Chapter 368: She and Xu Yanfeng have become a legally married couple

That Qixi fell on a Tuesday, and Xia Xi took a half‑day off.

By shortly after seven, they arrived at the Minzhengju entrance; as expected, the crowd coming to get their certificates was too large to count, and from afar they could see a long line forming outside.

"Now you see I wasn't exaggerating, right?" Xia Xi looked at the endless queue, her eyes smiling.

Xu Yanfeng found a spot to park and said, "Since we're here, it's just waiting—I have plenty of time."

He unbuckled his seatbelt, grabbed Xia Xi's bag, pulled out the documents, checked them one by one, confirmed everything was there, nothing missing. He packed everything back, returned the bag to Xia Xi, and said, "Let's go."

Amused by his action, Xia Xi pointed at herself and said, "Am I a three‑year‑old? I wouldn't forget anything."

"Better safe than sorry," Xu Yanfeng raised his brows slightly, "What if—forgetting to bring them—you could still go back now and get them, but if you only realize you're missing documents when it's time to process, it'll be too late."

Xia Xi objected: "How could it be too late? The Minzhengju isn't open only today."

"It's that I can't wait."

"You're contradicting yourself," Xia Xi pointed out, "You just said you had plenty of time."

Xu Yanfeng raised both hands, declared he'd lost, gave a light laugh, and helped her unfasten the seatbelt: "Let's get out of the car quickly—the line is getting longer." In the few moments they spoke, the queue grew another stretch.

It kept growing like a never‑ending Snake game.

Xia Xi got out of the car, tugged her skirt down, slung her bag across her shoulder, and went to join the queue.

She tilted her head to look ahead and couldn't help worrying: "Can they finish processing all these in a morning? I only took a half‑day off."

That's easily settled, Xu Yanfeng suggested: "Then just take another half‑day."

Xia Xi: "……"

He said it so lightly.

After the Minzhengju opened, the queue moved forward—those getting numbers got numbers, those handling business handled business.

Inside the hall, Xu Yanfeng took care of errands while Xia Xi sat in the waiting area looking at her phone, sending a few voice messages to Huang Siyu. Noticing someone nearby staring at her, she thought her voice was too loud and disturbing others, so she switched to text.

After sending the messages, she lifted her head and glanced around—indeed, quite a few people were looking at her. She lowered her gaze to examine herself from head to toe; nothing seemed amiss: a white shirt with a half‑length skirt, and flat‑soled wide‑mouth shoes on her feet.

Xu Yanfeng got his number and walked over to her, dressed in a white shirt and black suit, his polished shoes gleaming, tall and slender, his face especially striking—noticeable from any angle. Xia Xi picked up the bag she had set on the neighboring chair, and he sat down. Together they made a handsome couple, drawing even more glances.

She hadn't never been stared at before, but the attention now was absurdly high; Xia Xi leaned her body toward Xu Yanfeng and said, "It feels like someone is filming us."

"Huh?" Xu Yanfeng lifted his gaze and scanned, just in time to see a young woman holding up her phone to secretly film them; having been spotted, her expression turned unnatural, she blocked the phone and quickly averted her eyes.

"Maybe they recognized us," Xu Yanfeng said, "You forgot you were on a show—does that make you a semi‑public figure?"

Xia Xi blinked: "Oh, right."

Xu Yanfeng laughed that she had left her brain at home, earning himself a hard punch on the arm.

Xia Xi silently pulled a disposable mask from her bag, put it on so only her eyes showed, thus avoiding recognition, and handed one to Xu Yanfeng: "Do you want one?"

Xu Yanfeng shook his head.

Xia Xi ordered him to wear it—he, too, counted as a public figure, and that handsome face of his would attract too much attention if left bare.

Xu Yanfeng resigned, the corners of his mouth twitching as he leaned toward Xia Xi. She paused, even more resigned than he—this public setting… she quickly pulled the mask's straps apart, slipped them over his ears, pinched the top edge and lifted it to cover his high nose bridge.

Having fixed it for him, Xia Xi sat back down, chatting with him while glancing at her phone.

The wait was too long; Xia Xi grew drowsy, put her phone back in her bag, her eyes half‑closed, long lashes drooping. Xu Yanfeng hadn't heard her speak for a while, glanced at her, smiled silently, and with a long arm reached around her back to gently hold her shoulders. She leaned, fell into his embrace, startled, sat upright, eyes wide open.

"If you're tired, just lean on me and nap a bit," Xu Yanfeng said, drawing her back into his arms.

Xia Xi relaxed, adjusted into a comfortable pose, and closed her eyes.

In the not‑so‑quiet hall, she actually fell asleep, a little sweat appearing at her temples and hairline. Seeing how peacefully she slept, Xu Yanfeng hated to wake her, but their turn was approaching.

"Xia Xi, wake up," Xu Yanfeng said, extending a finger to gently poke her cheek through the mask.

After all, it was a public place; Xia Xi's sleep wasn't as sound as at home, so the moment he spoke she woke, opening her dazed eyes. For the first second she couldn't tell where she was, she stared blankly for a few seconds, then finally came to. She looked around—people were still many.

Xu Yanfeng's clear, mellow voice came from beside her: "Just one number left before it's our turn."

Xia Xi pulled away from his embrace; though awake, she still felt languid. Xu Yanfeng propped his chin, turned his face to look at her—the lower half of his face masked, but his brows and eyes betrayed his smile.

Xia Xi felt somewhat puzzled, took out a mirror from her bag and checked—aside from her hair being a little tousled from rubbing, everything else looked fine. She brushed her hair with her hand and asked him, "Anything wrong?"

"No." Xu Yanfeng still smiled.

"Then why do you keep looking at me and smiling?"

Just then their number was called; Xu Yanfeng offered no explanation, took her hand, rose, and went to the counter, removing his mask.

The staff behind the counter were utterly familiar with the whole process; the white box beside them held a stack of blank marriage certificates. Anticipating that today's crowd would be far larger than usual, they had prepared the documents abundantly.

They had their photos taken, then filled out the marriage registration application. At that moment Xia Xi truly felt the reality of getting the certificate, gripping the pen and filling in each field carefully, afraid of making a mistake—a feeling not unlike taking an exam.

Xu Yanfeng had already finished and waited beside her; she was only on the third line. Each time she put pen to paper, she stared at the clock for a few seconds, her lips moving as if silently reciting something, but she made no sound, her expression utterly solemn.

She had just been sleeping like the dead; he had thought she was calm, but now he understood—her reflex arc was just a bit slow, her emotions arriving belatedly.

At last she finished, exhaled slowly, checked line by line—nothing wrong—and was about to hand it to the clerk when Xu Yanfeng suddenly reached out, pressed his hand on the paper, pointed below, and said, "You forgot to sign."

Speechless for a moment, Xia Xi picked up the pen again, signed her name, and seeing the date field below, asked him, "What's today's date?"

"August 22." Xu Yanfeng said with a laugh.

Xia Xi filled it in, this time with no omissions, and handed it over.

Not long after, the clerk printed the two marriage certificates, stamped them with the steel seal, and handed them over.

Xia Xi pinched the two red booklets, her mind blank for a second—was that it? Had she and Xu Yanfeng just become a legally married couple?

Before she could even flip them open, someone beside her snatched them away, flipped one open, glanced inside, and broke into a satisfied grin.

The clerk tapped the counter and reminded: "Please move aside, you're blocking those behind."

Xia Xi gave the person an apologetic look, grabbed Xu Yanfeng's arm and pulled him away, head down, hurrying along.

They had arrived in the morning; by the time they left it was already noon, the sun overhead blazing enough to make people dizzy. The parking spot was some distance away, but Xia Xi didn't slacken her pace—she kept walking fast.

Reaching the car, Xia Xi paused to catch her breath, jiggled Xu Yanfeng's arm, and said, "Car keys."

Xu Yanfeng moved like a robot programmed with a routine, producing the car key to unlock it; Xia Xi got in, then Xu Yanfeng slid into the driver's seat, switched on the air‑conditioner, didn't rush to start the engine, and earnestly examined the marriage certificate in his hand.

After years of longing and anticipation, the thing they finally held felt absurdly light—so light it was almost unbelievable.

"Don't look at yourself, let me have a look." Xia Xi leaned in.

Xu Yanfeng calmly slipped the marriage certificate into his pocket, Xia Xi froze, then complained he was childish: "What about the two? Are they yours alone? One of them is mine."

"I'll keep it for you." Xu Yanfeng gripped the steering wheel, stared ahead, his fingers tightened, but he still didn't drive off.

He released the steering wheel, took the marriage certificate out of his pocket, opened it and checked again; the photo on the certificate showed him and Xia Xi in white shirts, smiling in front of a red backdrop.

It's real, not something he imagined.