The red backdrop at the marriage registration office was so new it hurt my eyes. I shifted a little to the right, making my fake pregnancy bump look more natural in the photo for our marriage certificate. Jiang Yu had paid three thousand yuan to have this silicone belly pad custom-made. He said it felt and weighed exactly like a real twenty-four-week pregnancy. Three hours ago, I was still practicing in my rented apartment, trying to make my “baby bump” look less like I’d stuffed two pillows under my shirt. Now I was standing here, smiling like a genuinely happy bride.
“Ms. Shen Nian, please check your personal information.”
The staff member handed me a form. I glanced at it: Shen Nian, female, twenty-seven, unmarried. Not for long. The tip of my fountain pen hovered over the signature line for a moment as I mentally reviewed the undercover training I’d gone through over the past three months: identity preparation, expression management, microexpression control. I’d excelled in every course.
But none of them had taught me how to keep my heartbeat steady while signing a marriage registration form.
