Chapter 34
A lavish family wedding banquet—read as “friends and relatives,” written as “a gathering of the elite.” Seeing elders he knew, Lu Xiao had no choice but to go over and greet them. He asked Meng Xueyuan if he wanted to come along.
Meng Xueyuan said, “Can I not go?”
“Of course you can,” Lu Xiao replied. “Sit here and wait for me a bit.”
Meng Xueyuan watched Lu Xiao leave. With some space to himself, his expression naturally turned cool when he was alone, distant and unapproachable. The aloof beauty in others’ eyes quietly downloaded an anniversary calculator.
Lu Xiao had told him to remember “May 18”—the date set two years ahead for their wedding. Two years meant two years, not a single day vague about it. From that, one could infer that Lu Xiao was someone who valued anniversaries very much.
Meng Xueyuan didn’t want to be forced to eat boiled eggs for no reason someday just because he’d forgotten to celebrate “99 days of being in love.”
The Queen Bee’s risk-prevention awareness was very strong.
He entered every important date he could remember. The app would automatically calculate reminders for 99 days, anniversaries, 999 days, and so on.
The date they confirmed their relationship—entered.
“You’ve been officially in love for 2 days now~”
The date they reunited—entered.
“You’ve been reunited for 951 days now~”
Meng Xueyuan’s eyelid twitched; the number felt inexplicably familiar.
Nine hundred and fifty-one days. Two days ago—meaning on the 949th day after reuniting—Lu Xiao had said he was “terribly wrong, a total of nine hundred and forty-nine wrongs.”
So all those “wrongs” had been tallied according to the gap in days between when the two of them recognized each other?
Luckily, he’d grasped the essence of dating Lu Xiao in time. Otherwise, he’d commit even bigger “wrongs” in the future.
Blushing, Meng Xueyuan also recorded the time he first helped Lu Xiao, and the first time they officially slept together.
Wedding venues often use huge amounts of flowers to create romance. Everywhere you looked were vivid blossoms—on the walls, hanging from the ceiling—as if you were in a kingdom of flowers.
In this regard, Meng Xueyuan liked attending weddings.
A pure white rose was offered before him. The snow-white petals tinged with pink unfurled softly; the pale yellow center peeked out shyly. Among all the flowers in the hall, this one seemed to match Meng Xueyuan’s demeanor the most.
“Borrowing flowers to offer the Buddha,” said a tall, slender man with one hand in his pocket, plucking a rose from a table vase to present to the most beautiful person.
Meng Xueyuan looked up and saw Worker Bee No. 003—the professional forensic pathologist.
When a worker bee offers flowers, it means hoping the queen will bear offspring.
The news of his successful nuptial flight had already spread through the clan; worker bees had been sending congratulations one after another.
Receiving flowers before success, he’d been expressionless. After success, it felt different.
Meng Xueyuan’s face suddenly flushed—somehow… he felt a little embarrassed facing his clan now.
“You know Chu Hao too?” he asked.
The forensic pathologist said, “I know his mother. Helped a little once, conveniently.”
Chu Hao’s father had kept a mistress. When his mother went to confront the mistress, the mistress accused her of striking first and injuring her. The pathologist happened to pass by and said, “Take that wound to the police station for an exam and you’ll know immediately it’s self-inflicted.”
“Oh, you’re amazing,” Meng Xueyuan said. He didn’t pry further and raised his hand to accept—
The white rose was intercepted mid-air by Lu Xiao, who had darkened his face and eyed the newcomer warily. “Thanks on behalf of my wife.”
Meng Xueyuan: “……”
The forensic pathologist fell silent for a moment, nodded to Lu Xiao, and said, “I see a friend. I’ll be going.”
Lu Xiao’s expression looked steady enough, but his insides had already been pickled in sourness. He suddenly realized he hadn’t formally given his wife a flower yet—and some unknown rival had beaten him to it.
And Meng Xueyuan had even blushed while taking the flower!
Lu Xiao tossed the white rose back into the vase like throwing a pitch. “Who was that?”
Meng Xueyuan answered honestly, “A friend I met playing mahjong.”
This time, Lu Xiao wasn’t so easily fooled. “When was the last time you played mahjong with him?”
“On a WeChat mini-program.” Meng Xueyuan reached for Lu Xiao’s hand. “Let’s not eat this vinegar, okay?”
It really was completely unjustified jealousy. Eating this kind of vinegar only meant taking a loss.
Lu Xiao, petty as ever, said, “I can play too. Call me next time.”
If he dared chase him into real life to give flowers, wouldn’t he be even more blatant on a mini-program?
Lu Xiao hadn’t played mini-program mahjong, but he’d played Fight the Landlord. In that game, players could send each other digital roses or coffee—very ambiguous!
When he’d been cautious and timid, someone else had been bolder. Did Meng Xueyuan receive flowers every day?
Sure enough, if you weren’t bold, someone else would be.
Lu Xiao asked, “When you play mini-program mahjong, has anyone offered you flowers?”
Meng Xueyuan felt a bit confused and guilty. “What flowers?”
Lu Xiao didn’t pursue it further. Being too petty would make his wife uncomfortable. Instead, he said, “The banquet hasn’t started yet. Want to play a round? Which mini-program do you use?”
Feeling guilty, Meng Xueyuan said, “I haven’t played much lately. Let me look.”
He tilted his phone slightly and searched “mahjong” in the mini-programs. The first result was “Nan Cheng Mahjong,” probably matched automatically by IP.
His fingers moved quickly to register, then he invited his friend Lu Xiao.
Lu Xiao entered the mahjong room. Meng Xueyuan randomly matched with passersby, and the two of them started playing.
After one round, Lu Xiao tapped Meng Xueyuan’s avatar. Sure enough, options popped up—send roses, coffee, and so on.
And they were free.
Lu Xiao spam-tapped the rose and asked casually, “Am I the first one to send you flowers like this?”
Meng Xueyuan knew nothing about Nan Cheng Mahjong’s rules and played stiffly according to prompts. Hearing that, he said, “Yes.”
He had never used mini-programs before.
Satisfied, Lu Xiao fed his wife a few winning tiles.
Meng Xueyuan won in a daze. He put down his phone and said, “It’s Chu Hao’s wedding—aren’t we being rude playing games here? Should we go greet him and the bride?”
Lu Xiao had been asking an immortal-looking old man whether May 18 two years from now was an auspicious date. Chu Hao’s wedding date had been calculated by that very man. Halfway through, seeing a love rival appear, Lu Xiao immediately returned.
“Alright, let’s go say hello.”
Chu Hao’s wife was a demure, petite woman, adorned with priceless jewelry—exactly what one would imagine for a wealthy family wedding.
Chu Hao made introductions and apologized, “I’m pretty busy today, brother—sorry for the poor hosting. Let’s have a drink after the wedding.”
Lu Xiao was leaving on a business trip tomorrow and didn’t have time to drink later. “You stay busy. We’ll drink another time.”
After finishing the wedding, Chu Hao would head to the Middle East to find Lu Xiao. The two families were collaborating on a project.
Meng Xueyuan felt something was off.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Xiao asked.
Meng Xueyuan leaned close to his ear and whispered, “How long have Chu Hao and his wife known each other?”
Lu Xiao laughed softly. “Less than two months. They don’t look very familiar with each other.”
Meng Xueyuan blinked and understood—so it was a purely business marriage, conditions over feelings.
“I only marry the person I love,” Lu Xiao said.
Meng Xueyuan had just been confessed to and felt quietly happy. “Your uncles are very much in love too. Your family atmosphere is really good.”
“Yes,” Lu Xiao said. “The Lu family has inherited infatuation.”
“Then… your two older brothers won’t enter business marriages either?” Meng Xueyuan asked.
Given Chu Hao’s status, even he chose a business marriage to expand his territory. If Lu Lou and Lu Yushu also married for business, Lu Xiao’s path to seizing power would become even harder.
Lu Xiao thought for a moment. “They don’t look like the type who could get wives.”
Meng Xueyuan curved his lips slightly. That would be best.
Lu Xiao wrapped an arm around him and guessed shrewdly, “Are you worried about sister-in-law issues? Afraid a politically married sister-in-law would be hard to get along with?”
Meng Xueyuan: “……” He hadn’t thought that!
Lu Xiao promised, “No matter who they marry, they won’t bully you. You’re the first to join the Lu family—you’ll be the boss. They’ll all listen to you. So… want to hold the wedding earlier?”
“No.”
Meng Xueyuan had no such worries! A dignified queen bee had no need to become the boss this way!
After eating at the banquet, Meng Xueyuan and Lu Xiao went home. Lu Xiao was leaving on a business trip tomorrow and still had to return home before that. The only time for the young couple’s private world was tonight.
Lu Xiao coaxed him into the next room. The moment they entered the bedroom, Meng Xueyuan saw the bed covered in rose petals. With a gust of wind, they could have scattered like rain.
The scent of roses filled the air—just with a hint of vinegar.
That night, as they rolled again and again on the bed of roses, candid wedding photos spread online.
From a passerby’s angle, the young couple appeared hand in hand, whispering together at the banquet. CP fans screamed that their ship was real!
[Attending a wealthy family wedding together—looks like meeting the parents, officially recognized by both sides.]
[Right on the money! You’d only appear at such an occasion if you had status!]
[A casual shot and Yuan-yuan is still so beautiful, Lu Xiao still so handsome. The suit is amazing! Men should weld suits onto their bodies!]
[Wait—what’s clipped to Lu Xiao’s belt? Lu Xiao, tell me what’s clipped to your belt!!]
[Bro! I always thought you were the coolest, most fashionable guy in the entertainment industry! Take off the car key!!]
[Everyone calm down. Look carefully—it’s a Ferrari key. According to circulating parking lot photos, there’s only one red Ferrari inside, worth thirty million. Doesn’t the key look much more acceptable now?]
[Thirty million. I defect.]
[Brother Lu’s husband aura is maxed out now. Did Meng Xueyuan save the galaxy in his last life?]
[Why can’t it be Yuan-yuan keeping Lu Xiao? That Ferrari has been driven by Yuan-yuan several times.]
[What’s next to the car key? Nail clippers?]
[No way.]
[Why not? When Ouyang trimmed Li Fei’s nails, Lu Xiao’s envy was overflowing. This is clearly his learning outcome.]
[Someone save this love-brained idiot.]
Halfway through rolling on the bed, Lu Xiao took an intermission, found the nail clippers, held Meng Xueyuan’s fingers, and patiently trimmed his wife’s nails, filing them smooth and round afterward.
“I really can’t bear to part with my wife,” Lu Xiao said. Thinking of not being able to touch his physical wife for three months, he couldn’t get enough of looking at him.
After five days of abstinence, he had no intention of sleeping tonight.
“I can’t bear to leave you,” Lu Xiao murmured against Meng Xueyuan’s ear.
Meng Xueyuan, not fully conscious, misheard him. With eyes closed, he said, “Then just leave it inside. I want to sleep.”
Lu Xiao: ?!
“Alright, wife!”
…
The next morning, Lu Xiao got up early and first went back to the Lu residence to have a meal with his two fathers. Lu Fengge gave him a few business instructions; Shen Ning, meanwhile, cared about his relationship with Meng Xueyuan.
“I caught him!” Lu Xiao raised his brows proudly. Fast, right? Surpassing the master, right?
“So long-distance, then?” Shen Ning asked.
Lu Xiao’s sharp brows drooped. He and Meng Xueyuan had been married for two years already—he’d treat it as a short separation making the reunion sweeter.
After eating at the Lu house, Lu Xiao packed some food to bring Meng Xueyuan for breakfast.
As expected, Meng Xueyuan was still asleep. Lu Xiao woke him to eat, fed him a few bites, and said, “You keep sleeping. I’m heading to the airport.”
Meng Xueyuan grabbed his collar. “I’ll go to the airport with you.”
Lu Xiao almost thought his wife was going to accompany him on the trip. “Want to see me off?”
“Yes,” Meng Xueyuan said.
Lu Xiao was usually decisive and efficient, but for the first time, leaving took forever. He rushed to the airport just in time.
They’d arrived late; there wasn’t much time to say goodbye. Meng Xueyuan said briefly, “Take good care of yourself over there.”
“I will. You too,” Lu Xiao replied.
Meng Xueyuan had taken on a Republican-era drama—an age of war, with many fight and gun scenes, especially exhausting.
Meng Xueyuan looked at Lu Xiao and hugged him for a minute in the empty VIP lounge.
“Wait for me to come back,” Lu Xiao said, releasing him. “Turn around. Don’t look at me, or I won’t be able to leave.”
“Okay.”
Meng Xueyuan heard Lu Xiao’s footsteps fade away. He secretly turned around and met Lu Xiao’s gaze through a glass door. Lu Xiao waved at him.
Meng Xueyuan took out his phone and checked the weather at the destination, carefully analyzing cloud formations like a university meteorology assignment, concluding that the weather would be clear and suitable for flying all the way.
He sat at the airport a while longer before returning home.
Both his and Lu Xiao’s homes felt empty.
Rubbing his face, he thought—no wonder everyone hates long-distance relationships.
