Nancheng, 1974.
The Yun family has been branded as capitalists. Her parents, older brother, and sister-in-law are all being sent to the countryside for re-education.
The night before they leave, her mother takes Yun Qi's hand, her eyes swollen. "Qiqi, go find Cen Xu. Get married as soon as you can."
Unable to bear the thought of her two children suffering with them in the countryside, her sister-in-law drops to her knees and begs Yun Qi to take them too.
Five-year-old Yun Yan presses his lips together and says nothing. Little Yun Nuo clings to Yun Qi's leg and bursts into tears.
The family leaves most of their money to her, a full five thousand yuan, wrapped in layer after layer of cloth and tucked into her arms.
Yun Qi takes one child by each hand. "Come on. Follow your aunt and we'll go stay with your uncle-to-be, Cen Xu."
At the family compound by the public security bureau in a northern town, Yun Qi arrives at the entrance and sees a tall man in a dark blue police uniform waiting for them.
Her eyes turn red, and her grievance spills over at once. She puts on a tearful act and makes as if to throw herself at him. "Comrade Cen Xu!"
Cen Xu instinctively catches her, the tips of his ears burning. "...Slow down."
"I've missed you so much." She looks up at him, her voice sweet and soft as honey. "Things really have fallen apart this time. You must know what happened to my family. Now it's just me, Yan Yan, and Nuo Nuo. You're not going to turn us away, are you?"
Cen Xu's Adam's apple bobs. His voice is low. "...Let's get inside first."
Nuo Nuo peeks out from behind her and tugs on Cen Xu's uniform. In a sweet little voice, she asks, "Uncle Cen Xu, are you really Auntie's fiance?"
Yan Yan pulls his sister back at once and puts on a stern little face to stand up for Yun Qi. "Don't say things like that, little sister."
Cen Xu bends down and picks up both children. Then he says to Yun Qi, "Don't call me comrade from now on. You're so formal all of a sudden, and I'm not used to it."
Yun Qi tilts her head. "Then what should I call you?"
He turns his face away. "...Just call me by my name."
She giggles and tugs at his sleeve. "Then... Old Cen, when are we going to get our marriage certificate?"
Cen Xu is known throughout the bureau as a stern-faced detective: efficient at solving cases, taciturn, and hard to approach. The young women gossip among themselves that Captain Cen must be a block of ice no one could ever warm.
But no one knows that as soon as he gets home, the little fox has him wrapped around her finger.
When she sniffles that she's cold, he slips her hands into the pockets of his police uniform. When she says she wants osmanthus cakes from the south, he finds someone to bring them back from out of town. When she says, "Old Cen, you're the handsomest," his ears turn bright red, but he still has to put on a stern face and scold her: "...Don't say things like that."
Blurb saved on 2026.8.25, screenshots kept as evidence.
Theme: The world kisses me with pain, and I answer with a chorus of sniffles.
