Chapter 65#

Xia Yuantu was stunned.

Qiao Nanqi’s words were no different from the resolute and vigorous manner he had shown while working together all these years. This childhood friend of his had always been a natural superior; whatever he said or did, his words carried a steady weight that made people willing to believe him.

But at this moment, in his ears, it sounded like a calm facade over madness.

For a moment, he didn’t know how to react. At this point, he began to feel that if Lu Xingping and Zhao Rong had truly hit it off in these few months, so be it—after all, feelings are indeed mysterious. But why didn’t these two try harder to keep it a secret?

If they had hidden it for a few years until Qiao Nanqi’s feelings faded, perhaps all three of them could have sat down harmoniously for a wedding drink.

Maybe by then, Qiao Nanqi would have long since moved on to someone else, gotten married, and they could even exchange blessings.

Yet they chose to marry at this exact moment.

“Old Qiao,” he said, bracing himself, “you and Zhao Rong have already broken up. Although what Xingping is doing isn’t exactly right, you…”

“I know.” While Xia Yuantu was hesitating on how to persuade him, Qiao Nanqi’s tone actually became calm. “I already know.”

“Eh?”

“I indeed have no right to demand that he always stays in place waiting for me.”

Who this “he” referred to went without saying.

Xia Yuantu was taken aback.

He wanted to ask Qiao Nanqi what those previous words meant, but ultimately, looking at Qiao Nanqi’s seemingly emotionless expression, he didn’t ask.

He had originally wanted to call Lu Xingping to notify him, but since Qiao Nanqi was right beside him, and Lu Xingping should have been mentally prepared since the moment he decided to get married, he was caught in the middle and simply gave up.

He would just play it by ear when the time came.

Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping’s wedding venue was in the far suburbs.

Perhaps due to the rush, the wedding wasn’t a grand affair, nor was it held on some other island or scenic spot. They simply booked the largest venue in Yangcheng and decorated it for the wedding.

Qiao Nanqi’s home wasn’t in the city center, so it was actually faster to get here. They didn’t arrive exactly on time; when they arrived, the wedding was about to begin.

The venue was surrounded by colorful balloons. At the moment Qiao Nanqi walked to the door, someone was cutting the strings of those balloons.

The balloons rose one by one, like a layer of flowers spreading across the sky.

Qiao Nanqi’s footsteps paused.

He looked up, watching the vibrant colors slowly floating into the sky.

They were bright and piercingly vivid.

Behind him, Xia Yuantu said to him, “How about we just go back?”

Qiao Nanqi’s gaze shifted slightly, and he exerted all his strength to restrain the darkest depths of his heart.

In these few days, he had already passed the most uncontrollable moments. Even though his heart was filled with countless ravines, he had already made up his mind.

He said, “I want to attend the wedding.”

Zhao Rong went over the formalities for the sake of the ceremony with the person in charge once more. After confirming everything was correct, he asked, “Has everyone arrived?”

“Most have arrived, except for some who mentioned time conflicts early on and sent gifts in advance.”

Lu Xingping suddenly chimed in from the side, “What about Nanqi?”

“Mr. Qiao? Before we came in just now, we didn’t see Mr. Qiao or Mr. Xia.”

Zhao Rong tilted his head to look at him.

Lu Xingping shrugged. “I noticed you didn’t ask, so I’m just checking.”

“Why would I ask that?”

“What if he comes? Have you thought about what to do?”

This was a question Zhao Rong truly hadn’t considered.

The last words he and Qiao Nanqi had exchanged were that day through the door of his home, when the man had said, word for word, that he would make sure this wedding wouldn’t happen.

At that time, his temper had flared, and most of what he said was out of anger; he didn’t necessarily mean it in his heart.

He never felt that Qiao Nanqi, after his heated emotions calmed down, would truly disregard everything because of him. So, what he had been thinking since then was to use this wedding to cut off Qiao Nanqi’s increasingly extreme obsession and give himself a chance to settle. As for anything else, he had never envisioned it.

Now that Lu Xingping asked, Zhao Rong was naturally a bit stunned.

“If I say I haven’t thought about it, will Senior think I’m too unreliable?”

“It’s fine, because I haven’t thought about it either.”

Zhao Rong: “…”

He thought that as Qiao Nanqi’s childhood friend, Lu Xingping would have put much more thought into this than him.

And as a supporting male character in the original novel “The Journey Home,” whether in the original story or what happened after Zhao Rong transmigrated into the book, although Lu Xingping couldn’t compare to Qiao Nanqi, he could definitely look down upon most young people of his generation. He felt that with Lu Xingping’s ability, by holding this wedding, he might have already had a plan in mind that Zhao Rong didn’t know about.

That’s why he hadn’t worried much about the relationship between Lu Xingping and Qiao Nanqi.

Unexpectedly, in the end, he actually said, “I haven’t thought about it either.”

If he had known earlier, he should have explained to Qiao Nanqi to avoid dragging Lu Xingping down.

Seeming to have noticed Zhao Rong’s helplessness, Lu Xingping laughed a few times. “Why do you think I have a plan? There are so many things in this world; if you put deep thought into everything and think three steps ahead for every step you take, wouldn’t that be too boring? I told you long ago, I agreed to help you only because I admired how you could give up benefits everyone covets for someone like him, who is like a lonely island.”

“But if Qiao Nanqi causes trouble for Senior, I…”

“Then just help me win a few rounds of Fight the Landlord.”

“Senior, I’m truly worried.”

“That’s also my own decision; a marriage isn’t something one person can do.” Lu Xingping suddenly became serious. “What relationship and connection I have with Nanqi is one thing, and what relationship I have with you and what we are going to do is another.”

“If you’re going to help, help all the way. I’ll plan how to handle my affairs with Nanqi later. Right now, I’m holding this wedding with you, so my plan is naturally how to hold it well.”

“If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up myself.”

Zhao Rong suddenly understood a bit.

He had set his mind on saying goodbye to the past, wanting nothing more than Qiao Nanqi’s high spirits and Lu Xingping’s casual freedom—how could he have forgotten that at this moment?

He secretly planned what he should do if it affected Lu Xingping, but on the surface, he dropped the matter and didn’t mention it again.

Someone came to call them, saying it was time to go out.

Before walking out, in Zhao Rong’s peripheral vision, on a small table to the side, two jewelry boxes sat on an exquisite and expensive tray—containing the rings he and Lu Xingping were to exchange during the ceremony.

They lay there quietly.

Before reaching the hall, Zhao Rong took a few deep breaths, put on a smile, and walked out with Lu Xingping.

In the hall, many people stood in small groups, chatting over drinks.

They were holding a Western-style wedding, so there were no arrangements for table after table. Except for the central seats, both sides were set up like a banquet. However, the people who came were either rich or noble, and their relationships with them varied in closeness. Those sitting at the very front were naturally quite close to them, and their current positions were also quite far forward.

When Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping came out, only those closest to the front noticed.

The area around them suddenly became quiet.

Zhao Rong’s footsteps abruptly stopped, and the smile on his face turned into surprise before he could even maintain it.

At first glance, he saw Qiao Nanqi standing not far away.

When they came out, Qiao Nanqi and Xia Yuantu were standing together, surrounded by a few people. Those people, both men and women, judging from their attire and the seats they could occupy, were at least among the top figures in Yangcheng. One of them Zhao Rong had seen a few times at banquets hosted by the Chen family before, and he was also a person of prominent status.

These people all had more or less flattering smiles, and it was unclear what they were saying to Qiao Nanqi.

The man surrounded by them stood tall with a straight back, holding a glass of wine he clearly hadn’t drunk much of. His expression was indifferent, and his gaze was deep, as if thinking about something—in short, he didn’t seem to be listening seriously to those people.

He was completely different from the way he appeared before Zhao Rong in the snow that day.

That day at the door of Lu Xingping’s house, the trench coat on him was covered with water traces from the melted snow, his hair was damp, and his eyes were bloodshot. His usually sharp eyes were filled with pleading.

But today, he had clearly tidied himself up before coming out. His suit was well-fitted and smooth, without a single wrinkle. The white shirt underneath was one Zhao Rong had bought for him just a few months ago, with a subtle checkered pattern at the collar.

The previous slight stubble was also gone, except for those eyes, which seemed… not as deep yet bright as before.

He stood there, a head taller than those around him, and surrounded by others, he was very conspicuous.

Zhao Rong hadn’t seen Qiao Nanqi in such a setting for a long time, nor did he expect to see him like this again at the first wedding of his life.

Qiao Nanqi also looked over immediately.

When he met Zhao Rong’s gaze, the indifference he had just feigned seemed to shatter instantly. His eyes trembled slightly, as if he were using great effort to restrain the fluctuations on his face.

But the slightly trembling wine glass in his hand still betrayed his state of mind.

Lu Xingping, however, was very composed. He stepped forward a few paces and smiled slightly. “Nanqi, Yuantu, just arrived?”

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, it was as if nothing had happened, and it truly seemed like friends exchanging pleasantries at a wedding.

Qiao Nanqi still couldn’t stop looking at Zhao Rong.

It was the first time he had seen Zhao Rong like this.

Zhao Rong’s complexion was excellent, and a faint, gentle smile hung on his face. Perhaps because he had been well-cared for recently, he wasn’t as thin or listless as before. He was wearing a low-key but expensive suit, even more exquisite than what he wore to various banquets, looking very noble.

That suit was a solemn wedding garment, similar in style to the one Lu Xingping was wearing next to him.

Zhao Rong stood beside Lu Xingping like this, dazzling and also eye-piercing.

And he was just someone who had come in with a crumpled invitation…

A guest.

Qiao Nanqi’s heart felt as if some fine needles and thread were sewing up the thousands of holes he had poked in himself during this time, one by one, bit by bit, slowly stinging him.

He tried hard to grip the wine glass in his hand, but it still couldn’t help trembling slightly.

The people around them gradually realized that the protagonists of the wedding had appeared. More and more gazes swept over, and the scene gradually became quiet.

Xia Yuantu was beside him, fearing he would do something, and said in a low voice as a warning, “Old Qiao, you…”

Qiao Nanqi walked up to Lu Xingping.

He reached out, slightly tilting his tall wine glass, making a gesture of waiting to clink glasses.

There were originally a few people around who, seeing several of them there, wanted to come up and build some connections. With just those few steps, although Qiao Nanqi’s expression seemed unchanged, the atmospheric pressure around him was like a sword or a blade, making people not dare to step forward.

For a moment, the air around them solidified.

It didn’t look like he was attending a wedding; instead, it looked like he was there to crash it.

Qiao Nanqi’s gaze was heavy. He gritted his teeth and said word for word, “I’ve never seen you establish a relationship with someone so quickly and get married in the blink of an eye. Xingping, it seems…”

A faint red spread at the corners of his eyes.

“It seems…” Qiao Nanqi steadied his trembling wrist, while his other hand had already unconsciously clenched into a fist, his fingertips pressing hard into his palm. “You like this Mr. Zhao… very much?”

He had emphasized every word earlier, but when he reached the last sentence, it was as if all his strength had been drained in an instant, and his voice became lighter and lighter.

After speaking, he finally resisted the urge to keep looking at Zhao Rong and turned his gaze to Lu Xingping.

In the moment his gaze shifted, the little gentleness left in his eyes vanished, like a beast suddenly baring its fangs.

He was just waiting for Lu Xingping to say something, then he would pounce forward and tear apart the peace before him.

Lu Xingping bore this pressure, his eyebrows slightly raised.

He took the tall glass brought by the waiter, picked it up, and clinked it with Qiao Nanqi’s.

The glass collided, making a crisp sound.

The red wine in the glass swayed.

Zhao Rong’s brow furrowed imperceptibly. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Lu Xingping said unhurriedly, “Yes.”

“Of course.”