The day Chi You and I officially registered our marriage happened to be Zuo Zuo’s birthday. That evening, at our cozy family dinner table, sitting right beside a adorable little superhero cake, were our two crisp red marriage certificates placed side by side.

The moment Zuo Zuo saw them, he clapped his tiny hands together in delight, his little face beaming.

I couldn’t help but laugh, reaching over to ruffle his hair. “Why are you so happy, sweetie?”

The little guy suddenly sat up straight with a deadly serious expression, speaking like a mini-adult: “Auntie Jiang said that once you have these, I won’t be a kid without a birth registration anymore.”

Wait, what? Why on earth was Jiang Dian filling a toddler’s head with talk about legal house registration? I let out a helpless laugh, making a mental note to interrogate her about it later.

Just then, Chi You produced a small gift bag and handed it to Zuo Zuo. “Here’s Daddy’s birthday present for you.”

Not wanting to be outdone, I placed two more bags in front of him. “One from Mommy, and one from Uncle Jiang.”

Before the words could even fully leave my mouth, I caught Chi You scowling. He glared at the gift bag from Jiang Ran and spat out two short, vinegar-drenched words: “Bad luck.”

Zuo Zuo didn’t understand the messy dynamic between adults. He just happily scooped up all his gifts, his eyes shining like bright little stars.

When the candles on the cake were lit, the little guy pressed his hands together and closed his eyes to make a wish. His crisp, childish voice rang out loud and clear:

“I wish that I can stay with Mommy and Daddy forever.”

Hearing those innocent words made my heart melt, though a fleeting pang of guilt brushed through me, too.

Later that night, after we finally coaxed Zuo Zuo to sleep, Chi You pulled me toward the window. Wrapping his arms around me from behind, he rested his chin against me, gazing out at the starry night sky.

“I was thinking… how about we make Jiang Ran a groomsman?”

I froze, slowly turning my head to look at him, my eyes wide with complete disbelief. “How can you be so petty?”

His warm palm gently rested against my cheek, his voice laced with laughter. “All right, I’m just teasing you. We’ll just send him an invitation.”

I leaned my head back against his chest and took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent that had lingered in my memory for so many years.

Chi You was a nostalgic man. He held onto things from the past—and he held onto me the exact same way.

At our wedding, Jiang Ran sent a generous gift, but he didn’t show up in person.

Chi You smirked with a look of smug satisfaction. “Knew he wouldn’t dare come.”

I closed my eyes and warned him in a soft, gentle tone that carried a clear edge: “Watch your mouth. We’re still on stage.”

On the other side of the stage, Zuo Zuo stood in front of the officiant, looking utterly adorable in his tiny tailored suit.

Guided by the officiant, his clear little voice chimed over the speakers: “And now, groom, you may kiss your bride!”

The moment he said it, Zuo Zuo scrambled forward on his little feet, eager to get a front-row seat for the big moment.

Chi You was quick, though. He reached out and promptly covered our son’s eyes with a hand, his tone playfully firm: “Not for kids’ eyes. Be a good boy.”

Zuo Zuo stomped his foot in a cute little huff. “I’m sleeping with Mommy tonight! You’re kicked out of bed, Daddy!”

Yao Yao will probably never know when I actually fell in love with her.

It was a scorching summer day, sunlight streaming all across campus. As I was walking past the garden, I happened to spot a petite girl squatting by a flower bed.

She was holding a bag of cat food, looking down at a stray cat with an expression that was equal parts anxious and dead serious: “Boss, since you ate my cat food, you better bless me so I don’t fail my finals.”

The sight made me burst out laughing. My friend walking next to me asked what was so funny, and I pointed in her direction. “Don’t you think she’s pretty cute?”

My friend glanced over and teased, “What, you falling for her?”

I punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Stop talking nonsense.”

Teasing aside, her image was burned into my mind from that moment on.

I never expected to run into her a second time, but as luck would have it, the university was hosting an event, and she happened to be the student coordinator in charge.

From that day on, I couldn’t stop myself from finding excuses to get closer to her. As we spent more time together, things naturally fell into place between us.

I hid my wealthy family background from her because I didn’t want her to feel an awkward gap between us or feel insecure. Yao Yao looked strong on the outside, but down deep, she was deeply sensitive.

Growing up in a single-parent household, she carried a quiet lack of confidence born from small, unintentional wounds left by her family.

On my birthday that year, she gave me a pair of cufflinks. I loved them, even though I noticed the judgmental glances from the people around us.

I didn’t care, because she didn’t care. But then… she vanished into thin air.

I never imagined that the night she took the initiative to hug me—shy, brave, and soft in my arms—would be our very last night together.

When I opened my eyes the next morning, she was gone.

During five long, grueling years of searching for her, I was both stunned and overjoyed to find out she had returned—and that she had a four-year-old boy with her.

One look into Zuo Zuo’s eyes, and I had zero doubt: he was my son.

I tried every way I knew to draw close to her again, and luckily, her heart softened for me in the end.

I will never let Yao Yao know that I was the one who fell first, long before she ever did. Because if I laid my entire heart bare, I was afraid I would show too much vulnerability in front of her.

But none of that matters anymore. I have her, I have Zuo Zuo, and I finally have the complete, perfect family I had been waiting for all along.

—THE END—