Late August, under the scorching sun.

This grand wedding swept across the internet early in the morning. Fortunately, Jiang Wang had already made excellent privacy arrangements in advance—only those with invitations could enter the inner venue.

After hanging up the phone last night, Shi Niannian slept very well and got up early for makeup and to put on her wedding dress.

Auntie helped keep her pregnancy a secret for now, although her face was beaming with a bit too much joy.

Shi Niannian sat in front of the mirror while the stylist arranged her hair. She gently placed both hands over her abdomen. The wedding dress had a tight waistline, but fortunately, she wasn’t showing yet, so it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Looking at her stomach, she thought, You need to behave today. Today is Mom and Dad’s wedding, so we can’t cause any trouble.

Naturally, there was no response. She curved her lips into a smile, feeling quite childish.

The stylist noticed her expression and smiled, “It’s your big day today. Are you happy?”

“I’m happy every day,” Shi Niannian replied with a smile.

During this time, Jiang Ling and Chen Shushu came to the makeup room. The two wore bridesmaid dresses and entered arm in arm, full of excitement.

Chen Shushu had married and had a child right after her undergraduate studies. Her child was already a year and a half old now.

Jiang Ling was also planning her wedding with Xu Zhilin recently. Unlike them, Xu Zhilin was already in his thirties, and the Xu family patriarch was putting pressure on them.

“Damn, Niannian, after seeing your wedding, mine feels like it wasn’t even a wedding at all. The venue is way too beautiful!!” Chen Shushu exclaimed.

“Why didn’t you bring your baby?” Shi Niannian asked with a smile.

Chen Shushu joked, “My mom’s watching him. He cries a lot. We can’t have him wailing while you and Jiang Wang are exchanging rings and kissing at the altar.”

“Is everyone here already?”

“Yes, after the college entrance exams, we hardly ever saw Jiang Wang again. Thanks to you, we get to see what our former school heartthrob looks like now.”

Chen Shushu and Jiang Ling were like a comedy duo. Jiang Ling made a fist like a microphone and held it under Chen Shushu’s chin: “May I ask if you’re satisfied with how our former school heartthrob looks now?”

Chen Shushu clapped twice and gave a thumbs up: “Very satisfied! He didn’t grow up ugly at all. He’s even more handsome now!”

Very flattering.

Speaking of growing up ugly, Jiang Ling got excited and counted off which handsome guys from school were already balding, and which ones now had beer bellies big enough to float a boat.

They only returned to the front hall when Xu Shu came in.

Her makeup and hair were already done, and the stylist was fixing her veil. A thin layer covered her eyes as she looked toward the door. “Mom.”

“Yes,” Xu Shu responded. She hadn’t been back to the country for a long time.

When the stylist finished with the veil and went out to get the bouquet, Xu Shu softly asked, “I heard from your aunt that you’re pregnant?”

“Ah.” She nodded, joy spreading from her eyes. “Yes, I just found out with a pregnancy test yesterday.”

Xu Shu raised her hand and touched her face through the veil.

Both of them paused. Xu Shu had never caressed her daughter like this before, and Shi Niannian had never felt her mother’s touch.

Xu Shu’s fingers curled slightly and withdrew. “Seeing you like this now, Mom can rest easy.”

Shi Niannian smiled without speaking.

Since they couldn’t see each other before the wedding, Jiang Wang had been entertaining everyone in the front hall of the venue. Besides classmates, there were also colleagues from his company and business partners.

The man wore a black suit with a flower pinned to his chest.

Rarely did he feel nervous, but now his palms were sweating.

Fan Mengming patted his shoulder: “You two have been legally married for two years, but you look like tonight is your first wedding night.”

Jiang Wang glanced at him without saying anything.

Fan Mengming laughed shakily: “Do you want me to go check on my little sister Shi and see how she’s doing?”

“Xu Ningqing has already gone.”

Xu Ningqing was the only one in their group not wearing the same groomsman outfit. He wasn’t a groomsman today; he had another role.

When he knocked and entered, Shi Niannian was holding her bouquet, ready to go out.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes. Why did you come?”

Xu Ningqing bent slightly in a gentlemanly bow: “As your brother, to escort you in.”

The wedding had a segment where the daughter would be on her father’s arm, and then the father would hand his daughter’s hand to the groom. Shi Niannian had thought this part would be skipped.

She suddenly felt her eyes moisten. Not wanting to ruin her makeup by crying now, she turned her face away and waved her hand, forcing back the tears.

There was still some time before the entrance, so she changed to a less emotional topic: “Why didn’t Chang Li come with you?”

She had sent Chang Li an invitation when they were distributing them.

“She happened to go abroad for a competition.”

Shi Niannian thought for a moment: “Painting?”

“Yes.”

“That’s amazing.”

Xu Ningqing smiled and gave another “Mm.”

“When are you two planning to get married? Auntie hopes to see you married.”

“It’s still too early. She’s just a little girl who doesn’t understand anything yet.”

Xu Ningqing leaned lazily against the wall until the bells of the venue rang and the noisy sounds outside quieted down. He straightened up, bent his arm, and his expression became serious: “Let’s go.”

Shi Niannian held his arm as they walked through the corridor. The doors of the venue slowly opened.

Light poured down, and Jiang Wang stood at the other end, the light falling on his face, wearing a satisfied smile.

The music started, and Xu Ningqing led Shi Niannian step by step forward. Her heart inexplicably accelerated as her eyes met Jiang Wang’s across the space. A round of applause erupted around them.

Xu Ningqing placed Shi Niannian’s hand into Jiang Wang’s. He casually curved the corner of his mouth and said to Jiang Wang: “This time, I’m handing her over to you.”

Jiang Wang responded in a deep voice: “Rest assured.”

At 19, Jiang Wang’s life had been shrouded in layers of darkness—damaged hearing, the filthy darkness of prison, doing nothing and unable to find interest in anything.

It was also in that summer that Shi Niannian, wearing a loose and baggy school uniform and pants, clean and pure, stood before him.

She was a treasure, a redemption, the most precious reward after all the hardships and trials of his life.

She was the clearest scoop of moonlight.

Jiang Wang looked at her, knelt on one knee, and amid the cheers and applause of everyone, once again placed a ring on Shi Niannian’s finger.

Shi Niannian looked at him and smiled, and in the end, couldn’t help but shed tears.

Jiang Wang stood up, bent down, and kissed her lips.

The wedding banquet lasted until early morning. Jiang Wang arranged for people to send everyone back, while those who lived far away continued to stay at the hotel for another night before departing the next day.

Weddings are famously exhausting. After the ceremony, Jiang Wang let Shi Niannian go rest. A group of friends teased about why the bride wasn’t coming to toast, but he didn’t have Shi Niannian come out again.

In the early hours, the noisy night quieted down again, and you could hear cicadas in the trees.

Jiang Wang had drunk quite a bit, but fortunately, the breeze had sobered him up somewhat while saying goodbye to the guests. By the time he went back upstairs, the effect of the alcohol had mostly dissipated.

He pushed open the door: “Niannian.”

The young woman sat on the edge of the bed, still wearing that short dress without changing. It was short to the thigh, adorned with delicate lace flowers. She wasn’t sitting properly, and the skirt had moved up to the top of her thighs, making her skin look fair and translucent.

She got up and ran to him, hugging him, unusually proactive. She tilted her head up, with her chin against his chest, looking at him: “You finally came back.”

He pinched her face and chuckled: “Did you miss me?”

The man rarely drank this much, and his whole demeanor showed some post-drinking laziness and casualness. His tie had been loosened and hung around his neck, and his breath still carried a hint of alcohol.

Shi Niannian stood on her tiptoes, like a small animal, leaning close to sniff.

“Did you drink a lot?”

He mumbled a response: “That fatty Fan Mengming made me drink quite a bit.”

Shi Niannian smiled: “So are you drunk now?”

“What’s up?” He bent down and kissed the corner of her mouth, smiling. “Want to take advantage of me while I’m drunk?”

Shi Niannian laughed with a “tsk.”

He hugged her, half leaning his weight on her, his hands loosely around her waist, and asked softly: “Were you happy today?”

“Yes, I was happy,” she answered obediently.

“Are you tired?”

“I’m not tired. You must be tired after being busy all day.” Shi Niannian pushed him toward the bathroom. “Go take a shower first.”

He looked down at her, biting her earlobe as he asked huskily: “Not together?”

“I’ve already showered. You go quickly,” Shi Niannian urged him. “When you come out, I have something to tell you.”

He raised an eyebrow: “What is it?”

“You’ll know when you come out.”

Jiang Wang was indeed tired. He took his pajamas and went in to shower.

At one in the morning, the lights in the room were turned off. The carpet of the bridal chamber was covered with a thick layer of rose petals, giving off a dark red glow in the moonlight.

Jiang Wang had his eyes closed, with one hand wandering over Shi Niannian’s body, lifting the hem of her nightgown. While his fingers caressed her, he asked casually: “What did you want to tell me earlier?”

Shi Niannian turned to face him: “Jiang Wang.”

His response was lazy: “Hmm?”

She said, “You’re going to be a father.”

His hand continued kneading her chest for two seconds, then stopped. Even his breathing suddenly became barely audible. Then he suddenly propped himself up on his elbow. In the darkness, his eyes had completely lost their earlier laziness, and his voice trembled slightly when he spoke.

“What?”

Shi Niannian smiled and repeated: “You’re going to be a father.”

This news came so suddenly that Jiang Wang remained propped up, staring at her in shock for a good while before he asked in a daze: “Really?”

Shi Niannian had never seen him like this before, and his reaction made her laugh: “Why would I lie about this? Of course it’s true.”

“When did this happen?”

“Last night, I suddenly felt nauseous and took a pregnancy test. Two lines, which means I’m pregnant. We couldn’t see each other last night, and it was already late, so I wanted to tell you tonight.” She explained slowly.

Jiang Wang frowned: “You haven’t been to the hospital for a check-up yet?”

“There wasn’t time because of the wedding.” She took Jiang Wang’s hand. “Shall we go to the hospital together tomorrow for a check-up?”

“No,” he refused without even thinking.

Shi Niannian didn’t understand.

So in the early hours of that morning, Jiang Wang directly called two private doctors.

Shi Niannian originally thought it wasn’t good to disturb others so late, but Jiang Wang insisted that he would only be at ease after having a doctor examine her, and she couldn’t persuade him otherwise no matter what she said.

So they did a series of simple examinations throughout the night.

Finally, the doctor stood up with a smile and said, “Congratulations, Mr. Jiang. Mrs. Jiang is six weeks pregnant, with twins.”