Chapter Fifty-Nine: So We Decided to Get Married

“The eighth day of next month,” Shen Tingxiao replied from the other end. “It’s a good day, auspicious for marriage.”

Jiang Yunzhou hadn’t expected him to be so invested.

“But isn’t it a bit too soon?” she asked instinctively. Would there be enough time to prepare the wedding?

“Are you having second thoughts?” Shen Tingxiao’s tone became subtle.

Jiang Yunzhou paused. “Of course not.” After a moment, she continued, “I’m just wondering if the wedding can be arranged properly in such a short time.”

Even if it wasn’t a real wedding in the traditional sense, it was still her first one in life. No matter what, it deserved to be taken seriously.

Shen Tingxiao seemed surprised by her answer. After a brief silence, he asked, “What kind of wedding do you want?”

Jiang Yunzhou had never had a concrete answer to that question—only a vague, misty idea. Now that she was asked directly, she didn’t know how to respond.

Shen Tingxiao waited for her answer. “Hmm? Why aren’t you speaking?”

“I honestly… haven’t thought about it specifically,” Jiang Yunzhou sat in her chair. “In the past, I just figured it had to be really beautiful, with a gorgeous dress, lots of people, and a dreamy scene.”

A very hazy concept.

Shen Tingxiao laughed softly, as if mocking her innocence. “That’s not difficult to achieve.”

“Hmm…” Jiang Yunzhou rested her face on her hand, suddenly proposing, “Can’t we wait a little longer? Until I’ve planned out my own wedding?”

“It’s our wedding,” he corrected her.

Jiang Yunzhou didn’t mind. “Anyway, you’ll marry someone else in the future, and I may never get married again.”

“If we get along, I wouldn’t mind spending my life with you,” Shen Tingxiao’s voice was low, coming through the receiver. Perhaps the weather was interfering, causing some static and distortion.

It sounded almost believable.

Jiang Yunzhou felt her ears grow warm. She rubbed them, quietly teasing, “Shen, don’t make casual promises to girls in the future. It’s just me, so I don’t take it seriously. If it were someone else, she’d probably be smitten and clinging to you already.”

“If you cling to me, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Jiang Yunzhou muttered silently.

He seemed heartless.

Every conversation with him easily led to misunderstandings. Shen Tingxiao hadn’t caught her last remark and asked, “What?”

“Nothing,” Jiang Yunzhou replied promptly. “It’s late—I won’t disturb your rest.”

“I’ll take you tomorrow,” Shen Tingxiao said before she could hang up. Then, not waiting for her refusal, he ended the call.

Jiang Yunzhou stared at her phone for a while before locking the screen and going to bed.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, her phone suddenly lit up.

Shen Tingxiao: I’ll give you at most one more month. Think carefully about what kind of wedding you really want.

Jiang Yunzhou’s eyes brightened as she held her phone: Thank you!

The next morning, after packing her things, Jiang Yunzhou took her small suitcase downstairs and sent Shen Tingxiao a message: I’m waiting for you at the hotel entrance.

But she waited in the hotel lobby for quite a while, and Shen Tingxiao didn’t show up, nor did he reply.

Seeing that she might miss her flight, she sent him another message: I’ll take a taxi myself, no need for you to see me off.

Then she picked up her suitcase and walked outside.

Just then, a car pulled up in front of her.

Was it Shen Tingxiao’s car?

The window rolled down, revealing Ge Xingjing’s face. “Miss Jiang, President Shen was held up by some matters and can’t see you off. I’ll take you instead.”

“Oh.” Jiang Yunzhou couldn’t hide her disappointment.

Ge Xingjing got out, eagerly placed her suitcase in the trunk, and glanced at her. “Why do I feel like you’re pretty disappointed?”

“I’m not,” Jiang Yunzhou forced a smile and got into the passenger seat. “Let’s go.”

The car started moving.

It took about an hour to get from the hotel to the airport.

The journey was mostly silent. As they neared the airport, Jiang Yunzhou suddenly asked, “Did Shen Tingxiao run into trouble?”

Had she caused him trouble by asking for help, making Lei Yaoyang target him?

A hint of hesitation flickered across Ge Xingjing’s face. He didn’t elaborate. “Just some business issues, that’s all.”

“Is it inconvenient to talk about?” Jiang Yunzhou pressed, determined to get to the bottom of it.

Ge Xingjing hemmed and hawed, finally saying, “Please don’t ask me, Miss Jiang. You’d be better off asking President Shen himself.”

“I understand.” Jiang Yunzhou felt her heart sinking.

Before boarding, she sent several messages to Shen Tingxiao.

[Is Lei Yaoyang causing you trouble?]

[Shen, are you okay? Will this matter be resolved?]

But Shen Tingxiao didn’t reply.

After boarding, Jiang Yunzhou turned off her phone, then turned it back on as soon as she landed.

There were still no new messages.

Chen Li, having received news of her return, came to the airport to pick her up in person. Seeing Jiang Yunzhou fiddling with her phone the whole way, she asked, “What’s wrong with your phone? Is it broken? I’ll buy you a new one.”

“It’s not broken,” Jiang Yunzhou said, puzzled. “Why won’t he reply?”

Chen Li, sensing something was off, immediately asked, “Who are you waiting to hear from?”

Jiang Yunzhou put her phone away, glanced at her, and smiled. “Mom, if I found you a satisfactory boyfriend, would you stop urging me to get married?”

“What do you mean, found me one? It’s for you, not me! Wait, are you saying you’re dating someone? Who is it? What’s his name? How old is he? With your taste, could you possibly pick a decent guy?”

“…”

“Don’t look down on people,” Jiang Yunzhou protested. “That blind date you arranged for me last time was pretty bizarre.”

Chen Li looked a bit guilty. “That’s my fault—the matchmaker wasn’t reliable. I thought she was a long-time friend, so I didn’t ask much and just gave her your info. I didn’t expect you’d end up meeting such a weirdo.”

“Don’t shift the topic onto me,” Chen Li quickly pressed on, “So who is it? What does he look like?”

“You’ve met him,” Jiang Yunzhou turned slightly to look at Chen Li’s profile, enunciating clearly, “It’s Shen Tingxiao.”

“Shen… Shen Tingxiao!” Chen Li’s eyes lit up. “I wanted to pair you two before, but you weren’t willing. What made you change your mind? Finally realized Shen Tingxiao is a good boy?”

Jiang Yunzhou decided to go big. “Yes, so we’ve decided to get married.”