The Plating Master's Bride

Andy thought for three days about the fact that Lily wasn't human. On the morning of the fourth day, he cooked two bowls of noodles as usual and pushed one in front of her. "After you eat, go replace the filter cartridge in Tank No. 3," he said. Lily looked up at him, and her eyes slowly reddened. She had no tears, but her eye sockets grew wet. Andy pretended not to notice and lowered his head to eat his noodles. The trouble came faster than expected. Nangang was going to build a "smart manufacturing park," and the entire old industrial zone was being acquired. A developer surnamed Chen had brought people to look twice, standing at the workshop door, complaining that the tanks here were too old and the smell too strong. What was even more troublesome was that the subdistrict office came to do population registration. Lily had no ID card. Andy said she was his distant cousin, but the other party didn't believe him and asked her for proof of residence, an employment contract, and proof of kinship. Andy couldn't answer. That night, Lily sat on the attic stairs, hugging her knees, and said, "Am I causing you trouble?" Andy was downstairs repairing a pump and didn't even look up: "A little." She was silent for a long time, then said quietly, "Then I'll leave." "Leave for where?" Andy put down the wrench, stood up, and looked at her. "Go back into Tank No. 3?" Lily said nothing. Andy went upstairs and squatted down in front of her. His hands bore scars from pretreatment, and there was still un-washable black under his fingernails. He looked at her and said seriously, "Lily, are you willing to marry me?" She was stunned. "It's not out of pity," Andy said. "I've thought it through. You don't have an identity that can be written in a register, so I'll give you one. You don't have a home, so I'll give you one. If one day you don't want to live this life anymore, you can leave anytime." The wedding was held in the workshop. There were no guests, only Ajie, A-Zhen who did the cooking, and Tank No. 3. A-Zhen brought a piece of red cloth from home and hung it on the rack. Andy put an old gold ring on Lily's finger; it was left by his mother. The ring was a bit large, so she wrapped it twice with red thread. Looking at the ring on her hand, Lily suddenly said, "Andy, I think I have a heartbeat now." Andy pressed his ear to her chest. It was very quiet there, with only the hum of the rectifier in the distance. But he still nodded very seriously: "Mm, I hear it."