Chapter 14: Getting Married - Part 1
14 Getting Married - Part 1
Anna Jones confirmed to Hou Yi that she had no second thoughts in getting married to a stranger, given that he was assuring her regarding their relationship.
Having received Anna's reassurances, Hou Yi stood up, and helped Anna back off the bench.He looked at his watch and realised that it was coming up towards 3:30pm, which was the time he had booked with the Civil Administration Bureau for him and Yang Lin.They might as well use the booking time themselves.Keeping a grasp of Anna's hand, he looked at her and said "We need to hurry.I have a booking at 3:30pm at the Civil Administration Bureau to obtain a marriage certificate, and rather than letting it go to waste, we should use it."
With that they moved towards the corner that Anna had come around about 30 minutes earlier, and they crashed into each other's life.Hou Yi, stopped Anna just before the corner, and indicated "Let me check that neither Lu Jinhu or Yang Li are still in the area."With that he looked around the corned of the building and realised that the plaza in front of the Civil Administration Bureau was empty of people.Hou Yi turned and held his hand out or Anna to take, which she did.
With that they rounded the corned and walked across the plaza to the Civil Administration Bureau.Just before they reached the door, it was opened and hey were motioned to come in.The person who opened the door appeared to want to speak to Hou Yi, but he shook his head, which was realised for what it was.He did not want to talk to anyone.
Once inside, Hou Yi, still keeping a grasp on Anna's hand moved a little inside, away from the door and stopped.He bent down and whispered in her ear, "We need to go to the appointments desk.Are you sure that you want to do this?"
While Hou Yi's actions may have appeared to anyone from the outside to be an intimate action, of someone in love and wanting to communicate in any way with their soon to be spouse, as it was combined with the hand holding and the unwillingness to speak to anyone else, Anna realised it for what it was.It was simply a way of communicating with her so that no one else could overhear them.
Anna turned and looked Hou Yi in the eye and nodded towards the man that would be her husband in a few minutes.She could not speak, as she realised how different the world was in an hour, in that she is walking into the building with a stranger to marry, when she thought that she would be walking in with Lu Jinhu.This meant to her that she would have to think about taking a different path with her life than she had planned.She was, as ready as she could be for what was about to happen and figured that since what she had come here planning had spectacularly blown up in her face, that what was to come could only be better than that.
With Anna's nod, she and Hou Yi continued across the entrance hall towards to desk indicating it was for booked appointments.They approached the desk, and Hou Yi looked at the woman manning the desk, and said "I am Hou Yi and I have an appointment booked to get a marriage certificate.My fiancée is from Australia."
The look of surprise to cross the woman's face was one of surprise.As if she could not believe who was in front of her and what he said.This puzzled Anna, but she dismissed it, as Hou Yi, anyone would have to say that he was handsome and that the woman was just disappointed that someone who looked like him was getting married.She then dismissed this, as she thought that someone would not be as unprofessional to do that.It made her wonder was there something about Hou Yi that made the woman have that look on her face, even fleetingly.It was then Anna also realised that there was a low murmur going around the foyer of the Civil Administration Bureau.She wondered what this was about.Hopefully it was not for her and Hou Yi, but the thought that it might have something to do with Hou Yi, given the look that had passed on the woman's face before them.
Before Anna could continue with her train of thoughts, the woman looked at both of them, and with her most professional sounding voice "CEO Hou could I have your paperwork, and Miss, could I have your paperwork, including that from your Embassy along with your passport."
With that Hou Yi, pulled out from his jacket pocket, Anna's paperwork, which she had wondered where it had gotten to, and what must have been his necessary paperwork, which she recalled from discussions with Lu Jinhu was called a Household Register.Anna went into her handbag, and found her passport, and handed this to the official as well.
"CEO Hou and Miss, if you could take a seat over there,' with that Anna and Hou Yi looked and realised that the woman was pointing towards some seats a little to the left of the desk that they were at."I will go and find the Official Song, hand him these documents and he will come and meet you to finalise all the formalities."With that she turned went through the door behind her, and Hou Yi lead Anna to the seats to sit down and wait.