You Must Marry Me! - Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Qi Zhen rarely had trouble sleeping.
The wine she drank earlier now sat bitter in her stomach, completely devoid of the earlier tipsy, floaty sensation. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep no matter how hard she tried.
She wanted to sleep, but her mind kept replaying the dinner she had with Yan Yiyun. Yan Yiyun’s smile and voice echoed in her head, refusing to fade away.
One moment it was that cunning little fox-like grin, the next she was clinging to her arm and acting spoiled—each look adorably vivid.
And then there were the memories from their past meals together—Yan Yiyun mixing her rice with fish and looking at her expectantly, waiting for praise. Or her delight when she tasted the tamagoyaki Qi Zhen made by hand.
All those seemingly trivial details now resurfaced and stole away her sleep.
Even the time when Yan Yiyun sneaked into the design department during one of Qi Zhen’s meetings to switch her Oreos—Qi Zhen suddenly found it amusing.
The image of Yan Yiyun, the future CEO everyone in the company admired, sneaking around during a meeting just to swap out her cookies, while enduring the curious stares of the entire office—it was honestly a little funny.
Why didn’t she just tell her what she wanted directly?
Why resort to something as childish as switching cookies?
Could it be that she was upset Qi Zhen said she wouldn’t have dinner with her?
Qi Zhen lay in bed, pondering Yan Yiyun’s thoughts. If she really got mad over that, then she really was childish.
They weren’t in grade school anymore—throwing a tantrum over a missed meal and retaliating by swapping cookies…
It was all so… elementary school!
Maybe Yan Yiyun never attended elementary school in China and missed out on those sincere hand-in-hand trips to the bathroom between girls, and now she was just trying to relive that part of childhood?
The more Qi Zhen thought about it, the more sleep eluded her.
She finally reached under her pillow for her phone and opened Yan Yiyun’s Moments on WeChat, scrolling all the way down.
Yan Yiyun was clearly someone who enjoyed sharing her life. Just today, she had already posted four updates.
The first was about the English breakfast Auntie Li made that morning—perfectly cooked scrambled eggs and slightly crispy sausages that looked delicious.
The second post complained about being stuck in traffic on the way to work, accompanied by a photo of the jammed road. Qi Zhen couldn’t help but smile. Yan Yiyun really was a pampered little princess—even this had to be shared in her Moments.
The third was their dinner together. Warm candlelight, delicately plated dishes on white porcelain, and a glass of pink rosé. Yan Yiyun captioned it, saying she was happy to finally eat at a restaurant she had been wanting to try for a long time.
Qi Zhen stared at that post for a long time. She said she was happy—so tonight really was a good night. But since she didn’t mention her, did it mean it didn’t matter who she ate with?
She absentmindedly scrolled to the next post: a picture of the rooftop terrace under a velvet-black sky, a bright moon hanging overhead.
Yan Yiyun had written: “The moonlight is so beautiful tonight.”
Qi Zhen’s heart fluttered slightly. Was that just a comment on the scenery?
Or did it mean something more?
She couldn’t sleep at all now.
Her mind kept going back to that moment when Yan Yiyun pulled out that old scrap of paper from her bag, threw it in front of her, eyes red and filled with tears, shouting, “Didn’t you say you’d marry me?!”
Even though she had been furious at the time, she had to admit—Yan Yiyun really looked heartbreakingly pitiful in that moment.
Qi Zhen had known she liked women for a long time. Since puberty, boys never interested her. Many boys at school had shown interest, but instead of being flattered like most girls, she just found it bothersome. The more forward confessions even made her feel disgusted.
At first, she was confused. Later, she realized that whether in life or watching movies or TV, her attention always went to the women. Male characters were just part of the background.
Sure, Yan Yiyun had kept that “marriage certificate” all these years and even told her to marry her—but did she really understand what that meant?
Many girls share feelings that are somewhere between friendship and romance. They’re sticky, intimate, hard to define—but is that really love?
Qi Zhen didn’t deny it was a kind of love, but to her, it wasn’t the same as romantic love.
She didn’t want to play some ambiguous game with Yan Yiyun. Either they were straightforward friends—chatting, dining, shopping without crossing any lines—or they were in a real, serious relationship.
Qi Zhen set her phone down, closed her eyes, and remained wide awake.
The more she thought about it, the harder it became to ignore that flutter of emotion.
But—what right did she have to fall in love with Yan Yiyun?
She buried her face in her pillow and told herself: luckily, it’s just a crush—not deep enough to call love. If she could kill it early, she and Yan Yiyun could still stay friends.
She slept restlessly that night, caught in dreams.
In the dream, Yan Yiyun sat very close to her. They were having afternoon tea in a central-city dessert shop. On the three-tiered tray were exquisite pastries and macarons, and white porcelain cups held fragrant black tea. Yan Yiyun was saying something to her, but Qi Zhen couldn’t hear a word.
They were so close, but Qi Zhen couldn’t communicate with her. Every word she said only made Yan Yiyun look more confused.
They couldn’t speak, couldn’t touch. So near, yet worlds apart.
Golden sunlight bathed Yan Yiyun’s face in a gentle glow, just like every time Qi Zhen saw her. But this time, Yan Yiyun didn’t reach out—she stood up alone and turned her back on her.
Qi Zhen woke up.
Her back was drenched in cold sweat, and she gasped for breath as if she had just escaped drowning in that dream.
She threw on a coat, washed her face, and walked into the living room to find her mother already watching TV on the sofa.
“Drank last night?” her mom asked, clearly disapproving.
Qi Zhen felt a little irritated. She poured herself some warm water and replied, “Just a little.”
“With which friend?” Her mom’s attention had shifted fully to her. “The family is so busy and you’re still going out drinking?”
Qi Zhen forced a smile. The family had been “busy” for years, and she’d never really had a life of her own. Always working, always taking care of her father. Last night was her first time dining with a friend in ages, yet somehow her mom made it sound like she was out partying every night.
“Just a colleague,” Qi Zhen said, and took her cup back to her room.
As she closed the door, she heard a heavy sigh from behind.
As if she’d done something terribly wrong.
Qi Zhen had planned to make some oatmeal and eat lunch before heading out. But after that guilt-laden exchange, her mood worsened.
She half-heartedly ate two bites of cereal, then took a hot shower and locked herself in her room to edit videos—trying to distract herself with work.
Progress was decent. By lunchtime, the editing was mostly done and she could leave it to render.
She changed clothes, planning to have dinner with her parents before heading out again.
Her mom had already set the table with three dishes and a soup. Seeing her dressed, she asked, “Heading out again later?”
Her dad sat at the head of the table, his face dark and stern.
Qi Zhen’s scalp prickled. She nodded slightly, “Dinner with a colleague.”
“Oh…”
Her mom put a rib into her father’s bowl and said, “Didn’t know you were so close with your colleagues. Now that the family has issues, you’re out every day.”
Qi Zhen expected the lecture. She didn’t bother to argue—she had grown used to it over the years. She quickly ate half a bowl of rice, stood up, and left.
Sure enough, behind her came another heavy sigh.
Qi Zhen grabbed her bag and headed downstairs. She found a place to sit and messaged Yan Yiyun.
It was still early for their meetup, but Qi Zhen felt too upset to stay at home in that atmosphere of silent reproach. She’d rather go out early and let the wind clear her head.
Yan Yiyun replied immediately:
“?”
“Why are you so early?”
“I thought you’d be late.”
“Afternoon tea’s booked for 3. Want to go shopping first?”
“Have you eaten?”
She was much chattier than usual.
This was actually the first time they were texting on WeChat. Seeing all those messages, Qi Zhen imagined Yan Yiyun holding her phone and typing eagerly—and her mood lifted a little.
“Sure, let’s go shopping first,” she replied.
She hadn’t gone shopping in a long time. Mainly because she couldn’t afford her favorite brands anymore. Many stores had removed her from their VIP lists—she didn’t even qualify to shop there now.
These days, she wore either old clothes or cheap finds from Taobao. Luckily, she had good taste—even clothes that cost fifty or a hundred yuan looked classy on her.
Yan Yiyun replied in seconds: “Yay yay! I’ll come get you!”
She replied so fast it outpaced Qi Zhen’s typing. After Qi Zhen finished her message, she saw another one from her:
“I haven’t eaten much—want to get something together?”
She had barely eaten that morning anyway. It didn’t really count.
Today was a rare weekend—her mom made red-braised ribs, stir-fried pork with green peppers, sautéed greens, and corn pork bone soup. These were her mom’s specialties—not dishes she’d cook on a regular day.
If she’d stayed in to work, she could’ve enjoyed them guilt-free. But since she was going out, under that wordless disapproval, she couldn’t eat at all.
Since Yan Yiyun brought it up, maybe she hadn’t eaten either?
Qi Zhen remembered her saying there was a good place for yellow croaker noodles, so she texted: “I want yellow croaker noodles.”
It was rare for her to sound so matter-of-fact. She usually couldn’t afford to act spoiled. But with Yan Yiyun, for some reason, she spoke like someone who was certain her request would be granted.
And sure enough, Yan Yiyun replied: “I’ll take you!”
“I’m coming right now! Wait for me!”
Qi Zhen replied: “Okay.”
She really did want yellow croaker noodles.
The late autumn wind was chilly. After sitting downstairs for a while, her hands were cold. She imagined a bowl of steaming yellow croaker noodles—soup simmered overnight with pork bones, flavorful to the extreme, springy alkaline noodles nestled in the creamy broth, topped with rich, braised yellow croaker, scallions, and cilantro. One bite at a time—pure comfort.
She missed that taste.
But even more, she missed the person who said she’d take her to eat it.
With just one casual mention, Yan Yiyun remembered—and cherished her wish like a precious treasure.
Qi Zhen looked at Yan Yiyun’s profile picture, and a soft warmth surged in her heart.
—I really want to see her soon.