Chapter 76: Identity Exposed! Can You Hear Me? I Think We Should Have a Good Talk…
Aphrodite Cruise Ship, central location.
In the vast space, fresh flowers and green plants airlifted that day were arranged in a well-proportioned manner. Their combination and placement were handled by a world-class team of florists.
Tall flowering trees were interspersed with plants and flowers on tables and the ground, with a ceiling of real leaves overhead… clearly indoors, yet it felt like stepping into a jungle.
Under the lights and tree shadows, fragrant clothes and temple shadows mingled, cups and chips exchanged. The background sound was melodious music, also from a world-renowned symphony orchestra.
At a certain moment, the gentle music suddenly turned compact. The crowd still conversing in the venue instantly quieted down. They tacitly stopped what they were doing and turned their eyes to the entrance area for the newlyweds.
In front of the huge curtain, a tall male stood silently.
His back was to the crowd, his extremely perfect figure wrapped in a top-tailored black suit. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs—while charm rushed forth, the inherent oppressive feeling and nobility surrounding him made the viewers swallow involuntarily.
Not bewitched, but a reflex physiological tension upon feeling the pressure.
The champagne-colored curtain wasn’t opaque; instead, a slender shadow appeared through the shadowy tulle.
No wide skirt hem, no gorgeous tiara, just a slender and agile figure between a boy and a youth.
At this moment, some guests finally realized that the couple on the invitation were really two men.
It wasn’t that there were no people who liked men in the circle of the rich; on the contrary, most people were omnivorous, eating both men and women. It was just that among those who had had male partners, those who finally held hands in marriage were few and far between.
Because in large families that still valued inheritance, marrying a man was equivalent to having no continuation of the bloodline. And those who chose this way were almost equivalent to giving up their own inheritance rights.
Although it is said that lovers come from wealthy families since ancient times, how many have squeezed themselves out of the center of power because of feelings? For those who have truly enjoyed power, who can endure that drop?
So even though same-sex marriage is legal now, most people around them knew well that dating was fine, but marriage…
Before coming, although they had heard that the partner of the young boss of Wei Yuan Jing was also a young talent, hearing and seeing felt different. When the scene unfolded before their eyes, the shock it gave people was not small.
He really… was marrying a man!
But then thinking about it, Xi Yun voluntarily left the Xi family and possessed almost all the wealth accumulated by several generations of the Nian family. Why would someone with such absolute dominance need to wrong himself for external things?
So, it must be true love without a doubt.
Seeing this scene, Yuan Cheng and Xie Jun, moved to tears, nodded fiercely in agreement upon hearing this. Yes, yes, yes, they simply loved it too much!
Verified by friends personally, that was ironclad proof.
Amidst the crowd’s sighs, probing, or envious gazes, the lowered curtain slowly opened. A youth holding a green plant bouquet with one hand faced them, suddenly smiling until his eyes curved.
Soft light poured down from above, converging into a unique beam. That beam followed his steps, coming to another person’s side step by step.
Black and white overlapped in sight, merging into the most harmonious pattern in the world.
Before Xi Yun reached out, Le Can extended his hand into mid-air in advance, looking at Xi Yun in front of him and saying, “Hold me.”
Compared to the rehearsal where he waited for the other to reach out before handing over his hand, Le Can preferred this way—controlling the initiative himself.
Xi Yun gazed at the youth standing in the light, chin slightly raised, flamboyant and unbridled. Under the shadow cast by his brow arch, a smile flashed in his silver-gray pupils.
He pressed one hand to his chest and bowed slowly, raising the other high to catch the extended hand. Under deep eyes, his thin lips parted lightly: “Respect… is better than obedience.”
Again, actions and words not in the rehearsal.
Le Can’s brows raised slightly, a thin red dyeing the corner of his eyes. In the process of passing Xi Yun and adjusting his standing posture, he quickly glared at the person standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
[Hold hands if you want, where did all these fancy things come from?]
Inexplicably, it reminded people of a peacock displaying its tail, a bird of paradise hopping on a branch spreading its wings, a guppy swinging its fan-shaped tail fin to attract a mate…
[No, I feel like it’s OOC…]
Le Can, with distracted thoughts and assuming by default that he must be thinking crookedly, shook his brain that might have taken on water. Amidst the symphony that became soothing and melodious again, he and Xi Yun held hands and walked together onto the long aisle formed by flower bouquets ahead.
At the end of the aisle, there were no eye-sore relatives from this world, only Ms. Tan Man covering her mouth with tears falling continuously, and old Mr. Ben Nelson with a straight back but red rimmed eyes.
The former appeared on stage as the witness, while the latter acted as a witness and moonlighted as the wedding emcee.
Two elders who truly cared about Xi Yun—one incoherent with helplessness and joy when invited, one actively stepping forward to fight for the role of emcee, which seemed simple but had extraordinary significance.
In the process of walking towards them step by step, Le Can involuntarily clenched his hands tightly.
Xi Yun had friends, had these elders without blood relation who still loved and cared for him. Himself… Le Can laughed at himself; he didn’t do very well.
[Adding this life and the last life together, it seems no one stayed by my side… Is it… a bit of a failure?]
In this life, he might be destined to come naked and go naked.
Suddenly, a pull came from where their palms were joined. Le Can was pulled to a stop, looking back only to find Xi Yun had fallen behind him at some point.
“You…”
The silent man’s lips were pressed tight, those strange double pupils staring deeply over. Le Can, who was preparing to ask what was wrong, abruptly fell silent too.
“Yaoyao, you have me by your side.”
A heartbeat suddenly exploded in his ears.
It was too loud, so loud that Le Can was shaken a bit dizzy.
“Look up and look over there again.”
Hearing this, Le Can turned his head mechanically to look at the faintly restless crowd. Following the direction of Xi Yun’s finger, he saw Xie Jun and Yuan Cheng with anxious and puzzled expressions.
Behind the two were Aunt Liang and Uncle Zhao holding hands. Further back, sitting in another direction but sneaking over to ask about the situation, was Jian Minglang with an indignant and worried expression.
When he hadn’t felt it deeply, it turned out so many people had gathered around him…
In a flash of lightning, Le Can, suddenly realizing he hadn’t spoken, turned abruptly to face the person who had been looking at him intently.
[How did you know?!]
That cold face showed helplessness, “Yaoyao, it’s time to keep moving forward.”
Stopping halfway without saying hello, leaving all guests confused, the couple started walking again.
But this time, there wasn’t a distance of one person between the two young men; instead, they were closely pressed together. No, accurately speaking, it should be Le Can pressing against Xi Yun.
Le Can walked forward relying purely on the other’s lead because his attention, his gaze, was entirely invested in the person beside him.
He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, staring tightly at Xi Yun’s side profile, seemingly understanding yet seemingly puzzled. He wished his eyes could turn into X-rays, looking inch by inch from the full forehead to the beautifully lined chin.
Clearly a person he had seen many times, yet exuding a sense of strangeness.
Not long ago, Le Can just thought Xi Yun would repeatedly break his cognition. He didn’t expect the stimulation to come so quickly and unexpectedly!
The youth, stimulated to the point of wishing he could inhale oxygen, widened his eyes instantly.
[Eyes widened like copper bells.JPG]
[I will stare at you, forever.JPG]
Xi Yun’s slip-up, or rather his active exposure, made him start racking his brains to recall.
With the X-ray ability “gem ahead,” it wasn’t hard for Le Can to guess or associate—after 100,000 words, would Xi Yun possess some special ability again?
As the protagonist at the center of the world, Le Can, realizing belatedly, felt such things happening were simply too commonplace… like hell!
If it weren’t for the wrong occasion, he would have grabbed Xi Yun’s collar and directly opened his mouth to verify his guess!
But this wedding involved too much; temporarily, no accidents could happen.
So, Le Can could only hold back his curiosity, staring with a death glare at the irresponsible “scumbag” who piqued his curiosity!
After two seconds, the knotted brain suddenly straightened out.
A flash of inspiration passed, and his head cleared a lot. Le Can followed his guess, stretching his head closer to Xi Yun, and started harassing him in his mind.
[You are… not planning to hide it from me anymore?]
[This situation, when did it start?]
Thinking of this, Le Can couldn’t help feeling a bit regretful.
At that time, not knowing Xi Yun had this cheating ability, he didn’t know how many presumptuous words he had said in his heart. The incident was sudden; trying to count what he had thought left his mind blank, without a clue.
But, it’s normal for a person to let loose in their mind. Who knew someone would have such an unreasonable ability?
[So right now, can you hear me?]
The person leading him stopped walking. He lowered his eyes to glance at the bright eyes close at hand, reaching out to touch the youth’s cheek and pushing him slightly away.
The moment they separated, Le Can stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Xi Yun, in the second before the inner voice of accusation rang out, clasped the hands of the person in front of him tightly with both hands.
They stood face to face at the end of this road.
The moment they stood firm, Le Can felt the force on his hands, and a sentence sounding like a sigh came to his ear: “I can hear.”
His anxious, uneasy, surprised emotions settled down instantly.
At the same time, Ben Nelson’s full, clear voice with modulated intonation finally reached his ears.
“…Are you willing to enter into a marriage contract with the person in front of you? In sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, to stay by his side until the end of life?”
Although he didn’t hear the subject, Le Can, who had gone through the rehearsal process, slowly hooked his lips under Xi Yun’s gaze: “I do.”
[Wait until the wedding is over, I think we should have a good talk, Hus, band.]
Xi Yun chuckled helplessly, then nodded almost imperceptibly to the person who held his hand back and slowly tightened his grip.
Before making the decision, he had already anticipated this scene happening.
Looking at Le Can in front of him, whose heart was bubbling with bad water and who had returned to a state full of vitality, Xi Yun didn’t regret it.
By his ear, Ben Nelson’s question fell again.
Xi Yun answered slowly and firmly: “I, do.”
And, endure it as sweet as candy (gladly endure it).
Author’s Note: [1] The vows are borrowed from traditional Western wedding vows. A very good passage, matching Mr. Butler’s identity and fitting his blessings. After exposing one layer of identity, more ways to play will soon be unlocked ([Dog Head]).
Recommended Reads
