Dark clouds covered the city, and the sky felt like it was within reach.
Li Man stood beside the window and watched the rain slide down the glass, leaving trails in its wake.
The clock on the wall ticked, and the dull time flowed quietly inside the small room.
"5: 30 pm, we're done." Li Man stretched lazily, moved the succulent on the windowsill into the room, and walked to her desk.
She placed the sign with the Marriage Registration Office on the desk into the drawer and glanced at the big words on the wall — Lawful Administration, Civilized Service.
"It's raining so heavily today, probably no one will come to register for marriage."
Li Man hummed as she started to clean up. She was the only one inside the empty Marriage Registration Office. The employee at the Divorce Registration Office had already left fifteen minutes earlier.
"Hello, is this the place to register for marriage?" The door was pushed open, and a mature and charismatic male voice came from the door.
With such a beautiful voice, the person must be very handsome.
Li Man lifted her head to look, and a man in a black raincoat stood at the door.
He looked normal, but there was an indescribable presence about him.
"Yes, you … are you here to register for a marriage?" Li Man studied the man closely. This was the first time she had seen someone wearing a raincoat and carrying a heavy backpack to register for marriage.
"Yes, I made an appointment online, and I'm here today."
"Let me check, what's your name?"
"Chen Ge."
Li Man keyed in Chen Ge's name into the computer, and as expected, she saw his appointment. "I'm going to get off work soon, so let's get this over with as soon as possible. Have you brought everything? Both the male and female household registers, identity cards, and proof that the two of you do not have direct blood relatives or collateral blood relatives within three generations. "
"I've brought everything." The man opened the backpack and started to rummage through it.
Li Man heard a cat meowing, and she glanced curiously into the man's backpack.
Inside the backpack were a recorder, a comic, a doll, a ballpoint pen, and a large white cat.
"Thank you." The man handed two household booklets and two IDs to Li Man. "Everything is here. I've met the girl's family, and they are very satisfied with me."
"Looks like you've done a lot of preparation." After registering the man's information, Li Man was about to register the woman's information when she suddenly realized that the magnetic stripe on the ID card was no longer working. She looked at the name on the woman's ID card and suddenly realized something.
The man in front of her had come to register his marriage, prepared all the documents, and even brought a cat, but he didn't see his girlfriend.
"Wait a minute, sir." Li Man stopped what she was doing. "Are you here to get married?"
"Yes."
"What about your girlfriend? How are you going to get married alone? "Li Man smiled bitterly:" You have to be present to get married. "
The clock on the wall ticked, and the rain outside grew heavier. The man pursed his lips and looked up at Li Man. "She's here. She's standing behind me."
The raindrops hit the window fiercely, and the air in the room gradually froze.
"Sir, don't joke around. Marriage requires both parties to be present in person. I can't help you with it like this." Li Man clutched her chest. She didn't know why she suddenly felt a little out of breath.
"She really came. We are inseparable. Wherever I am, she is." The man's eyes were clear, and there was a trace of stubbornness in his tone.
Looking at the man's serious expression, Li Man held the ID card in her hand and suddenly thought of a possibility.
She opened the woman's household register. On the page with the woman's name, it was stamped with the police station's declaration of death. The time of death was several years ago.
"Sir …" Li Man wanted to say something, but she looked at the man's stubborn expression and was moved.
Glancing at the man's backpack, Li Man looked at the items in the bag.
Were these the things that the girl had used? Were these preserved and treasured memories of the two of them? Was this the cat that the girl had raised when she was alive?
In an instant, Li Man understood why the man had brought a lot of things to the marriage registration office. She also understood why the man said that the woman had been with him.
Holding the girl's ID card, Li Man's eyes were wet. She didn't know what to say. Should she comfort the man or tell him the cruel truth?
Her lips slowly opened, but Li Man couldn't say the words that she had prepared. She looked at the man who was like a child before her, and her emotions were complicated.
She forced herself to maintain a smile. "Sir, you must have loved her very much, right? How did you two meet? "
"She was the one who pursued me. The first love letter that I received in my life was from her." The man's eyes wandered as if he was reminiscing about the past. "Our first date was at an abandoned school."
"Abandoned school? Our first date was at an abandoned school? "
"Western Jiujiang Private Academy. There is her obsession and past there. I stood in the hall where she used to practice dancing. Leaning against the mirror, leaning against her, we talked to each other."
Li Man listened quietly, and an image appeared in her mind.
On a quiet night, the two reminisced about the past at their alma mater that had been abandoned. The school used to be beautiful and lively, but now there were only the two of them left, leaning against each other, leaning against each other. What kind of poignant love was this!
"The second date was at a mental hospital. She was wearing a red dress, and she was stunningly beautiful."
"Mental hospital?"
"Because of my parents, that day I …"
"I understand, I'm sorry." Before the man finished, Li Man apologized. She did not like to reopen other people's wounds. Perhaps her parents were another part of the pain in the man's heart.
"The third date was at a building. I trapped the man who had once made her unhappy inside the elevator and taught him an unforgettable lesson."
"You sure dote on your girlfriend. I'm sure she would have been very happy when she found out about this."
"She was right beside me at the time." The man's expression was gentle, and he was reminded of the elevator that was covered in black hair at the Society of Strange Tales.
"That must have been very romantic and heartwarming." Li Man felt like the man before her was overflowing with boyfriend power.
"The fourth date was at the underground morgue of a medical university. She was injured, but she did not tell me. She sat quietly with me and seemed to have snuck a hug on me." The man's voice was very melodious. It was husky with a hint of maturity. He was reminiscing about the past, and the feeling made Li Man subconsciously forget about the special date location of the underground morgue.
"The fifth date was at the rooftop of a small town. That day was similar to today. It was raining heavily outside, and I leaned against her."
Compared to the abandoned school, the mental hospital, and the underground morgue, this date location was so normal that Li Man was not used to it. "Did you confess to her that day?"
The man nodded. "I stood at the highest point of the small town and shouted the words in my heart at that strange world. I do not believe there is anything more romantic than being together forever."
"Wow." Li Man had heard many people's stories, but none of them were as shocking as Chen Ge's. Perhaps it was because she had seen the death certificate on the booklet and already knew the result. "What happened after that?"
"After that …" Chen Ge took a light breath. "She fell asleep, and it would be a long time before she woke up. I just waited for her."
The death certificate on the booklet was like a needle piercing into Li Man's heart, and her tears rushed to her eyes.
Lowering her head, Li Man pretended to look for something. When the computer covered her face, she secretly wiped away her tears. She already knew the ending of the story.
No one spoke in the room. After a long time, it was the man who broke the silence. He placed his hand lightly on the empty seat next to him like his girlfriend was sitting there. "Our sixth date …"
What the man said next was no longer important. Li Man knew that after the accident with his wife, the man had trapped himself in the cage of love. He thought his girlfriend was still alive.
Due to the depth of his love, he refused to believe that his girlfriend had already left.
Her hands gripped together until her fingertips were white. Li Man wanted to tell Chen Ge the truth, but she did not have the heart to say it.
She buried her face behind the computer and entered all the information on the application form. She wanted to help the man in front of her complete a dream, but when she pressed the OK button, the computer popped up a page that did not match the household registration information.
The girl had died many years ago, and there was no such person in the household registration data.
Reality was like a bucket of cold water poured over Li Man. She looked at the man's face that was lost in memory and bit her lips. "Sir, we don't have the complete data here. The system is still upgrading, so we can't help you temporarily. Please come back in a week."
Li Man wanted to help the man before her, even if it meant that she had to make a similar, non-legal, little red book.
"Okay, then I'll have to trouble you." The man slowly stood up, packed everything, and walked out. When he reached the door, he suddenly took off his raincoat and held it over his head as if there was another person standing next to him. "Zhang Ya, don't go too far away from me. The rain is getting heavier."
Li Man could see clearly that other than himself, there was no one else under the man's raincoat.
Watching the man walk away, Li Man wiped the corner of her eyes. "Perhaps this is love. Loving you, loyal to you, devoted to you, and ending with you."
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