Inside the bridal shop, there was a wedding dress designer known as a genius, but it seemed no one had ever seen what he looked like, knew whether he was male or female, or knew his age. All anyone knew was that this genius designer had a peculiar principle: for him to design personally, you either had to meet his price or catch his fancy.
Xia Yan grabbed Li Ru's hand, stopping her at the door. "You're getting married again?"
"No, listen, let me explain. It's like this: one of my cousins is getting married soon, but she's still abroad and can't make it back today, so she asked me to find someone to help try on the wedding dress. I thought about it, and among the people I know, you have the most similar figure to my cousin."
"Help try on a wedding dress? That's a thing?"
"Stop wasting time, let's go."
Li Ru had made this up on the spot. She felt that if someone told her this, she wouldn't believe it either, but none of that mattered now. What mattered was getting Xia Yan into the bridal shop.
As soon as the bridal shop staff saw Li Ru come in, they quickly approached and led them to the back room.
Xia Yan followed Li Ru helplessly, completely confused, having no idea where she was or what she was doing.
With a rustle, a curtain was suddenly pulled open, revealing a wedding dress as pure white as snow. Its skirt layers cascaded upward, adorned with many baby's breath flowers. Under the incandescent light, those baby's breath seemed to sparkle. Li Ru stared at the dress with utter composure, barely holding back from drooling.
"Beautiful, truly beautiful. Xia Yan, come try it on."
Xia Yan snapped back to reality at Li Ru's exclamation. Unquestionably, she too was stunned by the dress before her. It was truly gorgeous—pure as snow, shimmering like stars, like starlight under the aurora, captivating the heart.
"Li Ru, trying on a wedding dress like this is better done by the person herself. Besides, I'm pregnant."
"Don't refuse. This is what my cousin asked for. Just think of it as a favor?"
"Li Ru, it's not that I don't want to help, but I feel this is something she should come back and try on herself."
"Don't forget, you promised me. No more dawdling. Do you want me to help you put it on, or will you do it yourself?"
Hearing this, Xia Yan was startled by Li Ru's gesture of rolling up her sleeves and quickly nodded. "Fine, just this once. Don't ask me for this kind of thing again. It makes me feel..."
"Got it, got it. Next time there's a good opportunity like this, I'll do it myself."
Xia Yan gave Li Ru a helpless, amused look, waited for the staff to take down the wedding dress, and followed her into the fitting room. After nearly an hour, she was helped out from inside.
When Xia Yan appeared in the wedding dress before everyone, Li Ru was utterly stunned, her mouth wide open, an egg wouldn't have been enough to fill it. The dress seemed to come alive on Xia Yan. Her slender figure and snow-white skin made the dress not only highlight her cool, elegant demeanor but also made her look like a fairy.
Xia Yan hadn't yet seen herself in the wedding dress, so seeing their stunned expressions made her a bit nervous. She cautiously turned to look at herself in the mirror, and in that moment, she seemed captivated by her own beauty.
Was this really her?
Just as Xia Yan was lost in her own reflection, a man suddenly emerged from a nearby fitting room, wearing a groom's suit that matched her wedding dress.
"Lu Zhengting." Xia Yan exclaimed his name in surprise.
Lu Zhengting held a bouquet of baby's breath in his hands, walking slowly toward Xia Yan. His expression was unusually tender, the soft lines of his face highlighting his innate nobility and dominance, with deep features and a distinct profile. She rarely saw Lu Zhengting in white, but now she did.
"So handsome."
"Darling, you're so beautiful I want to keep you hidden away."
Hearing this, Xia Yan blushed, shooting him a shy glare, then glanced at the stunned onlookers around them. "Did you arrange this?"
"What do you think?"
"What can I say?"
"Marry me."
Looking at Lu Zhengting's incredibly serious face, Xia Yan smiled slightly. "Don't think just because I'm wearing a wedding dress that I'll agree to marry you. Is this your proposal to me?"
"Of course." As he spoke, Lu Zhengting's lips curled up slightly, and before Xia Yan could react, he knelt on one knee and pulled out an exquisite box from his pocket.
With a click, the box opened.
Xia Yan was so moved she could barely hold back the tears welling in her eyes. She looked down at Lu Zhengting. "Lu Zhengting, do you really want to marry me?"
"You are destined to be my wife."
"So bossy! But I like it!" Xia Yan took a deep breath, playfully extending her finger in front of Lu Zhengting.
Lu Zhengting smiled, took out the ring, and slipped it onto Xia Yan's finger. Seeing this, Xia Yan threw herself into his arms, whispering softly in his ear, "This proposal ceremony is really simple."
It wasn't until years later, when she and Lu Zhengting stood in this same bridal shop again, that she understood the simplest things are often the most precious, and the feelings Lu Zhengting wanted to express were even more invaluable.
Xia Yan was held in Lu Zhengting's arms. The people who had been surrounding them seemed to vanish in an instant. She looked up at him and said, "Why does this feel so unreal? Like I'm lightheaded?"
"Idiot."
"Lu Zhengting, I just agreed to marry you, and you're calling me an idiot? I think I need to reconsider now."
"You've lost the right to regret."
"Bossy!"
"Yeah, only bossy with you."
******
Although Lu Zhengting's proposal to Xia Yan wasn't caught by the media outside, it couldn't be hidden from his brothers. The Ning brothers in Jiang City, upon hearing the news, rushed to the bridal shop to hide and watch, casually live-streaming it to the others in Beicheng.
Xia Yan left with Lu Zhengting, while Li Ru stood alone, seemingly still in shock, until Ning Xi walked out from the side and patted her shoulder.
"Hey, Third Young Master Ning, what are you doing here?"
"Witnessing a miracle."
"Witnessing a miracle?"
"The main characters are gone, aren't you leaving?"
Hearing this, Li Ru pouted and decided she'd ask Boss Lu for overtime pay this time. With that thought, she waved at Ning Xi. "Third Young Master Ning, you go ahead. My dear will pick me up later."
"I wasn't offering to take you anyway. Little bro, let's go." Ning Xi said with a smile. If he hadn't smiled, Li Ru would have taken off her shoe and thrown it at him.
What kind of talk was that? Classic sign of being destined for singledom. She still had plenty of market!
Ning Bei raised his hand, but before he could place it on Li Ru's shoulder, Ning Xi grabbed him and whispered in his ear, "Don't mess with her. Her husband's no different from our big brother."
"Really?" Ning Bei frowned. So Jiang City was a place where hidden talents lurked. Big brother's skills were never something ordinary people could challenge.
Ning Xi glanced at Ning Bei and knew he'd misunderstood. The two of them walked out of the bridal shop arm in arm, only to draw stares from passersby on the street, enduring all kinds of strange looks. It was then that Ning Xi and Ning Bei realized what was wrong.
In an instant, they both shook off each other's hands from their shoulders, not forgetting to rub their hands in disgust.
"Damn, what are these people thinking? Do we look like a couple?"
"Little bro, not to criticize, but don't you think you naturally look like a weak, submissive type?"
"Damn it, Third Brother, take that back now. Don't think just because you're older than me, I won't punch you."
"I'm so scared. Little bro, you're making it seem even more likely."
"Damn!"
Ning Bei was furious. He just had a baby face, big eyes, and maybe slightly paler skin than the other three. What else was there?
"I think Ning Xi's right."
Ning Xi and Ning Bei both looked around and found Zhan Meng leaning against the bridal shop window. She was tilting her head, arms crossed over her chest, a smile and agreement in her eyes. When she saw Ning Bei turn around, she even seemed to nod.
Seeing this, Ning Bei stormed over to her, glaring angrily. "What did you say?"
"I said Ning Xi's right." When Ning Bei glared at her, Zhan Meng straightened up and glared back without backing down. "Anyone can glare. Think I'd lose to you?"
Feng Yuan came out of the bridal shop and saw Zhan Meng and Ning Bei standing face to face like statues, not saying a word, while Ning Xi stood nearby, muttering something on his phone.
She stood beside Zhan Meng, waving her hand in front of both their faces. "What are you two doing?"
"Little bro, you blinked first!" Ning Xi said quickly.
"Damn!"
Zhan Meng shot Ning Bei a triumphant look, then slapped Ning Xi on the shoulder. "Good thing you didn't side with him. What do you want to eat? My treat."
Feng Yuan probably figured out what they'd been doing and silently added, "My cousin's an idiot, and it turns out you're one too."
After a few days without seeing Ning Xi, Zhan Meng seemed like a different person, as if she'd completely forgotten what happened that night. She wasn't as nervous around him as before.
Ning Xi and Zhan Meng were both lost in their own thoughts, neither hearing Feng Yuan's words. Only Ning Bei, who was completely ignored, caught it and shot Feng Yuan a look.
"With an idiot for a sister, the sister's not much smarter either."
Hearing this, Feng Yuan gave a fake smile and fixed her gaze on Ning Bei. "A grown man babbling like that makes me wonder if you're even a man."
Ning Bei had only one feeling now: coming to Jiang City was a mistake. Who dared talk to him like that in Beicheng? Everyone who saw him bowed and scraped. He stared at the reckless woman before him, stepped closer, and whispered, "Do you know who I am? Believe me?"
"Who are you? Just Ning Xi's brother. Fourth Young Master Ning." Feng Yuan said fearlessly.
"Who are you? You actually know me."
"Is it strange to know you? If you want to know who I am, go ask yourself. I'm not telling you."