When morning came, the birds were tweeting happily, as if they knew what had just happened.
Shen Yan walked out of the bathroom in his white pajamas, his chest bare, and his eyes narrowed in satisfaction. When he looked up, he found Mingyan wrapped up like a cocoon with the blanket, only showing her red-faced head.
She looked like she couldn't believe what had happened. She looked really cute with her blushing face. But the fact that he knew she was wearing nothing under those blankets made him aroused again.
"Yanyan, how do you feel?" He pulled the cocooned girl into his embrace. Since she had wrapped herself thoroughly, she had nowhere to escape.
"I- I- um-" She seemed to have remembered her embarrassing sounds and the scenes from last night causing her blush to deepen.
She timidly nodded her head. "T-that- Yan ge, w-what now?" She made eye contact with Shen Yan, but she couldn't hold her ground even for a split second and immediately turned away, exposing her red ears and some hickies that roamed on her neck.
Shen Yan's mouth dried when he saw the mess that he had made. Should he add another one?
The seemingly oblivious Mingyan was still in the process of calming her rapidly beating heart when she turned back to find the same face Shen Yan had made when he was drying her hair last night. She panicked and quickly asked, "W-What do we do with the wedding?" It was the only thing she could think of that might distract his thoughts.
Mingyan's plan to divert Shen Yan's attention from her tantalizing hickies worked. He smiled when he thought of the nearly finished wedding reception. Even Mingyan's wedding dress was done. The only thing left was for them to walk the aisle and say their vows.
The eastern-styled wedding was actually Mingyan's parents' decision. After much debate, they decided on a fantasy-themed wedding befitting their princess. Shen Yan had no complaints. As long as he was able to get the red book and keep it locked in a vault with all kinds of necessary gadgets to keep it safe, then he was satisfied with anything.
"Mother-in-law and Father-in-law have already arranged it," Shen Yan smoothly changed his address for Mingyan's parents.
Mingyan was stunned by the way he called her parents for a moment. So her parents already knew? 'Wait. Already arranged?!' Mingyan was speechless. 'Yan gege, aren't you too confident? What would you have done if I had said no?!'
Lily: 'Was there even room for you to say no?'
Mingyan: *blush* 'Nope~ I was completely filled~'
Lily: *did not understand how her master was filled*
"W-What about where we live?"
Shen Yan's eyebrows rose. "If you want, we can stay here. I also have a villa in the Pinewood Estates that we can move into."
Mingyan was speechless again.
Pinewood Estates... Does he have to be so domineering? Pinewood Estates was actually one of the expensive places for grand villas. The security there was also top-notch. If she were to compare her house to the villas there, then she could only call her house a humble little home.
"L-let's move there." That's Pinewood Estates! Mingyan would definitely not slight herself and stay at her "humble home." Besides, the original Mingyan would think the same. It's just that her reason was drastically different from hers. "I wouldn't feel the change if we just stayed here..." Her voice softened by the end of her sentence.
Shen Yan's heart was overflowing with sweetness. "Mn, we'll move two days after our wedding."
"That- W- when would that be?" Mingyan eagerly asked. Her excited expression made Shen Yan chuckle.
"Also two days from now."
'So fast?!' Mingyan felt that she really couldn't keep up with her Yan gege's pace anymore. She seemed to have remembered that she had just been proposed to yesterday, and now two days later she was walking down the aisle?
Mingyan was in disbelief. She still hadn't processed the news properly when two days had already passed, and she found herself sitting in front of a large mirror while getting her makeup done.
Internally, she was startled. 'When did I get here?!'
Behind her, Xiao Xi was sniffling as tears fell on her cheeks. Ever since she arrived and saw Mingyan gradually transforming into a beautiful bride, she had been bawling. "You're really getting married?"
Mingyan was exasperated. "You don't want me to?"
Xiao Xi wanted to say yes. She was also a diehard fan ah! Even though she knew about the relationship between Shen Yan and her goddess, she thought it might not work out in the end because there were always hard twists in the community of prestigious families.
"You're still so young. You're going to leave the music industry just like this?" She looked wronged.
Mingyan wanted to laugh at her cute manager, but it would have been out of character in her part. "You sound like my mom. I'm not leaving! It just means that I will have a limited time for work."
At that, Xiao Xi's devastated expression was finally brought back to life. She said she wasn't leaving, and that was enough.
Mingyan's makeup was done in natural tones, but some of them had glitter mixed in. She looked like a fairy from a fantasy world.
When Mingyan saw her dress, she almost cried from being sentimental once again. It was a strapless off-white gown with a long bridal veil paired with white long gloves. It wasn't her first time seeing such a beautiful dress. She had seen more beautiful ones in her previous worlds. But she found herself instantly falling in love with her wedding dress.
Maybe it's just because she was in love.
She was worried about the fit of the dress at first, but when she wore it, she realized she had been worried for nothing - it fit perfectly. This dress definitely took a long time to make. How and when did Shen Yan get her three body measurements?!
She vowed to ask him later.
The wedding reception was already filled with guests. If a normal citizen were to have seen this crowd, one would fear that they might have fainted, as each and every one of them was an influential person involved in either China's economy or the military.
It was the grandest wedding of the century.
Mingyan emerged from two huge double doors, and her presence drew sighs of admiration from many. It was as if a princess from a fantasy world had come down to get married in the mortal world. She was not the most beautiful, but her aura was definitely uncommon.
She didn't even glance at the others, as her loving gaze was locked onto the man of her dreams.
Shen Yan could feel his heart running a marathon as each slow step that Mingyan took made his heart leap. When she reached him, he took her hands from her unwilling father and led her to the front.
Mingyan could feel her unstable emotions erupting again, but this time, it was not for a negative reason. She was extremely happy. She never thought that walking down the aisle could be more than just revenge, an arranged marriage, or a fake one. This time, she was getting married to someone she truly loves.
Mingyan's and Shen Yan's vows weren't "till death do us part." It was "even death can't keep us apart."
In their hearts, they knew that they were both greedy. They didn't want just one lifetime to be together, but an infinity. Or until at least one of them ceases to exist. So they poured their true emotions into this one vow and wished that someone, anyone with the power, could grant them this one selfish wish.
When the wedding ended, the after-party began in the biggest hall of the city. Since it lasted until midnight, people who couldn't come during the wedding joined the party and offered their congratulations.
Two particular couples specially gained Mingyan's attention tonight.
Yang Xi with Song Lu and Liu Feng with his assistant—even though they looked like they were keeping it a secret, nothing could escape Mingyan's eyes.
She had been so busy becoming a musical legend and a bride that she completely forgot about the original's best friend and cousin.
'What happened?' Mingyan turned to Shen Yan with wide eyes and then to the two couples' direction. She wasn't just asking this for herself but for the original soul of her current body.
Shen Yan smiled softly when he noticed her gaze. "Are you worried about Yang Xi?" he asked, thinking that Mingyan still cared for her best friend despite what Yang Xi had done.
'Not really, but this is so juicy. I want all the details!'
On the outside, Mingyan wore a worried expression as she looked at Yang Xi and at the blonde-haired Chinese man next to her. She seemed to be scrutinizing him from head to toe, wondering if she should give this man a pass or not.
Shen Yan chuckled at this. "That man is Song Lu. He's the CEO of Brilliant Stars."
Mingyan's eyes widened in shock as she looked at Shen Yan. "I didn't know. Wait... How did—?" She quickly turned her gaze back to Yang Xi again. Yang Xi wasn't in the entertainment industry, so she had no reason to be with Song Lu.
She didn't need to complete her sentence, as Shen Yan immediately understood what she was about to say.
"After Chen Rui lost the rookie competition, she looked like she gave up on her singing career and started hooking up with influential men," Shen Yan earnestly filled a plate with everything Mingyan liked while he explained in a cold tone.
Mingyan listened attentively.
"She was secretly photographed entering and exiting different hotels, condos, and apartments every week for two months. During that time, Yang Xi was mending her friendship with Liu Feng," Shen Yan placed the full plate on the table between him and Mingyan, then started feeding her, naturally.
Mingyan had gotten so used to this that she thought all the people who were staring at her were staring just because they were the bride and groom.
The people could only clench their aching teeth as they watched this scene. This dog food is too sweet ah!
"Friendship? Has Yang Xi given up on Liu Feng?" she asked as she took the meat off the fork that Shen Yan was holding.
"Mhm," Shen Yan's eyes narrowed in satisfaction again. 'I'll never get tired of this,' he thought as he diligently continued to satisfy his wife's curiosity. "After the incident at the recording station, she went and apologized to your parents. She wanted to properly apologize to you too, but you were on your tour. I also told her to wait until our honeymoon was over so that I could have you all to myself, but I can't exactly say no to you, can I?"
He patted her head carefully as an indulging look appeared on his face. He made sure not to ruin the hairstyle that took 2 hours to finish.
Mingyan's cheeks instantly reddened.
Shen Yan took pleasure in seeing her blushing face and no longer teased her. "Anyway, while Yang Xi was making amends and trying to become friends with Liu Feng again, Song Lu was coincidentally with Liu Feng multiple times. Then you add a Chen Rui into the equation."
At this point, Mingyan's lips parted while her big eyes continued to look at Shen Yan in shock. Meanwhile, internally, she was enjoying the drama.
"Shall I keep going?" Shen Yan brought a steamed broccoli to her mouth as he asked.
Mingyan nibbled on it and nodded repeatedly, causing Shen Yan to chuckle.
"Chen Rui was aiming for Song Lu this entire time."
"So she hasn't given up on her career!" Mingyan timely covered her mouth.
Shen Yan nodded and continued. "After a couple of 'coincidental' meetings with Chen Rui, Song Lu decided to ask Liu Feng for help, since she was, after all, previously his woman. Yang Xi was in the room when he asked this, so she volunteered to help."
Mingyan immediately understood what happened, but on the outside, she continued to look like a curious cat.
Shen Yan suddenly leaned over to her side and whispered in her ear in a low voice, "Song Lu and Yang Xi are currently in their 2nd month of a contractual relationship." Then he leaned back in his chair as he admired Mingyan's blushing face.
"O-Oh, I see." Mingyan patted her rapidly beating heart.
"Are you satisfied?"
Mingyan was about to nod when she remembered Lui Feng and his assistant. "What about Lui Feng and that man?"
Shen Yan looked startled. He glanced at Mingyan with surprise as he said, "You were able to see that?"
A cold chill went down Mingyan's spine. 'Fuck!'
Mingyan quickly blushed and looked at the floor, lowering her eyes to hide whatever emotions she couldn't control. "Well, I—... I just thought they looked good together..." This wasn't a lie, but the original Mingyan probably didn't think the same.
Fortunately, she had already started to show Shen Yan that 'Gu Minyan' was changing, so she hoped this wasn't too out of character.
Shen Yan chuckled and nodded. He moved his chair closer and placed his arms around her waist. His voice softened so that only Mingyan could hear him. "They are currently still wondering about that themselves. Give them a month and you'll probably have a brother-in-law soon."
Mingyan sighed in relief internally.
She then looked happily at her cousin and then to her best friend. When her gaze moved to Shen Yan's smiling face—who was staring at her—the tangle in her soul suddenly loosened.
'Thank you.'
A whisper in the air reached her ears. The original's soul was now no longer tied to hers, and all the wishes were fulfilled. Mingyan could do whatever she wanted now as long as she didn't do two things: disrupt the world's common knowledge and disturb the main characters.
She looked at Shen Yan, who was still staring at her, and her free heart was filled with indescribable sweetness.
She suddenly leaned forward and planted a kiss on Shen Yan's lips.
Still with a blushing but smiling face, she then said to the shocked Shen Yan, "Let's create happy memories together!"