Li Daoyang stopped because the surrounding air seemed to have grown stagnant.
Jing Mian’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he reluctantly introduced, “Mr. Ren, this is my high school classmate, Li Daoyang.”
Li Daoyang reacted quickly, extending his hand, “Hello, Mr. Ren.”
Ren Xingwan was silent for two seconds before returning the handshake.
Seeing that the atmosphere remained peaceful without any tension, Jing Mian pursed his lips, silently relieved.
Mr. Ren lowered his gaze and simply asked, “Are you hungry?”
Jing Mian realized Ren Xingwan was speaking to him.
Jing Mian shook his head, “I had a little something in the lounge earlier.”
Mr. Ren said, “If you’re tired, go back. I’ll come find you later.”
Jing Mian’s throat felt a bit dry as he replied, “Okay.”
Mr. Ren’s brow furrowed slightly, and the man suddenly leaned in, sniffing near Jing Mian’s neck, “Have you been drinking?”
Jing Mian was startled, only now noticing that his cheeks felt warmer than usual. He nodded, “Someone came over to toast earlier.”
Ren Xingwan frowned slightly, pursing his lips, “If anyone else toasts you, come find me.”
Jing Mian’s heart skipped a beat, swallowing hard, “Okay.”
Then, Jing Mian felt the man’s hand rest on his forehead, the pad of his fingers brushing against his skin through the strands of hair.
Jing Mian knew that he must have left the impression of being a lightweight with Ren Xingwan, which was why his alcohol tolerance on their wedding day was being closely monitored. For instance, the moment he felt slightly tipsy, Mr. Ren was already checking his temperature.
However, the man’s hand didn’t seem to have a cooling effect.
…Jing Mian felt the warmth spreading to his ears this time.
Jing Mian asked, “When are we going home?”
Ren Xingwan replied, “We’ll go home when you’re tired.”
Jing Mian asked, “Are you coming back too?”
“Mm,” Mr. Ren took a glass of honey water from a waiter’s tray and handed it to Jing Mian, saying softly, “Drink a little.”
Jing Mian took the glass and obediently sipped it. The gentle, not overly sweet flavor slid across his tongue, the perfect sweetness diluting the taste of alcohol. The temperature was just right, very comforting.
“Thank you, Mr. Ren.”
“…”
Li Daoyang was dumbfounded watching from the side.
Was it the honey water that was sweet?
It was practically sweet enough to kill him!
Jing Mian calling him “Mr. Ren” like that—wasn’t that more impactful than calling him “husband”?
What kind of emotionless arranged marriage was this? What kind of parental decree and matchmaker’s arrangement? What kind of mutual respect and separate dreams?
This was clearly a sweet, lovey-dovey couple who had fallen in love after marriage!!!
Hit with a face full of icy-cold dog food, Li Daoyang didn’t even get to say goodbye before feeling utterly superfluous.
The wedding proceeded smoothly.
Jing Luo was even forced to be the flower boy, putting on a brave smile in front of his sister-in-law, who was a head taller than his brother, much to the delight of the guests.
After it was over, Jing Mian sat in the passenger seat, watching the long coastline glide past the window. The sky was dark and quiet, and he didn’t even feel like he had just returned from a wedding.
However, Jing Mian noticed a brown wooden horse air freshener hanging in the car’s dashboard, with a red ribbon on its back that seemed to bear the English words “Happy Wedding.”
Jing Mian didn’t remember seeing this before the wedding.
Ren Xingwan seemed to notice Jing Mian’s confusion and explained, “It’s a gift from my grandmother.”
Jing Mian’s eyes widened. So that was it. Mr. Ren’s grandmother was likely still undergoing treatment and hadn’t attended the wedding.
He murmured softly, “How cute.”
Mr. Ren glanced sideways and saw Jing Mian carefully cradling the wooden horse, gently adjusting the straps on its back so they hung neatly by its side.
The man averted his gaze.
He often found himself lost in thought, especially at moments like this.
At such times, he would often want to say something, but the words would frequently catch in his throat.
Yet, even so, Mr. Ren thought to himself.
If time could freeze, let it be now… but as long as he was here, it didn’t necessarily have to be this exact moment.
As long as he was here, that was enough.
When they arrived home, the seamless horizon of the coastline was gone, and the shimmering lights had vanished.
Only the moon, keeping its appointment, remained.
Jing Mian followed Mr. Ren to the front door, the surroundings quiet.
He entered the passcode with his fingertips, and the door clicked open.
However, Mr. Ren paused.
Jing Mian stopped as well.
Jing Mian: “?”
He asked, “What’s wrong?”
“According to tradition,” Mr. Ren said, “on the wedding day, I should carry you into the bridal chamber.”
The young man’s eyes widened, and his face flushed almost instantly.
Jing Mian’s throat felt dry as he managed to say, “Alright.”
Without hesitation, Mr. Ren then picked him up.
“!”
Jing Mian hesitated for two seconds before raising his arms to wrap them around Ren Xingwan’s neck.
This action, unbeknownst to Jing Mian, caused Mr. Ren’s Adam’s apple to bob slightly from an angle the young man couldn’t see.
After the events of the day, aside from the sudden appearance of the wooden horse air freshener in the car, Jing Mian thought that the second thing that truly made him feel the reality of being newlywed was this moment.
Although it was called “entering the bridal chamber,” in reality, both of them had their own tasks to attend to after returning home. For example, Jing Mian had his weekly Friday livestream, which he never missed. Perhaps today he should post a notice of absence, and then check if there were any assignments from school over the past couple of days.
Mr. Ren was even busier.
Jing Mian could imagine that for someone as prominent as Ren Congmian, getting married wouldn’t just affect the business world but would also ripple through their social circle. Just handling the social obligations alone would keep him busy for most of the night.
Jing Mian fell into thought.
In this situation, did he still need to post a notice of absence?
Even though it was their wedding night… it seemed just like any other ordinary night. Perhaps he could still spare the time?
So, Jing Mian deleted the reason for his absence word by word and withdrew the notice.
But he suddenly remembered that before this, hadn’t he and Mr. Ren agreed that on their wedding night, the man would move back from the guest room to the master bedroom?
Feeling a bit of unavoidable guilt for having the owner of the villa stay in the guest room for so long, Jing Mian decided to bring it up with Mr. Ren himself.
When he reached the study, the door happened to be slightly ajar.
Jing Mian knocked lightly and found Ren Xingwan on the phone.
The moonlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows bathed the room, half-illuminating the man’s side, accentuating his handsome and profound features. His hair was slightly damp, as if he had just showered.
Afraid of disturbing him, Jing Mian decided to postpone the matter and quietly closed the door.
Mr. Ren noticeably paused for a moment. He said, “Hold on,” then moved the phone away and turned his gaze to Jing Mian, who was peeking through the door with only half his body visible.
The man’s lips twitched slightly as he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jing Mian swallowed and spoke softly, “Today, do we need to move some things?”
He paused, worried that Mr. Ren might not understand, and added, “To my room.”
The man’s brow furrowed slightly, and his gaze met Jing Mian’s.
It made Jing Mian’s heart beat a little faster.
Not long after, Ren Xingwan’s thin lips parted slightly, his voice slightly hoarse as he spoke, “Alright, let’s move.”
Jing Mian could hear the pounding of his own heartbeat.
He nodded: “Then I’ll help you move some things.”
Mr. Ren said: “Thank you for your hard work.”
As he stepped back, Jing Mian thought, Mr. Ren is so polite.
His tone just now was also very gentle.
It seemed that, just as Li Daoyang had said, despite being newlyweds, they had already entered a mode of mutual respect with Mr. Ren.
Jing Mian went to the secondary bedroom to take a look and found that Mr. Ren didn’t have many belongings. Apart from daily necessities, most of his things were still in the master bedroom, so moving them wasn’t much of a hassle. It was all done in ten minutes.
After that, Jing Mian took a shower, dried his hair, and got into bed early.
Although this time, there were two pillows.
Jing Mian suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if he was experiencing the atmosphere of a newlywed for the third time that day.
He had thought he would feel nervous and excited, or unable to control his blushing and heart-pounding.
But in reality, both the process and the outcome were much calmer than he had imagined.
They had exchanged rings, gotten their marriage certificate, and even held a wedding.
He and Mr. Ren were really married.
Jing Mian glanced at the time and realized it wasn’t time for his livestream yet.
He thought, if Mr. Ren was busy until late at night, he would start the livestream as planned. If he came back early, he would take his laptop to the sofa.
Not knowing when Ren Xingwan would return, Jing Mian decided to take a nap. He turned off the main light, leaving only a small lamp on the bedside table.
The warm light enveloped the room, casting a faint, beautiful glow.
After doing all this, Jing Mian felt drowsy, his eyes heavy.
Perhaps it was the exhaustion from the wedding day.
Jing Mian quickly drifted off to sleep.
He didn’t know how much time had passed.
The night grew deeper.
The bedroom door opened.
Jing Mian’s eyelashes fluttered because he felt the other side of the bed sink slightly, the covers being lifted, not too much, and the movement was very gentle, but it brought in a slight chill.
Jing Mian was a light sleeper and woke up almost immediately, instinctively asking, “…Mr. Ren?”
His voice carried a hint of nasality, soft and gentle.
Ren Xingwan’s voice slowly responded, “Yes.”
Jing Mian slightly adjusted his position, turning completely to the side to show respect to his roommate, as it seemed impolite to have his back to Mr. Ren.
Then, the last small lamp was turned off.
The night fell completely silent.
Although there was no conversation, Jing Mian was no longer sleepy.
After all, it was the first time sharing a bed with a stranger, and that stranger was his legal spouse. Despite his thoughts wandering, Jing Mian still couldn’t fall asleep.
He kept his eyes closed, maintaining his original position.
However, after ten minutes, Jing Mian felt his waist stiffen, strongly wanting to change his sleeping position.
So he did.
The man on the other side noticed.
Jing Mian heard Mr. Ren’s voice, “Can’t sleep?”
He pondered for a moment, then whispered, “I’m a light sleeper, sometimes I wake up intermittently.”
The implication was that although he was a light sleeper, it wasn’t because Mr. Ren had woken him up.
After all, in such a situation, even if it were the case, there was no need to tell Mr. Ren.
Unexpectedly, Ren Xingwan spoke, “That night I stayed here, you slept very soundly and didn’t wake up in the middle.”
Jing Mian was stunned.
That night was indeed like that.
Even he hadn’t realized it.
Jing Mian pursed his lips, feeling his throat dry, and he honestly said:
“That, perhaps it was because of Mr. Ren’s presence.”
After these words were spoken.
The atmosphere seemed to quiet down for a few seconds.
It was indeed a statement that was hard to respond to. After saying it, Jing Mian felt a bit embarrassed inside.
Perhaps it was the atmosphere, as their vision plunged into darkness, they could even hear each other’s faint breaths and faint heartbeats.
After an unknown amount of time.
Mr. Ren’s voice sounded, “The day after you moved here, you went live.”
Jing Mian was startled, not knowing why Mr. Ren brought this up. He recalled that day and nodded slightly, “Yes.”
Mr. Ren spoke, “At that time, whose home did you say this was?”
Jing Mian was slightly surprised in his heart.
So the man had heard?
On the second day after he moved in, fearing to disturb the man, he had gone live on the sofa on the first floor of Ren Xingwan’s home.
While Mr. Ren was working upstairs, the completely unfamiliar background and environment quickly caught the attention of his fans. To cover up, Jing Mian had said it was his brother’s place.
And it just so happened that Mr. Ren came downstairs at that moment.
Jing Mian had been secretly nervous, afraid that Mr. Ren would misunderstand.
But after that, the matter was never mentioned, and Jing Mian thought Ren Xingwan hadn’t heard.
Caught off guard by the old account being brought up, the emotions from that time seemed to resurface bit by bit. Jing Mian’s Adam’s apple moved, and he had to answer truthfully, “I said it was… my brother’s home.”
“What?”
Jing Mian repeated, “My brother’s home.”
Mr. Ren then asked, “What were the first two words?”
Jing Mian wasn’t sure if Mr. Ren hadn’t heard clearly. He swallowed and whispered, “…Brother?”
“Hmm?”
Jing Mian pursed his lips, this time his voice even softer, “Brother.”
This time, the air fell into silence.
After an unknown amount of time.
In the darkness, all senses and time seemed infinitely prolonged and magnified.
Then, Jing Mian heard Mr. Ren’s voice, “MianMian.”
Jing Mian’s eyelashes trembled, “Hmm?”
“Fulfill marital obligations, is that okay?”