The Couple’s Speech

Xiangyu: Good morning, everyone! 

Xiangyu: First, thank you so much for coming to our wedding! We know many of you took time off, some travelled to Cambridge from other cities, and some even flew in from around the world. This is really touching – thank you!

Jing: That said, getting to skip work for our wedding is a hidden perk, right? So we promise today’s program will be easier than your day jobs – at least there won’t be a boss watching you… except me. 

Xiangyu: Today marks 6 years and 25 days since we met; and at the end of August, Qixi (Chinese Valentine’s Day) happened to be our 2,000th day together. Even counting from when we registered our marriage back in China, we’re about to hit Year 3. All these memories weave together – some feel like a lifetime ago, others like yesterday. This long-overdue wedding reminds us how long we’ve been together… and how good we are at procrastinating. 

Jing: Speaking of how we met, the first proper chat I had with Victor was right after I’d just passed my Cambridge “con” (offer conditions). He pinged me on WeChat so enthusiastically, writing like a cute high school girl: “Congrats on passing con~” “Remember to get the early-bird ticket~” Plus a bunch of cute cat stickers. My first impression was that he must be a quiet boy with a soft voice.

Until I met him offline and learned that the internet can be treacherous. He was nothing like I’d imagined. At the OCamp “Running Man” event, he turned up to a slightly lost me and, in Northeastern-accented Mandarin, asked, “So you’re Jing Zeng!” It was the first time I’d heard anyone pronounce my name with such perfect -ng sound. I just went, “Uh…” How to put it? Some people “have a tiger in their hearts but still sniff roses gently.” Him? He’s got the tiger inside and outside – but he really does love sniffing roses.

Xiangyu: Our celebrant and Cupid, Miss Cheng Qian just said she learned Texas Hold ’em, Blackjack, Northeastern Mahjong, Sichuan Mahjong, and Japanese Mahjong in my room. That makes it sound like I hardly studied at Cambridge! To be fair, I did try to free up one evening each weekend to have friends over for board games. If Hu Shih had studied at Cambridge, he’d be proud of me as his junior. At first I invited Jing, but she kept saying no – fresher’s zeal, probably trying to be a library regular and make the most of uni. But after Week 5, the Burrell’s Field games room gained a new regular. See? The Cambridge Week 5 Blue can turn people into ghosts, and my game table can turn ghosts back into humans! 

So when did I start liking Jing? Hard to say. Maybe at the mahjong table, finding her so much fun; in our chats, seeing our values and plans align; watching her brilliant, witty performance on stage… By the time I realised it, I was already the guy who, would rush to Fitzwilliam to comfort her when she was down at 1am, or work with her in the library till 3am, totally losing track of time (Though that might just be because the Supervision work is genuinely hard).

Jing: And when did I start liking Victor? I’m not sure either, but I know being with you makes me happy. Maybe when I realized you could catch any joke I threw, our future together was sealed. When I told my mum I wanted to marry you, she asked, “Are you sure? Is he the one?” I said yes, because being with him makes me happy, whether we’re doing silly things or doing nothing at all. Maybe that’s what love should be – love is being silly together.

Xiangyu: Cheng said she’d imagined all sorts of versions of my confession; now is the time to reveal the whole truth.

First, I did not wear a windbreaker – I don’t even own one. Given Jing’s fashion sense, never mind showing up at midnight in a windbreaker to confess; even if she merely glimpsed one hanging in my wardrobe, she’d have mentally passed on me on the spot.

Around 11:50pm, after some urging from Cheng, I rushed to Jing’s room like someone who wakes at 9:55am and suddenly remembers an important 11am lecture. I put on what a CS student considers the most decent outfit below formal: a sweater and jeans. Thank goodness I didn’t choose my beloved game-winning checkered shirt. 

I dashed out at midnight, reached the Fitzwilliam gate at 12:08, and indeed only to find it already locked. I contacted a mate (yes, he’s also Cheng’s ex) who lived under Jing’s floor to let me in, borrowed his card to tap into her floor’s corridor, and finally stood at her door. While waiting, I tried to script my confession, but couldn’t piece together a single complete sentence. I was nervous and excited, but not afraid – because I knew I’d succeed. Thanks for the spoiler, Cheng Qian!

I messaged Jing that I was outside her door and heard a little yelp from inside. When the door opened, any rehearsed lines evaporated; the instant I saw Jing, my mind went completely blank. Couldn’t think of a word. My heart, though, was pounding so loud, for a second I worried even she could hear it.

Jing: The moment I saw the WeChat message, my heart was pounding harder than after an 800-meter run. I opened the door and there he was, head down, confessing in a shy, halting voice (something like this 👉🥺👈). I pretty much knew why he’d come, but hey – even an open-book exam can make you nervous. 

Xiangyu: What happened next was pretty much as Qian Cheng predicted. We poured our hearts out, almost starting from the Big Bang to explain how we fell for each other. I forget what time I went back to my own room (Jing: Oh I remember: 3am.), and I forget what the morning lectures covered (Jing: I remember: you didn’t go at all.)

Jing: We promised we’d buy our matchmaker, Cheng Qian, a bubble tea to thank her. She just said she can’t remember whether she ever got one; we don’t remember either. We only recall mentioning it for ages – so I guess we didn’t. No worries, Cheng: whether it’s T4, Xingfutang, or Heytea in London in a couple of days – you pick, and we’ll take you there ourselves! 

Jing: We got together at the start of the pandemic and spent the Cambridge summer of 2020 side by side. During our limited outdoor hours, we sunbathed on Parker’s Piece, hopped down empty streets being silly, pointed at every house we passed and imagined our future home. Later, when the government reopened but colleges had their own rules, the biggest obstacle to our relationship wasn’t lockdown – it was Trinity’s porters. Thanks to that unforgettable era, I’ve nearly mastered all of Trinity’s back doors. (Xiangyu: The pandemic taught me that even if the aliens invaded Earth, Trinity’s porters could hold the final human stronghold.) Friends with partners in Trinity – come compare notes after the speeches. 

Xiangyu: From day one, we were headed for today. We kept moving toward marriage, so when it finally came, everything felt natural. One day in 2023, planning a summer trip home, I was starting my PhD and Jing was about to begin work – we both wanted to give each other something steady. So we said, “Why don’t we register our marriage on this trip?” I said, “Sure, but I haven’t even proposed. Shouldn’t we do that first?” Jing said, “Great. I’ll do it now!” She dropped to one knee, yanked off our couple ring from my hand, and put it back on as her proposal. It all happened in an ordinary – dare I say “convenient” – setting. Precisely because it was so everyday, it became the truest, most unforgettable moment for us. So I’ll never forget – it was Jing who proposed to me. Ironclad evidence! 

Jing: ☝ No, no, no: here’s the real story (plot twist!). That summer, a person in a giant frog costume blocked my way at a mall entrance. I thought it was just a flyer-handing frog. (Xiangyu: The mall ecurity thought so too.) I tried to detour, but the frog mirrored me – I went left, he went left; I went right, he went right… I was like, “What a shameless frog!” I was about to march straight ahead and pretend not to see when a familiar face appeared in the frog’s mouth. I did an instant Sichuan opera face-change. Then the giant frog dropped to one knee, pulled a big diamond ring from a mysterious little black box (this is where I really take it out), and proposed. That’s ironclad. Iron enough?

Xiangyu: After that, it was only natural: we got the certificate, moved to London, and started our little married life.

Jing: At first we had some friction – no matter how inseparable we’d been, we hadn’t actually lived together every day. We even felt like we couldn’t understand each other sometimes and argued about it. But with some give-and-take, we tuned to the same frequency.

Xiangyu: For instance, one day I suddenly understood Jing’s voice messages in her hometown Yancheng dialect with my mother-in-law;

Jing: Another day I realised I was naturally using Northeastern-style “-r” endings.

Xiangyu: Our feeds even started recommending the same stuff! If you’ve watched us from the start, you might remember saying, “They’re so sweet.” Now you probably just say, “You can’t get two different kinds of people out of one duvet.”

Jing: Tradition says we should share a few words about the future. I’ll go first: I want to get rich overnight, with zero effort. 

Xiangyu: Then I’ll pretend to be serious for a second. We’ve been together five and a half years. Over that time, without even noticing, we’ve both changed a lot for each other. In the years ahead we’ll keep walking side by side and keep changing—but one thing will never change: I will always like cats more! Let’s see what everyone thinks… 

Thank you again for being here. We’re so happy, and we hope you’re just as happy today.