“If you hadn’t done a miserable job of hiding beneath our apartment unit and tailing us, we wouldn’t have invited you here,” Grandfather Ruan clicked his tongue and said.

Through that, Chang Zhiyuan’s sincerity in treating his niece well could clearly be seen. He did not care for the character or the standing that his niece possessed. All that mattered was that she was the daughter of his beloved elder sister; it was enough.

Chang Zhiyuan’s pitiful appearance really made it heart-wrenching.

Their gesture was something he understood.

Ruan Danchen would acknowledge him, but he was his own person and Grandmother Chang was Grandmother Chang. The rest of the Chang family still required some slow and careful consideration.

He nodded. “I understand. I won’t tell my family without getting your approval, but…it’s enough if I can meet Danchen.”

Grandmother Ruan nodded with a smile.

Chang Zhiyuan’s back was facing the table behind, and the only thing everyone saw was the sweetly-smiling, gentle, and friendly Grandmother Ruan. At that point people were unable to keep their composure.

Although they had all decided to wait and see the situation unfold, they could not understand the swift manner in which it unfolded, nor could they understand the direction the events had taken? How did Chang Zhiyuan find himself seated at the main table?

His seemingly amicable conversation with Grandmother Ruan did not suggest one who was in Ruan Danchen’s bad graces. So, would Grandmother Chang too be forgiven?

Then… How should the others treat the Chang family?

It was not very nice for the Qi family to string them along so heartlessly!

As the rest of them were still pondering about it, the wedding march began playing. Everyone kept quiet and turned around. The door to the entrance swung open, and two little children walked through the door.

Qi Youxuann was wearing a suit that fitted snugly on his fat physique. He was exceptionally cute, and beside him was Little Muran in a Western dress. The two of them were carrying a small basket that contained rose petals. They grabbed a handful of petals and sprinkled it over the red carpet, doing so until they reached Qi Chenglin, who was standing at the end of the aisle.

The little boy looked up at his father and smiled resplendently before the two children parted ways to head back with their respective families.

Ruan Keshan led Ruan Danchen into the hall slowly, in sync with the music’s rhythm.

Halfway through, she saw Chang Zhiyuan sitting at the main table, looking at her. His eyes were red and his lips trembled before he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

Ruan Danchen smiled at him, and that one smile set the floodgates loose for Chang Zhiyuan. He broke into tears and had to hide his face from prying eyes.

Qi Youxuan got terribly excited, and clapped his hands furiously at the exchange of rings. He felt immensely proud, watching his parents exchange their vows and rings.

Ruan Danchen looked at her son and smiled, after which she looked up and gazed deeply into Qi Chenglin’s soft and warm eyes. Before the master of ceremonies invited the groom to kiss the bride, she had already taken a step forward and tiptoed to kiss Qi Chenglin on the lips.

The guests were all in shock. It was the first time that they had seen such an eager bride!

Even those arrogant darling daughters would usually want to feign shyness during their wedding.

Qi Chenglin had a big smile on his face after Ruan Danchen kissed him. He felt that it was evidence of how much she cared for him, how certain she was of him, and how much she loved him!

In taking the initiative to kiss him before everyone, Ruan Danchen made him feel very happy, since it was her expression of love. Feeling contented, she wanted to break the kiss, but Qi Chenglin stopped her by grasping her waist. He kissed her passionately, and Ruan Danchen could not escape even if she wanted to.

The guests below could not see it, but Ruan Danchen could feel his lips move and say, “You can’t be the only one taking the initiative. I need to take the initiative too.”

Plenty of guests were feeling quite awkward, as the couple did not seem too bothered about their surroundings at all! A little kiss just for show was more than sufficient for a wedding, so why did they subject them to such a show when they could return home and kiss as much as they liked!

None of the guests would admit that they were actually envious!

Grandfather Ruan chuckled and was incredibly happy.

“AHEM!” Finally having enough of it, the master of ceremonies surreptitiously reminded them to break it up.

Ruan Danchen blushed and was taken to change her wedding gown before coming out again to make a toast.

Qi Chenglin sat down calmly and scanned around with cold eyes. He was looking to see if anyone dared to make fun of his wife!

The public felt that it was really unwise to provoke these Qi family men, considering they had mental deficiency when it came to their wives. The Qi family men forever saw their wives as being in the right. It was not something that would change despite the evidence in the contrary.

Each of them turned around and pretended to talk to their neighbor, regardless of whether or not they actually knew their neighbor. That was better than being glared at by Qi Chenglin.

…

Beside Song Yu was Qi Youjin, who was placed in a child seat. A bib was wrapped around his neck and he was holding a slice of watermelon. His hands were already drenched in the fruit’s red juice and the little table of his child seat bore a puddle of juice. His own parents were powerless to do anything but continue mopping at the mess with a wad of tissues.

Little Youjin even reached out to touch the puddle. His sticky hands drew on the table, while drops of watermelon juice dripped down from his fair-skinned fingers.

His hands pointed at the wedding sweets in front of everyone. He cooed frantically a couple of times, and his eyes, very much that of Qi Chengzhi’s, sparkled with excitement.

Song Yu could not look him directly in the eye. Qi Chengzhi’s gaze was so penetrating that outsiders would shudder at the mere sight, and Qi Youjin had the same kind of eyes that truly displayed….

Even Qi Chengzhi felt that his son was tarnishing his own image.

“Ah! Ahhh!”‘Sweets, I want sweets!’

Qi Youxuan felt like the victor that day because he could participate in his parents’ wedding. From that alone, Qi Youjin could never compare to him.

When Uncle and Auntie were getting married, Qi Youjin did not know a single thing, as he was still inside Auntie’s belly!

Little Youjin could feel Qi Youxuan’s smugness but he did not know why his elder cousin was so smug. He ignored it without much thought and continued pointing at the candy box.

“Ah! Ah!”‘Sweets! Sweets!’

Qi Youxuan was extremely dissatisfied. Noticing that he did not gain the attention of his cousin, he proceeded to take the box of chocolates, open it and unwrap a piece of Godiva chocolate.

Little Youjin was now looking at him more intently, unlike the earlier nonchalant looks.

Qi Youxuan chuckled and looked left and right. Everyone was busy drinking and eating as they pleased without worry of being too courteous.

He climbed off his chair and hugged two boxes of chocolate to his chest, protecting them well. He ran to Little Youjin and ate a heart-shaped chocolate in front of the baby boy.

Qi Youxuan’s closed his eyes in satisfaction, but it was not simply an act. A light bite was enough to fill his mouth with silky sweetness, and the rich taste of chocolate made him narrow his eyes contentedly. He immediately popped another piece into his mouth. He did not chew it but rolled it around, enjoying the silky texture of the chocolate.

He then looked at his fingertips and saw that it was coated in some melted chocolate. Immediately, he popped his fingers into his mouth.

He did not care about Little Youjin’s craving anymore. Qi Youxuaun truly felt deep in his heart that it was too delicious. Though he sucked on his fingers until they were clean, he still could not get enough and continued to savor it as much as he could.

In the end, he felt that he had licked them clean. His mouth still held a small portion of chocolate, and one of his cheeks was even puffed up.

He swallowed the sweet, delicious amalgamation of saliva and chocolate, and when he looked up, he was shocked by the scene in front of him.

Little Youjjin’s unconsciously left his mouth open and saliva flowed out in a continuous stream toward his jaw. His bib was wet as a result.

He closed his mouth and swallowed his saliva, but when he opened his mouth again, his saliva flowed out even more vigorously than before.

Qi Youxuan licked his lips and said gratifiedly to Little Youjin, “So delicious, so delicious!”

Little Youjin went bonkers. He became more and more frantic, and at that moment, he looked at Song Yu with a mixture of anxiety and solemness. His hands then pointed spiritedly at the chocolates. It was rare that he showed such a serious expression to Song Yu.

“AH!”‘Sweets! Your son wants sweets!’

Little Youjin grew more impatient.

Song Yu watched him in silence.

Her son’s deadly earnest and especially imposing look was used only when it came to food.

Song Yu found it hard to express what she was thinking at that moment. She speechlessly looked at Qi Youxuan’s blessed expression as he at all those chocolates.

Her nephew seemed to have had a bad influence on her son.

Feeling helpless, Song Yu opened a box and used the table knife to cut a small piece, which she then placed in Little Youjin’s hand. “You can only eat this much. It’s too sweet, and that’s not good for your teeth.”

Although Little Youjin was not satisfied with it, he could at least have a taste. That tiny piece of chocolate was stuffed into his mouth, and a few swipes of the tongue melted it into oblivion.

Nevertheless, his eyes narrowed in delight from the sweetness of the chocolate. He wiggled happily in his seat and flailed his arms about, as if he had eaten a precious treasure.

Qi Youxuan pouted and silently called his little cousin brother silly. He turned around and went off in search of the Ruan family.

Little Youjin called out, “Ah! Ah!” and pointed at the chocolates with vim and vigor. Thoroughly spirited, he fervently requested more chocolates.

“Yah! AH! Yah!”‘Come on! Gimme summore!’

Before his mother could react, his pupils caught sight of his elder brother running over to the other table and trying to fawn over the older people there.

Qi Youxuan’s fattened body thrashed about within Ruan Keshan’s embrace. There was not much pressure though, as Ruan Keshan did not let out any expression that suggested his stomach was in pain due to the weight.

Ruan Keshan was feeling remarkably happy. Qi Youxuan struggled onto his lap, and the first thing eyed by the little boy were the chocolates on top of the table.

Ruan Keshan’s eyes lit up and he immediately shoved the chocolates to Qi Youxuan. Chen Minxia fished out a plastic bag from nowhere and placed the entire table’s worth of chocolates into it. She then gave it to Qi Youxuan.

Qi Youxuan returned to the table with a big grin. Little Youjin watched as QI Youxuan then placed the entire bag into his backpack.

“Ee-yah!” Little Youjin opened his eyes and pointed at the table behind. It was the Song family—Qi Youjin’s maternal grandparents!

Qi Youjin…he had maternal grandparents too!

The child seat that Little Youjin sat in was with wheels. He tried his best to jerk his little butt and twist his waist, since he wanted to look for his maternal grandparents.

Qi Youxuan fancied himself a good elder cousin brother, so there was no way he could neglect his little cousin brother’s wishes. Thus, he ran over and pushed Little Youjin away.

Song Yu looked as Little Youjin stretched his hand to Yu Qianying and beseeched a hug. The baby boy’s look of admiration was nothing but sheer acting.

Yu Qianying bought into it and happily called out, “Darling, Darling,” while pulling him into her embrace.

Little Youjin moved about in Yu Qianying’s arms before swiveling his head toward the chocolates. His saliva was streaming down uncontrollably.

Yu Qianying saw that and hogged the entire table’s chocolates. She called the attendant and asked for a plastic bag, then gave it all to Little Youjing. “Here! I’m giving them to you!”

“Eee-yaah!”‘Your Grandson is really happy!’

Qi Youxuan turned around to look at Qi Chengzhi, then whispered to Little Youjin, “Good food must be given to great-grandma. If your dad knows, he definitely won’t keep it for you.”

“YAH!” Little Youjing agreed unequivocally to Qi Youxuan’s statement.

“Then let Big Brother help you give them to Great-Grandma to keep!” Qi Youxuan said as insincere thoughts began to appear in his mind. On second thought, it was an idea that stemmed from how much he cared about his younger cousin brother.

Little Youjin nodded happily. “Yah! Ee-yah!”

‘Big Brother is correct!’

…

When the wedding ended, Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen had a change of clothes. The Qi family and the Ruan family went to the guest room upstairs to wait for the couple. Other guests left by themselves, but after some thought, Chang Zhiyuan followed behind the Ruan family.

After Ruan Danchen and Qi Chenglin changed their clothes and came out, Ruan Danchen saw Chang Zhiyuan but did now know what to say. There was some kind of distance between them,

The old Ruan couple were looking on in admiration. ‘Our granddaughter…she’s family with us!’

Chang Zhiyuan wanted nothing more than to call for her warmly, but he felt too embarrassed to say anything as he did not know what Ruan Danchen’s stance on it was. Furthermore, the Qi family and the Ruan family were glaring at him like tigers. Chang Zhiyuan felt rather lacking in power and particularly guilty.

“You…” After seeing how he looked at her with ardently hopeful eyes, Ruan Danchen’s heart melted.

Chang Zhiyuan said immediately, “I won’t tell my family since you don’t want them to know. I’ll respect your decision. But as long as… As long as you acknowledge me as your uncle, that’d be nice.”

“Uncle,” Ruan Danchen said and smiled.

Chang Zhiyuan was the only person who made Ruan Danchen feel guilty about hiding her status from the Chang family. Hearing from Qi Chenglin about Chang Zhiyuan’s feelings toward Chang Yuehuan, Ruan Danchen felt that it was too selfish and unfair toward him.

Since the chance was in front of her, she was not going to be unreasonable.

Chang Zhiyuan’s face and eyes reddened after being addressed as such. He answered immediately, “Yeah,” and followed up with, “Then…next time, if we have the chance, can I bring your aunt to come and meet you too? Just your aunt, no one else; but if I can bring your little cousin sister too, then…”

Both the Qi and Ruan families simultaneously shot a look that said, ‘Gave him an inch, he wants a mile—a businessman through-and-through!’ Their looks guilted Chang Zhiyuan into laughing dryly.

“Sure,” Ruan Danchen smiled and said. “When we’re back from our honeymoon, we’ll go visit you at your place.”

“Yeah, sure, sure!” Chang Zhiyuan was thrilled. He did not care much for the rest of the Chang family, since Grandmother Chang’s temper would only offend Ruan Danchen even more. It was best not to let them acknowledge her.

As for Chang Zhixing, his wife was unprincipled. Chang Zhiyuan did not feel the slightest pressure in hiding it from his own mother and younger brother.

It was all good if he, his wife, his daughter, and his niece could be together happily.

Chang Zhiyuan left happily and no longer felt the effect of the Qi family and Ruan family’s stares.

It was the first time in a long time that his mood was truly uplifted.

That changed, however, when he returned home.

Grandmother Chang was seated at the single-seated sofa in the living room, with the attitude of an old ancestor. From her expression, the situation did not look promising at all.

The first person beside her was Chang Zhixing, with his wife Liu Xiangwen to his side. Opposite them was Mo Yuxin.

Mo Yuxin’s expression was not good either, but Chang Zhiyuan could see from afar that her dissatisfaction was not directed to himself, but rather, the old lady. In spite of that, Mo Yuxin still endured it because the old lady was her mother-in-law.

From time-to-time, the old lady would roll her eyes fiercely at Mo Yuxin. She felt that her daughter-in-law’s expression was a sore sight and completely unfilial!

Chang Jingqiu did not sit on the sofa. She took a chair from God-knows-where and sat beside Grandmother Chang.

“Mom, why are you here?” Chang Zhiyuan frowned and took a deep breath before asking with a controlled temper.

Mo Yuxin looked to him. He walked over, and Mo Yuxin moved aside for him to sit down.

Chang Zhiyuan held Mo Yuxin’s hand and turned to Grandmother Chang.

“I heard you went to the Qi family’s wedding today?” Grandmother Chang asked unhappily.

Chang Zhiyuan’s originally joyous expression sunk at once.

He glanced at Chang Zhixing and Liu Xiangwen before telling the old lady, “I just came back from Dynasty. News travelled pretty fast considering you all know about it already.”

After saying that, his eyes shifted seamlessly to Chang Jingqiu. He overlooked that in the past, but after he paid close attention, he discovered that fear and tyrannical calculatedness were indeed present in Chang Jingqiu’s eyes.

Her expression came and went quickly, but the observant Chang Zhiyuan could see it clearly.

He chuckled coldly in his heart. Chang Jingqiu was young after all, and she thought she could cover it so well that no one could see it at all. What she did not know was how she carelessly allowed some of her expressions to slip.

Chang Zhixing shot Liu Xiangwen a dissatisfied glance and was angry at her talkativeness.

No to be defeated, Liu Xiangwen pursed her lip before flashing a pretentious smile to Chang Zhiyuan. “Didn’t our family fall out terribly with the Qi family some time ago? The Qi family is unreasonable and wants to suppress us. They pushed us to a very awkward spot. As long as the Qi family will be present in a public event or celebration, no one dares to invite our family. People are afraid to invite us even if it’s only a private gathering with friends.”

Liu Xiangwen had first-hand experience. She used to play cards frequently and had plenty of gatherings—such was her enriched life. If she had nothing to do, she could compare her fortunes with others. If someone showed off their million-yuan jadeite, she would show off her sapphire, one that was collected by sending a professional over to Sri Lanka. Liu Xiangwen trained her lips everyday by triumphing over others through verbal sparring. It was something she thought worthy of being proud of.

Now, she could only stay at home in agitation. When she finally could not take it anymore, she put on a thick face and took the initiative to contact her past friends. Each one of them however, turned her down and said they had things to do, but in the blink of an eye, she saw those same friends posting pictures of their gathering on WeChat Moments, irking Liu Xiangwen thoroughly!

“Even saying a few extra words when bumping into them outside would give the Qi family a false impression that we’re on good terms with them,” Liu Xiangwen said.

Grandmother Chang was incredibly angry, more so when she recalled all the wrong that she suffered in recent times. She realized that the Qi family was the reason why all those younger than her were completely disrespectful to her in public!