The Sun Rises in the East at Dusk [Marriage Before Love]

Two wounded hearts leaning on each other

Introverted, sharp-tongued, manic-depressive girl x seemingly positive but truly gloomy, unhinged, hopelessly lovestruck boy with cancer

A year ago, Ye Wanchun couldn't stand Jiang Ze, who was always bothering her. She never imagined that a year later they would be leaning on each other, only to sleep forever in the same box.

On her way home, she spotted a shoe blocking the way in the dim, damp stairwell. Some snail-noodle soup splashed onto it by accident, and she kicked it back to its owner's door.

The next day, knock, knock, knock.

Jiang Ze showed up holding a plastic bag with a few ugly apples and oranges, thanking her and shamelessly asking her to keep kicking his shoes for him in the future. She cursed him out in the most civilized language imaginable, then moved to close the door.

"Hey, miss, wait. Would you consider marrying me?"

"Get lost."

He held the door open, grinning. "Wait, wait, wait. It's a deal. There's a place over there where you have to prove you're family to share a home. The rent's thirty percent off, and utilities are seventy percent off. It gets lots of sunlight, perfect for recuperating..."

She pinched a pressure point on his arm and slammed the door shut. If she'd known he was this crazy, she should've kicked the shoe into the trash.

He kept shouting from outside. "You can get discounts on medicine and groceries nearby too. It's a really good deal..."

She came out holding a kitchen knife with ketchup still smeared on it and said ominously, "If you don't want to die, shut up."

After she shut the door, he kept mumbling, "The partner hospital offers discounts on psychiatric medication too..."

She chased him out with the knife, and Jiang Ze ran immediately.

"Idiot."

After they moved in together, Jiang Ze followed Ye Wanchun everywhere like a ghost, especially when she was feeling down. He clung to her like a shadow.

By the river.

"Sure, going to the hospital made me one percent weaker, but I was a swimming champion. I could grab three or five people by the hair and drag them out of the water."

On the rooftop.

"I used to clean windows on the outside of tall buildings. I've rescued a cat and a bird. It's a habit of the job to carry a rope around. I'm a bit heavy, but saving someone would be no problem."

The knife.

"My second aunt used to be the head chef at a five-star hotel. She taught me a few things. Cooking is a piece of cake, just watch. Hand me the knife. I'll make sweet and sour mandarin fish."

The rope.

"This quality is awful. You can't even use it as a jump rope. It broke after two jumps. I'll get you another one another day."

Jiang Ze checked her medication every day with his heart in his throat, afraid she'd secretly switch it for something else and leave him forever.

She secretly did kind things for him, yet she didn't want to think about how he felt and kept wanting to do foolish things.

The family he'd finally found had to be protected, no matter what. But it was so hard, a hundred times more painful than the physical pain he'd suffered since falling ill.

He would always sneak into the bathroom and cry, then come back out and keep grinning and acting like a pest.

"Hey, Xiao Ye, did you know? Some expert online says exercise can make you feel better. If you do enough, you can even cut back on your medication."

"An expert?"

"Actually, I don't believe it either. Really. But I do know that kissing can make you forget all the troubles in the world, as long as you kiss for a full twenty-four hours a day."

Before she could fight back, Jiang Ze kissed her fiercely, like a dog with a piece of meat in its mouth, refusing to let go.

A double death doesn't count as a bad ending.

The two of them left together for a world without pain. The extra chapters are full of sweetness, not sadness.

Theme: Love can also be measured by its breadth.