Love Finds Its Time - Chapter 1

Sometimes, words spoken many years ago still echo in your ears, yet the scenes and emotions of that time have faded almost completely. All you remember is that they once happened. Even if you recall the wish you made back then, recall the solemnity of the moment, what does it matter now? You cannot even clearly remember the faint smile that lingered in her eyes when she laughed. 

Even your parents and friends tiptoe carefully around you, afraid to mention even a word. But only you know the truth: you can no longer remember clearly. 

Because you have revisited those memories too many times, the once vivid outline of that person has blurred step by step with the passing years. You can no longer recall her face.

***

The air felt heavy. Shi Qingqiu lifted the hair that had slipped over her shoulder with her left hand, tucked it behind her ear, and with her right hand picked up a pen. Bowing her head slightly, she signed her name on the paper in front of her. 

The person beside her seemed to finish at the same time. They both set down their pens together.

“All right, congratulations to you both. Please wait just a moment, I’ll go print the certificates.” The clerk at the marriage registration office smiled warmly, gathered up the papers, and hurried away.

The profile of Shi Qingqiu, as seen by the one beside her, was still flawless. Her pale lips pressed together slightly, her face calm and gentle. Just as the world described her—graceful, beautiful, captivating. Outside of her acting roles, no one had ever seen wild emotion in her eyes. She was always as soft and temperate as a spring breeze.

The corners of Wen Qinghan’s lips curved faintly. She gazed at Shi Qingqiu, her slender fingers lifting as if to reach for something, only to fall back again. Her pale lips pressed into a thin line, and she said nothing.

When they walked out the doors of the Civil Affairs Bureau, the sunlight was bright and full.

Standing at the top of the steps, Shi Qingqiu opened the little red booklet in her hands. The first thing she saw was her photo alongside Wen Qinghan’s, both of them wearing the same quiet, composed expression. 

From this moment on, they were written into each other’s lives.

“We’re married now.” Wen Qinghan looked out over the hurried crowd, her voice as light as ever, as if she were merely remarking to Shi Qingqiu that the weather was nice today.

“Yes, we’re married.” At last, a smile appeared at the edge of Shi Qingqiu’s lips. The anxiety and unease in her heart were slowly consumed by the sunlight, leaving nothing behind. 

What was she still waiting for? For an outcome that would never come, or for someone who would never appear again? From the moment she agreed to marry Wen Qinghan, there was nothing left to wait for. And besides, the thought had only brushed past her mind just now. If she hadn’t agreed to marry Wen Qinghan, perhaps she would not have thought of those memories for a long time.

She remembered Wen Qinghan saying, “I don’t have time to get to know too many people. Getting familiar with someone takes too much effort. Why don’t you and I be together? We already understand each other. It’ll save us time and trouble.”

She remembered Wen Qinghan saying, “Qingqiu, let’s get married.”

She also remembered that she had no strength to build a relationship from scratch with a complete stranger. So she replied, “All right, let’s get married.”

The dazzling sunlight stung her eyes. Shi Qingqiu pulled her gaze back, turned her head toward Wen Qinghan, just in time to meet her eyes. With a faint smile, Wen Qinghan said, “Qingqiu, even if you regret it now, we can’t get divorced right away. If we divorce just after marrying, we’ll make the headlines.”

“Do I look like I regret it?” Shi Qingqiu smiled. “Just as you said, we already know each other. Saves us time and trouble. What could be better?”

Who could possibly suit her more than Wen Qinghan? The one who had grown up with her, who knew her past, who understood her pain. 

Even their names matched.

Thirty years ago, the Wen family and the Shi family each welcomed a newborn on the same day. It was late autumn then. The parents, lifelong friends, followed an old custom and bound the two children’s lives together.

Qingqiu. Qinghan.

Late autumn, light chill.

But when Wen Qinghan looked into Shi Qingqiu’s eyes now, there was no joy there; only the same calm, gentle peace as always. And so joy drained from her heart. Shi Qingqiu was not happy. At least until this very moment, she had never shown delight at being married.

They were only friends. Their marriage was not built on love. How could Shi Qingqiu possibly be happy?

Wen Qinghan looked away. Her expression was distant, her tone cool and detached. “Come on. If we delay much longer, reporters will show up.”

For someone of her status, there was nothing to worry about. But Shi Qingqiu was different. They were married, yes, but they had never agreed to make it public.

Especially not the marriage of Shi Qingqiu, the rising film star.

After getting into Wen Qinghan’s car, Shi Qingqiu stayed silent, watching the road slowly retreat outside the window. Her thoughts drifted further and further. It struck her as strange. Neither she nor Wen Qinghan were talkative people, yet somehow they had managed to coexist peacefully for so many years. They were not especially close friends, yet they were the ones who had accompanied each other the longest. Later, she met people who were closer to her, others whose personalities suited hers, still others who came and went. Some had already left. But Wen Qinghan, neither too close nor too distant, remained at her side. They had never been truly intimate, yet they had never left each other.

“Where to? The company, or a shoot?” Wen Qinghan’s voice drifted over. 

Shi Qingqiu returned to herself, looked ahead, and said, “Drop me off at the entrance to our university. I have something to do there. I’ll go back on my own later.”

The car was very quiet. Soon came Wen Qinghan’s brief reply, “Mm.”

The car moved smoothly, nothing amiss. But Shi Qingqiu didn’t see how, when she mentioned the place, Wen Qinghan’s hands tightened on the wheel until her knuckles whitened.

Wen Qinghan never asked more of Shi Qingqiu. She did not ask what she should not, and even what she should, she never voiced. In the past, their relationship gave her no right to ask. Now that they were married, she felt even less need to.

The car slowed to a stop near the University of Political Science and Law. The moment Shi Qingqiu slipped on her sunglasses and stepped out, the car pulled away without pause, swift and clean, as if they were nothing more than a passing exchange between a taxi and its passenger.

A trace of self-mockery touched Shi Qingqiu’s lips before her face returned to composure. She walked into the campus with an unhurried step.

The scenery here was the same as when she was eighteen. The students, too, were much the same. The girls chattered about makeup and films, the boys debated sports and girls. 

The difference was that she was no longer one of them.

She remembered the peach grove in front of the girls’ dormitory. Every spring, when the trees bloomed, countless girls eager for photos would pose among the blossoms, capturing their beauty on their phones.

Perhaps because the weather was warm, few students lingered in the grove today. Shi Qingqiu walked slowly along the path until she reached the pavilion and stopped. Before her, a peach tree was ablaze with blossoms, just as it had been in her memory, just as it had been at eighteen.

From beyond the grove came the faint sound of voices. She slipped off her sunglasses, let a small smile touch her lips, and murmured, “Qi Yue, I got married.”

At the entrance of the path behind her, a tall figure stood quietly, slender as bamboo, eyes cold as starlight, expression faint.

It was Wen Qinghan, standing silently, not stepping forward.