Love Finds Its Time - Chapter 44

Wen Qinghan’s song Content nearly conquered every audience member before the stage, more and more people stopping to listen.

When the crowd, still unsatisfied, demanded an encore, the host realized that the woman who had stepped up to hold the stage moments earlier was already gone.

Shi Qingqiu sniffled softly, her gaze sweeping through the crowd in search of Wen Qinghan, until she saw her walking toward her with cool composure. In that instant, she suddenly felt she had never wanted to see someone so badly.

“Qinghan!” Shi Qingqiu called out, hurrying over.

The other naturally stretched out her hand to hold Shi Qingqiu’s, a smile rippling at her lips. “I’m back.”

“Mm, I listened to the whole thing. You sang so well, truly so well.” Shi Qingqiu praised her sincerely, at last making up for that regret from their university days. Wen Qinghan only smiled silently. Shi Qingqiu tugged her along as they walked back, speaking as they went. “It’s just that there were a bit too few people. I don’t know if we’ll pass.”

They walked unhurriedly, side by side. After she finished speaking, Wen Qinghan, surprisingly, did not analyze the situation as usual. Instead, she tightened her grip on Shi Qingqiu’s hand, turned her head slightly, and with the faint curve of her lips said, “The task is only incidental.”

Shi Qingqiu froze, not yet grasping the meaning of her words, when the host suddenly shouted before the camera, “Congratulations to Team Qingqiu for completing the mission! The Greenhouse CP is the first pair to finish all stages!”

When Wen Qinghan had begun singing, the host had already been notified and rushed over, witnessing the entire uproar of the audience asking for another song.

After announcing, he turned toward Shi Qingqiu and Wen Qinghan with a smile. “Congratulations, truly newlyweds burn with three fires—so efficient!”

Shi Qingqiu’s brows twitched. Wasn’t that supposed to be “a new official burns with three fires”?

Wen Qinghan asked, “Then can we move freely now?”

The host nodded, spreading his hands. “Of course, as you wish. Just remember to return to the hotel by ten tonight, there are still things left to explain.”

“Alright, understood.” Wen Qinghan nodded, leading Shi Qingqiu away.

With the mission complete, they were far more at ease than when they had arrived. They wandered around the supermarket for a while before heading back the way they came.

They once again entered the alley with the little chapel, not knowing who had first turned in that direction, only that hand in hand they naturally walked inside.

No more guests entered the alley; the wedding had likely already begun. They arrived at the spot where they had earlier been given wedding candies, and the priest’s solemn voice drifted from the chapel.

“Today, under the watch of God, we gather here to witness this sacred wedding. Two newlyweds will join together in this marriage. If anyone has a rightful reason to prove their union unlawful, speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

Shi Qingqiu’s steps halted involuntarily. With the priest’s resounding words echoing, she stepped over the remains of firecrackers, once more casting her gaze into the chapel’s open doors. Inside, guests filled the seats. At the center stood the groom in a white suit and the bride in a white gown. Facing the priest, they listened intently to every word, waiting with nervous anticipation for that sentence: “I do.”

Wen Qinghan asked softly, “Why aren’t you walking?”

“Nothing, let’s go back.” Shi Qingqiu smiled faintly and shook her head, stepping forward again. At the corner, the priest’s voice finally faded away.

Suddenly, Wen Qinghan stopped, forcing Shi Qingqiu to halt as well. Her gaze deepened as she said, “Qingqiu, when you finish filming and come back, let’s hold our wedding. We’ll choose the invitation design together, the style of the wedding dress, and then you’ll move in with me. Alright?” Her expression softened, and if one listened closely, one could hear the affection hidden in her words.

But after spending so much time together, Shi Qingqiu already knew that when Wen Qinghan was with her, she was never too cold. Because of that, she failed to notice the hesitation in words that sounded like mere suggestions but were in fact long-buried deep feelings.

“But… I’m not ready yet…” Shi Qingqiu lowered her head, murmuring, yet her hand did not pull away from Wen Qinghan’s.

She truly wasn’t ready to be so completely close to Wen Qinghan, or perhaps, a vague fear had begun to grow in her heart.

She knew she and Wen Qinghan could not escape this step. They would live together, eat together, sleep together.

On days when she had no work and stayed at home, she would see Wen Qinghan off to work and wait to take the heavy briefcase from her hands when she returned. They would sit on the sofa, chatting about the day.

They would grow more and more in sync. She would grow more trusting, more reliant on Wen Qinghan, until the day they became accustomed to each other’s presence. Until that day, should separation come, it would be a pain like tearing flesh from bone.

Who said only love feared parting? Once she became used to Wen Qinghan, any change could be fatal.

“No… I’m not ready yet…” Shi Qingqiu kept her head lowered, her other hand gripping Wen Qinghan’s arm, her voice slightly hoarse. “Qinghan, I’m not ready yet, please wait a little longer…”

From the moment these thoughts surfaced, the fear in her heart only grew stronger. She even began to ask herself why she had agreed to marry in the first place. Could she truly endure a separation from Wen Qinghan?

Wen Qinghan’s heart jolted. She quickly held Shi Qingqiu’s shoulders, seeing her lips tremble slightly. Even with her shoulders restrained, Shi Qingqiu still did not lift her head.

“Qingqiu…” Wen Qinghan furrowed her brows, shaking her lightly, then reached to cup her face, speaking softly, tenderly. “What are you afraid of? Tell me, let me solve it for you.”

Wen Qinghan had long anticipated that something would catch her off guard—Shi Qingqiu’s inner panic and fear. These emotions had been buried deep for so many years, but any relationship that hinted at growing closer always triggered her unease.

Shi Qingqiu lifted her gaze to Wen Qinghan, the tremor she had felt when hearing her sing now growing ever clearer.

She fought back tears, her eyes swollen with the strain. “Qinghan, I’m afraid we’ll become unable to live without each other. I’m afraid that once our promise comes true, once we see each other every day, become more and more in sync, trust and rely on each other more and more… if one day we must part, what will we do? Qinghan, I don’t want to feel the pain of losing again…”

She gazed at Wen Qinghan for a long time, unable to hold back her tears. This was the first time she had ever lost composure before her.

If the last time Wen Qinghan had stayed at her place had brought only a faint unease, then now it was sheer panic. She was afraid that, if things continued this way, Wen Qinghan would become an inseparable part of her life.

Wen Qinghan brushed away the tears at the corner of her eyes with her thumb, leaned in slightly, and without hesitation pulled her into her arms, her voice soft yet earnest. “What are you afraid of? Didn’t I say it already? Once I decided to spend the rest of my life with you, I would never regret it. I don’t have time to be with anyone else, so there’s no possibility of liking someone else. Why should you be afraid? I have no reason to leave you.”

Shi Qingqiu clutched Wen Qinghan’s clothes tightly, shaking her head in her embrace. Her tears fell against her neck, making her heart ache unbearably.

Biting her lip, Wen Qinghan lowered her head, rubbing her cheek lightly against Shi Qingqiu’s forehead, her voice hoarse. “Or this—if someday you feel you need space, if you don’t want to see me, then we’ll keep a little distance for a while. When you want to find me, we’ll sit down and talk properly about everything that happened during that time.” She paused, taking in a heavy breath, then whispered into Shi Qingqiu’s ear, “But the one thing you must never think of again is retreating or regretting. We’re already married. You’re my wife, and I’m yours. We won’t separate—don’t frighten yourself.” She loosened her embrace to lift Shi Qingqiu’s face, her fingers twitching slightly before, after some hesitation, tucking the strands of hair by her ear behind it. With that same serious expression, she said, “Isn’t the final step of dating marriage? We’ve already taken that step. What’s left is just to live each day well. If we argue, we resolve it that night, and don’t drag it to the next day. If we disagree, this time we’ll go with your way, next time with mine. Look—day by day, if we live well, we’ll gather all those days together, and in the end, that’s a lifetime.”

Her worries dissolved so easily under Wen Qinghan’s words. Shi Qingqiu trembled with a smile, her tears blurring her sight until she had to search through the hazy view for those once-cold eyes.

“Really? It sounds so easy…” Shi Qingqiu finally laughed through tears. They had known each other so long, there was almost no reason they could part. Neither of them had the chance to like someone else—the odds of separation were nearly zero.

“Of course. When have I ever lied to you?” Wen Qinghan’s brows finally relaxed. She wiped Shi Qingqiu’s tears again and brought up the earlier topic. “So when filming ends, move in with me. We’re married—how can we not live together?”

With tears still in her eyes, Shi Qingqiu looked fixedly at Wen Qinghan.

This person was so outstanding, even from afar in a crowd she drew every eye, and yet it was to her that such a woman had entrusted her future so early on.

Now, in her fear of separation, Wen Qinghan’s firm words swept away the loneliness clinging around her like cold fog, opening her arms to warm her instead.

The hands clutching Wen Qinghan’s clothes finally loosened. Biting her lip, she let out a soft laugh, wrapped her arms around Wen Qinghan’s waist in return, and said, “Fine, then if I strike out on my own and fail to make anything of myself, you’ll have to support me.”

Wen Qinghan chuckled, stroking Shi Qingqiu’s hair with a sigh. “No problem.”

***

They returned to the hotel to rest, waiting until evening for everyone else to come back.

The second team to finish the mission that day was Yu Shushen’s group, slightly later than Shi Qingqiu’s. That afternoon, when they returned, they had even managed to nap comfortably.

Shi Qingqiu and Wen Qinghan sat together on the sofa, each absorbed in their phones, which had just been returned. Seeing this, Qin Wang slapped his thigh and said, “Qingqiu, what did I tell you? Didn’t I say if you howled a bit on the street you’d get it done? Even if it was your wife howling, the principle’s the same.”

Wen Qinghan closed her WeChat chat with Jian Yizhi, slipped the phone into her pocket, and gave Qin Wang a single indifferent glance. With barely any expression, she still made him shiver.

Did Shi Qingqiu really not feel cold, sleeping beside someone like that every day?

But Shi Qingqiu couldn’t hear Qin Wang’s grumbling, and even if she had, she would only have smiled it off. She set her phone aside and said helplessly to Qin Wang, “Why don’t you go howl a bit? Let’s see how many people would stay to listen to you.”

Qin Wang’s eyes widened, while Ji Lan patted his shoulder with a laugh. “And you dare talk about Lawyer Wen? Selling your voice like that should be your job.”

At this, Xu Zhi also added praise. “Lawyer Wen really does sing beautifully. We were near the supermarket today and heard it too. I was shocked—Lawyer Wen rarely chats with people, who’d have thought she’d sing so well?”

Shi Qingqiu turned to look at the composed Wen Qinghan, who had already restored her aloof demeanor, seeming like a completely different person from the one who had comforted and held her earlier. Yet it was this very Wen Qinghan who made her feel even warmer, more secure with each passing day.

“I thought it was beautiful too.” She smiled softly at Wen Qinghan as she spoke.

Wen Qinghan didn’t reply, only lowered her head slightly, a strand of hair slipping loose to hide the quiet smile at her lips.

Just as Qin Wang was about to tease the two of them, the host’s loud voice rang out from afar. “Gods and goddesses! Time to head home! Let’s play a game, shall we? To test just how well you know your partners!”

Shi Qingqiu’s heart gave a sudden jolt. She immediately turned to Wen Qinghan, who had grown just as serious.