¹⁴Epilogue

                                    

                                          
The place for group wedding sign-up was at the office of the institution's social committee.
The next day, the moment Yu Tu went to work, he appeared, travel-worn, at the doorway of the office of the social committee. A woman in her forties was in charge of the registration. She happened to know Yu Tu and was very surprised to see him. "Xiao (Little) Yu? What are you doing here?"
Yu Tu greeted her and said, "I am here to sign up for the group wedding."
This older woman immediately kept quiet.
Since that basketball match, who in all of institution no. 8 did not know who Yu Tu's girlfriend was?. He was signing up for the group wedding?
"Xiao Yu ah." The older woman thought this through again and again and then asked in a serious tone, "You... changed girlfriends?"
Yu Tu: "... No, I didn't."
"Oh." The older sister nodded calmly. A musing expression stayed on her face for at least three minutes. Then slowly she handed him a registration form.
After signing up and walking out, Yu Tu received a call from Professor Zhang. "Please come to my office."
When he got to the office, Yu Tu sat down. Professor Zhang was also thinking something through over and over again before he started to talk. "So, do you..."
Yu Tu said, "Didn't change."
Professor Zhang was surprised and said, "What?"
Yu Tu said in a serious manner, "I didn't change girlfriends."
Only then did Professor Zhang realize what he was saying. He did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Who said I was asking you about this? If you did change girlfriends, do you think the people in institution administration would call me?"
After this interruption, Professor Zhang got right to the point. "I want to ask you, do you have a little cash flow problem? If you have do have any difficulties, my wife and I can help."
"Thank you, teacher and your wife, but there is no problem. Jing Jing and I just want a simple wedding."
"Then Little Qiao has already agreed?"
"It was her suggestion."
Professor Zhang could not help feeling astonished. "She suggested it?"
"Yes," Yu Tu smiled. "She has always been... quite mischievous."
Yu Tu remembered what he had asked her later in the night last night: what should they do if, during the group wedding, there still were people who kept asking to take photographs with her?
She seemed to have already considered this, and cheerfully said, "Then we'll run away right after the ceremony. If it were a wedding we organized ourselves, we can't run away."
Her tone was practically full of expectations.
"But her thinking is a bit simple." Yu Tu smiled. "She thought the wedding would be held in the institution, so there is no need to worry about the media. But that definitely is impossible. So we discussed it again last night. If it can't be kept secret, then it'll probably affect the other colleagues. If that is the case, then we won't take part. I also asked the social committee about this same thing just now."
Professor Zhang became interested. "There is no problem maintaining secrecy before the wedding. We are adept at maintaining secrecy. I'll go and notify them in advance. The last two years, I've been the presiding witness over the ceremony. Thus they'll do me this favor. That day, you can also not make your appearance until the wedding ceremony is about to start." While talking, Professor Zhang was already beginning to put forward plans and ideas for them.