Chapter 64

Everything went smoothly on the wedding day. Zhuang Zhuoyuan's only worry was whether Iris's body could handle it. From picking up the bride, the ceremony, taking photos, the wedding banquet, to the after-party, he lost count of how many photos they took and how many toasts they made throughout the day.

However, the first dance couldn't be skipped. Seeing her darling husband's sweet greetings go from once every fifteen minutes to once every five minutes, and then about to be shortened to once a minute, Iris quickly reassured him with a new promise: "Baby, I promise, after this dance we'll rest on the side. And, I really, really, really don't feel uncomfortable."

Elaine, who always loves to sneak out of parties, fully embraced her bridesmaid duties this time. She was incredibly loyal, staying throughout the entire event and even sharing her secrets on how to slip away unnoticed. However, plans don't always go as expected. Nothing could overcome Edward and Jennie's doting love for their daughter. With a single word from the two matriarchs, the bride and groom's departure became legal. Their even warmer and more attentive hospitality left no room for complaint or even the thought of trying to find a way to keep them there.

Iris couldn't be happier with her wedding. Everything was perfect, and she couldn't wait for the photographer to finish editing all the photos and videos taken that day. With another wedding in England and a honeymoon, all the footage would surely capture the essence of her happiness.

"Honey, I'm so happy!"

Lying on the large bed, Iris felt no fatigue whatsoever. In a state of constant excitement, she felt like she had transformed into a superhero all day. She now confidently believed that even if the wedding really did last three days, she could handle it!

It was precisely this confidence that made Zhuang Zhuoyuan worry. He knew better than anyone how much his wife was worried about her pregnancy. If Iris hadn't been so adamant about not agreeing, he would have really wanted to call the family doctor to check on her and make sure that both mother and child were healthy before letting her rest.

"Okay, here's your chance to help me take a bath and change my clothes," she pinched his earlobe, and finally cupped his face and pecked Zhuang Zhuoyuan's lips again, "Check yourself to see if I'm acting strangely, and whether Tangyuan is well-behaved. After you're done checking, don't disturb my rest!"

How could Zhuang Zhuoyuan dare? The new marriage agreement clearly states that Mrs. Zhuang has the right to kick her husband out of the study if she has any complaints after the marriage. Zhuang Zhuoyuan certainly doesn't want to wake up alone with a wall of books on his first wedding morning.

After confirming that everything was in order, Mr. Zhuang's tense nerves finally relaxed. He stroked Iris's slightly protruding belly and said to Tangyuan, whether it was praise or emotion, "14 weeks is indeed different. She has grown a lot."

"If you don't behave, aren't you afraid of getting a spanking when we get out?" Iris chuckled, leaning on the counter. She nudged Zhuang Zhuoyuan's shoulder and urged him, "Alright, hurry up and finish washing up so we can go back to bed. My calves are so sore, can you massage them for me?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan was about to say that she had learned to be coquettish now, but then he thought that this troublesome girl had probably planned out a series of actions afterward from the moment she insisted on wearing high heels to complete the wedding.

"Are you just taking advantage of my reluctance to part with it?" he said with a hint of reproach.

Iris then became arrogant: "Fine, if you won't help, then I'll do it myself."

She silently counted to two, and before she even reached three, Zhuang Zhuoyuan had grabbed her wrist. Iris was quite pleased with herself: "Hey, this time it's not me asking you, it's you helping me on your own initiative!"

"You just let me bully you!"

Finally, some perks were expected. Even though Iris was limp and didn't want to move, she still made sure to apply skincare products before going to sleep. Zhuang Zhuoyuan resigned himself to being the deliveryman, shuttling between the bed and the dressing table. It was while doing this that he noticed a gift he'd never seen before in the center of the table: "B, who sent this?"

Iris opened her eyes and glanced at him, muttering, "I don't know." Overcome with drowsiness, she was eager to snuggle into his arms, so she didn't pay much attention to it: "Let's leave it for now, honey, hurry up, let's rest after you've applied the face cream."

"It's a planet figurine." Zhuang Zhuoyuan unpacked it and casually placed it on the table. Unexpectedly, when the lights were turned off, a trajectory and planets were projected onto the ceiling. "BB, look!"

Iris has regained consciousness.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan got out of bed and brought the item to her. Hidden beneath the three-tiered star trail was a small mirror, projecting the pattern onto the ceiling like a projector. Moonstones shimmered in the light, and black opals of various sizes shimmered with iridescent light. Iris carefully examined the gems and noticed that each star trail had two symmetrical stones.

Quantum entanglement? That was the first thing that came to her mind, and she immediately busied herself looking for other markings. "Honey, bring the gift box over too, and help me see if there's a marking like 'E'."

“E?” Zhuang Zhuoyuan remembered someone.

Iris confirmed his idea: "E for Ella." Ella, who had finally returned home after being kidnapped, suddenly became very interested in many things. She studied Persian almost frantically, spread out a huge pile of books to find astronomical charts, and told Iris many things she couldn't understand at the time, which now seemed to have metaphorical meanings.

Quantum entanglement means that once two particles influence each other, the influence will continue even if they are separated by great distances in the future.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan couldn't find "E" or "K", but he found "I & Y", which meant it was indeed a gift for them. Iris stroked the lettering, confirming it was Ella's handwriting: "She writes 'I' differently; it's the outline of 'E'. She can be me, and with one more stroke, I can be her too."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan secretly sent a message to Jennie to ask. Iris was lost in her own thoughts and didn't notice: "When Ella told me what quantum entanglement is, she described her and me as being in that role."

“No matter where she is, she will love you the same.” Jennie’s reply came immediately. Upon learning that this was their arrangement, Zhuang Zhuoyuan breathed a sigh of relief and comforted Iris, saying, “Now it’s all right, your wedding will be completely without regrets.”

"Yes, she's here, and I've met Kenny too!" Iris's eyes shone with joy, which made Zhuang Zhuoyuan fully understand why Edward and Jennie had made this dream so long and so real. He, too, began to hesitate, wondering if he should keep the truth hidden forever.

Iris, oblivious to his expression, continued to hold up the ornament and introduce it to him, as if she had participated in its design: "I & Y, we're the same. No matter how far apart we are, we still love each other just the same, and eventually we met again, right? Honey, Ella chose the perfect gift for us!"

"So, do you want to sleep with it tonight?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan concealed his other emotions, only reaching out to smooth Iris's slightly messy long hair. Iris happily snuggled into his arms, kissing him repeatedly on the jawline: "Silly, of course I'll still sleep with you, but before that, we need to find a way to turn off this projector, otherwise we'll be looking at the stars all night."

She suddenly remembered the joke about the stolen tent, and while turning on the light and looking through the ornaments, she chattered on and on about it. Zhuang Zhuoyuan hugged her, stroking her head gently, and suddenly asked, "Wife, can I quit being a Flying Tiger?"

“I’ll stop in eight years,” Iris replied lightly. “We already discussed it before, that we should work until we’re 40 like Guangzai. Eight years is nothing, I’m fine with it! By then, Tangyuan will be in elementary school, and as long as the younger one isn’t a newborn, things will be much easier for us.”

Zhuang Zhuoyuan chuckled but didn't say anything.

Iris found it odd and asked him again, "Why did you suddenly bring this up?"

"No, it just suddenly occurred to me." Zhuang Zhuoyuan made an excuse: "After being promoted, I would normally be rotated to other positions to learn and improve, so I was wondering if I would be transferred to another department later."

Iris had no doubts, but couldn't help being surprised: "But your Flying Tigers are specialized personnel. If we transfer you away, can we immediately train a new Flying Tiger? You, the SDU's top marksman, should be an exception, right?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan shrugged: "I don't know, it depends on what the higher-ups decide."

“But that’s not necessarily true,” Iris thought seriously for a moment, then added, “You’ll be selecting new recruits soon, and who knows, you might find another sniper with great shooting talent. Even if you don’t, Ah Xuan can slowly hold his own.”

Zhuang Zhuoyuan agreed, saying that Qiu Junxuan would indeed be an excellent sniper in the future: "However, based on my experience, Xuanzai will most likely need to go to the UK to participate in sniper-related training before he can grow into a skilled sniper."

"A few years ago," "Britain"—Iris caught the key words, stopped fiddling with the ornaments, and asked, "Honey, do you think it's possible that we met back then?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan smiled and said, "Miss, you had just come of age back then."

"So what? I'm pregnant while I'm still in school." Iris told Zhuang Zhuoyuan to look at the mess he'd made. But as soon as she finished speaking, she worried that Zhuang Zhuoyuan would say something like "I regret it" that would make her angry, so she quickly covered his mouth.

"What are you doing?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan laughed and cried at the same time, pulling her hand away. "Things are different now than they were back then. Take you for example, the difference between 19 and 22 is huge. Now you've at least officially graduated once, completed a full academic journey, experienced different lives, and seen the outside world. But at 19, you didn't know anything. Back then, I might not have been able to take good care of you. In the end, you might feel like you entrusted yourself to the wrong person."

"And now?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you now?"

"Shouldn't you have anticipated the answer to this kind of question on your wedding night?"

He didn't speak, and Iris didn't respond directly. After a few playful laughs, she put away the ornaments and crawled back into bed. Sleepiness had been chased away; even with the lights off, the sounds in the room could still be clearly heard. Zhuang Zhuoyuan stopped at the foot of the bed. Iris waited for a long time before finally giving up: "Where's my goodnight kiss? The one from before was too late; it's already lost its effect."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan then returned to her side, demonstrating a rare tenderness after his victory: "Goodnight, my darling."