Chapter 220 - 220: We’ve Received Our Marriage Certificate!
“Uncle Jiang, did you call me up here for something important?” Jiang Youdao led Zhou Chao into his study, where he brewed two cups of Dragon Well tea. During this time, Jiang Youdao stayed silent. After a few minutes of waiting, Zhou Chao couldn’t resist and finally spoke up.
“It appears you still remember to ask me. You called me earlier and seemed to have forgotten what you said!” Jiang Youdao casually sipped his tea, appearing unconcerned, as if the previous conversation didn’t matter.
“Uncle Jiang, would you be willing to give me the household registration book?” Zhou Chao looked delighted.
“Of course, who else would I give it to if not you? But let me make it clear, if 1 find out that you’ve done anything to harm Jiang Li, 1 won’t let you off easily!” Jiang Youdao’s tone became more serious.
Zhou Chao hurriedly assured him, “Uncle Jiang, you can rest assured, 1 will never let Jiang Li suffer any injustice!”
“Good, 1 believe in your word. Wait here!” Jiang Youdao got up and walked towards his desk. He rummaged in a drawer and took out a red book, which was indeed the household registration book.
“Take it, but you must return it to me intact, understand?” Jiang Youdao casually placed the household registration book in front of Zhou Chao.
“Don’t worry, Uncle Jiang!” Zhou Chao eagerly took the household registration book and held it in his hand, afraid that Jiang Youdao would change his mind.
Seeing Zhou Chao’s actions, Jiang Youdao couldn’t help but shake his head and muttered to himself, “As if 1 would refuse, if I didn’t agree, 1 wouldn’t have given it to you. This kid has no basic trust at all!”
“Uncle Jiang, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head downstairs!” Seeing that Zhou Chao was practically grinning from ear to ear, he waved his hand and let Zhou Chao leave on his own, out of sight, out of mind!
Zhou Chao walked out of the study, still wearing a happy expression on his face.
In the living room at this moment, only Jiang Li was sitting on the sofa, playing with her phone. Zhou Chao walked over and sat down next to her.
“All Li, we have something to do outside!” At this point, Zhou Chao had already stored Jiang Li’s household registration book in the warehouse, and there was another household registration book in the warehouse, which belonged to Zhou Chao himself.
“Where are we going?”
“Let’s go! You’ll find out once you come with me!” Zhou Chao said as he held Jiang Li’s hand and they walked out of the house. They got into a car and left the compound.
At that time, on the second-floor window of Jiang Li’s house, Jiang Youdao and Liya stood there, observing the departure of the car. Liya turned to Jiang Youdao and inquired, “Did you really permit them to go and get the marriage certificate?”
“What’s the matter? Do you want him to come and propose with a dowry? It’s a different era now, as long as the kids are happy, it’s all good!” Jiang Youdao said with a joyful smile on his face.
Jiang Youdao stretched out his hand and pulled Liya into his arms, continuing, “Besides, Zhou Chao is no simpleton. He’s good to Jiang Li, a man of his word. 1 trust him with Jiang Li!”
“You’re the head of the family, your word is final!” Liya also leaned her head on Jiang Youdao’s shoulder, her face filled with happiness.
Meanwhile, on Zhou Chao’s side, they arrived at the Civil Affairs Bureau’s parking lot in the Chaoyang District of Beijing in no time.
“Brother Chao, what are we doing here?” Jiang Li looked puzzled.
“We’re getting our marriage certificate!”
“You’re quite optimistic. 1 don’t even have the household registration book, how can we get married?” Jiang Li was initially happy to hear about getting the certificate, but then she realized that without the household registration book, it wouldn’t be possible, and her mood dimmed.
“Do you mean that having a household registration book is the only condition for you to marry me?” Zhou Chao playfully whispered in Jiang Li’s ear.
“I’m already yours, so what do you think?” Jiang Li replied, her face turning rosy.
“Then, what do you think this is?” Zhou Chao pretended to take out the household registration book from the car door frame, but in reality, he had retrieved it directly from the system’s warehouse. He shook it in front of Jiang Li.
“The household registration books!” Jiang Li grabbed the two household registration books from Zhou Chao’s hand and realized that one of them was hers. She looked at Zhou Chao in astonishment.
“All Li, let’s get married!” Zhou Chao looked at Jiang Li with deep affection.
“Yes, yes.” Jiang Li’s eyes were already teary. She had figured out why Zhou Chao had suddenly wanted to return to the capital. It was all for this moment.
Zhou Chao cradled Jiang Li’s head and kissed her passionately. After a moment, he let go of her.
“Don’t cry, you’ll become a little puffy kitten, and the registration photos won’t look good!”
“Hmph, you didn’t even give me a heads-up, so I could’ve put on some nice makeup and worn a pretty dress!” Jiang Li complained while checking herself in the compact mirror to see if there was anything wrong with her appearance.
“Our All Li is the most beautiful even without makeup!” Jiang Li snorted at Zhou Chao’s words as if it were a matter of course.
After Jiang Li tidied up a bit and felt satisfied with her appearance, she turned to look at Zhou Chao.
“Let’s go!” The two of them got out of the car, and Zhou Chao held Jiang Li’s hand as they walked into the Civil Affairs Bureau. Since it was a Saturday, there were few people at the Civil Affairs Bureau, but there were still some staff working.
Zhou Chao and Jiang Li had no idea about the procedure, so they had to ask the staff at the Civil Affairs Bureau. Surprisingly, the process turned out to be quite simple.
They had to fill out some forms, take a photo, undergo a health check, and get the necessary stamps. By the time they completed this series of steps, it was already 430 in the afternoon. During their time at the Civil Affairs Bureau, Zhou Chao also signed something without paying much attention to what it was.
As they walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, holding their bright red marriage certificate, both of them were still in a daze, immersed in their joy. “Husband!”
“Wife!”
“Husband!”
“Wife!”
They called each other several times at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau before they came back to their senses.
Sitting in the car, both of them felt like they were in a dream. Jiang Li held the marriage certificate and turned to Zhou Chao, saying, “Let’s share this on our social media!”
“Sure!” Both of them were quite photogenic. Jiang Li took several photos of them together, picked a few from their previous photos, and even took a picture of the marriage certificate. After some careful selection, she created a nine-grid collage and shared it. Zhou Chao followed suit and posted it on his social media as well.
“Wife, let’s go home!”
“Yes, let’s go home!” Zhou Chao drove away from the Civil Affairs Bureau. Throughout the journey, their phones kept ringing with notifications from their social media, and Zhou Chao knew it was about their post, but he didn’t pay much attention to it.
Jiang Li, on the other hand, was chatting on her phone with great enthusiasm. Sometimes, she burst into laughter, making Zhou Chao curious about what she was talking about.
The trip back home seemed unusually fast, and Zhou Chao felt like they had arrived at the compound in no time. As soon as they entered, they saw Jiang Youdao and Liya sitting on the sofa, as if they had been waiting for them. “Uncle Jiang, Aunt Liya!” Zhou Chao greeted them quickly.
“Hmm? Still calling us ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt’?” Jiang Youdao looked at Zhou Chao seriously.
“Father-in-law, mother-in-law!” Zhou Chao didn’t quite understand what was going on and quickly changed his address.
“All!” Both Jiang Youdao and Liya smiled, and Jiang Li, who was standing beside Zhou Chao with her arms around his arm, tightened her grip a bit as she observed their reactions..