Received A Wife From The Civil Affairs Bureau Ch.1

The chilly November air was frighteningly cold as it swept through the streets of Beijin [1], brushing the leaves off their trees. As people walked, the crunching of leaves could be heard with every step. 

However, no matter how cold or unbearing the weather was, it was unable to deny the fact that now was a popular time for love and marriage. 

Currently, the Bejin Changxing Bureau of Civil Affairs was both the happiest and most painful place in the world. 

In the east hall, people got married and in the west hall they divorced. The distance between the two was a mere two hundred meters apart but they were like heaven and hell, two entirely different worlds. The joy of marriage and the pain of divorce, both polar opposites that can never mix. 

And so, our story begins in the east hall. 

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November 10 is a popular day to get married because the day after is called “Singles’ Day”[2].  So many young people liked to get married on this day so they would no longer have to call themselves “single dogs” the next day. 

Although the lines were long, each and every face was lit up with uncontrollable joy. Couples embraced each other as they intimately whispered in each other’s ears, promising sweet nothings to their lovers. The males laughed heartily, while the girls smiled tenderly at their partners. 

However, even the joy of marriage couldn’t stop one from being careless. 

“Mr. Jiang and Miss Chen, please take out your household registers, identification cards and other documents, please.” The lady working at the registrar was forty years old but maybe it was because she worked in a place full of laughter, she still looked very young and had a gentle demeanor about her. 

Jiang Zitao and Chen Lanyi looked at one another with a slight smile on their faces before taking out their documents. 

Chen Lanyi had always been a reliable person so she took out her documents in an orderly manner and gave a smirk as she handed them over to the staff.

Her boyfriend, on the other hand, had been rummaging through his suitcase for a long time now, causing an alarm bell to go off in her head. Her boyfriend was extremely satisfactory in all aspects but when it came to the important things he tended to be somewhat careless. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Um” Jiang Zitao couldn’t help but scratch his head in embarrassment and said in an apologetic manner, “you see, I, um, forgot to bring my household register.” 

Naturally Chen Lanyi was angry and gave him a piercing glare. Such an important thing like marriage and he actually forgot the documents!

Jiang Zitao also understood that he was the one at fault here and hurriedly grabbed his fiancee’s arm: “My dear, it was my fault, won’t you forgive me?”

The onlookers who witnessed this scene, all young and ignorant, smiled and laughed, some even whistled in encouragement. 

“Excuse me, but Mr. Jiang there are still many people waiting behind you so…” The staff member also laughed at the couple’s antics and secretly thought about that idiotic son of hers. If her son could act like this Mr. Jiang then he might’ve brought home a bride by now.

But no matter how much she emphasized with the pair, there was still work to do and people to marry. So with no choice, she asked for the two to stand to the side for now. 

Feeling the crowd’s stares on her back, Chen Lanyi was filled with embarrassment as she hurriedly pulled Jiang Zitao to the side while repeatedly apologizing to the staff.

“Just what am I going to do with you?” She signed in exasperation. 

“Wifey~ please don’t be angry. I already called Ziquan, she should be here soon.” Jiang Zitao coaxed his fiancee while hurridly dialing his phone and praying that his sister, that lazy pig, wasn’t sleeping in late today. 

Rinnnngg~

Jiang Ziquan’s phone rang a total of three times before she moved her gaze from the TV and looked her phone’s screen. The contact name was “Henchmen.” 

Smiling to herself, she picked up her phone and crossed her legs as she answered it: “Hey dear brother, did you finalize your marriage yet?” 

“Don’t talk and listen to me. I forgot to bring the household register I left at my bedside table and I’m going to need you to bring it to me immediately.” He said in one breath and then hung up. Jiang Zitao was quite clear on his sister’s personality, for this sister of his liked to watch people make a fool of themselves and meddle with their affairs. Therefore, the fewer words he said, the less suffering he would have to go through. 

“Hey, hey,” Jiang Ziquan was hung up on before she could say anything. Thinking that her brother must really be panicking and she hurriedly ran to the bedroom. 

Seeing the little red book on the table, Jiang Ziquan couldn’t help but sigh at her brother’s stupidity. It was really hard to understand what her sister-in-law saw in her brother. 

“Ziquan, was that your brother? Did they finalize their marriage already?” Liu Yun, Jiang Ziquan’s mother, had heard the commotion from earlier and followed Jiang Ziquan to the bedroom. Her face was full of smiles and one could almost see the word “happy” engraved on her forehead. 

Jiang Ziquan ignored her mother and just waved the little red book at her. 

Liu Yun blinked in confusion before clapping her hands together, jumping up and down, “Wait, Ziquan are you getting married too? Who is the other person?” 

She grabbed her daughter’s hand and pulled it,  as if she was asking about the latest gossip. This daughter of hers was finally getting married, so naturally faint tears of joy appeared in the corner of her eyes. 

Jiang Ziquan, on the other hand, felt bewildered beyond belief. This mother of hers must’ve watched too many soap dramas, so at this point there was no use in talking some sense into her. Sighing helplessly she answered in a monotone voice, “Wow, you really are my mother to be able to figure out my schemes so quickly.” 

After that one sentence, Jiang Ziquan quickly ran away as her mother was momentarily distracted. She didn’t dare to stay any longer, for if she was too late, her brother really might try to kill her. 

“Hey, don’t run! Hey! Remember, as long as you like them, I approve wholeheartedly!” She called out after her daughter, still caught up in her feeling of joy at finding her daughter trying to secretly steal the red book and get married. However, after calming down and thinking it through, she slapped her thigh in realization: “Isn’t that Jiang Zitao getting married today? Don’t tell me he forgot his documents!?”  After guessing what happened, Mrs. Liu really wanted to punch that stupid son of hers in the face. 

Jiang Ziquan looked at the time, it was 2:30 in the afternoon. Fortunately the traffic was pretty clear right now so she should be there in about another 30 minutes or so. 

Meanwhile, a Shen Yumo was sitting in the waiting room with her boyfriend of four years. Today, they were getting married. 

She had graduated and returned back to her hometown of Beijin, a third-rate city, four years ago.  However, because her parents lived here and she didn’t care either way, she had decided to stay. Furthermore, since she was a teacher, she could find a job almost anywhere, including in this city. 

Her boyfriend, Chen Ruoguang, was the son of her parents’ friends. Although his looks were average and he was a boring civil servant, he was a rather considerate person. Their relationship had been very stable the last four years and now they were getting married. 

Unlike some of the other couples, she chose today to get married not because she wanted to avoid being called single, but because a friend of hers told her today would be a good day. Likewise, since she didn’t have classes to teach today and he didn’t have work, the two agreed to this date. 

Chen Ruoguang glanced at Shen Yumo and then glanced at the girl sitting next to her. Shen Yumo was beautiful beyond compare and maybe it was because she taught literature, she had a scholarly air about her that made people feel comfortable. She was gentle on the surface, but had a bit of a stubborn temper. 

However, no matter how beautiful she was, she was kinda…dull. The girl next to Shen Yumo was looking at her man with passionate eyes while his own fiancee was looking at him with a blank gaze. Shen Yumo had always kept a polite demeanor around him, and was always mindful of her manners. Of all the couples around them, only the two of them didn’t seem like lovebirds, and in fact, there seemed to be a bit of alienation between them. 

He knew that Shen Yumo probably didn’t have any feelings for him and was only agreeing to this marriage because he looked faithful. However, he believed that once they got married and had a child together, he’ll be able to capture this beauty’s heart. 

Thinking like this, he suddenly smiled at her. 

Shen Yumo had no clue as to why Chen Ruoguang suddenly smiled at her, but out of politeness, smiled back.

Back to Jiang Ziquan, she had pulled into the parking lot and had just ran into the lobby when her phone rang. It seemed her brother was getting anxious. 

Perhaps she was too busy running, but she didn’t see the person in front of her and promptly knocked them over, causing the other party to cry a sudden “Ah” in pain. 

Jiang Ziquan felt quite embarrassed, knowing that her strength was little bit stronger than the average woman’s, and quickly apologized without even looking at the person. 

She hurriedly stood up and saw that the other party was also trying to stand up, but maybe because they were hurt, they fell back down again. 

Jiang Ziquan rushed over and checked the other for injuries before asking, “I’m so sorry! Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?”

Shen Yumo looked up at the young and energetic girl before her: “I’m fine, everything is fine.” 

As she raised her head, Jiang Ziquan was finally able to get a good look at her. 

Her skin was a white as snow and her eyes a pure black color that pairs well with her long, delicate nose. Her hair was scattered loosely over her shoulders and a sweet scent came from them. She wore a light blue trench coat over a white woolen sweater that accentuated her already slim figure. 

‘Studies maketh one inherently of noble bearing’ [3]

Jiang Ziquan first impression of Shen Yumo caused her to think of this line. As she stared, she felt her heart skip a beat. 

“Miss, I’m fine now, so you should get going.” Shen Yumo then looked at the red book in Jiang Ziquan’s hands and thought that she was also here to get married. Not wanting to delay either of them, she picked up the water bottles she had dropped and added a phrase, “Congratulations on your marriage.”

Her voice was like a cool breeze in the summer air, causing one to feel refreshed after hearing it. Jiang Ziquan felt like she was in a dream, unable to wake up as she watched Shen Yumo’s retreating figure. 

Rinnnngg!

The vibrations from her phone caused Jiang Ziquan to awake from her dreams and back to reality, forced to remember she had a responsibility to do: “Hi, I’m here, don’t worry.” 

From a distance, Jiang Zitao saw his sister with a head full of messy hair, hurriedly waved his hand at her. 

“Ziquan, I’m over here!” 

She broke into a sprint and was panting heavily by the time she reached him, and handed the book to her brother. 

“Thank you, Ziquan” said Chen Lanyi. Chen Lanyi and Jiang Ziquan had a cordial relationship, sometimes she was nicer than Jiang Ziquan’s blood brother. Speaking of, after Chen Lanyi’s thanks, her brother quickly pulled Chen Lanyi back in line with him. 

However, Jiang Ziquan didn’t care because she was lucky enough to see a heavenly fairy today. So no matter what happened today, she wouldn’t get angry. 

Wait, after a thought, Jiang Ziquan sighed. She was just too late. The woman was here probably here to get married. Did that mean that her heart, which was so hard to move in the first place, would soon be frozen again? She unconsciously fiddled with the jade hanging from her necklace, lost in her thoughts.

After running all the way here, she was sweaty and looked like a mess, so she asked the staff where the bathroom was to fix up her makeup. Although it was her brother’s happy day today, she couldn’t neglect her face either, at the very least she didn’t want to look like her usual sloppy self. 

“I’m fine” 

“Miss”

“Miss~”

She replayed the scene with Shen Yumo in her head multiple times like a movie, except with a few edits here and there。 That soft and gentle voice would be stuck in her head for quite some time. 

“My name is Jiang Ziquan.” 

Suddenly, Jiang Ziquan said such a sentence to her reflection. She was thinking that at the time she should have said something and maybe asked for the woman’s phone number. Even if the woman was married, they could at least be friends. Then, she shook her head at such thoughts. Her family was known to become hopelessly infatuated with another and she was afraid if she acted, she might actually do something outrageous. 

“Yes?” 

A voice sounded next to her. 

Naturally, the voice belonged to Shen Yumo. After she was knocked down, Shen Yumo needed to retouch her makeup because, in the end, the marriage certificate photo was quite important. She had recognized the woman who had bumped into her when she walked in, but wasn’t sure if she should say anything when she saw Jiang Ziquan focused gaze. She was afraid she would disturb Jiang Ziquan who was so focused on applying her makeup. 

However when Jiang Ziquan spoke, she responded back. 

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T/N notes: 

[1] Beijin: No I did not spell Beijing wrong, this is how the author wrote it in the text. It’s supposed to be a made up city I guess? Original text: 北津

[2] Singles’ Day is a real thing in china, occurs annually every November 11 and is more of a “Black Friday” type of holiday where it’s more about the shopping. Pity that america doesn’t have one then I would have an excuse to throw pies at couples. 

[3] “Studies maketh one inherently of noble bearing” is a phrase (腹有诗书气自华) translated from a Chinese poem called 《和董传留别》. It’s basically saying that reading makes one seem noble and graceful or that wisdom makes one seem elegant. In this case, Shen Yumo’s scholarly air made her seem elegant and noble. I tried making it sound like something from Shakespeare but idk how that turned out. 

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