Chapter 410: Happiness
After Louis’ death, the wedding banquet continued as though nothing had happened. Cheng Anya and Third Young Master Ye returned to the restaurant the banquet was held and changed their clothes. The grand wedding continued.
The wedding banquet was busting. Eleven and Ye Wei did not appear since they did not like and were not suitable for such situations. The two of them returned to the Ye mansion earlier to rest. Third Young Master Ye had men from the Dragon Gate join the banquet and it was all fun.
Cheng Anya, who had a high alcohol tolerance, drank quite a bit of alcohol although she was not a frequent drinker. The extremely good drinker next to her, Third Young Master Ye, helped her substantially and his face did not even flush. Cheng Anya could not help but gasp. He was clearly of his own league.
“Didn’t Fourth Young Master Tang and you have one too many previously?” Cheng Anya smiled as she asked. Third Young Master Ye knew that she guessed it and tried to brush it off. Cheng Anya extremely despised him.
“To think that you could even pull that idiotic look off!” She laughed and looked at the guests present. She was undoubtedly a little disappointed that Yang Zekun did not show up.
“Even if it means acting like the biggest idiot for the want of luring him out, I can do it,” Third Young Master Ye replied confidently. He held her and walked along the corridor as they took a rest. With too many people present, they felt like puking from all that drinking.
She tapped his back and gently smiled. She could understand him but said regardless, “Is Louis really dead? It feels a bit surreal to me, and I seem to feel that there is a pair of eyes watching us day in day out that can’t help but interfere once in a while. Now that he is dead, I am not used to it.”
“Are you addicted to his torture?” Third Young Master Ye coldly harrumphed. Cheng Anya smiled and kicked him in return. He seemingly raised his hand and was about to pinch her when they suddenly heard young and tender voices in a conversation. The two of them walked forward and peeped to see the young kid and Xu Xing.
Ever since the young kid returned, he had been sitting behind all along as though the liveliness inside was none of his business. The somewhat cold sun shone down on him as he looked at the piece of jade in front of him in a daze.
With Louis dead and Nuo Nuo avenged, he had fulfilled his wish but felt that his heart had become empty and surreal. He had long relied on this vengeance to drive him. Now that this vengeance suddenly disappeared, it left him unused to its missing presence.
The piece of jade rested against his chest and it felt warm to the touch. Its gentle warmth seemed to carry that bit of life, and hearsay has it that jade can take on the aura of a person once it has been worn for a long time. Given that Nuo Nuo had worn it for long, a part of Nuo Nuo’s spirit should reside in it.
He smiled and raised his hands. The piece of jade, under the sunlight, seemed even nicer as it reflected the light colorfully. While he hoped that a silhouette of Nuo Nuo would appear from these rays of light, nothing did.
Ning Ning was a little disappointed.
Deep in his heart, he was never willing to admit that Nuo Nuo had already left him and how he had kept himself going forward with this belief and hatred. With Louis dead, he finally admitted, under the colorful rays of light, that he had lost all that he cared and what he could not hold onto. There would be n.o.body else to call him ‘Stone’, and n.o.body else would cause him to feel pain.
It was only through loss that one really knew what loss entailed.
Parting ways and death were the biggest pains in life. As he looked at the piece of jade in a daze, he bitterly laughed, knowing that he would only encounter that one Xu Nuo in his life. n.o.body else would make him feel how Xu Nuo did. Something in his heart had died.
But his daddy said that he was still young and these emotions would be diluted with time. When he was older, these feelings would have faded and there would be somebody else who would stir his heart.
One could fall in love many times in their life.
He laughed it away and did not say anything. He, however, swore that he would not love anybody else his whole life. Xu Nuo, in her whole life, had nothing else but him. She even lost him.
Who else could prove that there was a Xu Nuo who once lived?
“Nuo Nuo, be with me for the rest of my life. Just like that.” As long as he had her in his heart, he would never forget that she had left. His rational mind accepted Xu Nuo’s departure.
His heart, however, never admitted it.
She was always with him.
“Ning Ning, so there you are.” Xu Xing happily walked next to him. She happily asked, “Do you like jade?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I was looking for you all around, but I couldn’t find you.” Xu Xing laughed. “Where are you going?”
“Anywhere.”
“Ning Ning, you have not answered my question. Do you like jade?” Xu Xing asked. “I have many pieces of beautiful jade, and I can bring them from my home to you the next time we meet.”
Ning Ning shook his head and said, “I do not like jade.”
“If that is the case, why are you clutching it?” Xu Xing pouted. “I thought that you like jade.”
“Why the heck are you giving me jades? We don’t know each other well.”
“Because you like it.”
“I do not.”
“I thought you did.” Xu Xing vaulted the stone wall and sat next to him and smiled happily. As though he saw Xu Nuo smiling, Ning Ning suddenly liked Xu Xing’s smile.
But he knew deep inside that Xu Nuo would not smile like this, and it was just him missing her smile.
“What’s up? Is there something on my face?”
“You have a really nice smile,” Ning Ning said, suddenly gathering his thoughts. It was as though he saw Xu Nuo in a fiery red dress asking him whether she had a nice smile.
As he gathered his thoughts, he tightly held the piece of jade in his hand.
These two sisters were simply, despite their looks, heaven and earth. One was as stunning as a rose whereas the other was like a fleeting dream.
When Xu Xing heard the young kid praise her, she was extremely happy and broke into a sweeter smile. The young kid did not look at her smile. He was afraid of this illusion that he could not grasp.
“Xu Xing, don’t you find it extremely detestable?” Ning Ning asked. “Why are you always looking for me?”
“I do not dislike you.” Xu Xing innocently shook her head. “When you all captured me back then, I did dislike you. But I threw away something of yours. You are actually a really nice person.”
Xu Xing had no friends. To think that Ning Ning would look past her ident.i.ty and roar at her and beat her, she actually felt pretty happy. She hated the people who patronized her.
“I am a pretty nice person?” Ning Ning responded as though he had heard a joke. How could he be as good as she described, and especially so toward Xu Xing? He detested how she looked so similar to Xu Nuo. “I hit you.”
“I threw away something that belonged to you, so it was right of you to hit me.” Xu Xing laughed unintentionally.
Ning Ning looked at her silently. Her rich man’s daughter airs were much subdued.
Xu Xing gently asked, “Ning Ning, who exactly is Xu Nuo? I asked auntie but she was unwilling to tell me anything. Could you tell me something, please?”
Ning Ning’s face blackened and Xu Xing panicked. She was afraid that he would leave her behind. She grabbed his sleeve and said, “Please do not get angry. I will not ask this question again. I promise.”
As she said that, she bowed down sadly. Ning Ning looked at her and secretly chided himself for what he did. It was by no means her fault. “Go ask your parents when you are home.”
“They will not tell me anything,” Xu Xing said. If her auntie was not breathing a word about it, so would her parents. Even if they told her anything, she knew that they would be lying to her.
“If that is the case, then it’s okay for you to know nothing. There is no need to after all,” Ning Ning calmly replied. He was really foolish. Here he was, standing up for Nuo Nuo and defending her, yet why did he leave the question as such? Nuo Nuo did not need these.
There was sadness on Xu Xing’s face as she said, “Is she my sister? You once said it yourself. Why can’t I be with my sister? Why can’t I know that I have a sister?”
Ning Ning fell silent for a moment and calmly replied, “Your parents abandoned her.”
“How could they? My parents are kind people who help orphans every year. It does not make sense that they do not want my sister.” Xu Xing defended her parents.
Ning Ning broke into a cold smile and said, “Helping thousands of orphans will never erase the fact they abandoned their own flesh and blood.”
“Do you know my sister?”
Ning Ning did not reply. If there was a possibility, he would rather not know Xu Nuo. If he did not know her, she would still be well and alive today as though nothing happened to her. Him knowing her caused her to lose her life.
Xu Nuo was one who extremely treasured her own life.
“What about my sister?”
“Stop asking!” Ning Ning suddenly barked coldly.
Xu Xing was shocked and replied in anger, “Why are you so fierce? I was just asking, and you can just tell me that you do not want to answer the question. Why did you flare up at me?”
Ning Ning sighed. Given how smart Xu Xing was, she would have known that this question was off-limits to him and should not ask anymore. She quietly sat next to him and said, “I will go home to ask my parents about it.”
Ning Ning acknowledged and Xu Xing smiled, as though Ning Ning roaring at her was an illusion. “Ning Ning, can we be friends? Can I look for you in City A?”
Ning Ning looked at her sideways and said, “Don’t your parents bar you from going all over the place?”
“No. My parents dote on me a lot, and they won’t agree to it.”
“That will not do too. I will not be here for a long time.”
“I will look for you wherever you go.”
“There’s no need for that. You won’t be able to find me,” Ning Ning gently replied. Xu Xing was disappointed.
…
Cheng Anya and Third Young Master Ye hid in a corner and watched them talk. Cheng Anya gently jabbed Third Young Master Ye’s chest and calmly said, “Your little son sure learned nothing else save the ability to seduce girls. Another one bites the dust.”
Third Young Master Ye could not laugh as he struggled to console her. “Those were things of the past. Dear wifey, stop being so calculative.”
She grunted, heartache flas.h.i.+ng through her eyes. She sighed and said, “Isn’t that girl the flower girl from just now?”
“It seems to be so.” Third Young Master Ye took a look and said, “Look at Ning Ning. How does he look like he is seducing girls? He misses his Xu Nuo.”
“This girl looks exactly like Xu Nuo. She would not be too bad a choice if Ning Ning falls in love with her.”
“Stand-in?”
“…Why must it be a stand-in?”
“Is it really possible that you do not understand your own son? Look at how he flared up just now,” Third Young Master Ye slowly replied. “Oh, well, this child is past our control. He will have to tend to his own hurts, and they will definitely get better.”
Third Young Master Ye brought Cheng Anya back to the wedding banquet and toasted the guests. When they came to Commander Zhang’s table, Commander Zhang’s family was extremely gracious enough to grace the banquet in full force.
“Commander Zhang, this is to you.” Commander Zhang smiled. The commander toasted her in response as he smiled. Following Zhang Bo’s incident, the Zhang family and Third Young Master Ye had much more frequent interactions.
As Zhang Bo’s mother was a year or two older than Cheng Anya, they were able to click with each other. It was then that Cheng Anya knew that Jiang Lixue, Zhang Bo’s mother, had hurt herself when delivering Zhang Bo and her odds of becoming pregnant were almost zero.
Cheng Anya felt even sadder for her, but the latter graciously congratulated her. Following Zhang Bo’s incident, Jiang Lixue called Cheng Anya several times to understand Zhang Bo’s condition. They got on with each other quite cordially.
Third Young Master Zhang and Forth Young Master Zhang pulled Third Young Master Ye aside and they chugged. The two Zhang brothers ganged up and had Third Young Master Ye chug. Given how there were more men in the Zhang family, Third Young Master Ye was clearly not going to stand up against them. The women at the table cheered them on and the atmosphere became even more bustling.
As they were toasting each other, Ning Ning and Xu Xing came over. Commander Zhang saw them and asked, “Anya, is that your son?”
Cheng Anya nodded. Commander Zhang seemed to like him. “He looks really good, and you know he’s smart at just one look.”
Ning Ning politely greeted everybody present. Xu Xing smiled and said, “Uncle Zeng, Ning Ning is really smart.”
Commander Zhang chuckled and suddenly said, “Anya, Third Young Master Ye, if you do not mind, may I acknowledge a G.o.d-great grandson?”
Cheng Anya laughed and Third Young Master Ye nodded. She said, “That is definitely possible. I’ll have him toast you some other day and have a ceremony.”
“In that case… Grandfather, can we be G.o.dfather and G.o.dmother to him too?” Jiang Lixue asked in surprise.
“Sure,” Cheng Anya replied without hesitation and nodded. She owed Jiang Lixue a son, and she ought to let her son be her grandson.
Jiang Lixue stood up excitedly and held her hand tightly. “Anya, thank you.”
Ning Ning blinked his eyes. Did they just become family? Xu Xing clapped and cheered. “Yay! I can get to see Ning Ning more often in the future.”
Jiang Lixue’s husband, Zhang Penghui, said, “While we are elated, we have to ask the child how he feels about it.”
Ning Ning smiled elegantly and said, “I have no opinion on what Mommy says. Great-grandfather Zeng, G.o.dfather, G.o.dmother…”
Jiang Lixue laughed and the few young masters of the Zhang family broke into a riot. “There’s still second uncle, third uncle…”
“And fourth uncle…”
“And grandfather and grandmother…”
…
This is a really large family! Ning Ning secretly thought to himself. Cheng Anya said, “I’ll personally bring him to the Zhang family in two days to greet you.”
“Great, great, great!” Commander Zhang really doted on Ning Ning and effusively praised him. Zhang Bo was dead and she had an extremely slim chance of conceiving. Jiang Lixue was elated that she had just gained a son in exchange for nothing. She was truly elated.