Chapter 406 - The Wedding (Part 1)
On October 10, the president of An Ning International, Ye Chen, married his principal secretary, Cheng Anya.
It was an extremely grand wedding that was like none other. The church, decorated by millions of roses, felt surreal and an intoxicating fragrance from the roses wafted through the air. Cheng Anya looked at the wedding grounds. It looked so beautiful to the point it felt surreal.
She used to hear a saying that went, “All fairy tales are merely fairy tales.” He, today, brought a fairy tale to life. Having Ye Chen in her life surpassed everything else.
She was satisfied.
As MBS International’s television station was the only television station covering Third Young Master Ye’s wedding, there were no other reporters on-site. Even the reporters from An Ning International knew their limits. Questions that should be asked and those that were off-bounds were clarified. Since they knew their limits, the scene was not as chaotic.
Long Fei, the hall master of the Dragon Gate’s branch in City A, and Number Six had men guard the four corners of the church. With eyes on every possible dead spot, there were even more concealed sentries with the intent of preventing anything that could go wrong.
Third Young Master Ye wanted to organize the perfect wedding. He would not allow the slightest mistake.
In the bridal lounge, Cheng Anya sat nervously. She was already dressed up in a gorgeous gown and wore the Rose Tear, An Ning International’s crown jewel, and her immaculate looks made her seem like an angel who had descended. She was so beautiful and people were charmed.
Li Yun and the young kid accompanied her in the resting room. Li Yun was in a silver bridesmaid dress and was gorgeously elegant and unmatched. Cheng Anya, in a bid to ease the tension, could only praise her gorgeous wedding dress and make small talk.
The young kid laughed and asked, “Mommy, are you very nervous?”
Cheng Anya nodded. Like any other bride, she was naturally extremely nervous. As she thought about how she would walk up to him later, her heart thumped. They had already rehearsed the wedding ceremony in church yesterday, and she clearly remembered every single step but did not feel nervous. They did whatever the Father said. When she was walking toward Third Young Master Ye while holding Daddy Cheng’s hands, she even laughed. Third Young Master Ye said she needed to focus and gave her a dressing down. He even evilly claimed that if she dared to laugh during the walk-in the next day, he would slaughter her for not taking the wedding seriously. Cheng Anya was thoroughly speechless as it was, after all, a rehearsal and it was normal to be out-of-character. She, however, would not be laughing today. She was extremely nervous.
Li Yun shook her head and could not help but jab her. She said, “How unpromising of you. You’ve witnessed so much. Is getting married such a huge challenge to you? When you first snuck into somebody’s wedding banquet and helped yourself despite the non-invitation, you were not even this nervous! This is no major setting, and you’re facing familiar people. You are getting so familiar with your husband to the point there is barely any passion left, so relax! Dear Anya, you are too stiff!”
The young kid tucked his lips and laughed. “Auntie Li Yun, if my daddy heard what you said, he would definitely separate you and my mommy.”
Li Yun sure was capable of such talk. Cheng Anya could not help but laugh.
“What did I say to warrant something as severe as isolation? Am I the plague?” Li Yun raised her eyebrows in immense unhappiness.
“You are getting so familiar with your husband to the point there is barely any passion left. Is that something you ought to say to the bride? Are you goading the bride into running away from the wedding? You should not say that there is no passion anymore. This exponentially affects the rate at which an emotional crisis develops. Also, based on my daddy’s logic, you will definitely be classified as non grata. Mommy, is your darling child spot-on?”
“Indeed.” Cheng Anya gave her own son a thumbs-up. There was no other explanation that was even more spot-on than this, and Third Young Master Ye’s face would certainly blacken if he heard it.
“Am I not telling the truth then? Your child is already so old, and if this were a normal relationship, you would have reached the seven-year-itch now. Being passionate in its first month is novel, but it no longer stays novel thereafter. This explains why divorce rates are this high. Young people sure are averse to the truth, and that explains why divorce rates are sky-high.” Li Yun feigned shaking her head.
Cheng Anya laughed and said, “Whatever you say makes sense. I’ll gift you the same statement, word for word, when you get married.”
“Deal! Save that for my marriage. That said, I do not want to be as unpromising as you when I get married. Look at you. You are about to break your pinkie, so stop twisting it.” Li Yun tapped her hands away.
“Mommy, who was the one who laughed at the scene yesterday?” The young kid teased Cheng Anya. She kicked the kid and said, “Children should stay out of this conversation.”
“Your mommy is getting angry from the shame,” Li Yun calmly said and then touched her abdomen. “Given how tightly this is tied, would there be any problem to the child?”
“I did ask the doctor, and it’s okay as long as it’s for a few hours. Once the ceremony is over, a change of clothes should fix it. It’s still small, so all is fine,” Cheng Anya said, motherly love radiating on her face. The child was only slightly over a month, so her bulge was still not visible.
There were steps outside the door, and the guards called Third Young Master Ye. Li Yun smartly kept quiet and the young kid smiled. When Ye Chen came in, the young kid said, “Daddy, what are you doing here when the bridegroom should be outside?”
“Do you have a problem with me seeing my bride?” Third Young Master Ye raised his eyebrows in laughter. Li Yun and the young kid smartly left the bridal lounge.
Li Yun grabbed the young kid and laughed. “Your daddy and mommy are really inseparable. Let’s walk around and take a look.”
“Okay. Oh, Auntie Yun, I have to tell you something and I will need your cooperation.” The young kid raised his eyebrows and smiled cunningly. He whispered something into Li Yun’s ears and Li Yun’s eyes went wide.
“What did you say?” She was extremely shocked. How could this be possible? “Why, my darling child, why?”
“Hehe. You will know in a moment.” The young kid mysteriously laughed and pulled Li Yun whilst walking forward. “Let’s watch the show.”
When the two of them reached the front, the wedding had yet to begin. Although not everybody was present, it was already crowded. Ye Wei and Eleven stood in a corner of the hall and watched on. Nobody had any idea what they were talking about or joking about.
The young kid went over and waved. Ye Wei exclaimed, “Oh, my darling child, you look extremely handsome today.”
The young kid, in a black suit, was the flower boy. As he already had delicate looks, his clothes made him even more delicate and cute. Ye Wei and Eleven’s eyes lit up.
Li Yun said, “When he grows up, he will be even more gorgeous than Third Young Master Ye.”
“Definitely.” Ye Wei stroked her chin and smiled. They were now at a more visible place in the church, so they were able to see all the visitors entering the church. As they were chatting, the manager of the wedding planning company rushed over and said, “Miss Ye, we have a slight situation. Could you allow me to make a change?”
“What is the situation?” Ye Wei frowned.
The young kid was no longer smiling. If a hiccup occurred during the wedding, it was not auspicious. While he did not believe it, it was a cut and dry truth.
The manager of the wedding planning company said, “The flower girl has a bad stomachache and severe diarrhea. This…”
“Surely things couldn’t go that wrong?”
“Ning Ning, there goes your bride.” Ye Wei laughed. The young kid did not seem to mind and calmly said, “That’s not my bride. Find me a substitute.”
The manager of the wedding planning company nodded in panic. Whatever the Younger Master Ye said was akin to Third Young Master Ye’s agreement. “I already have somebody in mind. There is a girl of comparable age amongst the visitors. Although the woman next to her did not agree, that little girl agreed.”
As they talked, the manager of the wedding planning company noticed something and pointed at the girl who was accompanied by an older woman. He said, “That’s her.”
The young kid looked in the direction he was looking at, and his eyes suddenly grew wide.
“Nuo Nuo…”
“Stone…” Xu Xing also noticed the young kid and wrestled free from the lady’s grip before rushing over. She, in a white fluffy skirt with lace edges, rushed to the young kid. She was princess-like and seemed surreal. She quickly reached the young kid. She looked like Xu Nuo with that surprise on her face. “Stone, what are you doing here?”
As Ning Ning saw her run to him, an image of Xu Nuo in a fiery red dress with white Japanese camellias behind her flashed through his mind. She did not have that carefree smile that Xu Xing had.
Even if his Nuo Nuo smiled, it was not a warm smile. Her smile seemed to never see the sunlight as if she did not know what warmth was. But when he held her hand, he felt that she was warm.
As though something gripped his heart hard, it was hurting immensely. “You will not call me Stone.” Ning Ning suddenly ordered.
This was a term of endearment only Nuo Nuo could call him by and nobody else could.
Li Yun and the manager of the wedding planning company were in shock. The gentlemanly and elegant impression the younger master of the Ye family left an indelible impression on others. They had never seen him get angry or how his face became as cold as the devil. It left them in shock. It was as though the child changed in an instant.
Although he was young, he terrified people.
When Xu Xing was barked at by him, disappointment flashed on her face. She bit her lip in slight indignation. “I’m sorry, but I forgot.”
The woman who accompanied Xu Xing was extremely displeased. She said, “Younger Master Ye, please be aware of who you are raising your voice at.”
The young kid’s lips coldly curled into a smile. What else was he not capable of doing? As his smile grew cold, Ye Wei smiled and said, “It’s normal for kids to throw a tantrum. My nephew has a bad temper.”
Xu Xing, instead, grabbed Zhang Wanyan’s sleeve and shook her head. “Auntie, I was wrong.”
Zhang Wanyan was Commander Zhang’s great-nephew who was bosom buddies with Xu Xing’s mother and was akin to sisters. Since Xu Xing was released from Rome, she was never in a good mood. Xu Xing’s mother allowed Zhang Wanyan to bring her to City A to relieve her mood. As they happened to be in town when Third Young Master Ye and Cheng Anya had their wedding, Zhang Wanyan decided to bring her around for a look. Xu Xing was always extremely well-taken off. She was exceptionally sheltered in whatever activity she participated in when she was in England. She was never this free before.
Since she had good looks and was about the right age, she agreed to the wedding planning company’s manager suggesting that she could be the flower girl. Little did she expect to encounter Ning Ning.
“Xing Xing, I think it’s better if you are not the flower girl. It’s his father and mother getting married today,” Zhang Wanyan said. “If you want to be the flower girl, auntie will bring you elsewhere another time.” She pulled Xing Xing away as she said that.
Xu Xing, unwilling to yield, said, “It’s okay! I know him. Ning Ning, really?”
Ning Ning, whose face was sullen for a moment, saw her smile and couldn’t bear to pull a long face. He coldly acknowledged Xu Xing and she happily asked, “Are you the flower boy?”
The manager of the wedding planning company saw these kids know each other, and he was in an even stronger favor to pair them up. Ning Ning subconsciously rejected and Xu Xing said, “Ning Ning, if your daddy and mommy are getting married, it is because of the flower boy and girl. With the wedding about to begin, there is nothing wrong with me being the flower girl, right?”
When Ning Ning looked at her face, his heart started to ache. If it weren’t for Xu Xing appearing in front of him today, he would have forgotten about her. Her presence opened up the wounds he hid deep inside, which were starting to ache.
When she stood next to him, it was as though Nuo Nuo was present. She, however, was not Nuo Nuo and he could not quite describe this feeling. If she were somebody else, he would not have quite minded. If it were Xu Xing… he would mistake her for Nuo Nuo.
Knowing that she was the most suitable amongst the children observing the wedding, he steeled his heart. Whatever was said, his daddy and mommy’s wedding was the most important, so whoever was the flower girl was immaterial.
Ye Wei said, “Ning Ning, the wedding is the utmost priority.”
Ning Ning nodded. “I’ll have to trouble you then.”
When Xu Xing heard Ning Ning agree, she broke into an extremely happy smile. Although Zhang Wanyan had some opinion, she could not bear to say much when she saw Xu Xing happy. She always loved Xu Xing and almost always yielded to her. Her rare happiness following her unhappiness, often attributed by many as the after-effects of the kidnapping, made Zhang Wanyan decide not to burst her bubble.
But… How did Xing Xing and the younger master of the Ye Family know each other?
As everybody pondered, Xu Xing’s mood was much lifted ever since Ning Ning agreed to her being the flower girl. Ning Ning looked at her. His mind was filled with Nuo Nuo’s actions and smiles. Her cold countenance and fiery image were deeply seared in his mind.
Ye Wei said, “Ning Ning, I’ll look for third brother to tell him something.”
The young kid nodded. Ye Wei and Eleven then left. Gu Zhensheng came over to look for Li Yun and the two of them stood aside and chatted. Xu Xing’s little face seemed a tad nervous and she asked Ning Ning worriedly, “Do they dislike me?”
Ning Ning looked at her deeply and reminisced about that very face. It was…
Detestable? He did not detest it as he could not detest somebody who looked extremely like Nuo Nuo. It was just that Nuo Nuo’s death left him extremely… heartbroken.
Xu Xing was doted by all whilst Nuo Nuo was all by herself.
It was unfair.
“Allow me to apologize once again for what happened. Please don’t detest me, okay?” Xu Xing, whose pitch-black eyes were like obsidian, asked in trepidation.