Are you backing out?

Claire almost bit her tongue. “Get the marriage certificate?What marriage certificate?!"

On the other end of the phone, Ethan replied calmly, “You

accepted my proposal."

“I did accept, " Claire said, “bu…but you never said we'd get the certificate today.”

There was a brief pause.

“Since we're already planning to get married, it doesn't matter whether we get it sooner or later."

Claire wanted to say something else but Ethan spoke again.

“Are you backing out?”

“I'm not!”

Claire truly wasn't backing out. Things were just moving too fast, and she wasn't used to it yet. She scratched her head.

Oh well.

She had already agreed, so they would have to get married sooner or later anyway.

Let Ethan decide when to register the marriage.

Once they became husband and wife, if Ethan wanted to be

with the female lead later, he would have to pay her more money.

After all, divorce was far more troublesome than breaking up.

"Wait for me ten minutes. I'll change my clothes!"

Then she hung up.

Claire got up, washed her face, and changed into a white knitted dress with a shirt collar. Over it, she put on a black down jacket.

She could take off the jacket when taking photos.

She braided her long black hair into a fishtail braid and applied light makeup.

Then she picked up her phone and asked her boss for half a day off.

The original owner of this body had majored in English and had fairly average grades. 

After graduation, she worked as a salesperson at a foreign trade company that manufactured tools, dealing mainly with overseas clients.

Coincidentally, Claire had studied the same major in her previous life. She had obtained a Level-8 English certificate in college and had won numerous awards in English and translation competitions.

She had also minored in computer science. Before transmigrating, she had worked at a large internet company with a high salary but the workload had been brutal.

She had died from overwork.

Then she transmigrated into the novel she had just finished 

reading.The one about chasing after a runaway wife.

After a long round of nagging, her manager finally agreed to grant her half a day off.

Claire found her ID card, grabbed her phone, and headed downstairs.

As soon as she stepped out of the apartment building, she saw Ethan standing beneath a tree.

Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a tall, straight figure.

He wore a white shirt with black trousers and a black down jacket oveı them.

Simple, clean, and pleasing to the eye.

As Claire approached, she caught the faint scent of laundry detergentand jasmine

Ethan looked at her deeply.

“Let's go."

He was still holding the cloth bag she had left at his place the night before.

Claire reached out

“Give it to me.”

“I’ll carry it for you” Ethan said. Claire raised an eyebrow.

Hehe.

So now she had someone to carry her bag when she went out. The two walked out of the residential complex.

Ethan hailed a taxi.

After they got in, he said to the driver, 

“Civil Affairs Bureau!" The driver was a chatty middle-aged man.

“Going to get your marriage certificate?", he asked with a grin.

“Yes",Ethan replied casually.

“Congratulations! Today's a good day!"

Ethan turned to look at Claire.

Afraid he might misunderstand and think she was reluctant, 

Claire quickly grinned.

“Do I look good today?"

Ethan pursed his lips and nodded.

"You look good.’

Claire smiled.

"You look handsome today too!" 

She thought that since she would probably only get married once in her life, she might as well dress nicely.

After divorcing Ethan in the future, she had no plans to marry again.

Even before transmigrating, marriage had never been part of her life plan. But now that she was experiencing it once, it wasn't bad.

Ethan stared at her for a moment, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips. They soon arrived at the Civil Affairs Bureau.

After getting out of the car, they went inside together. They had arrived early and barely needed to wait in line before receiving their marriage certificates.

Claire looked at the photo.

The couple in it looked very good together.

There was just one small flaw.

“Ethan, you're not smiling"

Ethan was about to say something. Claire waved her hand.

“Never mind, never mind. Considering how handsome you are, I won't hold it against you." 

She slipped the marriage certificate into her bag. Just then, her stomach growled.

Claire glanced at Ethan awkwardly.

She had rushed out in the morning and hadn't eaten breakfast. Ethan took her hand.

“Let's go eat."

Claire stiffened, staring at their clasped hands.

“What's wrong?" Ethan asked, turning his head.

Claire shook her head.

In her heart, she silently chanted: My idol is holding my hand!

My idol is holding my hand!

There were no food stalls near the Civil Affairs Bureau, so they walked two blocks before finding a small breakfast shop in an alley.

Inside, Ethan ordered two bowls of noodles and two pastries. After sitting down, he took out a tissue and wiped the table in front of Claire.

The small table wasn't very clean; a layer of oil stained the tissue black. He used two more tissues to wipe it again before cleaning the space in front of himself.

The shop owner called out that the noodles were ready and that customers should pick them up themselves.

The tiny shop only had one owner, and he was too busy to serve everyone. Ethan stood up and walked to the window to get the noodles .

Claire followed him, intending to carry hers. Ethan turned around.“Sit down. I'll bring them!”

“They're too hot. You can't carry both by yourself", Claire said.

She had been independent since childhood and didn't like troubling others.

Her motto had always been: self-reliance is the key to success. 

Ethan simply turned around, pushed her gently back to her

seat, and said firmly, "Sit properly.”

Claire: “.." 

She watched as the tall figure walked to the counter, holding a bowl of noodles in each hand.

Wow.

This guy really doted on his girlfriend.

Ah-no.

She should say wife now.

They had already received their marriage certificate.

Of course, the male lead's kindness toward his ex-girlfriend was only temporary. It was controlled by the plot.

Once he met the female lead, he would fall deeply in love with her, and the two of them would eventually live happily ever after.

But now that the original owner had been replaced by Claire, the plot had alreadv changed.

No one knew how things would develop when the male lead met the female lead again.

Would he still have to go through the painful journey of chasing her back?

“What are you thinking about?"

Ethan's voice pulled Claire back to reality. He tore open a pair of disposable chopsticks and handed them to her.

“Eat?”

“Thank you."

Ethan went to get the pastries. Claire noticed that Ethan's bowl of noodles had cilantro, while hers didn't.

She liked cilantro too.

So she got up and went to get some.

When Ethan turned around, he saw her scooping cilantro onto a small dish and looked puzzled.

Claire returned to her seat, poured the cilantro into her bowl of noodles, and sniffed happily.

Noodles tasted much better with cilantro.

“Don't you dislike cilantro?" Ethan asked. Claire froze with noodles halfway into her mouth.

The original owner didn't eat cilantro?

Her mind raced.

Then she remembered—it was true.

The original owner hated cilantro.

Oh no.

How was she supposed to explain this sudden change?

After thinking for a moment and failing to come up with a good excuse. She simply said, “I've never really tried cilantro before. I didn't know it tasted good. I tried it recently and found it pretty nice.”

Whether Ethan believed it or not didn't really matter. After all, he would never imagine that the soul inside this body had been replaced.

Ethan suddenly remembered something his college roommate had once said: Women were fickle.

He decided not to dwell on it and continued eating his noodles.

Claire finished her noodles but didn't touch the pastries as she was already full.

Ethan ate both pastries himself. They walked out of the shop together.

Ethan said, “There's still some time. I'll help you cary your things.”