The Yan Residence.
Yan Zhiyi had called an impromptu meeting, while Xia Shule lay on his stomach on the sofa nearby, his feet raised and swinging back and forth.
Those fair feet kept distracting Yan Zhiyi, so everyone noticed their chairman glancing to the side every now and then.
Old Zheng slipped in with a stack of invitations and joined Xia Shule on the sofa to pore over them in secret.
The two buzzed away like little mosquitoes, making for a warm, lovely scene.
Even Yan Zhiyi could not help smiling.
Looking at their boss's softened expression, everyone wondered if they were hallucinating.
Half an hour later... the meeting finally ended.
Old Zheng had already left. Only Xia Shule remained, lying on the sofa and drawing something with great concentration. His little face was scrunched up, utterly absorbed.
Yan Zhiyi walked over and saw that his sweetheart had drawn a big smiling face on an invitation, along with two stick figures.
The phone beside him was lit up, displaying a tutorial on drawing little figures, though they did not look quite like the ones Xia Shule had drawn.
He realized that the figures his sweetheart had drawn... seemed to be the two of them.
The taller, larger figure had a mole on the bridge of his nose, just like Yan Zhiyi.
The shorter, smaller figure held up a peace sign. His chibi hand was plump and round, utterly adorable.
Yan Zhiyi could not stop his lips from curving upward. His gaze rested on Xia Shule, tender as water, and he could not look away for a long time.
"You've drawn all this?"
Xia Shule drew with painstaking care, his fluffy hair trembling slightly as he turned his head. He pointed at the things in the picture one by one. "Mm! Does it look good? This is you... this is me... and there's my little parrot. Even though he's gone, he still has to be here for such an important occasion! The roses are the background. I'm allergic, but they're really beautiful~"
Yan Zhiyi stroked his fluffy hair, sinking so deeply into that warmth that he could not pull himself free.
When Old Zheng returned, he found the master of the household in loungewear, sitting cross-legged on the floor beside the sofa.
One drew with complete concentration; the other watched intently, his chin resting on his arm.
He thought that this place finally felt a little like a home.
Looking around, he saw that the once black-and-white study now held plenty of bright, cheerful colors.
Xia Shule abruptly raised his head, catching Yan Zhiyi off guard. His big eyes blinked, his expression solemn.
Yan Zhiyi looked at Xia Shule, a red mark left on his arm where his chin had rested. "What's brought this on?"
"Do you think..." Xia Shule asked in all seriousness, "I should give Song Dimu an invitation? I feel like Jiang Gechen will definitely bring him, but..."
"If you want to, give him one."
Xia Shule did want to give him one, and Yan Zhiyi's answer gave him just the excuse he needed. "All right, I'll listen to you."
Xia Shule took a fresh invitation from the stack and began carefully working on it, stroke by stroke.
He bobbed his head and hummed a little tune, while the older man watched him fondly from beside him.
Old Zheng was just about to tiptoe out of the study when Yan Zhiyi suddenly spoke. "Old Zheng."
"Yes? What is it, sir?"
"Send out all the regular invitations."
"Right away!"
Old Zheng directed the Yan Residence's staff to set out together and deliver the invitations to the guests. The entire residence brimmed with the joy of an approaching wedding.
The Yan Family Old Master was not home at the time. He had obediently taken Fu Lianhua shopping to pick out what they would wear to their son's wedding.
The elderly couple thoroughly enjoyed their shopping trip.
Ever since he had followed Xia Shule's advice and begun taking Fu Lianhua out regularly, she had indeed become much more stable.
From the moment the invitations went out, there was no telling how many households would lose sleep that night. Many people's first reaction upon receiving an invitation was disbelief, leading to scenes like this.
"Oh? Butler Zheng, what brings you here in person? Why didn't you let us know beforehand? We haven't prepared anything."
"No need to prepare anything. I'm just running an errand for the master. His wedding is at nine in the morning the day after tomorrow. We hope you'll attend on time."
"Hm?... What!"
Whose wedding???? Everyone's first reaction to the news was disbelief. They all thought they had misheard.
But when they opened the invitation, the name written inside really was Yan Zhiyi.
Seeing the other name shocked them even more.
It was actually Xia Shule, that overbearing son of the Xia Family!?
Everyone was stunned. Wasn't this young master Xia hopelessly in love with Jiang Gechen? Hadn't he been chasing him relentlessly? Wasn't his devotion supposed to last until death?
The wealthy families erupted into an uproar.
Whether everyone else slept well was anyone's guess, but after drawing so many invitations, Xia Shule was utterly exhausted. He slept soundly.
The next day.
One day until the wedding.
There was a lot to do that day. Xia Shule got up at seven in the morning, tried on many suits, and rehearsed the wedding proceedings several times. The daytime ceremony would be outdoors on a lawn, followed by an evening banquet back at the Yan Residence.
The suits were all bespoke pieces created by Yan Zhiyi's personal designer. Money alone could not buy them.
The wedding venue was decorated beautifully, just as Xia Shule had imagined: his dream wedding.
The experience was rather nice. Standing on the lawn, Xia Shule thought, I'm really, really, really, really getting married.
He had never seen the wedding rings before. That day's rehearsal was his first glimpse of them.
His ring was slender, with diamonds of identical size and shape encircling the band. They sparkled so brightly that his eyes hurt. Two letters were engraved inside.
One was Y, and the other was L. Both were in an ornate script, making them look intertwined.
Yan Zhiyi's ring was a little wider, with just one diamond in the center, identical to those on Xia Shule's ring. It was very simple.
Though their designs were not exactly alike, anyone could tell at a glance that they were a matching pair.
"Where did you buy these? They're so sparkly." As he spoke, Xia Shule raised his ring-bearing hand, and it shone even more brilliantly in the sunlight.
Yan Zhiyi raised his hand as well, placing it beside his sweetheart's. "I drew the designs myself, then had Shi Luofu make them."
"Shi Luofu?" He was one of the world's top designers. Much like the suit Xia Shule was wearing, his work was something money alone could not buy.
Rich. Good to be rich. Obscenely rich. This was Yan Zhiyi, after all.
Once the rehearsal finally ended, Xia Shule dragged his exhausted body off to deliver his customized invitations.
Xiang Lin: Holy #￥@*￥#￥@! You scared the hell out of me! I thought it was a scam!
Chen Jin: Is it possible that I'm still asleep?
Ruan Jiaojiao: ?...?...?...? Did you lose at truth or dare?
His parents could have simply come without one, but Xia Shule still drew an invitation for them, mainly as a keepsake.
Mom and Dad: It's beautiful. You drew it so well. I knew our Lele had a talent for art.
Meanwhile, Yan Zhiyi's friends were having a much harder time processing it. Their invitations were not customized, which meant they had learned about it the night before.
Perhaps the shock had been too great, because for a while, not a single one of them expressed their astonishment.
The group chat was terrifyingly silent.
Just opening the WeChat group felt like stepping into an icy draft.
Until Lai Jiangtian sent a message.
Lai Jiangtian: Did you guys get a bizarre message too?