Chapter 91, Old Book Pages - Wedding

The wedding invitations were sent out a month in advance.

On the Jin family's side, Meng Yanxi sent invitations to their aunt and uncle, grandparents, and even Jin Wenhui.

Regardless of what Jin Zhao thought, or what he thought, he had to ensure Jin Zhao had the utmost dignity at a wedding. He was never one to care about worldly appearances, but in this matter, he wanted to leave no room for criticism.

At that moment, Jin Zhao stared at the invitation in silence. After a long while, he said softly, "I don't think he will come."

Meng Yanxi naturally understood that he was referring to Jin Wenhui.

Jin Zhao: "He is a person who values ​​face too much. In my memory, he has never bowed his head, even when he himself realized he was wrong. No, I should say, especially when he realized he was wrong."

“Just like back then, when he wanted to transfer me to No. 9 Middle School, I asked my aunt for help, and the grandpas and grandmas in the neighborhood also said behind my back that he was wrong. Did he really not reflect on whether he was really wrong for a moment?” Jin Zhao shook his head slightly. “I don’t think so, but his attitude became even more rigid. At first, he tried to persuade me, but later he even cut off contact with me in anger and refused to see me again.”

Meng Yanxi: "Isn't this better? For some people, not seeing each other is a blessing."

In this world, relationships are often shallow, and each person's shallowness manifests in their own way. Some relationships end in never meeting, while others involve entanglement and mutual torment upon meeting.

If family ties are destined to be shallow, then not seeing each other is actually a blessing.

Jin Zhao always thought that Jin Wenhui would avoid her for the rest of his life, just like when he was settling the debt, he claimed to be sick and did not show up from beginning to end.

The day before the wedding, Jin Wenyi rushed back from a neighboring city to meet her, but Jin Wenhui showed up instead.

In just a few months, Jin Wenhui's hair had turned completely white, and the skin on his face was sagging. He was only in his fifties, but he looked like he was in his sixties or seventies. He was wearing an old T-shirt, loose trousers, and cloth shoes when he appeared at the coffee shop with Jin Wenyi and her husband.

Jin Zhao was taken aback by his appearance and paused for a moment.

"Your father has something to say to you." Jin Wenyi gently patted her shoulder and pulled her down to sit. She was afraid that Jin Wenyi would leave.

Jin Wenhui looked down, took out a bank card from his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Jin Zhao.

He glanced at Jin Zhao, then quickly looked away, swallowed twice, and then said in a low voice, "Thank you for what happened last time."

Jin Zhao honestly replied, "No need to thank me, I'm doing this for myself. After all, I don't want to be indirectly involved with loan sharks and leave myself with potential problems."

"You don't need to give me the money." Jin Zhao pushed the bank card back in front of him. "I don't need your money."

“No, this money isn’t mine.” Jin Wenhui’s voice was weak and indistinct, typical of most elderly people. “It’s your mother’s.”

Jin Zhao raised his eyes.

Jin Wenyi explained from the side, "The last time we met with Feng Chao, he asked for eight million, do you remember? It was actually a very unreasonable number, but it was already usury, so there was no way to say it was reasonable. We can only say that we learned our lesson and it's good that the matter was settled. Unexpectedly, Wu Nian came to the city last month to participate in an event, and by such a coincidence, we just happened to run into each other. After so many years, the little girl from back then has become a big star. I didn't even recognize her, but she recognized me at a glance and called out to me from afar. We sat down and chatted for a while. I wouldn't normally talk to her about this, but in the middle of the conversation, she received a phone call, and I heard her call out to the person on the other end, Feng Chao. I subconsciously asked, 'Which Feng Chao?'"

“Wu Nian is still the same as before, quick-witted and able to get information out of me in no time.” Jin Wenyi smiled helplessly. “Later, she offered to mediate and help get the two million back.”

Jin Zhao's eyes flickered: "Niannian helped you get two million back? Are you sure it was Wu Nian?"

Jin Wenyi chuckled: "Besides her, there's probably no one else who has this ability now."

Jin Zhao frowned slightly: "She didn't tell me."

In fact, Wu Nian not only didn't tell her, but his attitude towards her was even somewhat cold.

Since the two parted ways on National Day two years ago, Wu Nian told her not to contact her again, and they haven't seen each other since. In the meantime, Wu Nian was disowned by Wu Liang. Although she really wanted to contact him, she always remembered what Wu Nian said: "If you hear any bad news about me later, don't come to see me, and don't ask me on the phone."

Wu Nian seemed to have anticipated that day.

Jin Zhao didn't contact her back then. Later, with the huge success of that revenge drama, Wu Nian became incredibly popular. She clicked on Wu Nian's profile picture several times, wanting to congratulate her, but ultimately didn't. She wasn't sure if Wu Nian would perceive her actions as someone who retreated unscathed in times of crisis, only to curry favor and share in the glory.

We didn't send out wedding invitations until last month.

Wu Nian was a friend she had known since childhood. She took the initiative to contact her and share the news of her marriage.

Wu Nian replied immediately.

This encouraged Jin Zhao, who then asked her if she would like to be a bridesmaid.

This time, Wu Nian didn't return until a day later.

Wu Nian: [No, my schedule is too full. I'll probably be abroad on your wedding day. If I can't make it back, please don't mind. I'd like to congratulate you in advance.]

The official and lukewarm reply seemed to herald the uneventful end of a friendship.

Actually, it ended a long time ago, around National Day the year before last.

Jin Zhao felt a pang of sadness, but thinking that everything was alright for her now and that the future would be even better, she felt that this was already a very good ending.

Unexpectedly, Wu Nian took the initiative to help the Jin family get back two million yuan, and she didn't mention this matter at all on her phone.

“The two million is all in this card,” Jin Wenhui said. “I’ve thought about it for a long time and discussed it with my grandparents. We all think that this money should be returned to you.”

Jin Wenhui pushed the bank card back in front of her: "That house sold for 6 million, the factory for 2 million, a total of 8 million. It was our joint property during our marriage. When she passed away, if it were to be divided according to the normal inheritance law, since your maternal grandparents are no longer alive, it should be that you and I split her share, which is 4 million. Now I have already squandered my share, so the remaining 2 million is exactly what you are entitled to."

Jin Wenhui must have been sleep-deprived for a long time; his eyes looked cloudy and bloodshot. He looked at Jin Zhao, swallowed hard, and said, "Jin Zhao, I'm sorry."

*

"I don't like this ending."

The van was parked on the side of the road. The driver got out of the car, and only Wu Nian, who was in the second row, and Feng Chao, who was sitting next to her, were in the car.

A healthy glow enhances one's appearance, and Wu Nian, already beautiful, has become even more stunning in the last two years. Her delicate eyebrows and red lips, even the strands of her hair, exude sophistication. She rests her elbow on one hand, peering through the tinted one-way car window at the table of people across from the coffee shop.

She said calmly, "She should hate that family forever, remember the harm they caused her for the rest of her life, and never have anything to do with them again. If possible, find a suitable opportunity to take revenge."

"Just like how you treat your father and your stepbrother?" Feng Chao sat next to her, his big belly protruding, legs crossed. "I heard the tax bureau is investigating the Wu family recently, and Wu Liang and his wife are having a lot of trouble every day. Isn't that your doing?"

Wu Nian didn't deny it. She stared out the window for a while, then lightly touched her cheek with her pretty nails. Suddenly, she said, "I still don't understand how Meng Yanxi knew about this."

"If you haven't figured it out, how could I possibly?" Feng Chao smirked. "Anyway, I did everything I promised you. I asked the Jin family for an extra 2 million and was planning to return the money to Jin Zhao privately. But as soon as I got the money back, before I could even enjoy it, Meng Yanxi contacted me."

Wu Nian: "Do you know Meng Yanxi?"

Feng Chao: "Are you kidding me? Who is Meng Yanxi? Who am I? How could I possibly know him? I wouldn't even dare to dream of him."

Wu Nian: "So what were his exact words to you?"

Feng Chao recalled for a moment: "I forgot. Cultured people talk in circles, and I can't remember everything. The gist was that the money was rightfully his wife's, a matter of course, and should be returned to her openly and honestly, instead of making things difficult for her. He told me to go to Jin Wenyi and make the money public. If it weren't for Meng Yanxi, I'd have cursed him out of his mind. How can this money be made public? This money was originally extorted by us; let's just secretly return it. Heaven, earth, me, and her will all know. It's 2 million; what more could we ask for?"

"What nonsense!" Wu Nian frowned. "Don't use such vulgar language if you're uncultured! It's her property, what are you trying to extort? Why don't you just say that the wicked will be punished by the wicked?"

"Fine, you're educated, so why didn't you talk to Meng Yanxi back then? In the end, you still succumbed to Meng Yanxi's power and went to the neighboring city to find Jin Wenyi and put on that show?"

Wu Nian pursed her lips: "You said it yourself, the other party is Meng Yanxi. If we don't listen to him, we won't get the money back."

Feng Chao smiled nonchalantly: "Isn't it perfect that we're not going back? Let's break up. Anyway, what I do isn't exactly a respectable industry. I don't care whether the money comes from the legitimate source or not. I make more money in the shadows. Beautiful lady, you must have complained a lot, right?"

Wu Nian did not deny that she had indeed made a lot of money in secret over the years.

If she had any morals, she would have been trampled to death countless times over.

Feng Chao suddenly said, "But then again, with Meng Yanxi's status and the Meng family's standing, his wedding will be attended by far more than just ordinary people. You could easily make connections with just one of them and live off them for years. Your rivals have been releasing a lot of dirt on you lately, right? Perfect timing! Go be your friend's bridesmaid and seize this opportunity to win this battle. If you can get associated with Meng Yanxi's wife, it'll be more effective than creating a hundred couples."

Wu Nian tilted her head, remained silent for a while, then shook her head: "No, thank you."

Feng Chao: "What?"

Wu Nian: "In this world, you can use many people and hurt many people, but there will always be one or two that you are unwilling to use or hurt."

Wu Nian lowered her arm that was supporting her elbow and turned her head to look at the people at the table in the coffee shop.

Jin Zhao sat by the window, her profile beautiful, her eyes clear, and her fair face radiating a calm determination. Even from that distance, Wu Nian could recall the days they spent together, a feeling akin to gazing at the stars.

When she was trapped in the ditch, even the starry sky could not shine on her, even the starry sky abandoned her, only Jin Zhao never abandoned her.

Wu Nian: "Her wedding should be perfect and complete, and it shouldn't be tainted by any flaws because of me."

*

On July 9th, Meng Yanxi and Jin Zhao's wedding was held in Xishan.

When she was seventeen, Meng Yanxi confessed her feelings to Jin Zhao on July 9th in Xishan.

Eleven years later, on the same day and in the same place, he chose to marry her in the grandest wedding ceremony.

The Xishan area is relatively undeveloped. Apart from a few scattered guesthouses at the foot of the mountain, there are no hotels on the mountain. Meng Yanxi applied for and, after the application was approved, built a manor on the mountaintop.

The English-style manor, with its white walls and pointed roofs, and gardens filled with roses, resembled a tranquil painting in the morning light. The sky was a deep blue, dotted with soft clouds, and sunlight filtered through them, falling on the grass and the guests.

The entrance for the bride's entrance was designed in the shape of book pages, light-colored old pages with faint verses, showing the passage of time.

As the music begins, the pages of the book slowly open, like turning the pages of a new chapter.

Jin Zhao appeared before everyone wearing a wedding dress.

The moment she appeared, beams of pale golden light descended from above, enveloping her. Like the opening of a new chapter, her unique radiance followed.

The light illuminated her fair and gentle face, casting a dazzling starry pattern on her gold-embroidered and diamond-studded wedding dress. The crown adorned with 1,119 diamonds on her head sparkled brilliantly in the light.

Her skirt gently brushed against the grass as she walked step by step toward Meng Yanxi, who was waiting ahead.

At the same time, the clouds beneath her feet rose from the ground. At first, they were thin, like a layer of soft white gauze, surrounding the bride's skirt. Then they grew thicker and thicker, overflowing her ankles and piling up into the same white and heavy clouds as in the sky.

Her skirt was lifted by the clouds as she walked slowly through the beams of light, like a goddess descending from the heavens bathed in radiant light.

Ahead, Meng Yanxi, dressed in a black dress, stood with a piercing gaze.

He watched as Jin Zhao walked towards him step by step, stopped in front of him, and suddenly smiled, asking, "Mrs. Meng, Meng Yanxi or 1 million, which do you choose?"

This was not a pre-arranged rehearsal. Jin Zhao was stunned, as if time had reversed and he had returned to ten years ago.

That year at the foot of Xishan Mountain, during a heart-to-heart talk, Lu Jingyue asked her, "If Meng Yanxi and 1 million yuan fell into the water at the same time, who would you save first?"

At that time, she carefully hid her girlish feelings and dared not answer.

At that moment, she smiled brightly and gave an answer that had remained unchanged for eleven years: "Meng Yanxi."

Jin Zhao looked up and stared straight into his eyes: "Not just 1 million, but Meng Yanxi and the whole world, I would choose Meng Yanxi."

-----------------------

Author's Note: The wedding isn't the end; there's more to come!

I'll post this chapter first, and continue writing the final chapter today. I've already figured out how to write the ending. I'll polish it a bit more and release it tonight. Mwah!