Chapter 26: Forgetting

With An Songlin completely disregarding convention, Xuan Ying simply agreed to go with him.

And so, the wedding moved into its final act.

After a hectic day, they finally saw off the boisterous crowd that had come to tease the newlyweds. An Songyu and her sister collapsed onto the bed, completely exhausted.

"Getting married is truly no easy feat!" An Songxiang, lying side-by-side with her sister, lamented.

"You aren't even the bride, and you already think it's difficult?" An Songyu retorted lazily. She was so tired she didn't even want to twitch a finger.

"That's true!" An Songxiang thought about it and had to agree. She then reminded her sister, "Sis, you have to work tomorrow. Should you just go wash up and head straight to sleep?"

"Let me rest for a while first. I really can't move anymore," An Songyu pleaded, not shifting even an inch.

An Songxiang wasn't doing much better herself, so she stopped urging her. After lying there for a while, she began to chat idly. "Auntie and the others were saying that weddings in the village are even more exhausting. For us, the bride-welcoming and the ceremony all happened in one day, but back in the village, it takes at least two."

"We actually held it over two days, too!" An Songyu reminded her. "You can't count out the hair-combing ceremony from last night!" It was just that their home was in the city, and it wasn't convenient for relatives and friends to travel, otherwise they wouldn't have arrived until yesterday afternoon. Naturally, it would have been even livelier.

An Songxiang thought about it and realized that seemed to be the case. Consequently, her disdain for the complexities of marriage deepened.

An Songyu turned her head and smiled at her sister. She knew that her younger sister would marry quite late in life. After she and their brother married and had children one after another, An Songxiang became their parents' greatest concern. Especially after she turned twenty-five, she was sent on blind dates year-round. The sisters had once laughed together that if they were to list all the people she had gone on blind dates with, a thin notebook wouldn't even be enough to hold them all.

An Songxiang didn't want to continue that topic and simply asked about something else: "Why didn't your classmate come today?"

"Classmate? Who? Yu Yingying? She’s working today!" An Songyu answered without a second thought.

An Songxiang couldn't help but roll her eyes at her sister. Was she pretending not to know, or was she changing the subject? An Songxiang decided not to let her off the hook: "Who do you think I mean?"

An Songyu froze, and after it dawned on her, she was stunned. She turned her head stiffly to look at her sister and pulled a terrifying smile across her face.

"Um, if... I say I forgot to tell him..."

"Shouldn't be a big deal, right?"

An Songxiang looked at her sister in disbelief, confirming it again and again. Once she realized that such an irresponsible thing was indeed something her own sister would do, she was speechless.

After a long while, An Songyu nudged her sister. "So, if he asks, do you think it would be bad if I told him the wedding has already happened?"

"Then what do you want to say?" An Songxiang asked, feeling weary. She used to be speechless that her sister, who had made it into university, was still so preoccupied with dating. But thinking about it now, perhaps it was good that her sister started dating early. Otherwise, with her personality, once she left the sheltered campus, she might not have found anyone willing to take her.

An Songyu lay on the bed, stretching her body in frustration, and let out a long sigh. She couldn't be blamed! Rebirth was something she had only dared to imagine before; she had never experienced it. That was why, even after so much time, she still hadn't fully integrated her memories from before her rebirth with her current life. As for things like whether or not she had informed her boyfriend of her brother’s wedding date, An Songyu truly had no memory of it.

Twenty years of time was simply too long. Not to mention such trivial matters, even when it came to major ones... well, An Songyu did remember that the first time she officially introduced her boyfriend to her family was indeed at her brother's wedding. Thinking about it now, that didn't seem very appropriate, did it?

"If you forgot to say it, you forgot to say it. We're at this point now, and you're only just now debating whether or not it was appropriate?" An Songxiang was even more speechless.

An Songyu shut her mouth tightly, feeling guilty. She was just thinking it in her head—why did her loose mouth blurt it out?

The next noon, An Songyu calculated Jian Ziyu's break time before making a call. Jian Ziyu had a mobile phone now; An Songyu vaguely remembered it was a Motorola flip phone, a reward from his father when he got into Nanshi University. Jian Ziyu had always cherished it, and even after using it throughout his entire college career, it still worked perfectly. It was only later, after he bought a new one, that he carefully tucked it away. She had seen it when she was tidying up their home later on.

The phone rang only a few times before Jian Ziyu picked up. His fresh, clear voice interrupted her memories.

"Xiaoyu, are you working the afternoon shift today?"

"Yeah. What about you? Have you had lunch?" An Songyu suppressed her guilt and asked about his day as usual.

"Not yet! I just got back from the construction site when I received your call. Let's talk first and then I'll go eat," Jian Ziyu answered with characteristic honesty.

An Songyu instinctively replied, "Shouldn't you go have lunch first? Don't you guys eat at the canteen? If you go too late, there might not be any food left!"

Jian Ziyu shook his head without a moment's hesitation, then realized they were on the phone. He quickly added, "No need, I'll just grab something later. Xiaoyu, we haven't had a proper talk in days. Let's just chat today!"

An Songyu was both surprised and disappointed. She had almost forgotten that the young Jian Ziyu hadn't yet developed the "let's get straight to business" habit they would adopt years into their marriage.

After being kept on the phone by Jian Ziyu for nearly half an hour, she finally realized they had been chatting aimlessly for so long that she had forgotten the purpose of the call. She gave a light cough and spoke with some difficulty: "Um, Ziyu, yesterday was my brother's wedding."

Jian Ziyu’s posture stiffened. He swallowed hard and quickly said, "I'm sorry, Xiaoyu, I really was so busy I forgot! I'm absolutely terrible; such an important event, and I completely failed to keep it in mind."

An Songyu was bewildered. She clearly remembered that, since her rebirth, they hadn't discussed it in any of their conversations.

"Xiaoyu? Xiaoyu? Are you angry? Xiaoyu, I'm really sorry, I really am! I really am!" As he spoke, Jian Ziyu couldn't help but tap his own head.

The project was currently in the foundation-digging phase. As an intern, he was essentially a handyman. One day he’d be directed by the foreman to check the earthworks; the next, he’d be dragged off by the surveyors to hold the equipment. Then, the office would call him to help deliver documents. On a construction site, there was no concept of Sundays or public holidays, which often made Jian Ziyu lose track of time. Plus, his girlfriend had only briefly mentioned her brother’s wedding before the New Year. Since his internship began, their schedules rarely aligned, and their contact had dwindled. On the phone, she didn't seem to like talking about her family affairs much, either.

Consequently, Jian Ziyu had truly forgotten all about it.