Married to the Protagonist

In reality, as a typical straight man, Yan Cheng had many stereotypical opinions about a woman’s mind. Their conversation went around and around in circles as the car drove toward their destination.

By the time Chen Jinyao concluded that his general belief was “Women are selfish creatures who only care about themselves,” they had already arrived at the movie theater. She picked up their tickets and dragged him inside the theater room before he could even register what was happening.

***

The theater room was dark save for the small amounts of light coming in from random places outside and the flickering of the large screen in front of them.

Tickets had been sold out, and the seats were filled. The movie began.

Yan Cheng was silent for roughly three seconds before: “… It’s not bad.”

There was actually another principle.

Women attached great importance to the first date.

It was no different from going to an interview for the first time.

It was not about who their partner was.

Sometimes, Chen Jinyao thought that she was pretty heartless. She was capable of being cold and indifferent to everything, to a terrifying extent. She was more willing to believe in the security that the agreement could bring her than what the trammels of emotion could offer.

The future of her marriage with Yan Cheng, especially, was still too unpredictable. It would be difficult to pull away if they took love too lightly at the start and actually ended up feeling something.

She was used to leaving herself a way out of every situation. Did it make her a hypocrite, she wondered?

However, she knew the reason. She lacked a sense of security, and because of it, she would always subconsciously hide in a turtle shell to protect herself.

Although she was able to feign calmness, this world was still too unfamiliar to her. Unfamiliar places, unfamiliar people, unfamiliar… everything.

“Yancheng, I’m trying to like you,” she said.

She was also trying to treat their marriage seriously and properly as a wife should.

However, she still needed a little more time.

After a long pause, Yan Cheng responded, “Oh, me too.”

Somehow, all of a sudden, the temperature around them seemed to have dropped.

Chen Jinyao shrunk her neck, burying half of her face in her scarf, and sighed.

Toward the end of the movie, the audience in the theater room became restless. This movie was the finale of a very popular franchise series, but for some reason, the director decided to turn the ending into a story about family ethics and love. Many people were disappointed.

When they left the movie theater, the sky was already dark.

The hustle and bustle of the city center had just begun; it was as though a carnival needed to be held every night before the city could fall into a deep slumber. However, the city folks were accustomed to this liveliness.

This carnival would not end until much later.

The night was cool, and a motley of bright colors stretched into the distance as far as the eye could see.

Yan Cheng took Chen Jinyao by the hand and led her through the crowd, telling her that there was a noodle shop nearby with delicious beef noodles. She lifted an eyebrow and nodded.

Then, they stopped talking.

Feeling the burning temperature on her palm, Chen Jinyao couldn’t help but look down at their intertwined hands. Shortly after, she lifted her gaze to the beautiful side profile of the man’s face.

There was actually no reason for this; women were simply emotionally sensitive creatures. No matter how calm, they were prone to indulging in flights of fancy.

Chen Jinyao shook his arm, and he immediately slowed down. Yet when he looked at her, she suddenly didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t until several seconds later that she dared to look at him again. She told him in a solemn tone, “I said that I would try to like you. It’s because I’m confident that familiarity breeds fondness.”

“…”

In an instant, the air froze.

“Pfft.” After a short silence, he laughed, not bothering to give her any face.

Then, he reached out and pinched her cheek. ”I have a question,” he said casually.

She frowned and batted his hand away. “What?”

“This so-called ‘familiarity breeds fondness’…” He stopped walking and looked down at her. “The first word. Do you mean physically, or emotionally?”