63 Extra 2
◎Engagement [Part 1]◎
Shang Xinuan and Li Xiran set their engagement date for spring, which is also the date of their first meeting six years ago.
In the early spring of my eighteenth year, the scenery was breathtaking.
A man as ethereal as a banished immortal rescued a girl who was going through a period of anxiety and confusion, and pulled her into a world apart.
Even when Shang Xinuan looked back on that day, she never imagined that her childhood dream would actually come true.
She sat upright in front of the vanity mirror, looking at her now mature and beautiful self.
It's as if I suddenly understand the phrase "a light boat has already passed ten thousand mountains," and the youthful blossoms that have undulated throughout the season, the lost heartbeats, finally need a place to stay.
"Nuan Nuan, are you done with your makeup?" It was Shang Zun knocking on the door.
Shang Xinuan had already changed into her dress and finished her makeup. She was getting her hair done and could only reply through the mirror, "Grandpa, come in."
The once vigorous old man now walked in with slightly unsteady steps, leaning on a metal cane.
"Our little princess is so beautiful." Shang Zun's face was full of pride, but his eyes also held a deep sadness. "It's true, she's grown up so much..."
Especially as he walked along, seeing the entire Chinese manor adorned with red silks symbolizing joyous occasions, even the old man's smile began to turn slightly bitter.
Shang Xinuan noticed the sadness in her grandfather's eyes and tone, reached out and took his hand, comforting him, "Grandpa, don't be sad, I'll come back and bother you often."
The young lady's words made the old man laugh out loud, "Then our Nuannuan must remember to come back often."
Shang Xin Nuan and Li Xiran's wedding room had been renovated before she graduated. It was the Wan Gong No. 1 where Li Xiran had lived since childhood.
Located in the Lupu Financial District, it is only a half-hour drive from both the Li Group and Shanghai TV Station.
"Okay, I promise you, I'll come home often." Shang Xin's eyes welled up with tears. "Wan Palace is so close to our home, how about we come back for dinner every day from now on?"
"Alright, whatever the princess says is fine." Old Master Shang is a family-oriented person, and after taking over the Shang family business, he advocated the freedom of marriage for his children and grandchildren.
The old man regretted not being able to send his daughter to marry the person she loved. Now, he is personally sending his granddaughter off to her wedding, which is a way of making up for it, but at the same time, he has gained double the heartache.
"But Grandpa still wants to say that he's very reluctant to part with our Nuannuan." Even though today is just an engagement.
"Dad, the guests are starting to arrive." It was Chu Ling.
Shang Zun patted Shang Xi on the shoulder and said, "Then you continue with your styling. Grandpa will go and greet the guests first."
Shang Zun left, but Chu Ling stayed.
She was the one who gave Shang Xinuan maternal love after she returned to Shanghai.
In the vast Shang Mansion, Chu Ling would leave Shang Dan behind to comfort and care for her.
It was precisely her gentle and tender nature that gave Shang Xinuan another kind of psychological comfort.
“Auntie,” Shang Xi said sweetly.
"Time flies. In the blink of an eye, Xiao Nuannuan is about to get engaged." Chu Ling walked closer and stared at her for a long time, lost in thought. It was a kind of emotion that was hard to describe, like that of a daughter getting married.
Chu Ling hadn't felt this strongly when Shang Dan got engaged before.
"Aunt, don't cry." Shang Xinuan finished putting on her hair ornaments, turned around, and took Chu Ling's hand to sit down on the sofa together.
“Your brother got engaged and moved out, and I was relieved that my child had finally grown up. But the thought of you leaving home today still makes my heart ache.”
When she married into the family, the courtyard was filled with the chattering and bickering of Shang Chenxi and Shang Chenshu; the brother and sister were a pair of bickering lovers.
Later, Shang Chenshu died abroad, which became a deep sorrow for the whole family.
Protecting Shang Xi and Nuan Anyu as they grow up seems to be something they tacitly understand.
"Don't worry, Auntie, I promised Grandpa I'd come back often." She raised her hand to wipe away the tears that had fallen from Chu Ling's eyes. "Besides, I live so close by; I can see him just around the corner when I'm out shopping."
“Yes, we missed you, so we came to see you.” Although Chu Ling said this, her eyebrows still trembled slightly. “This is for you.”
Chu Ling took off a jade bracelet from her wrist; it was a jade bracelet given to her by her mother when she got married.
The crystals of this emerald green jade are free of any impurities, making it a true family heirloom.
"Not having a daughter has always been my regret. So the moment I brought you home, I truly treated you like my own daughter. Now that my daughter is getting engaged and married, I'm giving you this precious gift that's only passed down to daughters."
Shang Xin hugged Chu Ling tightly, her reluctance reaching its peak at that moment.
"Don't cry on such a joyous day." Chu Ling gently stroked her low-bun hairstyle. "Xi Ran will be here soon. We should go to the door to greet him."
-
Shang Xinuan wore a red embroidered cheongsam and a pure gold phoenix hairpin in her hair.
She was also adorned with various gold and jade ornaments on her neck and wrists, all of which were part of her dowry given to her by relatives from the Shang family.
As she and Chu Ling walked toward the front gate, they discovered that the eaves of the entire Shang Mansion were covered with red silk and lanterns, and the ground was covered with a red carpet printed with twin golden lotus flowers.
Passing through the front hall, there was a long table made up of eight square tables, piled high with the dowry prepared by the Shang family.
A quick glance revealed cash and all sorts of jewelry; it was as if half of the Shang family's museum had been moved there.
"So many?" Shang Xinuan asked in a low voice.
Chu Ling held her hand, "Where is there too much? This confidence comes from your family."
These are just the dowry items that are on display. Just the night before last, Shang Zun had her neatly arrange properties and vehicles from various locations both domestically and internationally.
The shares in the Shang family, as well as the shares in the Li family that were previously purchased, were all given to the eldest daughter.
"When our Shang family's daughter gets married, we want the whole of Shanghai to know that she is of unparalleled status."
Standing outside the Shang Mansion, waiting for Li Xiran.
Shang Xinuan couldn't help but recall the time when she had just graduated and returned to China. Li Xiran always seemed very busy, and occasionally he would be on the phone with lawyers abroad at night.
She had always assumed that Li Xiran was busy coordinating domestic and international projects, until one weekend when she walked into the living room and saw the entire legal team of the Li family.
Li Xiran, dressed casually, was still flipping through a stack of contracts in front of him.
Seeing her come out, he quickly waved to her.
Shang Xinuan was originally curious because Li Xiran never liked to bring outsiders to his home; he secretly thought that it was a home exclusively for the two of them.
Today, they not only brought their legal team, but it's also about work.
"Working overtime on the weekend?" She was pulled by the wrist and sat down next to Li Xiran.
“It’s rare to have so much time today; these are all asset disclosures.” Li Xiran pointed to the various folders in front of him.
Shang Xinuan nodded. Although the two were engaged, their families were involved in a lot of property. Li Xiran owned the Li family business and had also invested in many other industries.
Making a prenuptial agreement is a perfectly normal procedure.
"What do you need me to do?" She flipped through the pages casually, not paying much attention.
“Just sign it.” Li Xiran stretched out his arm and naturally put it around her waist. “The blue folder contains the properties of the Li Group that I own, the orange folder contains overseas projects, the green folder contains investment details, the white folder contains all real estate, and the purple folder contains other miscellaneous projects.”
"Okay." With that, Shang Xinuan went to get a pen, ready to start signing.
"Aren't you going to take a look first?"
"What's so interesting about this?"
These all belong to Li Xiran's property, and she is neither curious nor concerned about them.
However, since the Shang family had never considered making her property public before, Shang Zun will naturally start having the Shang family's legal department prepare it and then submit it to Li Xiran for signature.
The process is perfectly reasonable; she wouldn't have any ulterior motives just because the two were in a free-choice relationship.
"I just think that Miss should at least find out what new businesses you will have after today."
Shang Xinuan paused for a moment, then asked, "Aren't these all your properties?"
“Yes, all of my businesses,” Li Xiran replied.
"What do you mean? I don't understand."
"Miss, according to Shanghai customs, there is a bride price when marrying someone's daughter."
"Is there a section on the betrothal gifts?" Shang Xinuan recalled that he hadn't mentioned a folder containing the betrothal gifts. "I've never been married, but when Qiao Xi got engaged, wasn't there just one booklet?"
According to the Shang family's rules, the groom simply needs to prepare a red booklet listing all the necessary items.
Li Xiran was amused by her innocent expression. "These are all," he said, patting the stack of folders on the table in front of him.
"All of them?"
According to Li Xiran's account, these hundreds of contracts in front of him represent his entire fortune.
"Yes. This is all I have now, but I will definitely give Miss more in the future."
Shang Xinuan was stunned, and even from Li Xiran's expression, she could tell that he thought what was in front of him was not enough to marry her.
"So, these are publicly disclosed contracts for the transfer of property?"
"We had Chen Ti prepare for six months in advance and integrate some of the content. Some laws in China and abroad are also different, so the legal department only finished reviewing it the day before yesterday."
Shang Xinuan looked at him, her words tinged with seriousness, "Li Xiran, you'd better think this through, just in case..."
“There’s no such thing as ‘what if’.” Li Xiran didn’t even give her a chance to continue, and said decisively, “From the very beginning, I promised you that I would give you my whole self.”
At this moment, her memory flashed back to her impulsive desert trip after graduating from university. Li Xiran stopped her at the airport and, in an attempt to keep her, said, "Don't go, Nuannuan, I'll give you my whole self."
I just didn't expect that his way of fulfilling his promise would be so straightforward and literal.
“Nuan Nuan, marrying you isn’t just about love. A billion isn’t enough; I want the entire Li Corporation, and myself, as your dowry.” Li Xiran’s eyes reddened slightly as he looked at her earnestly and devoutly. “Even what’s in front of me isn’t enough. But in the future, I will definitely give you more.”
"Alright, then I'll accept it." The young lady didn't need to be coy.
She frankly admitted that she fell in love first, and then decisively let go when faced with hopelessness. She dared to love and dared to admit defeat, so she naturally deserved everything that Li Xiran gave her.
When she started signing those contracts, she pretended to read through the first three, but later she didn't care what was written in them.
She believed in Li Xiran; he would never let her lose.
That day, Shangxin spent the whole morning signing documents before finally completing all the procedures.
Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers went off in the street, pulling her thoughts back from their wanderings.
Looking up again, I saw Li Xiran driving the lead car, and the license plate was the meaningful Shanghai A L520S.
Li Xiran was tall and slender, wearing a black Chinese-style suit with embroidered magnolia patterns.
As he stepped out of the car and walked towards her, it was as if the world had switched to a high-definition slow-motion scene for him.
He carried a bouquet of red roses and magnolias in his arms and walked to her side, surrounded by a group of elders.
The world is in turmoil, but at this moment, there are only the two of them at the center of the world.
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