While Xu Lai was lost in thought, he saw his sister-in-law roll her eyes. "Brother-in-law, are you stupid? If my sister gets drunk, won’t you have your chance?"
"I am not the sort of scoundrel who would take advantage of someone in a vulnerable state." Xu Lai looked displeased as he chided, "Have you no understanding of what a gentleman is?"
Ruan Tang nodded in satisfaction and downed the cup of Chrysanthemum Wine in her hand. One cup was nothing to her.
But to her complete surprise, Xu Lai promptly refilled it...
She looked at Xu Lai. This guy claims to be a gentleman, yet look how fast he’s pouring the wine!
"Just drinking is no fun," Ruan Lan suddenly suggested. "Should we play a game?"
Xu Yiyi, after another bite of meat, blinked her eyes in expectation. "Auntie, what game are we going to play?"
Ruan Tang and Xu Lai also looked over, curious.
"It’s not for children." Ruan Lan covered her niece’s ears and whispered slyly, "Let’s play cards. The kind where the loser strips. I won’t..."
Before she could finish, Ruan Tang reached out and rapped her sister sharply on the head.
Ruan Lan clutched her head and whined, "Sis, can you stop hitting my head all the time? Do you know why I’m always failing my classes? It’s because you’ve knocked me stupid."
"You fail because you don’t study," Ruan Tang retorted, her expression dark.
Ruan Lan pouted. "At least let me finish. I won’t play; just you and Brother-in-law. It’s a great way to spice up your relationship."
With a straight face, Ruan Tang said, "He won’t agree. Right, Xu Lai?"
"I think it’s a great idea."
Annoyed, Ruan Tang pinched the flesh at Xu Lai’s waist, a faint, dangerous smile on her lips. "Mr. Xu, what was that you thought was a great idea?"
Xu Lai coughed and quickly changed his tune. "I think it’s a terrible idea."
Only then did Ruan Tang let go.
"Tsk, men are so pathetic. A man who wants to misbehave but doesn’t have the guts is even more pathetic." Ruan Lan shook her head and sighed. "Brother-in-law, you should know, if you’re bold enough... your wife will be on maternity leave again before you know it. You could..."
Ruan Tang moved all the meat dishes in front of Yiyi and smiled. "Sweetie, your aunt isn’t eating anymore. You can have it all."
"AAAAH, I was wrong, Sis! You can hit me, but you can’t take away my right to eat meat!" Ruan Lan cried out in a panic.
After dinner, Xu Lai lay on the bed in their room, coaxing Yiyi to sleep. Meanwhile, Ruan Tang, fresh from her bath and dressed in pajamas, sat at her vanity, combing her hair with a wooden comb.
Xu Lai walked up behind his wife and took the comb from her. "Let me do that."
Ruan Tang hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Mhm."
His movements were gentle. Her already sleek hair felt like pure silk as it flowed through his hands. Through the mirror, Ruan Tang stared at the face that so often invaded her dreams, feeling dazed and lost in the moment.
After what felt like a long time, Xu Lai’s voice reached her ears.
Ruan Tang returned to her senses and said softly, "Thank you."
"We don’t need to be so formal with each other. Good night." Xu Lai lay down on the bed, put an arm around his daughter, and closed his eyes. Ruan Tang smiled and lay down as well.
That night, Ruan Tang slept exceptionally well. If it hadn’t been for the insistent ringing of her phone, she felt she could have slept even longer.
Rubbing her eyes, Ruan Tang sat up. The sunlight was warm, but Xu Lai and Yiyi were nowhere in sight; they had obviously been up for a while.
She picked up her phone. As soon as she answered, she heard her best friend Xu Yaoyao’s anxious voice.
"Ruan Tang, what am I going to do?"
"Don’t panic, just tell me slowly."
"This is all happening too fast! I’m not mentally prepared at all." Read full story at N0veI.Fiɾe.net
"...What exactly happened?" Ruan Tang felt helpless. Xu Yaoyao was always —rash, impulsive, and taking forever to get to the point. It was incredibly annoying.
"I’m getting married," Xu Yaoyao said.
"I know that. You already asked Luo Chu and me to be your bridesmaids," Ruan Tang replied.
"I mean—the wedding date is set. It’s October eighteenth, just eleven days from now."
Xu Yaoyao’s words shocked Ruan Tang wide awake. She took a sharp breath. "That soon?"
"Yeah," Xu Yaoyao said gloomily. "I’ve noticed I’m gaining weight. In a few months, I’ll have a baby bump. Imagine how ugly that would look in a wedding dress! Besides, it would be cold then, too."
Ruan Tang rubbed the space between her eyebrows. "So..."
"So when Liu Beiming brought up setting a wedding date today, I was still half asleep and just agreed."
Ruan Tang held her forehead. "So, what are you thinking now?"
"I can only go through with it," Xu Yaoyao sighed. "I’m already pregnant. I can’t just kick Liu Beiming to the curb now, can I?"
Ruan Tang was speechless. Suddenly, she felt Liu Beiming’s decisive move was absolutely the right one. Otherwise, the poor man would be living in constant anxiety, and how exhausting would that be?
"I happen to have the day off. I’ll get ready and then come find you," Ruan Tang said.
"Okay, okay, see you in a bit."
After hanging up, Xu Yaoyao made several calls to Luo Chu, but each one went to a message saying the number was out of the service area.
"Where on earth has that girl run off to?" Xu Yaoyao scratched her head. After sending a text and a WeChat message, she buried her head back in her blankets to catch up on some sleep.
Ruan Tang went downstairs and saw a note on the table that read, "Food’s in the pot."
She called Xu Lai and found out he was on his way to drop their daughter off at school. After a quick bite, Ruan Tang took a taxi to her best friend Xu Yaoyao’s apartment, only to find her sleeping soundly...
Ruan Tang checked the time: eleven in the morning.
She ordered abalone porridge and a variety of other dishes from a delivery app before saying softly, "Yaoyao, get up and eat."
Three minutes later, Xu Yaoyao sat up reluctantly, still wrapped in her quilt. She gave her best friend a reproachful look. "You’re so cruel. I’m sleepy! Just two more hours."
"The wedding is in eleven days. Have you booked the hotel? Sent the invitations? What about the wedding favors, the dress, the itinerary?" Ruan Tang said with a stern expression. "There’s a mountain of things to do, and you still have the nerve to sleep?"
"I was going to leave all that to you and Luo Chu, but now Luo Chu’s gone missing, and she’s the only one of us three who’s been married before..." Xu Yaoyao’s voice was filled with disappointment.
Ruan Tang was suddenly taken aback. With Xu Yaoyao also getting married, she would be the only unmarried one left, even though she already had a daughter.
But she quickly rolled her eyes. Just as she thought, a classic case of a superficial friendship. Xu Yaoyao’s words just now made it clear she planned to use her and Luo Chu as free labor!
"If you weren’t pregnant, I wouldn’t even bother with you," Ruan Tang said, exasperated. "Now, eat first. Don’t let the baby in your belly starve."
Though she spoke with an air of resignation, she was already reliably helping her friend look up hotels and bridal boutiques.
Lying on the bed, Xu Yaoyao said with satisfaction, "In this life, having one or two dependable friends is all you need."
Ruan Tang didn’t comment. To her, weren’t Luo Chu and Xu Yaoyao her most dependable friends as well?