. “She’s outside chatting with people. I thought it was boring out there, so I came to hang out with you for a bit.”
Ouyang Jun raised an eyebrow. “She won’t get jealous?”
Yun Yang waved a hand dismissively. “Jealous? You’re about to be a married woman. Your love for your husband is as strong as gold. If she gets jealous over that, she’d be way too petty.”
Ouyang Jun smiled and met her gaze in the mirror. “Or is it that you’re just too magnanimous?”
Yun Yang said, “…Can we not make these kinds of jokes?”
Ouyang Jun laughed.
“Alright, it’s about to start. I need to get ready.” She stood up, fiddling with the pendant on her necklace. “You should go find Tang Yuelou. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Tang Yuelou was still over there talking with a few friends, looking cheerful and in high spirits—but Yun Yang knew she wasn’t in a good mood, because she hadn’t wanted Yun Yang to go see Ouyang Jun alone.
Not jealous of a married woman? Pure bullshit. She just didn’t show it.
There was still nearly an hour before the start of the ceremony. It would seem a bit odd to rush over to Tang Yuelou right away, but Yun Yang was bored. She wandered along the edge of the venue and suddenly heard music—another couple was having a wedding nearby. The bride, holding a bouquet, walked slowly from the other end of the red carpet, passing through an archway and a shower of flower petals.
Yun Yang stopped in her tracks.
“Do you take this woman to be your wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, or for any other reason, to love her, to care for her—”
A “wedding” itself was just a ceremony, but it probably wasn’t useless, Yun Yang thought. Perhaps it was a form of witness, or a promise—the meaning of life was likely realized in such so-called “useless” ceremonies.
“…to respect her, to accept her, to be forever faithful to her, until death do you part?”
She imagined herself holding a bouquet, standing before Tang Yuelou.
—I do.
When the ceremony began, Tang Yuelou still couldn’t see Yun Yang. Ouyang Jun, on Ouyang Zhou’s arm, stepped onto the red carpet to the tune of the wedding march, walking alone toward the groom.
The chair beside Tang Yuelou was empty. She had no mind to pay attention to the wedding. Her messages to Yun Yang went unanswered. Finally, worry won out over “politeness,” and she stood up from her seat to find her.
On her fifth call, it finally connected. The stone in her heart suddenly dropped. She pushed her hair back and let out a breath to calm herself. “Yangyang, where are you?”
“I’m at the venue next door. Walk east, there’s a statue over there.”
Tang Yuelou walked in the direction she indicated. It seemed to be a venue where a ceremony had just ended but hadn’t been cleaned up yet; the guests had probably moved on to the reception. She saw the statue of Cupid, and there was Yun Yang, sitting on its base, which was about half a person’s height. She was holding a white rose she had plucked from an archway and smiled at her. “You found me.”
Her smile seemed to possess a magical power. Just a second ago, Tang Yuelou had been angry that she had left without a word, but the moment she saw her, all the negative emotions seemed to vanish into thin air. Tang Yuelou stopped a step away and sighed helplessly.
“You run out in the middle of a wedding just to illegally climb a statue?”
“Nope, I’m a runaway bride,” Yun Yang said, swinging her legs. “I ran away to elope with you.”
“Elope?” Tang Yuelou chuckled. “Is that the role you’re playing today?”
“Cut the crap. Just tell me, are you coming with me or not?”
The girl sat on the high stone pedestal, her chin lifted with a hint of arrogance as she held out the rose. The statue blocked part of the midday sun. Beneath the brilliant sunlight, her smile was bright and dazzling.
And so, Tang Yuelou felt her heartbeat fall out of rhythm.
She blinked softly, as if wanting to freeze this moment in her heart, to etch it deep into her memory.
Tang Yuelou looked down and smiled. Instead of taking the flower, she took the hand that held it.
“Is this the ‘spend a lifetime together’ kind?” she asked, looking up. “For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health—”
Yun Yang looked down into her eyes. “I will love you and cherish you, forever and ever.”
—To the teacher who had guided her way, the dear friend who had stood by her side, the lover who had given her all her passion and respect.
“Do you?”
Yun Yang smiled.
“I do.”
Tang Yuelou bowed her head to kiss her hand, then took the rose.
“I do, too.”
The ceremony in the distance was boisterous. Amid the flowing daylight, the cheers became distant and prolonged.
Yun Yang propped her hands on the edge of the base and grinned. “I’m coming down, you have to catch me! Catch me—”
Tang Yuelou opened her arms in front of her. Yun Yang leaped down, bringing with her the bright sunlight and the fragrance of winter as she plunged into her embrace.
Just like the day she had first caught Tang Yuelou’s eye, and just like how she had torn through that impenetrable defense and burst into Tang Yuelou’s heart.
“I caught you.”
“Then you’re not allowed to let go.”
End of Main Story
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