Chapter 87: Wedding — Forced into a shared bath.
While Zhi Qi was getting her makeup done, Ji Liang walked over to Zhi Yu.
She lightly tapped his arm and smiled in thanks, “Thanks for earlier.”
“It was nothing.”
Zhi Yu, standing by the window smoking, instinctively stubbed out his cigarette on the windowsill when he saw her approach.
Then, he straightened up, stepping slightly to the side.
Ji Liang narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, finding this little gesture amusing.
She had a bit of a spontaneous personality and decided to ask what was on her mind. “Zhi Yu, have you ever had a girlfriend before?”
.
Her question was so abrupt that even Zhi Yu, who was used to brushing off other people’s words, seemed a little surprised.
He turned his head to look at her, only to find Ji Liang blinking innocently.
Zhi Yu’s sharp eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his tone became noticeably less polite. “What does that have to do with you?”
“Nothing at all.”
Ji Liang wasn’t bothered by his coldness. She shrugged with a charming smile. “I used to think you lacked manners, but now I think you’re kind of a gentleman.”
There weren’t many men who would automatically put out a cigarette when a woman approached, let alone do it as instinctively as Zhi Yu just had.
This likely meant he had done it often before, which suggested he might have had a girlfriend at some point.
But at twenty-seven or twenty-eight, having dated someone wasn’t exactly surprising.
Before Zhi Yu could respond, Ji Liang added, “Zhi Qi mentioned you’re a single old man now.”
…
What was this woman trying to say?
Zhi Yu frowned, about to fire back, but Ji Liang just smiled and turned away.
It turned out Zhi Qi had finished her makeup and was ready to start the door-blocking tradition for the wedding.
In those few minutes of playful banter… was she trying to distract him? Zhi Yu was slightly stunned.
But as he pressed his lips together, he found himself feeling somewhat unclear.
Even when she was doing something kind, every word out of that woman’s mouth felt like teasing, and she looked like a mischievous fairy.
–
When it comes to weddings, two of the most classic moments are the ‘blocking the door’ and ‘tormenting the groomsmen’ traditions.
Jiang Qi’s groomsmen were all arranged by Xiao Yongfei, and each one was tall and strong, perfectly suited for a wedding challenge. They were well-prepared for the task, but Zhi Qi’s bridesmaids were no pushovers either.
—Especially Meng Chunyu and Ji Liang, who were like two clever little tricksters with endless ways to torment people.
However, after collecting plenty of red envelopes, when they handed over a concoction of cola, liquor, pepper, and who knows what else, Jiang Qi drank it in one gulp without even flinching. The bridesmaids were left speechless.
Goodness, this was the most impressive groom she had ever seen.
Ji Liang had been a bridesmaid for many of her friends, and she had used this trick on quite a few newlyweds. She had seen grooms who vomited, some who cried, but never one who didn’t bat an eye.
So, encountering someone like Jiang Qi, she could only bow to his prowess.
Ji Liang and Meng Chunyu exchanged glances, giggling as they retreated hand in hand.
Jiang Qi finally knelt on one knee in front of Zhi Qi to help her put on her shoes. As his large hand held her fair ankle, he couldn’t help but gently rub it.
“What’s going on?”
Zhi Qi felt ticklish and giggled. But then she noticed Jiang Qi’s eyes were slightly red. Holding a fan that covered half her face, her big eyes blinked in confusion as she asked.
“Hehe, he’s moved to tears because he’s finally marrying his bride.”
Ji Liang leaned in, joining the playful teasing of the groom. “Isn’t that right, Film Emperor Jiang?”
Jiang Qi’s face flushed, and soon his ears turned red from the teasing.
Naturally, he didn’t get a chance to explain that his eyes were red from the pepper in the drink. But that wasn’t important.
After putting Zhi Qi’s shoes on, Jiang Qi looked up at her. His usually cool and detached eyes now softened, like a piece of warm crystal amber.
“Qi Qi.”
The young man extended his hand to her. “Let me carry you.”
It’s said that a bride’s feet shouldn’t touch the ground before leaving her room.
Zhi Qi, not one to put up any resistance, made no difficult demands. As soon as she saw Jiang Qi, she obediently reached out for him to carry her.
Carrying Zhi Qi, Jiang Qi took her to the living room to serve tea to Zhi Minglin and Mei Ran, then carried her—now dressed in her jingling *xiuhua* gown—into the wedding car. It was only then that Zhi Qi lowered her fan, revealing her delicate, made-up face, with her bright black eyes sparkling.
She blinked, smiling at him.
Jiang Qi wanted so badly to lean down and kiss her, but seeing Zhi Qi’s cousin sitting in the front passenger seat, he had to restrain himself.
Feeling slightly frustrated, he rubbed his fingers together, wishing the wedding ceremony would hurry and finish—so that once they were alone, he could kiss her as much as he wanted.
In truth, the wedding process wasn’t much different from others.
But when Zhi Minglin took Zhi Qi’s hand and placed it in Jiang Qi’s, she couldn’t help but feel a rush of emotions.
Though they’d been living together for over a year, and she’d thought a formal wedding wouldn’t stir much in her, she realized… she was truly marrying the boy she had loved for many, many years in front of everyone.
She couldn’t remember exactly when she realized she had romantic feelings for Jiang Qi, but she knew clearly that since she became aware of herself, he was the only one she ever liked.
There are many people in the world, but only Jiang Qi was unique.
Zhi Qi knew she had a possessive and protective love for him, a love that made her want to care for him and him alone.
But now, the boy in front of her seemed even more excited than she was.
In fact, Jiang Qi’s typically cool expression rarely showed any emotion, but even through the veil, Zhi Qi could see that his eyes were even redder than before.
Those glazed eyes were the very source of her dreams and desires for so many years.
As the officiant passionately recited the vows, the two of them quietly held hands. In a soft voice, Zhi Qi asked, “Jiang Qi, when did you start liking me?”
She had been curious for a long time but had always forgotten to ask.
In her almost bashful anticipation, her heart raced like a deer, and she heard the boy’s soft murmur in her ear.
Gentle, cool, in that voice that belonged only to Jiang Qi, he said—
“Very early.”
Jiang Qi’s feelings for Zhi Qi go back a long, long way.
The young girl had no idea that he had fallen for her far earlier than she did.
For someone used to living in hell, encountering a ray of sunshine that chose to follow him made it impossible not to fall.
But Jiang Qi didn’t want Zhi Qi to know—loving her too early made him feel a bit like a creep.
Amid the crowded room and the sea of flowers, through the white veil, the boy accurately found the girl’s cherry-red lips and kissed her.
They had kissed countless times before, but this was their first in front of so many people. Though restrained, it carried an undeniable intimacy and thrill.
Suddenly, Zhi Qi understood why so many girls loved having weddings.
It was all about letting the world know that they belonged to each other.
She had to admit, she was all for it now.
–
That evening, Zhi Qi sat cross-legged on the bed, which was covered in a bright red bedspread her mother, Mei Ran, had prepared for her and Jiang Qi. She was playing on her phone.
She wasn’t checking all the well-wishes on WeChat Moments, nor was she bothering to collect the red envelopes friends had sent her—she was fully engrossed in her QQ group, acting like a typical internet-obsessed teen.
The group chat was buzzing, with everyone heatedly discussing the ‘secret wedding’ that hadn’t leaked a single photo.
[No way, no way, I’ve been refreshing Weibo and the forums all day, and there really isn’t a single picture!]
[Hold up, someone did manage to snap one picture while they were picking up the bride. Qi Shen in a white suit was absolutely stunning! (Picture)]
The attached photo was a blurry, barely captured image by a sneaky paparazzi team.
[What good is that? We want to see the wedding venue and the bride in her dress!]
[Well… no one seems to have gotten any inside shots.]
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[Are you serious? Qi Shen is bigger than the biggest stars right now. How could there not be a single photo from inside the wedding?]
[The secrecy was so tight that I’m starting to suspect the bride’s family has some serious connections.]
[Isn’t the bride a highly educated beauty from a wealthy family? Someone dug up that her family is pretty well-off.]
[Wait, wait, we’re getting off track! If Qi Shen went to so much effort to keep the wedding private, it’s clear he didn’t want the media prying into it. Weddings are pretty personal, after all! So, it’s understandable to be curious in the group, but chasing after sneak photos is not cool.]
[Exactly… The bride is an outsider, and it’s obvious Qi Shen is protecting her.]
[That’s true, but I still really want to see Qi Ge and the bride exchange rings, waaah! QAQ]
…
Perhaps it was because it was her wedding day, but Zhi Qi noticed that she, the ‘woman accused of delaying Jiang Qi’s career,’ had unexpectedly received a lot of positive comments.
The group was buzzing non-stop with all kinds of conversations, and most of them were filled with congratulations.
Zhi Qi grinned, thoroughly entertained as she scrolled through her phone.
It wasn’t until Jiang Qi, who had been drinking with Zhi Yu, came back that she put down her phone to help him freshen up.
Her brother had shown no mercy, and Jiang Qi, who already had a low tolerance for alcohol, was thoroughly drunk tonight.
Zhi Qi looked at his flushed face, his dazed eyes, and his unsteady steps, feeling heartbroken. She rubbed his back while running water to prepare a bath for him.
However, the usually composed Jiang Qi became unusually clingy when drunk, refusing to let go of her.
Zhi Qi couldn’t help but giggle as he tickled her, “Jiang Qi, behave.”
.
Jiang Qi didn’t seem to understand a word she said.
Like a big golden retriever, as soon as he realized the girl in front of him was Zhi Qi, he wrapped his arms around her, kissing and nuzzling her.
“Oh no—”
Before she knew it, they both ended up tumbling into the water-filled bathtub together.
They ended up taking an impromptu couples’ bath.
Throughout the process, Zhi Qi, dazed and exhausted, realized that Jiang Qi had lied to her.
There was a common saying online, that drunk men couldn’t… perform.
But in Jiang Qi’s case? He was definitely lying!
By the time they were done, it was well past midnight, and Zhi Qi was left with aching muscles. After drying her hair post-bath, all she wanted to do was collapse into bed and sleep.
But her phone kept flashing non-stop. Half-awake, she saw that it was a message from Ji Liang and reluctantly picked it up to check.
One look, and she was wide awake.
Ji Liang’s message was simple and direct, true to her usual straightforward style. It was just one sentence:
[Darling, give me your brother’s contact info.]