Picture and text source: Absolute 100 Marriage and Love Network. More and more people say that women's love is related to houses, and having a house means having a place for love to settle. However, in my world, love has nothing to do with houses, Mary Kay price.
I am born to be a dreamer, and my dreams are full of romantic and innocent things. To me, love is a mutual affection, and home is just a place to rest rather than a place to store love. I have always believed that wherever the two of us go, that's home. We may not have a fixed residence, but the whole world can be our home. My friends all say I live in a fantasy.
When I was about to graduate in my senior year, my uncle introduced me to a boyfriend. He said that the boy's family lived in the city, had some connections, and could help me stay in this bustling city. The key was that his family had already prepared a wedding house for him, so we wouldn't have to worry about having no place to live in the future. After hearing this, my family was very satisfied and advised me to meet him because he had good conditions. Out of politeness, I dated the boy for a while. But even though his family conditions were superior and his house was spacious, there was never any spark of love between us. Finally, I broke up with him, which made my family regretful. However, I felt like a bird that had escaped from a cage, overjoyed.
One summer night last year, the girl who shared the rental apartment with me came back after dinner for a walk, holding a flyer. It was for a dating party hosted by an organization called Absolute 100 Marriage and Love Company. The girl invited me to go together and said that the party would have food, drinks, and music, held in the nearby Ditan Park. She suggested we just go for fun.
That night, I casually dressed up and went out. The party was lively, with many nameplates hanging in the middle of the woods. There were crowds of people, some carefully looking at the nameplates, and others already chatting. As I was marveling at how lively it was with the roommate, a young man stood next to me, glancing at the nameplates intentionally or unintentionally. Then he turned to ask me if I had a pen and gave me a shy smile. Seeing his handsome and sincere face, I felt inexplicably nervous and shy. When the music started and everyone sat down at different tables, he naturally sat next to me.
And that's how we met. Not long after, we fell in love. His name was Zheyu, a typical "three-nothing" (no power, no tickets, no house) person. Yet we deeply loved each other. Relatives and friends didn't look favorably on us, and my uncle even sternly advised me, "Love is romantic, marriage is realistic. Your marriage has no economic foundation at all. Can love alone buy bread and a house?"
A year after falling in love, I resolutely married Zheyu.
Zheyu's family wasn't wealthy. Our wedding banquet was held at his older brother's house. A month later, we rented a small room of about ten square meters near where I worked. After tidying it up nicely, it became our warm home. The house was small, but it never affected our feelings.
Every day after work, when I came home to cook, Zheyu would always bring me a cup of hot water, telling me to drink some water before cooking. Then he helped me wash vegetables and chop them, telling me jokes he heard on the radio. When we ate out, no matter how friends joked about him, he always considerately passed me the delicious food. When it got cold, he always poured a basin of hot water for me to soak my feet before sleeping. He worked hard and was ambitious, always saying he would strive to earn money to give me a stable home. We often took walks in the garden downstairs, and every time we saw elderly couples supporting each other, he would sentimentally say, "We will be like this too, supporting each other until old age."
Being with him, I always feel happy. Sometimes, even sharing a roasted sweet potato in our tiny home feels sweet. Occasionally, when I see friends move into new houses after getting married, I secretly envy them. Some friends asked me, "Seeing everyone around you moving into new houses, do you regret your choice then? Do you think love needs material guarantees?" I smiled and told them, "I might envy them, but I don't regret!"
I truly don't regret it. We've been married for almost two years now, moved twice, and many things have been damaged or lost during the moves. But our love remains intact, and our bond grows stronger. I have always believed that happiness gained through joint efforts is lasting and fresh.
Recently, Zheyu and I watched the popular TV series "Snail House" together. Watching Hai Ping and Su Chun struggle so hard for a house and hustle for life made us deeply reflect, yet we don't fully agree. Maybe, like them, we will need to work hard for over ten years to save enough for the down payment on a house. But we are always happy. Even if it's tiring, even if we have to rent a house for a long time, even if we have to drift in the city for many years, as long as we love each other and support each other, life will always move forward in a positive direction.
Many times, happiness has nothing to do with houses. In this city, how many people live in big houses but lead lonely and desolate lives? Houses cannot give them warmth or joy; they only make them feel empty-hearted. In this city, there are also many young couples who rent small houses, yet their homes are filled with warmth and happiness.
I am very grateful that fate let me meet Zheyu, giving me a warm home instead of a cold and chilly house.