Before Zhong Yì could answer, a crowd swarmed down the corridor.
“Zhōu Shíyì! Hurry and go back downstairs, then come back up again!”
Someone shouted.
Jì Fánxīng laughed until tears nearly spilled from her eyes. It was the first time she’d seen the groom neglected like this.
Only then did Zhōu Shíyì realize he hadn’t locked the door when he came in. He tilted his chin at Jì Fánxīng: “Lock the door from the inside. If the new drama ever lacks funding, just come find me.”
“Got it!” Jì Fánxīng dashed toward the door.
Just as Jiāng Yánfēng was closing in with two or three steps left, there was a loud “bang” — the door was pushed shut from the inside by Jì Fánxīng.
“Click,” the door locked.
“Zhōu Shíyì, I’m guessing you’re not coming out now!”
Jì Fánxīng recognized the voice of another one of Zhong Yì’s cousins.
Zhōu Shíyì of course wanted to come out — but he was carrying Zhong Yì. Anyone trying to pull him apart didn’t dare touch his own sister.
Jiāng Jìngyuān downstairs warned, “Be careful on the stairs! Yánfēng, help Shíyì steady him.”
Jiāng Yánfēng:
Not only couldn’t he make things difficult, he had to carefully support him.
Downstairs in the restaurant, the Jieqintuan sat around eating dim sum.
The table was filled with Jiangcheng delicacies and Hong Kong-style morning tea; they didn’t consider themselves outsiders and ate without reservation.
The groom carrying the bride finally reached the first floor.
The eldest cousin waved at Zhōu Shíyì: “There’s still time. Come try some dim sum. You were just upstairs—I was worried about you. I didn’t have an appetite for breakfast.”
“I think you’re eating better than anyone else.”
“Ha ha.”
The eldest cousin took a bite of the Yinghuadingshenggao, looking calm and composed. “Luckily we joined quickly, otherwise could you have gotten upstairs smoothly?”
Zhōu Shíyì was still busy taking photos, no time to argue: “Don’t eat all that cake. Leave some for Zhong Yì.”
“There’s plenty.” The eldest cousin savored the Dingsheng Cake carefully.
Zhōu Sùjìn, who was a permanent resident in Jiangcheng and never short of Dingsheng Cake, ate a piece of Yingtaomianbao.
The bread had a unique texture; he asked the Ayi if she could pack some for his daughter.
Ayi said, “For Chén Chén, right? It’s already prepared.”
The cherry bread was specially baked for Chén Chén. Zhong Yì said the little one loved bread, especially cherry.
Seeing Zhōu Sùjìn packing it up, the eldest cousin asked Ayi to pack some Dingsheng Cake for him as well.
He usually didn’t eat pastries but was surprised it tasted quite good.
Zhōu Sùjìn glanced at him: “Who are you packing it for?”
“For myself.”
“Just for good luck, Dingsheng.”
Zhōu Sùjìn then looked over at the three brothers-in-law on the other side of the table, still chatting with their Sanxian.
They had already started planning a trip to Hong Kong Island for afternoon tea, mentioning their mother’s love for her films. Before coming, she specifically reminded them to invite her and Shí Fànyīn over to their home.
They really had forgotten what they came for.
Outside in the courtyard, the photographers were taking pictures of the bride and groom.
Zhong Yì lifted her eyes to the man in front of her, and it felt like returning to the year they took wedding photos on the island.
She wore the same Wedding Dress, and he wore a suit in matching tones, only the stripes differed—if you didn’t look closely, you couldn’t tell them apart.
Everything felt like another lifetime.
Zhōu Shíyì carefully took off his boutonnière and handed it along with her bouquet to Jì Fánxīng, telling the photographer, “Take a set for us. Have them retouched for tonight’s wedding.”
The photographers were stunned.
This was a freshly taken wedding photo shoot.
With the French-style Villa as the background and the lush green grass of early summer, the photos could rival those taken by the sea.
Zhong Yì said, “Didn’t the wedding photos already get restored?”
Zhōu Shíyì pulled her into his arms: “There needs to be a set with short hair.”
He paused, then added, “Short hair looks good too.”
Not wanting to leave any regrets from the photo shoot, Zhong Yì parted his five fingers and intertwined her fingers with his.
The photographers guided their movements, suggesting they hold hands and walk naturally toward the villa.
Zhong Yì turned to him: “Let’s pretend it’s the first time I’m bringing you home to meet my parents.”
Holding each other’s hands like this, the body language shifted.
Her greatest regret had been wanting to take him home, to introduce him to her father.
Unfortunately, that never came to pass.
“Zhong Yì.”
She turned back: “Hm?”
“I wanted to bring you home before too. I told my mom we’d go when the weather warmed and your project was done.” He hesitated, “But we separated the following week.”
Zhong Yì was stunned for half a second.
Zhōu Shíyì squeezed her hand tightly.
She couldn’t voice the sadness in that moment—if only they had been a bit more mature and willing to compromise then, would they still be together?
The wedding photos finished, and it was time to return to the bridal suite for the auspicious hour.
A group of people held up their phones, aiming at Jiāng Jìngyuān, waiting to catch him shedding tears.
Jiāng Jìngyuān smiled wryly and waved them away.
Zhōng Zhuóhuá thought she was good at controlling her tears, able to hold them back at any time.
But when Zhong Yì came over and hugged her, whispering, “Zhong Jie, you don’t know how lucky I am to be your daughter. From now on, I’ll take good care of myself. You have to love yourself too,”
Zhōng Zhuóhuá’s vision blurred; she couldn’t see clearly.
That little brat finally had a home with the one she loved. She should be happy, yet she didn’t know why she was crying.
“Don’t cry on such a happy day.”
Zhōng Zhuóhuá wiped her tears and gently brushed the corners of her daughter’s eyes.
Releasing her mother, Zhong Yì turned to her father and opened her arms.
Just that one gesture made Jiāng Jìngyuān feel uneasy.
Zhong Yì was held in her father’s arms, just like when she was little—warm and safe.
“Dad, I want to be your daughter again in the next life, and Zhong Jie to be my mother. You have to love her well.”
Jiāng Jìngyuān choked up: “Alright.”
“Maybe I still won’t be able to paint, no matter what.”
“It’s okay. If you can’t paint, Dad will keep painting for you to show Mom.”
Zhōng Zhuóhuá was wiping her tears when she suddenly realized something was off.
It turned out that all her daughter’s childhood homework drawings had been done by him.
Every time they had video calls, although the drawings weren’t great, she would praise her daughter.
But it turned out even those not-so-great drawings weren’t done by her daughter herself.
Many people caught Jiāng Jìngyuān crying, but Mǐn Tíng didn’t take photos, and Zhōu Sùjìn stood far away, also not photographing.
He looked at the cherry bread in his hand, unable to imagine how he would handle the day his daughter grew up and married.
They got in the car.
Zhong Yì waved to her parents from the window: “I’ll be back in a couple of days. Save some Honey Red Beans for me!”
Zhōng Zhuóhuá laughed and cried, “I’ll eat them all tonight. No point telling you to eat something so sweet!”
Zhong Yì smiled, “Maybe I won’t eat so sweet anymore.”
The wedding car slowly drove away. Only when her parents’ figures disappeared from sight did she reluctantly turn away, close the window, and sit upright.
Zhōu Jiāyè in the front passenger seat tried to lighten the mood: “Why won’t you eat sweet stuff anymore? Afraid of high blood sugar?”
Zhong Yì smiled, “I’m a little worried about that.”
Zhōu Shíyì looked at her thoughtfully.
Zhong Yì didn’t need to drive today, so she carefully observed the road signs outside, noting which places she passed on the way home, trying to remember the route.
Most of the car ride was filled with bridesmaids and groomsmen chatting; she and Zhōu Shíyì chimed in occasionally.
As they approached the neighborhood, Zhong Yì gradually grew familiar with the surroundings.
This was her fourth time coming here; she no longer felt strange about the villa’s layout.
Getting out of the wedding car, there were still several hurdles to pass.
Zhōu Shíyì’s friends and classmates blocked the entrance, not letting them in.
He turned his head to the eldest cousin: “If you’re not going to help with the Jieqintuan, fine, but after eating so much Dingsheng Cake, you can’t just use being too full to not fight, right?”
The eldest cousin smiled wryly, after all, he had only just finished one piece of Dingsheng Cake.
With help from the previously reluctant Jieqintuan, Zhōu Shíyì carried Zhong Yì smoothly upstairs.
In the living room, the elder Zhōu was deeply pleased to see his grandsons and sons-in-law united.
Especially the eldest grandson; after settling down, he was truly different now, showing responsibility.
***
Upstairs, the master bedroom door opened.
Zhong Yì looked around the room — unfamiliar in style and layout, but thankfully the atmosphere was familiar.
Zhōu Shíyì set her gently on the bed and closed the door, finally granting a moment of peace.
Just as Zhong Yì took off her wedding shoes to rest her feet, there was a knock.
Shí Fànyīn entered with her stylist.
“Mom.”
“You look stunning today.”
Shí Fànyīn hugged her. “I talked with your mother. You look so beautiful. Not taking photos in a Chinese-style wedding dress would be a pity, so we prepared one for you too.”
Zhong Yì hesitated, “But my hair’s short.”
“No problem. Short hair is even more striking.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Shí Fànyīn herself regretted not choosing more dresses back then and not wearing a Chinese-style wedding dress, so she didn’t want her son and daughter-in-law to have regrets.
After seeing Zhong Yì’s makeup, she could still clearly see the strong beauty inherited from Zhōng Zhuóhuá in her brows and eyes.
Zhōu Shíyì hadn’t left, sitting on the sofa watching the stylist work.
Shí Fànyīn signaled her son, “Fánxīng and I will stay with Yì. You go downstairs and take care of things.”
Zhōu Shíyì replied, “There’s nothing I need to do. The eldest cousin will entertain our guests.”
Shí Fànyīn teased, “Not easy to be nice to you today, huh?”
“Because I wanted to bring him Dingsheng Cake.”
Zhōu Shíyì propped his forehead and looked at Zhong Yì in the mirror: “I’m going to close my eyes for a bit. Call me when the makeup’s done.”
He’d barely slept for days and was tired.
Having brought her back here, seeing her sitting in their bedroom, no matter how much friction remained, at least they were close now.
Zhong Yì said, “You should sleep.”
After days of mental excitement, she was also feeling exhausted.
It took an hour to finish her styling; her short hair saved time.
Others quietly left the room, and Zhong Yì turned to the man behind her, who was still leaning on the sofa asleep.
Before going downstairs, her mother said there was no rush since the photoshoot time lasted until before the wedding banquet.
Zhong Yì stood, took the suit from the back of the sofa, and draped it over him.
Zhōu Shíyì was in a deep sleep, unmoved even when someone covered him.
Zhong Yì went to the study next door, wanting to see how her ornaments were arranged.
Having been here before, the layout was completely different from their home in Boston.
The study door was half open; she went in and stopped just inside.
For a moment, it felt like a dream.