A Noble Marriage

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Karenin's day began with a passage from the Bible.

The man with dark blond hair was not born so serious and dull.

When Karenin was very young and his parents were still alive, he had a certain childlike cuteness, although he was not as lively as his peers. Only this gentleman could be classified as more introverted and sensitive from childhood.

Karenin's father, the elder Karenin, was a traditional parent of a large family. He had the family's characteristic tallness, and the rare absence of the thick limbs and neck typical of Russian officials.

The elder Karenin was old-fashioned, but occasionally a little mean-spirited and playful. He was a simple man, he liked what his circle liked, and he liked what his circle hated, but there were times when the old gentleman had a little warmth, not for his good-natured wife, but for his eldest son.

Matvey is undoubtedly extremely qualified as the eldest son of this large family.

His birth was a feat in itself, using the old and natural form of genetic bonding to bring the two couples together as a result of the family union.

The boundaries of the children's education in this family were very clear, long before Matvey could speak. But what makes life interesting is that it likes to break the rules.

As Matvey grew up, the bright, kind child with a great sense of humor made Karenin Sr.

He gave Matvey a purebred colt when he was old enough, and after that he gave him all sorts of things, like a hunting rifle, and all sorts of fun and manly things that he brought back from his trips abroad. Until his death, Karenin's older brother Matvey was a great favorite.

These things were not told to Karenin by anyone, nor did he ask about them out of curiosity. In fact, there was no need to ask, the family, his brother's bedroom, his father's study, which was forbidden to enter easily, the furnishings of these places, all the traces of the fact that Matvey was favored.

Since the eldest son has completely occupied the heart of the father, who is slightly old-fashioned in nature, there is not much space for the children after him to share.

If being a daughter still had the advantage of that rare gender and good behavior, then as the second son, Karenin's birth was just like a bland light.

These three children, in fact, the latter two look more like the father, but the latter prefers the eldest son who does not look like him. Even, in terms of character, the younger son Karenin is more inherited to his father's appearance, the older son's excessive intelligence and optimism is like a school of its own. But the word love has never had any specific conditions.

Mr. Karenin's approach is not very respectable, his eccentricity if in any ordinary novel, as the main character of the youngest son is very likely to grow into some kind of perverse adult. Underneath the mature exterior, there is still a rebellious heart that has not been tempered and strengthened with time.

But fortunately, Karenin is that small percentage of the probability. The reason for this is probably the majority of credit to his older brother Matvey.

In those days, the biggest possibility for a child so favored within the family was to become a prodigal son in some noble gangs, to enter the government offices with his father's connections, and to go with the flow with his salary, but also to live a free life.

Matvey is a special case.

He is intelligent but not conceited, charitable but not overly stupid. As an older brother, Matvey's presence had more meaning in Karenin's heart than the vague stereotypical figure of his father.

When he was still very young, the more introverted Kalenin already unconsciously began to follow in the footsteps of his older brother.

Cautiously and carefully, he observed his older brother's daily routine, reading his favorite books and learning the language Matvey would use. To outsiders, this imitation was mostly attributed to his desire for his father's attention, even by Karenin's mother.

Under the latter's loving gaze, little Karenin once frowned slightly and explained, only to be interrupted by another kiss. And so, without arguing, the truth became such an established memory that, in a conversation much later, Karenin was able to learn from his sister Maria the false truth that the boy who was seriously trying to gain his father's attention was himself.

That wasn't true, but with all the well-intentioned reminders of false memories, Karenin stopped refuting it. That, after all, was not particularly important.

But Matvey seemed to know. The wise older brother said nothing, but simply took time out of his busy academic life to give as much guidance as possible in his brother's studies.

The academic interaction took up a lot of their time.

Matvey's respect and exclusive favor made Karenin unaware of something different about himself, until the death of his parents, at his uncle's house, on the way to boarding school, when the elder reminded him in a careless manner. It turned out that some of his practices were extremely out of character for the world.

At that time, Matvey was only seventeen years old, still the pride of the university. After the death of both parents, most people were looking on with open arms. After all, it was never the friendship that held the circle together.

Young people in college are no longer so innocent. If socializing before adulthood was a matter of looking at their parents, in this place it is the beginning of the beagles' independent hunting. In this circle, they sniff lightly with their noses, watch with their eyes, touch with their forelimbs, and divide their own people with their tails. The waves of which is no less than the future of the political world of the sword treacherous Zhang. And all of this, Karenin is only after he entered the university completely understand.

When you lose your parents at the age of twelve, mourning is an instinctive reaction. But after that, the days can go on as usual.

When he was twenty years old and received the sad news of his brother's death, Kalenin realized what Matvey meant to him.

It was not only a brotherly love, but also a rare friendship. When going through the letters, every word of his brother's letter made Karenin feel deeply touched. It was only then that Karenin truly understood why his father favored his son so much.

In those last days, Matvey's letters were almost imperceptible as they never contained complaints. He was open-minded about his illness; no one loved life more than he did, and no one was more open to life and death. This is something that Karenin could never learn.

In this family, the most compassionate is not Matvey, nor Maria, but the most introspective on the surface Karenin.

Kalenin, a man who grew up without seeing the tears of others. Of course he originally never had much of a chance to see it, but since he started boarding school, he has seen more than his fair share of tears.

The tears of the boys who were bullied, the tears of the girls who were sad and disappointed, and all the way to his entry into politics, the sad and sorrowful faces of the poor people. At that time Karenin began to make up his mind that he had to do at least something.

"Just be yourself, Alexei." Matvey once said to the ten-year-old Karenin.

At that time, Karenin was questioning his older brother about an accident he had seen by chance.

While a normal child would look to his father or mother for answers, Karenin was used to finding out the answers himself, and his questions to his family were few and far between. And these rare inquiries, Karenin did not go to his father, in his immature mind, in fact, has long sought a mentor for himself by virtue of some natural perception.

From the point of view of being a father, this mistrust seems to be a sad one. But even if these things were told to old Mr. Karenin, I'm afraid he wouldn't care.

And fortunately, Karenin had at least one older brother.

If the other side of the light can only be a shadow, then Matvey should be the favorite light, and as the younger son of Karenin, can only be a certain shadow.

But in fact, Karenin did not have this feeling.

This good environment was due to the noble qualities of Matvey as a person. Even though he was not an elder brother who doted on his siblings, he was, as mentioned at the beginning, a purely noble man and very intelligent.

The short and distant time with his parents, the calm and restrained time with his elder brother, the lack of attention during childhood due to the character of his parents, made Karenin not know very well how to be a father. The untimely death of his older brother in his teenage years prevented Karenin from learning to be the most demanding and smooth in the political world.

If anyone had been in Karenin's position, it is likely that he would not have achieved what he has today.

Teenage

The teenage years were not so nostalgic for Karenin.

They did not live together during the years when Matvey was still alive. He lived with his sister Maria, who was a few years older than him, in his uncle's house.

That Karenin did not inherit the family gene of thinness and height. He was a medium-sized man with a long face, a decent moustache and a penchant for smoking and drinking.

Like most young sons, Karenin's uncle had a promiscuous youth. And like most sons of nobility, he followed the tradition and married a wife of the right family.

Such a man was nothing special. When he was young, he was not too good-looking, bad, but not bad at all, and in old age, he had a mediocre life. There was an only son, but he died before he was five years old. He also had a mistress, but no more children.

When Karenin's father died, it was only right to take them both into his care, whether out of pity or some family duty.

Karenin's sister, a woman as meek as her mother, had the courage to take Karenin's hand and ask him in a soft voice whether he must go to live with his uncle.

It was the first time that Karenin, a twelve-year-old boy who was ignorant, began to feel the weight of responsibility.

As a male, both his mother and sister should be protected. But the young man was unable to do so. It was not that he did not want to ask his older brother Matvey, but the thought was dismissed in a flash.

Accepting the arrangement, no matter for their financial situation or future, it is most appropriate to go to his uncle for a stable education than to live with an older brother who is always abroad.

"Uncle will make the arrangements." Karenin told Maria, and the young girl with the same eyes as him could only pull out a grim smile in the end.

"Ah, yes, that would be best."

Karenin's lips twitched, knowing he should have said more to comfort Maria, or maybe himself, but in the end, he could only hold his eldest sister's hand without knowing if he should push.

When he finally packed up to leave the house, Karenin looked at the furniture covered with white cotton cloth, and suddenly his heart was a little empty.

At that moment he was almost a little surprised, after all, he did not care much about this place before.

Home for Karenin can only be considered a traditional concept.

He did not feel much warmth at home like the children of the poor. Even the milk of his childhood was not sucked from his mother's RU room.

But at that moment, in Karenin's blue pupils, there were indeed some complicated feelings surging.

His fingers could not help but touch his father's desk, those fine mahogany desk, smooth and straight, withstanding the weight of his father's elbows, a lot of papers, and even a cigarette ash to burn off some paint marks.

All of this seemed to form a huge vortex in Karenin's mind, so much so that he finally settled on a fact that he had chewed dozens of times - he had to leave, they had to leave.

"Right, it's only when you leave that you start to miss it." Matvey said.

He was already prematurely out of his boyhood, with a slender body and handsome face, combining the best of each of his parents with an aura of his own.

This temperament is charming, but not too ubiquitous, so that after first entering politics, Matvey's popularity has remained high.

"En." Karenin softly agreed with his elder brother's words.

"Let's go, don't keep uncle waiting." Matvey said.

He did not take Karenin's hand as gently as he used to, but treated his brother, who was several years younger than him, as an adult.

His respect and restraint made Karenin feel comfortable. So much so that Karenin's sorrow for home faded after looking at the other man's long figure.

The house of the uncle was spacious and quiet.

Aunt is not a gracious person. If there was a reserved aloofness in this woman when she was young, the breath of life was viciously stripped from her face after the death of her only son.

She never bothered with her uncle's lovers, and even to her death there was not a word of verbal meanness. And Karenin's uncle, a man who actually had absolute dominance in those days, did not marry any of his mistresses after his wife's death, as everyone guessed. He lived alone for almost ten years of his not-so-long life of forty-seven years.

Some good people speculate that Karenin's uncle loved his wife so much that he insisted on not marrying her even after her death, while others say he was just unwilling to take advantage of some women. Karenin once thought that it was not worthwhile to explore whether his uncle loved his aunt or not. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, and for a long time he used the phrase "love, but not much love" in his mind to assess the matter. Until later, he began to really think about it.

It was a winter dusk, the fifth year after his aunt's death.

Uncle Karenin's health was not very good, and Karenin had not long joined the department, was being difficult and ostracized, and was more silent than he was later.

The young face, the smell of tea, the warmth of the fireplace, and the middle-aged man lying in a rocking chair.

The house is too quiet, even more so since Maria's marriage.

Karenin has not yet moved out of the house, but it is not far off.

"I just dreamed about your aunt." Karenin's uncle said as he opened his eyes, which were no longer stern.

At such times Kalenin usually does not bother to answer, long years of training has made him more cautious. Although the impulses of youth lurked within him as well, the restraint of reason was becoming stronger by the year.

"Not a very good dream, she didn't even give me a smile. Just little tiny things. As if it had happened, and as if I had imagined it myself, who knows." Karenin's uncle said slowly, even the corners of his mouth contained a smile.

The smile was so warm that a place was set aside for it in Karenin's brain, which was always filled with busy work, until much later.

For a long time after that, Karenin's uncle did not mention his wife again.

Just when everyone was about to fade away, one day, lying in bed, his uncle suddenly started hysteria and began to chant his wife's name.

It was as if he had returned to his newlywed days, calling his wife affectionately, bringing her robe and laying it beside his bed, and then talking incessantly, and when he woke up the next morning, it was as if nothing had happened.

This is a secret, at least, under Karenin's control, no one in Petersburg has spoken about it so far.

Those who knew about it were sent away by Karenin, and each of them talked about it again after their hopes were satisfied and they were properly intimidated.

Kalenin with a young man should not have the heart and means to maintain the face of his uncle, to preserve the image of the family in the circle, but at the same time, a doubt can not help but intrude into his heart.

This doubt can be said to be the longest accumulation of problems.

At that time, there were no more people who could answer Karenin's confusion.

After Matvey's death, Karenin's inner world became more closed. He put on a political mask under his uncle's education and became more conformist. The curiosity and innocence that once existed became more and more faint in the baptism of the years, and eventually just disappeared. I don't know when Karenin got into the habit of reading a passage from the Bible first thing in the morning.

Youth

The Bible contains statements that lead people to goodness, make them faithful, not jealous, not suspicious.

Most people think they know all about Karenin because they understand his preference for books on politics and theology. Either they marvel at his compassion and love, or secretly ridicule his falsehood.

But Karenin's study of theology was never about really becoming that kind of person.

The source of his habit is now lost to memory, but in his many practices Kalenin found nothing wrong with this habit, and he did not bother to make changes.

In the end, Karenin was in fact a naturally good politician.

This is not to say that he was better than most people. If we consider the intellectual aspect alone, Kalenin would at best be in the passing line, but what really made him excellent was his natural indifference to human nature.

In this mundane world, Karenin was not above the fray.

He did not have too just an ideal, nor did he have too much attachment to the pleasures of the world. His calm, stereotypical, unchanging life, which seemed boring to outsiders, always had some playful pleasure for himself.

Although Karenin himself did not feel anything wrong, but in his position, there are always some good people with one purpose or another to think about him.

Before Kalenin became governor, his uncle mentioned this matter, and it seemed that he had to have a suitable marriage partner.

"At your age, it is possible to be properly loose before you get married, but in any case, marriage is not a thing."

Kalenin's uncle rarely spoke to him about these matters outside of politics, but it seemed that in the end, he couldn't help but come back to politics.

Kalenin, who was only twenty-five, was not tired of this.

As opposed to his natural curmudgeonly, aloof character, the word agitation rarely appears in Karenin's character. Even in the hot stage of youth, he always maintained a certain strong rational.

That night, Karenin gave his uncle's proposal some thought for the first time.

He hadn't paid much attention to women before, although there were some in his social circle, but to see them as politicians, or the eyes of those with interests, and to look at them with the eyes of a marriageable person, more or less different.

The beauty of women in Karenin's view is very one-sided.

Powdered or painted red lips did not provoke too many changes in Karenin's mind.

As a young male, all his reactions are too common, even the kind that can be easily discussed. But in this case, Karenin's position allowed him to ignore the small noise more easily.

He used to think that his work was taking up too much of his mind, but then he thought that perhaps it was more to blame for not meeting the right person.

What is the right person?

Karenin, a male, could not have been as naive as a girl when he was young to ask people such things, and he never cared.

In theory, after a few years of his own marriage, Karenin should not have had much contact with this question, but as a man with a sister, he probably dabbled in more areas of the topic than most people.

Karenin's sister, Maria, is also a tall, thin woman. The features are extremely similar to their father's, yet more clear and soft.

The nose, which was particularly prominent in the family, was much weakened in this woman's face, and her neat teeth added a further level of beauty.

Maria gave birth to a daughter shortly after marrying her husband, Louis de, and then a few years later, she gave birth to a son, and just a short time after the birth of her son, André, motherhood had a very bad time for a while, but fortunately she always got over it.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, but I get annoyed with my own child. Sometimes I look at him, lying so small in my arms, as if the whole world could easily hurt him, and I can't help but cry."

After Andrey turned half a year old, Karenin took time to visit France.

In the autumn morning light, as Maria was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for the whole family with the cook, Karenin, an early riser, heard this rare exclamation from Maria.

She looked back on those days, even in the eyes as if with a layer of tears, but at the end, the corners of her mouth was still smiling.

It was the first time that Karenin understood something from his sister, who was also more introverted. About marriage, despite the pain of this and that, but there is always some pain, together with a smile. It was at that time that Karenin had a certain different view of marriage.

This view is not in line with the majority of people, and if it is said, it may still cause people to talk about it. But Karenin, after all, was not a man who liked to share his heart, and he had few, if any, really good friends.

People's judgment of a close friend is always general but simple.

A person, regardless of status, maybe not for life, but if there are those times when you can tell what's on your mind without fear, that's probably a close friend.

And for Karenin, such a person had hardly visited him in his twenty years of life.

In all honesty, Karenin was not the kind of person who didn't get along. He may have been a little bit when he was a child, but since he started going to boarding school, Kalenin has done everything his uncle has told him to do.

He reads a lot of knowledge, whether it interests him or not, but he knows it all and can talk to people about it or not. This kind of Karenin was somehow likeable.

If Matvey was a close friend of Karenin's, he was really alone after Matvey's death.

This is not uncomfortable, like Karenin's character, in fact, there is no big obstacle to have a friend. This is also the reason why there is very little gossip in his political career for so many years.

So, in his smooth life, suddenly one day, with little intervention from outside forces, Kalenin learned what most people in the world do not understand, and then derived a set of their own concept of marriage, it must be said that a miracle.

Marriage

At the age of thirty, Karenin was already a governor.

At his age, he was able to sit in this position, it can be said to be a genius. But what makes Karenin admirable is his pursuit of his career. He did not stop at this position, and by the age of thirty-two, Karenin's had become a major official in the whole of Petersburg.

When he reached this position, Karenin knew that it would not be easy to make another breakthrough in his career, or at least, he would have to slow down his progress.

Then something came up once again.

Karenin's colleague, or rather, a prestigious noblewoman in that circle, privately said that Karenin should think about his personal life, and that she could introduce a very suitable girl to him.

Karenin did not doubt the truth of the matter.

His current position would allow him to find a good marriage for himself, and even speed up his promotion, which he had to suspend.

Kalenin is not a saint, he will naturally think about it. And just before he had made the most appropriate decision, his sensibility, which had been deliberately suppressed, was finally given a moment to breathe freely.

At the banquet that day, if the stars in the sky were already very bright jewels, then, in the case of that Miss Oblonsky, even the stars were easily eclipsed.

Many people think that Karenin's eyes almost never look at women, because he was occupied with work. But what they don't know is that, in fact, Karenin has just never been attracted to any woman.

He was not the one who spotted Miss Oblonsky in the crowd at first glance, and it was even the envious voices of Karenin's colleagues that made Karenin look over.

Then he saw the lady.

Her slim physique, soft and plump shoulders. The delicate skin was like fine mutton fat, lining her lips like a rosebud, soft and plump, and the eyes, a very rare gray, full of life and vitality under the cover of thick eyelashes.

"A very beautiful woman."

This was Karenin's first impression of Miss Oblonsky, but that was all.

In the hours of mingling of glasses that followed, Karenin did not talk much with the other side until, after a dance, he happened to catch a glimpse of the young lady looking at him.

"Is it an illusion?"

Karenin's heart had a hint of suspicion, and even glanced to the side without showing much, so as not to make himself more than a little concerned.

When he looked over again, he found that the eyes had left himself and looked to the dance floor instead.

The small mouth was slightly curled, her elder brother whispered to her affectionately from the side.

A hint of embarrassment rose in Karenin's mind.

In the time that followed, Karenin was sure that Miss Oblonsky had no intention of talking to him. So, afterwards, when he sat alone near the secluded round table, the person who came with a small satin handbag, smiling at him, Karenin almost wondered whether he had developed hysteria.

The word "marriage" came from the middle of those small lips, through the medium of sound, and when it fell softly on Karenin's eardrums, it became like a drumbeat, a thunderous sound, so that for a few seconds, Karenin's intelligent brain did not think of anything.

But Karenin is Karenin after all, after a short period of disorientation, he regained his composure instantly.

The question is not a good way to ask questions, but can be just right to put yourself in a controllable position, if you really can not answer the previous question skillfully, then this practice is extremely feasible.

Karenin knew that the other party did not notice this, but from Miss Oblonsky's wistful and carefree explanation, he himself seemed to be somewhat convinced.

He listened to the young lady, who did not fit in with her surroundings, talk eloquently about the reasons why they were suitable for marriage, and did not even mind writing it down, leaving the evidence forever.

After seeing the beautiful handwriting, after the novelty, Karenin's heart made up its mind.

He looked at the expectant eyes of the lady, and at the fingers that were unconsciously twisting from nervousness, and the question that had puzzled him for a long time was like suddenly finding an opening in a tangled mass of troubled threads, so that Karenin, who always believed that in politics one should put action before rules, added for the first time this keen intuition to his emotions.

"I will agree to your proposal."

Agreeing to marry is not an end, nor does it bring a sigh of relief.

After the return, more annoyances seemed to suddenly reveal themselves from the dissipating fog.

To an outsider, Karenin looked unchanged.

When he stood up, as usual, he smoothed the hem of his shirt. When he walked, his gait was steady and his face was calm.

His movements in dealing with official business remained meticulous, and the speed of approving official documents did not decrease.

Receiving visitors, checking the accounts.

Everything seemed different, except for the cigarette butts that had been extinguished in the threadbare ashtray in the evening.

"That's not like me." Karenin thought as he sat in his study chair, his hands folded, his eyes focused, his mind racing.

As if in a final struggle, Karenin even suddenly rose from his chair, but just as he was about to lift his feet or sit down again, he hesitated, and finally, chose to sit down.

"I have to think of something to convince myself to calm down." Karenin thought quietly, these thoughts were almost thoughtless and had become his instinctive reaction to relieve himself over the years.

He toured his study, his eyes skimming over the shelves full of books, then examining his desk, and finally, as if something had occurred to him, Karenin couldn't help but complain about his own slow thinking as well.

He took out the sheet of paper and gazed at it for a long time.

After a long time, Karenin exhaled gently.

His fingers meticulously smoothed the paper, as if it were some living object.

As the paper became smoother and neater, Karenin's thoughts were ironed out, and became settled.

For his choice of marriage, the gentleman who was never blindly optimistic could not help but have a little bit of longing.

Love

The marriage did not begin with love.

Karenin naturally admired his wife's looks, but more than that, it was the heart, the smile, the thoughtfulness, and so on.

There were so many details that made up the look of love, that before Karenin knew it, he had let these feelings be hidden in every detail of his life.

Before the age of thirty-two Karenin had never considered such things as love in his life.

He had considered marriage, but because it was not the right time, not the right person, he did not have it at that time.

And now, after he had found a marriage for himself, after he had thought it was over, he realized that marriage was never an end, but just another beginning.

For most people, marriage is a trivial matter, a marriage of love or profit, will gradually be worn down in the years of some angles and passion, but in Karenin's view, this marriage for him, but a lot of gains.

Women aspire to love, but any less stupid women have long understood the real nature of marriage. So they compromise, by the interests that take them to another man.

Some get used to compromise and become those ordinary and poor women, some learn to treat themselves better in marriage, and they become those women who wander in circles.

Women were never included in Karenin's study course.

And after his marriage, this list, as if suddenly given some kind of mission, proudly took the first place, despite Karenin's rational discouragement. Most of the time, like a small head of something, proudly shouting "look at me, look at me".

Kalenin pursed his lips, also cold face, but as soon as he touched his wife's eyes, all that coldness and pride turned into bubbles.

Marriage is not supposed to be like this.

It was too happy, too illusory, as if every day had some kind of miracle.

Karenin looked at the encroached study, at the house that gradually took the path of another person's life, at his own thoughts, and at times even uncontrollably began to miss another voice.

It was simply panic-inducing, uncontrollable and yet resigned.

After the initial bewilderment, after Anna's soft tellings, and the calming effect of those kisses, Karenin began to get used to the changes in his marriage.

Sometimes it was good, sometimes it was uncomfortable, but all in all, he was getting used to it.

If Kalenin were given a test on love, I'm afraid the senior student wouldn't be able to get any high marks, after all, the sensual sphere has never been his forte.

But if the person who gave the question had patience and was willing to change the question a little, like "Remembering the details of marriage", to answer the paper seriously and honestly, then with Karenin's patient and honest answers, most of the teachers could not help but give him a high score.

Such a man, accustomed to silence, but underneath the cold surface, maintains a certain prideful view of marriage and love that is unparalleled.

If he had met any other woman, this preciousness, I'm afraid, would never have been noticed in a lifetime.

But so fortunately, before Karenin realized it, his pride and his repressed sensibility had a chance to be proud, and at the most appropriate time, found a wife most suitable for his master.

Much later, when Karenin also began to lie in the rocking chair, like his uncle, would sleep in heavy clothes, he still could not directly say the true meaning of love.

He still let reason dominate most of his life, and every outburst of sensuality was extremely rare.

But that didn't matter.

In his lifetime, he had been happier than most people.

The Russian winter was still as cold as ever, and even more so at nightfall, when the books on his lap had a weight that could not be ignored.

Kalenin suddenly called out his wife's name between half-asleep and then got a response.

The hand is no longer young, but still smaller than his hand.

Put inside his palm, it was like the day of his wedding, always full of trust.

Karenin did not need to look for any emotion in his wife's eyes now, just a simple gesture, and he could fall into a peaceful sleep once again.

This is marriage, he thought.

The corners of his mouth curled up to show that he had been bathed in love all his life and had never stopped being soothed by its light. Although he had never bothered to think deeply about it, life had already found the answer for him.

Marriage: The Story of Staying Up All Night

It was now one o'clock in the morning.

Karenin rarely worked that late; in his younger days it could be considered the norm. But then, and I don't know when, he began to take his health seriously.

Perhaps it was because he had seen too much of old age, sickness and death, so he had a sigh of relief, or perhaps because he understood that an unhealthy body could not support him to make any changes in politics.

But despite this, Karenin still chose to stay up late if necessary.

He always had a large pile of official documents to approve, compared to many of his colleagues to take the backlog or give the secretary behavior, Kalenin this official can be counted as like to do it personally. He once had a record of handling 180 official documents a day.

This is not a bragging point or anything, but, as people often talk about it, the number of words left in Karenin's mind represents his limit.

Limits can be broken, if there is a need.

But then he never had that need, so the record wasn't updated anymore.

After relaxing with these random thoughts in his head, Karenin raised his hand to touch his cup of tea, he was almost used to cold tea, but today just before he raised his hand to move a certain distance, the warm touch made him subconsciously turn his head and look over.

"Forget that I'm keeping you company?" The wife said, a little tired, but her brow still remained gentle and somehow energetic.

For a moment, Karenin was dazed.

At a very early age, Karenin had gotten used to being alone.

In these thirty years, he had tasted too much of the evening breeze of time, what silence tasted like, and he had become numb down.

In this life, he never felt anything wrong.

But at this moment, his wife's tired smiling face, but the Karenin's heart fluttered a little.

He could not even find the words for a moment, but could only look at each other somewhat dumbfounded.

"Don't you want some water?" The wife said, like an older child, gently put the glass of water in his hand, and then looked at him, like a mother encouraging her child, full of expectation crept up to the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.

Karenin gathered his mind, he did not immediately drink the tea, but spoke, only to be surprised that after a long time without speaking, his voice would be slightly hoarse.

"Why don't you go to bed."

"I've slept."

Anna pointed to the couch, then moved her fingers, and then pointed cutely to the neatly folded blanket.

"I even folded the blanket, you're looking too engrossed." She said poutingly.

Karenin was not used to this kind of answer.

After a question, there were more words, and in some cases, even little important information. But now, he seemed to be used to it.

"It's time for you to go to bed, Anna." He said, finally taking a sip of water.

The tea reached the inside of his throat, and the warm black tea scent spread out from his taste buds, soothing the tired spirit a bit.

"I'm not sleepy ......"

Yawned while saying not sleepy.

"Lie." Karenin's reason gave a concise answer, but he did not say it, not even with the kind of very strong and powerful arguments to make the other side carry out his decision.

"You should sleep, no need to stay with me."

Careful thoughtfulness was not rewarded with a docile response, and this time there were not even words.

Anna shook her head, her chin knocked on her arm, still a bit teary-eyed.

"I counted, it should only take an hour." She murmured as she spoke, and before Karenin could say anything, Anna stood up and patted her face.

"I said I'd stay with you, you can't persuade me." She told him seriously, she decided to capriciously follow through on such a decision, she had decided, there was no changing it.

Karenin knew he should have frowned, should have come up with more arguments to refute, to achieve his purpose, his brain had long reacted instinctively, but the words came to his lips, but he was slow to say them, because, across the table, she was so happy and shy to tell her.

"Although I know you are right, but, there should be a time when you stay up late, the wife should be with her husband's memory ah!"

Anna said so rightfully, her shy eyes revealing a plea, and her slender fingers tugged at Karenin's sleeve, like some kind of pet trying to beg for a candy ball, making it impossible to refuse.

So, those words of refusal literally rolled around Karenin's throat a few times before being swallowed inside his stomach.

"All right."

So, this indulgent words almost made the rational side feel unashamed, but the light, sometimes when looking up to see the serious expression of his wife, the warm smile could not be stopped.

In this long night, warmth is Karenin's heart can not dissipate the emotion. Like a summer firefly, gentle and loving, people always can't help but smile.

An hour actually passes very quickly, especially when Karenin is immersed in official business.

It is said that the hardest part of staying up late is not the second half of the night, but often the first half of the night.

When the clock struck 2 a.m. and Karenin finally looked up from the pile of papers, he found his wife looking at him intently with one eye.

"What's wrong?" Karenin asked, tired as he was, the sleepiness seemed to have dissipated.

"I seem to be hungry." The wife said, a little embarrassed, licking her lips in the process, "And you?"

Karenin almost froze a little.

He was used to staying up late when he was young, but never had the habit of eating after finishing work.

"Not hungry?" His wife hesitated a little.

"If you're hungry, I'll have the cook ......"

Karenin wanted to say to ask the cook to make something for his wife to eat, if it were himself, but would not do this trouble again, for one thing it is always a little inhuman to have to get a sleeping person up, and for another he is used to this lonely journey of staying up late, even his stomach would leave him and turn on dormancy at such times.

"No need."

Anna interrupted Karenin, then smiled, "Want to try something I made?"

Although it was a question, Karenin already knew that it could not be refused, so he nodded slightly in agreement.

The two walked toward the kitchen, and the whole process, the adult who was already thirty-two years old suddenly felt as if he had returned to his childhood, but even as a child, Karenin was sure he had no such experience of sneaking into the kitchen in the middle of the night.

Sift the flour, knead the dough, roll the dough ......

Kalenin found no place to intervene, so he fell silent.

In a sound that could not be considered loud, the steaming noodles were served in a bowl.

"Serve it." His wife urged, and it was only then that Karenin snapped out of the former's flowing cooking, then picked up the noodles and headed for the table.

"Eat." His wife said, smiling with arched eyebrows, but instead of eating it herself, she watched her with bated breath.

"You have to taste the first bite." She explained.

Karenin then stopped talking, picked up the fork, and with a gesture from the other side, brought the noodles to his mouth.

It was a little hot, but the sauce of the noodles was very tasty, and the noodles were not well made, but they were still palatable. All in all, in all honesty it wasn't very tasty, but, faced with his wife's expectant gaze, Karenin simply said, "It's delicious." And then continued to eat the noodles in the bowl.

After receiving her husband's feedback, Anna also began to enjoy her own bowl of noodles.

She knew her own cooking skills, so she didn't expect to get a very good evaluation, but unexpectedly she got an appreciation, so that the taste was negligible.

After eating and drinking, when Karenin raised his head only to find his wife looking at him.

"What's wrong?" Karenin asked.

"I thought you were just talking, but you really ate it all."

Anna said with a smile, the index fingers of both hands stretched out and nodded in the air with some embarrassment.

"It was delicious, so I ate it all." Karenin said, thinking and added, "You made it, Anna, even if it's not delicious, I'll finish it."

After saying this, Karenin got up, took Anna's bowl by the way, and walked towards the kitchen, leaving only a somewhat dumbfounded Anna, half a dozen times, stifled laughter, and finally simply buried his head in his own arms and sighed secretly.

The next day, the cook began a new day, she frowned at the two bowls on the kitchen table, scrubbed clean, but put in the wrong place, the cook muttered.

On the other hand, the woman who was still sleeping on the bed showed a smiling face, and the man who was dressed in his morning clothes on the bedside saw this, and after a pause, he bent slightly and dropped a kiss on the woman's lips.

Like every day routine, nothing special, but always watched by the warmth of time, peacefully and happily.

Marriage: the story of illness

Kalenin had always been physically strong, although he did not have the characteristic Russian physique, and even at first glance could be classified as thin, but in fact, Kalenin was a quite healthy man.

After he passed his twenties, Karenin became more concerned about his health.

However, despite the fact that no major illnesses occurred, Kalenin caught a wind chill in the early winter of this year.

If Anna herself often fell ill because she did not take care of her body, Karenin was a complete accident.

After all, the Russian high-ranking official did not have a hobby of going to snowball fights and eating cold drinks.

But no matter what, at this moment there is no point in looking into the reasons. And it was only on this occasion that Karenin was somewhat perplexed to discover that marriage, too, did not always seem to mean that everything was smooth and reassuring.

Just like now, he is being forced to rest in bed at home, and is not even allowed to touch any piece of official paper.

"There's nothing wrong with me ......," Karenin tried to prove to his wife that he was perfectly capable of handling the official papers, only to be met with a ruthless refusal.

"Sleep, or sleep." said the one who was his wife, in a rare moment of strength.

Karenin thought about it and gave in.

He was ready to go to sleep when he noticed that his wife had not left, so he reopened his eyes and said, "Anna, I suggest you not to be inside the same bedroom with me, or you might be infected too."

"I know, but how can I go to another room, what if you need something in the middle of the night." Anna said while spreading the quilt on the long sofa, and also struggled to move it over and lean it there on the edge of the bed.

"Actually, I don't want to do that, but if I get sick too, who will take care of you." Anna said as she climbed onto the long couch.

"But ......"

"No buts, but, still, right now, you need to sleep." Anna interrupted her husband directly and announced so.

She lay down, her grey eyes looking earnestly and insistently at her husband's, who, after a moment's standoff with those big eyes, agreed in silence.

Ten minutes later, in the drowsiness of his pajamas, Karenin felt something warm take hold of his hand. He instinctively tried to pull away, only to be held tightly again, followed by a gentle pat that soothed him as if to say, "Hey, don't be afraid, okay, I'm not going to hurt you."

So Mr. Karenin, who had zero defenses when he was sick, gave up resistance and allowed the thing to violate him while frowning.

Although Karenin had a good time being a patient at his wife's insistence, it was clear that people who are often not sick may not always be cured so easily if they are sick.

By the next day, Karenin's wind chill had worsened.

Anna hardly needed to look at his temperature to know that Karenin's condition had worsened because of something.

A man as concerned with decency and image as he was could not resist the power of the virus.

Blowing his nose became the norm, and it was the first time Anna had seen Karenin in this state, and after the doctor's visit, she couldn't help but whisper quietly in her husband's ear, "I always thought my husband couldn't blow his nose."

After seeing Karenin's somewhat odd look, Anna laughed with relief. If Karenin could still respond to her words, that meant he was at least okay.

She gently pressed her husband's forehead and muttered, "Get better soon, I really don't like to see you blow your nose after all."

"Maybe it's better for me to do it after all." She said while remembering the previous times when she was sick, especially when she was not long newlywed, her nose was red and shiny like a carrot in the vegetable garden on those days, it was simply unimaginative.

His wife's words lightened Karenin's somewhat troubled mood.

Although he knew it was a joke, he still didn't want that to have any slight possibility of coming true.

"I don't like it when you're sick." He said. He also remembered the times when Anna had been sick, and even though it hadn't left any problems at all, the vulnerability of being sick, and the worry, still made Karenin put the option of "sick" off-limits.

His wife was stunned for a moment, then smiled and rubbed her cheek against his hand as if in silent agreement.

"Then let's all not get sick, be well and healthy, so we can eat and drink good food and drink oh."

This tone similar to coaxing a child was met with a serious one-by-one rebuttal from Karenin, but made the atmosphere more relaxed.

After his wife left, Karenin also realized the seriousness of the wind chill, so he did not ask for work again. Despite his reluctance, reason told him what to do to help restore his health, so Karenin pressed himself and followed the doctor's instructions.

Taking medicine and eating some liquid food, Karenin endured everything.

Anna looked at her husband's patience, there was a teasing look became a little heartbroken.

"It's hard to eat, isn't it?" She sighed, her eyes staring at the pills as if it was she herself who was being forced to eat them.

Karenin tried to console Anna, but illness dulled all his senses, while Anna became a little agitated.

"Still not backed up." She rubbed his head and muttered.

"Anna, the pills can't have an immediate effect when you just take them." Karenin said seriously, simply suspecting that the sick person is not himself but his wife.

"I know." Anna moved her feet as if something was wrong, and she sighed heavily again.

Karenin lifted his hand and pulled his wife into his arms under her uncomprehending gaze.

Not very skillfully, but as gently and delicately as possible, stroking her hair.

"It's just a little sickness, it'll be over soon, Anna." He said calmly.

With her husband's soothing touch, Anna did calm down, raising her right hand and resting it on the former's chest.

"I'm not doing too well." She sighed. Her right hand clutched the fabric of her nightgown.

"I thought I could do it right, but you weren't getting better, so I was worried." She bit her lip again, a little overwhelmed.

"You took good care of me when I was sick."

"Not really, Anna." Karenin spoke up.

"When you were sick, in fact," he paused before slowly revealing his thoughts at the time, "I didn't know what to do."

"You know, my parents died early, and I don't really have much experience taking care of people."

Anna's heart calmed down as she listened.

"But you took good care of me."

"Because you are in fact not difficult to take care of." Karenin decided to be realistic, and his serious tone made Anna laugh.

"I know I'm kinda annoying when I'm sick." She got up, sat on the edge of the bed, took Karenin's palms in her hands and pressed them against her cheeks for a moment longer.

"Well, I won't be silly, and I hope you get better soon."

"I'll get better." Karenin said, like a promise.

After a while, just as Karenin was about to fall into a deep sleep due to the effects of the drug, he heard a soft singing voice.

The lyrics struck him as somewhat amusing in his efforts to distinguish them, and in fact, he did curl his lips slightly, that shouldn't be sung by a wife to her husband, or given to an adult, but, for once, Karenin didn't stop the other side.

"Go to sleep sleep my sweet baby ......"