"Miss, here's a letter for you."
Lin Xilin flung off the pointy high heels from her feet and settled into the sofa. She opened the envelope, and a wedding invitation caught her eye. Did she have friends getting married soon? She rummaged through her memory, but froze the moment she saw the groom's name.
Zhou Mingchen?!
How is this possible?
"Guess what I've received?" She picked up her phone and dialed.
"What?" Zhou Mingchen's voice was as calm as usual, no different from normal.
"Someone sent me your wedding invitation. Halloween is still far off, guess who sent it to me~" Lin Xilin's tone was light-hearted, she knew the news of her engagement had hit him hard, so playing a prank on herself seemed very much in line with his usual antics.
"It was me."
"You admit it quite readily, so I won't hold it against you. Buy me dinner tonight, that's reasonable, right?" Lin Xilin's eyes curled with her smile. She had known Zhou Mingchen for ten years and thought she understood him well.
"Sorry, I have plans tonight."
Lin Xilin's smile stiffened at her lips; he never easily refused anything she suggested.
"Then I might write this down in my little notebook. You owe me a meal, and the interest is quite high~" She put her index finger to her lips, rolling her eyes, "But if you apologize to me in person, I might consider forgiving you this time."
"Sure, why not wait until you come to my wedding, and I'll apologize to you in person." Zhou Mingchen's smile crept up at the corner of his mouth; he restrained his excitement so that Lin Xilin on the other end of the phone wouldn't detect anything unusual.
"What?"
"I'm getting married. Haven't you already received the invitation? As an old friend of many years, I hope you can definitely attend. As for the red envelope, try to make it generous." Zhou Mingchen emphasized the words "red envelope."
Silence—he knew Lin Xilin was still trying to figure out if this was true or false.
"If you don't mind, you can also join my fiancee and me for dinner tonight. She's eager to meet more of my friends." Zhou Mingchen upped the ante, "How about it, will you consider it?"
After hanging up, Lin Xilin looked pale.
"What on earth is going on?!"
The opened magazine showed two people laughing sweetly.
Lin Xilin leaned forward slightly, "When was this magazine placed on the coffee table?"
"Miss, I didn't notice, it must have been here all along…" The housekeeper was also at a loss for words.
She reached out and picked up the magazine.
"Today we are very fortunate to interview Mr. Zhou Mingchen, president of Fengguang Group, and his fiancee, Miss Xia Lu. Let's look at their romantic love story together~"
The couple's hands were tightly clasped, the diamond on the ring finger was astonishingly large.
Xia Lu? Lin Xilin felt unfamiliar with the name; the photos clearly showed she didn't know this person.
"What's going on, wasn't the person my brother liked most you? How come he's marrying someone else now? There wasn't a whisper of this before."
The news spread quickly in their social circle; in just a couple of days, everyone knew.
Lin Xilin cut a small piece of cake and chewed it carefully, "Did you receive the wedding invitation too?"
"The 16th of next month, it's written very clearly."
Zhou Xinyao is Zhou Mingchen's cousin and also Lin Xilin's good friend, and it was she who introduced the two of them in the first place.
"It looks like this matter is set in stone," Lin Xilin grabbed a tissue to wipe the corner of her mouth, "He hid it pretty well, even you didn't know."
"You know my brother, he's very aloof. He doesn't even attend family gatherings, at most he'll just come to foot the bill. No one at home can control him, actually, I haven't seen him for several months now."
"So, do you think the two of them are serious?"
Zhou Xinyao curled her lips, "How could they be~ Anyone who isn't blind can see that the person my brother likes is you. I think he did this because he was too shocked by your engagement. That's why he's like this."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures."
Lin Xilin took out the magazine from earlier and placed it in front of Zhou Xinyao.
"It's her."
Zhou Xinyao looked carefully at the photo, her face with a blank expression.
"Don't know her, haven't even heard of her before, but why have you suddenly started caring about my brother? There's no chance for you two anymore."
Lin Xilin grabbed a strand of hair and twirled it around her finger repeatedly, "I'm just concerned about him. After all, we've been friends for so many years. Marriage is too big a deal to be careless about."
***
"Luo Fan, today might be the last time I come to see you," Xia Lu said in the private hospital room, holding Luo Fan's hand against her face, caressing it over and over, "After this, I need to prepare for the wedding, and then I'll be marrying someone else. We will have less and less opportunities to see each other in the future..." her voice gradually deepened.
"Luo Fan, you actually don't want me to marry someone else, do you? I am your wife. You said that I could only be yours. Now I am going to marry someone else, won't you stop me?"
"Luo Fan, wake up... can you hear me?"
"Luo Fan..."
"Miss Xia, visiting hours are over."
"I'll be just a moment..." Xia Lu responded, looking at Luo Fan on the hospital bed.
Zhou Mingchen was right, as someone in a vegetative state, he still looked no different from when he was healthy. That must be the power of money. Without it, she didn't know what Luo Fan would look like now.
"Lulu, you're here?"
Xia Lu turned around and saw Fang Meiling, who had come to visit Luo Fan. This was the first time Xia Lu had encountered her in the hospital room since that time she had broken down crying by the bedside.
"Mom..."
"You've been working hard recently. You've lost weight," Fang Meiling grabbed Xia Lu's arm and gently rubbed it, "Thanks to you, Fanfan has received the best care. The doctor says his physical condition is very good now."
"Mhm." Xia Lu nodded. She had not yet mentioned the marriage to her family.
"Come over to our place for a meal sometime? I'll make you something delicious."
Xia Lu withdrew her hand unnaturally, "No need, Mom, I've been pretty busy lately."
"No matter how busy, you have to eat. Young people especially need to take care of their health. If it's not convenient for you to come over, I can bring the food to you just the same."
"Mom, actually I..." Xia Lu almost blurted out about getting married next month, but upon seeing Fang Meiling's haggard face, she swallowed her words. Fang Meiling was just getting used to her son being in this state, and the news would be too cruel for her.
"Lulu, although Fanfan is lying in bed unable to get up right now, we are still a family. You don't need to be polite with me. Now is the hardest time. As a family, we need to unite and face this together to overcome the hardship, don't you agree?"
"You're right, Mom." Xia Lu nodded her head.