novelraw Chapter 506 - 423: The Eve of the Wedding
Chapter 506 - 423: The Eve of the Wedding
Chapter 506: Chapter 423: The Eve of the Wedding
The night before the wedding, Buding couldn’t leave his mom, so he stayed with Li Si.
Since Su Meng was already in the late stages of pregnancy, not only Long Wu was worried, but Li Si and Leng Mochen also didn’t want her to appear at such a noisy and bustling gathering.
It was decided in advance that, because of Su Meng’s condition, she would go directly to the wedding banquet venue.
On Leng Mochen’s side, besides Xu Er as the best man, there were also a few other good friends from his circle.
Long Wu was the most enthusiastic organizer. There was no way a group of men, gathered together only because of Leng Er’s wedding, could stay quiet.
Several of them who loved games formed a poker table, but Xu Er and Leng Mochen didn’t join in; they just had drinks and watched the fun on the side.
Initially, Mrs. Leng and Mr. Leng, along with a group of family and friends, were drinking tea and chatting, with Leng Ning munching on fruit nearby while observing the scene.
Unfortunately, Leng Shuang, next to her, was clearly bored—her body at the gathering, her mind somewhere else—and kept whispering to Leng Ning, saying the elders’ conversations were too dull. She suggested going downstairs to watch the action unfold.
Leng Ning was so annoyed by Leng Shuang that she couldn’t take it anymore, but just then, Jin Yichen sent her a text saying he was outside her house’s gate.
Seizing the chance, she decided to take Leng Shuang downstairs to watch the bunch of men causing a commotion in the lobby while slipping outside to meet Jin Yichen.
Jin Yichen didn’t have any other agenda; he simply wanted to see her and ask about the arrangements for tomorrow.
Both of them felt somewhat complicated over the confirmation that Li Si was not blood-related to them.
But after learning that result, Leng Ning secretly felt relieved. If her sister-in-law had turned out to be Jin Yichen’s grandmother’s granddaughter, who could guarantee her parents wouldn’t eventually find out one day?
When that happened, their relationship would undoubtedly become awkward and exceedingly complicated.
Her mom had even mentioned one day that she wished for Jin Yichen to be her brother’s best man. Knowing the backstory, how could she let that happen?
So she quickly came up with an excuse and brushed off the idea. Her brother’s best man roster was clearly already finalized, and her mom ultimately dropped the notion!
Not long afterward, the paternity results came in, and thankfully, her mom didn’t bring it up again.
"How’s it going?"
Jin Yichen shook his head. "I had someone try searching, but no leads! After your brother’s wedding, I’ll head to Shanxi! My grandpa’s going to North City! Hopefully, there’ll be some new clues!"
After so many years, having any progress now was already something; it was better than running around blindly before!
The two lingered a little longer together, and by the time she sent Jin Yichen off and returned, Leng Shuang was using a gentle, sweet voice to chat with Xu Er and the others.
Leng Ning was completely perplexed—what was going on with Leng Shuang today? She seemed to have transformed into a refined lady, no longer acting out. This was so not like her!
She paused to observe for a while and found something amiss. The way Leng Shuang kept glancing at Xu Er was odd!
Oh dear! This wouldn’t do! Bai Shasha and Xu Er were a couple—could Leng Shuang, coming in out of nowhere, actually intend to interfere?
Leng Ning strode forward, exchanged a few words, and quickly dragged the reluctant Leng Shuang away while sternly warning her: "Leng Shuang! Let me tell you, Xu Er has a girlfriend, who also happens to be our sister-in-law’s best friend. Don’t you develop feelings for him!"
Leng Shuang, spoiled by her family, sneered. "Leng Ning! You really think you’re my big sister now? Who says I have feelings for him? I just find him mildly interesting! You’re hilarious!"
"Remember what you said today, and don’t say I didn’t warn you! If you make a fool of yourself, it’ll be your own responsibility!"
"Not talking to you anymore. I’m going to find my mom and the others!" She shot Leng Ning a glare and hurried upstairs.
Leng Ning watched her back and sighed silently, hoping it was just her imagination.
Meanwhile, Bai Shasha, utterly oblivious to this, was animatedly sharing gossip about celebrities known by the older journalists at her workplace with Li Si and the others.
Jiang Fan and Liu Xiaole were engrossed; they even paused as they were about to eat their snacks.
"Is Zheng Qian really that arrogant? On TV and during interviews, she seems so polite and modest!" Liu Xiaole had liked her quite a bit for a while.
Jiang Fan didn’t follow gossip, but even he knew about her—apparently, she was quite the sensation!
Bai Shasha scoffed disdainfully. "Don’t believe the nonsense; it’s all fake! My colleagues saw it with their own eyes—how could it be false? So, when it comes to what celebrities do or say, just treat it as entertainment!"
Li Si gently placed the sleeping Buding back in his crib, turned around, and joined the gossip crew. "Shasha’s right! Xiaole, you know Wang Yufei, who used to endorse Mo Si’s products, right..."
The group of girls kept chatting away until past 10 p.m., completely ignoring bedtime until Mrs. Bai finally intervened, brushing off objections from Mr. Bai, to knock on the door. "Shasha! You all need to go back to your rooms and rest early. The makeup artist will come at 4 a.m. tomorrow morning, and the bride won’t look good or have the energy to endure the wedding day if she doesn’t get enough sleep!"
"Got it!" Li Si and Bai Shasha stuck their tongues out, while Liu Xiaole and Jiang Fan stifled giggles. "Talking was just too much fun! Our bride must stay radiant and flawless!"
"Keep it down! Look how soundly my godson is sleeping! We’ve been chatting and laughing, and he hasn’t stirred—not bad!" Bai Shasha shushed them, praised her godson, and chuckled.
"Sisi, Xiaole and I will go to bed early now! You all should too!" Jiang Fan glanced at Buding, sleeping adorably in a surrender-like position, her gaze full of affection. Checking the time, she realized it was late, but the long gaps between meetings always made conversations endless once they reconnected.
"Alright! Xiao Fan, Xiao Le, you two rest up too! Tomorrow’s going to be a tiring day for everyone!"
Liu Xiaole and Jiang Fan went up to their rooms to sleep, leaving Bai Shasha behind to keep Li Si company.
She sighed. "Si, you’re the first among us to get married and have kids. You must find happiness!"
"I will!" Li Si said firmly. "Shasha, it’s so great to have you!"
"Don’t butter me up! Just because you’re sweet-talking me, don’t think I’ll go easy on you during the bridal chamber games tomorrow!"
"Please have mercy!" Li Si feigned a pitiful look to plead with her.
Bai Shasha replied decisively, "Not a chance!"
"Hmph!"
Long Wu played until 10 p.m., checked his watch, and decided to leave the poker table. Not caring about the pile of winnings in front of him, he let the other guys carry on with the game. He worried that if he went home too late, Su Meng might get upset.
He and Leng Mochen exited together. "Er, sorry, man. If it weren’t for Meng Meng’s current situation, I definitely wouldn’t be leaving!"
At the very least, he would have played through the night and gone straight from the game to help pick up the bride tomorrow. However, with his mother-in-law now staying with them, he didn’t dare stretch the night’s fun too far.
"What are you apologizing for! Go back quickly, and make sure you’re here bright and early to help with the bride pickup!" Leng Mochen waved him off.
Long Wu climbed into his car. "Alright, then! I’m out! Hey, buddy, promise me—don’t frown tomorrow, okay? So what if you’re holding back for just one night? It only builds for a more intense explosion later!"
"Get lost! Go home and ’explode’ with your wife!" True to form, Long Wu never ran out of cheeky remarks.
"I wish I could! Lust is a dagger, my friend, and as men, we endure! Alright, I’m off—see you tomorrow!" At the mention of this topic, Long Wu wore a comically bitter look. He envied Leng Er—just one night of restraint, only to unleash it all during the wedding night. Could he do that? Nope. With a baby on the way, patience was all he had—it couldn’t be helped.
"See you tomorrow!" (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read at m.qidian.com.)