Zhong Zhuohua set the wedding date for September 6th, the day after her daughter’s birthday.
She worried that as she grew older, she might forget these important dates, but her daughter’s birthday was something she would never forget.
Originally, she had planned to hold a simple outdoor wedding on Hong Kong Island, inviting only close friends from their circle to fulfill her wish of wearing a wedding dress.
But Jiang Jingyuan disagreed, saying that since they were going to have a wedding, it should be grand and nothing should be missing.
On the wedding day, daddy, mommy, and her brother’s family would also fly back from abroad.
At first, they had broken up for over two years because of Yang Jiayuan’s donation to the Tongxin Foundation.
During those two years, after failing to reconcile with her, Jiang Jingyuan turned to her family.
Whenever Siyin had holidays, he would take their daughter to visit her parents, sometimes staying as long as two months.
Mommy called her: “Can you take Jiang Jingyuan away? I’m so tired of cooking.”
Jiang Jingyuan always said he loved mommy’s Cantonese dishes the most, so mommy felt embarrassed not to cook for him.
Her family had a good impression of Jiang Jingyuan.
Their thinking was practical and simple—because Jiang Jingyuan doted on Siyin and took care of the family, shared half of his assets with her, and unlike other rich heirs, he didn’t indulge in a lavish lifestyle.
Daddy said, “Not being able to flatter you with sweet words is better than only speaking sweet words without meaning.”
Once the wedding date was set, Jiang Jingyuan started preparing the venue a month in advance.
The two weddings for their daughter were warm and romantic, but Jiang Jingyuan’s wedding for her was the epitome of luxury.
Shi Fanyin had been to the venue and told her, “The only phrase I can think of is ‘drunken in paper and gold.’ I tried counting the crystal chandeliers, but there were too many; my eyes got dizzy.”
She sipped warm water and continued, “Jiang Jingyuan invited the country’s top floral designers. The table flowers are absolutely delightful—bold in color yet elegant, perfectly matching Zhong Zhuohua’s taste.”
Zhong Zhuohua was surprised: “They’re arranging flowers already?”
Shi Fanyin: “You know?”
Zhong Zhuohua shook her head.
“It’s a rehearsal. If the effect isn’t ideal, they still have time to redo the plan.”
When their daughter got married, Jiang Jingyuan had little room to interfere; children have their own ideas and preferences.
For his own wedding, he finally had the chance to showcase his vision.
From venue decoration to the wedding schedule, everything was planned according to young people’s tastes.
He didn’t see himself and Zhong Zhuohua as being in their forties or fifties—he treated it as a wedding for their younger selves.
Hearing about the luxurious venue, the in-laws Zhou Yunlian and his friend Lu Jianbo came out of curiosity.
Lu Jianbo complained, “I wanted to be his best man, but he rejected me!”
Zhou Yunlian tilted his head and glanced at his friend, “Then you should reflect on why you’re not popular. The third brother took the initiative to ask me to be best man.”
Lu Jianbo doubted, “Really?”
Of course, it was a lie.
But he wouldn’t tell Lu Jianbo the truth.
As they spoke, the two entered the banquet hall.
Brilliant crystal chandeliers cascaded from the dome ceiling, blinding Zhou Yunlian almost to the point he couldn’t open his eyes.
He sighed, “It’s not easy. Finally, before my grandchildren are born, Zhong Zhuohua has accepted him.”
Lu Jianbo looked incredulous at the gilded banquet hall, “More luxurious than my son’s wedding. At this age, what exactly is he trying to do?”
Zhou Yunlian: “You said it yourself, he’s getting on in years. Getting married in his fifties, let’s give him some credit.”
Inside the banquet hall, it was bustling with activity; this was already the second round of rehearsals.
Zhou Shiyi was also there, having finished company business, he deliberately stopped by to help.
Jiang Jingyuan glanced at his watch—6:20—and asked his son-in-law, “Not going to pick up Zhong Yiwuxin?”
Zhou Shiyi: “She didn’t work today. She’s out shopping with mom.”
Jiang Jingyuan had been busy with the wedding, coming and going early and late. He hadn’t seen his wife all day.
After standing for the afternoon, he poured himself a glass of water and sat down to rest.
“Siyin’s birthday this year, your mother and I can’t make it, so you celebrate with her. This year’s ‘earth mouth’ day, I really can’t take the risk.”
Zhou Shiyi said, “We already celebrated in advance.”
When his parents got married, Zhong Yiwuxin was even more excited than for her own wedding.
She often woke up in the middle of the night recently, pulling him along to talk about the wedding arrangements.
Worried she wouldn’t be in the mood to celebrate the day before, he had a birthday celebration for her the night before.
Before sleeping last night, Zhong Yiwuxin said that part of the wedding decoration would include hydrangeas.
“I often helped my mom plant hydrangeas when I was little. They bloomed beautifully,” she said proudly. “I’ve always been good at gardening.”
Tonight, Zhong Yiwuxin and her mother were out dining. Zhou Shiyi was about to ask Jiang Jingyuan if he wanted to join for dinner when he spotted his father and Lu Jianbo walking over.
“My dad and Uncle Lu are here,” Zhou Shiyi signaled to his father-in-law.
Jiang Jingyuan turned; they were already in front of him.
Zhou Yunlian said, “This wedding has everyone, young and old, busy.”
He had heard that Jiang Lao Yeye had been practicing his speech at home every day recently, but age made it difficult—he could recite it one day, but by the next morning he had forgotten most of it.
Zhou Shiyi greeted them, stood up, and said, “Uncle Lu, you two talk. I have things to do.”
Lu Jianbo joked, “Never thought the kid I used to have to carry every day has grown up so sensible.”
Zhou Shiyi didn’t respond.
That was why he hurriedly left—they always brought up his childhood.
He had no memories of his childhood, but one phrase his father often repeated was vivid in his mind: he was the most obedient child in the world.
Returning home, Zhong Yiwuxin still hadn’t come back from shopping.
Sitting at the computer for a while, unwilling to check emails, Zhou Shiyi opened a drawer and took out a medical report.
Although both he and Zhong Yiwuxin had passed their health checks, they still couldn’t conceive.
For some reason, the desire to have a child had never been stronger than recently.
Just then, he heard Zhong Yiwuxin’s voice outside the door.
Zhou Shiyi closed the medical report and put it back into the drawer. Just as he closed it, the study door was pushed open.
Zhong Yiwuxin reacted quickly: “Flustered, what are you hiding?”
Zhou Shiyi’s expression was calm: “Flustered? I just tidied the drawer.”
He reached out and pulled her onto his lap.
“Did you buy anything while shopping?” he diverted.
“No, just walked around twice and then went for coffee.”
Zhong Yiwuxin opened her phone, “Look at this photo.”
“Whose?”
“Yours.”
She turned the phone toward him.
In the photo, a three- or four-year-old boy was cutting fish meat.
Zhou Shiyi had never seen this photo from his childhood before.
The restaurant in the background was unfamiliar; he couldn’t recall whose place it was.
“Where did this photo come from? Did my mom give it to you?”
“No,” Zhong Yiwuxin said, “My mom sent it to me; she took the photo.”
Zhou Shiyi was surprised. Had his mother-in-law met him before?
Zhong Yiwuxin explained, “Some days ago, my mom was looking through old photos and found pictures of you as a child.”
“She said if it weren’t for the photos, she would have forgotten that she’d met you before. That was twenty-eight years ago.”
Zhou Shiyi took the phone and carefully examined the photo’s background but still couldn’t recall, “Where was this taken?”
“Young Island,” she said. “At that time, I was still in my mother’s womb.”
Zhong Yiwuxin smiled, “So you met my parents really early on.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“My mom also remembered—your dad held you in the yard for half an hour trying to lull you to sleep that night. Zhou Shiyi, you were three and a half years old and still had to be held to sleep. No wonder my dad never really liked you.”
“Are you sure that’s right?”
“I asked my dad, no mistake. He told me that he tried telling you stories to get you to sleep, but you refused—you insisted on being held.”
“…” Zhou Shiyi had never imagined he had been so ‘obedient’ as a child.
Seeing she wanted to continue, he pressed his lips against hers, “Forget that part, just pretend you have amnesia.”
Zhong Yiwuxin pushed his face away, “I haven’t finished yet.”
Zhou Shiyi didn’t want to listen and kissed her again.
She barely dodged his lips, “It was us—”
Before she could finish, his lips covered hers once more.
Blocking her voice, he suddenly realized she was about to say something related to their childhood.
He released her lips, “What about us?”
Zhong Yiwuxin caught her breath, “Dad said we once talked on the phone when I was two years and nine months old, at Yu Laoshi’s house. I had just woken up from a nap.”
Twenty-five years ago. She didn’t know why her father remembered so clearly, even the exact month and day.
Zhou Shiyi racked his brain but had no memory.
“What did I say? Does dad remember?”
Zhong Yiwuxin shook her head, “He only remembers that we talked on the phone and that you called me ‘sister.’”
Zhou Shiyi laughed, “How could I have called you sister?”
Zhong Yiwuxin pecked his lips, “You did.”
He teased, “Fine, I did.”
Sometimes he wondered, if his father had not kept their marriage a secret, if he hadn’t hidden Zhong Yiwuxin’s existence from his close friends, given the friendship between their fathers, perhaps he and Zhong Yiwuxin could have grown up together.
If they had known each other since childhood, what would have happened?
Would he still have fallen in love with her?
Would they have started dating early?
Maybe there wouldn’t have been three years of separation.
Of course, there was also the possibility that growing up playing together could have dulled the spark, leaving only a steady, familial love.
“Earlier, when I came in, were you really tidying the drawer? Or was the supercharged project not going well, and you didn’t want me to see those files?” Zhong Yiwuxin brought up the topic again.
He never shared bad news with her; she worried he might be under too much pressure.
“It wasn’t project files.” Zhou Shiyi didn’t want her to worry and opened the drawer again, taking out his medical report. “I was looking at this.”
Zhong Yiwuxin teased, “Studying whether you can have twins?”
Zhou Shiyi laughed and pulled her face into his chest.
He really wanted twins. Who wouldn’t?
If not twins, then just siblings close in age would be fine.
Suddenly, he remembered something: “On my parents’ wedding day, do I have to go on stage?”
“No, just the three of us. But my dad gave you a task—to watch your dad and Uncle Lu carefully and not let them cause any trouble.”
He couldn’t keep an eye on his father, so he left it to his mother. One look from her was enough.
Since that night, it was hard for Zhou Shiyi to see Zhong Yiwuxin at home.
After work every day, she went straight to her parents’ place and eventually moved in there.
After four rehearsals, the day of the official wedding finally arrived.
Before dawn, Zhong Yiwuxin was already up.
Besides the few minutes she would be on stage, her father hadn’t assigned her any tasks today.
She ran upstairs and downstairs with a camera, capturing her parents’ happy moments.
There was no parent-on-stage segment in her and Zhou Shiyi’s wedding, and their parents’ wedding had canceled the bridal pick-up ritual.
Mommy said they were old couple already; the pick-up was just an excuse for the younger generation to tease them.
Actually, mommy was thinking of daddy, so he wouldn’t be troubled by the younger ones. After all, they had already planned what mischief to play on daddy during the pick-up.
“Zhong Jie, give me a kiss.” Zhong Yiwuxin leaned in.
Zhong Zhuohua turned and kissed her daughter’s cheek first. “My baby has worked hard these past two days.”
***
These days, when she was free, she looked at old photos, memories vivid.
What pained her the most was a video where her daughter held the computer screen tightly, wanting her mom’s hug.
Time flew.
Twenty-five years in the blink of an eye.
That little girl who used to say “No, no” and plant flowers every day now had her own happiness.
The auspicious hour for leaving for the hotel arrived. Jiang Jingyuan knocked and entered.
Zhong Zhuohua saw that he was holding his suit jacket but not wearing it. “Why haven’t you put it on?”
“Wearing it is inconvenient.” Jiang Jingyuan handed the jacket to their daughter.
Zhong Zhuohua hadn’t quite understood what was inconvenient yet, when the man bent down in front of her.
Jiang Jingyuan said, “Even without the bridal pick-up, I can’t let you walk downstairs.”
He had gotten used to carrying her; even though she was wearing a wedding dress, he could still easily lift her up.
Zhong Yiwuxin hurriedly started recording video.
Zhong Zhuohua scolded her husband, “Hey, put me down! The kids are all watching.”
“Let them watch.” Jiang Jingyuan held his wife and walked out.
The corridor outside was crowded with family’s younger generation. They hadn’t expected Jiang Jingyuan at his age to still be able to carry someone in a princess carry, phones practically pressed to his face to record.
Amid cheers and hoots, Zhong Zhuohua’s face flushed from cheek to ear.
She had never been shy when young, but now, nearly fifty, she was flustered in Jiang Jingyuan’s arms, her ears burning as if they could catch fire.
Jiang Jingyuan promised her, “At the Hong Kong Island ceremony, all the rituals will be there. I’ll pick you up from your old Gong Fang.”
He had been there recently again; everything was just like before.
They had argued there once, and also made up there.
Zhong Zhuohua wrapped her arms around his neck and spoke of that Gong Fang. She hadn’t been there for many years.
After they started dating, she had imagined there what their wedding might be like.
The wedding car headed toward the hotel. She looked out at the side of the road.
Uncontrollably, her heart pounded.
Though she had lived with him for almost thirty years, well past the honeymoon phase, and had seen every wedding scene in movies, she still felt nervous at this moment.
“Mom, look at me!” Zhong Yiwuxin turned from the passenger seat and took a photo of her parents.
Jiang Jingyuan cooperated, pulling his wife into his embrace.
Previously, Zhong Zhuohua regretted not having a wedding when she was young.
But seeing her daughter so happy, and how she and Jiang Jingyuan were so in tune with each other with no lingering doubts, she felt this was the perfect time for their wedding.
About half an hour later, the wedding car slowly stopped at the hotel entrance.
Zhong Zhuohua had only heard Shi Fanyin briefly describe the venue and had never been there before.
Inside the banquet hall, elders from both sides had arrived early.
Jiang Lao Yeye kept glancing toward the in-law’s direction, sighing silently for the umpteenth time.
He took off his reading glasses and lowered his voice to his wife, “I wanted to dye my hair, but you wouldn’t let me! Look at me compared to Xiao Zhong’s dad—I’m a generation older!”
Jiang Laotaitai was speechless: “You’re almost ninety, you walk with a cane, dyeing your hair black? You’d look like a monster!”
Jiang Lao Yeye grumbled for a long time, “Xiao Zhong’s dad is over seventy!”
Jiang Laotaitai got up and moved her chair aside, putting some distance between them.
For their son’s wedding, the old man specially ordered a tailor-made suit.
The tailor saw his good posture and asked if he was really seventy.
That made the old man very happy; he truly felt like he was just seventy.
She told him it was just flattery to get his business.
But the old man wouldn’t listen and excitedly called Director Gu, asking if his heart could hold out another ten or twenty years.
Director Gu didn’t know how to answer him.
“Grandpa! Grandma!” Zhong Yiwuxin arrived.
Jiang Laotaitai asked her granddaughter, “I didn’t let your grandpa dye his hair, and he blames me. Xiao Yi, what do you think? Is it appropriate for someone his age?”
The old man’s face couldn’t hold it; he hurriedly interrupted, “Xiao Yi, go keep your grandparents company—they came all this way.”
Zhong Yiwuxin humored the elders and didn’t ask more, “Okay.”
She turned to look for her grandparents.
She saw Grandma pick up a pill and hand it to Grandpa, who swallowed it with water.
Zhong Yiwuxin quickly asked, “Grandpa, are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Then what medicine is that?”
Grandma: “Allergy medicine. He’s allergic to hair dye.”
Zhong Yiwuxin: …
Grandpa explained, “I’m not picky about my own white hair.”
He didn’t mind his gray hair but wished that on his daughter’s wedding day, he could still look like he was in his fifties.
If others didn’t look closely, they wouldn’t notice he had dyed his hair.
But Zhong Zhuohua could tell.
As she linked arms with her father walking down the red carpet, she noticed his temples had visibly less white hair than before.
He hadn’t dyed it all—just highlights.
Zhong Zhuohua whispered in self-reproach, “Daddy, I’m sorry for making you worry until now.”
Daddy repeatedly said, “No, no, I’m very happy. You’ve found your own happiness.”
If their daughter had had a wedding thirty years ago, though happy, he wouldn’t have felt at ease, uncertain whether she’d be happy after marriage.
Now, with everything certain, he felt completely at peace.
Amid deafening applause, Jiang Jingyuan walked toward her through a sea of flowers.
Zhong Zhuohua didn’t know why the guests were applauding—maybe because it was rare for someone his age to become a groom.
The piano accompaniment was the OST from a movie she had sung before.
It was also her daughter’s favorite song.
At this moment, she forgot how old she was.
Maybe in her twenties.
Maybe in her thirties.
But no matter the age, the man she loved was always the one before her eyes.
The vivid flower sea sparkled under a thousand crystal lamps.
Daddy said nothing, just patted Jiang Jingyuan’s shoulder.
Just like last year when he entrusted his daughter to Zhou Shiyi, everything was understood without words.
Little flower girl Chen Chen had grown another year, no longer as flustered as she was at Zhou Shiyi’s wedding last year.
Before going on stage, daddy reminded her not to call grandpa and grandma today, but to call Zhong Jie’s third brother.
“Zhong Jie, here’s some flowers for you.”
Chen Chen grabbed a handful from the basket and handed them to Zhong Zhuohua.
“Third brother, flowers for you.”
Jiang Jingyuan laughed helplessly, “You should call me Grandpa!”
Chen Chen giggled, scattering flowers as she ran forward.
Another round of warm applause erupted when Jiang Lao Yeye went on stage to give the parents’ speech.
Jiang Lao Yeye refused help, but Jiang Yan Feng said it didn’t look good to use a cane on such a joyous day, so with Min Ting’s help, they escorted him up.
“First, thank you all for coming to my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding. Actually, having a rebellious son isn’t so bad.”
“Though sometimes he makes you angry enough to land in the ICU, it also means you have the chance to give a speech at ninety.”
Laughter erupted in the audience.
“Who wrote this speech? Did Min Ting write it?” Zhou Shiyi quietly asked someone beside him.
Zhong Yiwuxin: “No. Grandpa wrote it himself.”
Grandpa was always worried his speech was outdated and young people wouldn’t want to hear it. She helped him review it—it was perfectly up-to-date, humorous, and heartfelt.
On stage, Jiang Lao Yeye continued, “The outside world has always thought our father-son relationship was bad, but it wasn’t that bad. When I had heart surgery and stayed in the ICU for so long, my third son stayed in the corridor outside. He didn’t sleep for months.”
“Later, he refused to come home because of Xiao Zhong. He said he couldn’t bear to see Xiao Zhong suffer.”
Zhong Zhuohua looked at her husband in shock. He had never mentioned a word about this.
She always thought their bad relationship was because he missed their engagement banquet due to his first love, causing the rift.
Her father-in-law’s speech continued, and she whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me then?”
Jiang Jingyuan: “I did. You might not have believed me. I’ve always said, I only love you and our daughter.”
With everyone’s attention on the old man, Zhong Zhuohua leaned in and kissed Jiang Jingyuan’s cheek. “I love you.”
This moment was captured through Zhong Yiwuxin’s lens.