◎ An unexpected pregnancy ◎

That day, when Yunque learned the quoted price for the garden wedding package from that wedding planning studio, her heart genuinely ached for a moment.

But Lu Rangchen, once he’d made up his mind, didn’t budge. His attitude was absolute.

No matter how elaborate or extravagant the itemized breakdown was, he hadn’t even listened carefully to the details — he simply concluded the arrangement on the spot.

That was simply the way he was.

Yunque knew she couldn’t win against him. She simply told him honestly that aside from colleagues, she really had very few friends, and even fewer relatives.

She was perhaps a little cold-hearted that way.

The half-acquaintance relatives on Zhu Ping’an’s side — she didn’t want to invite a single one of them.

As for Zhu Ping and the old grandmother, after learning that Yunque and Lu Rangchen had registered their marriage, they’d been endlessly curious, pestering Zhu Ping’an with questions whenever they got the chance — asking about what Lu Rangchen did, what kind of circumstances his family had, how much money he had.

Perhaps it was the argument at the hospital that time that had led Zhu Ping’an to truly reflect on himself.

This time, he stood squarely on Yunque’s side, protecting her without exception. Whatever anyone asked, his answer was that he didn’t know.

And even for the wedding — he would follow Yunque’s wishes entirely, and see whether she wanted to notify anyone.

As for Feng Yanlai — there was even less to say there. The two of them barely kept in touch, and Feng Yanlai’s side of the family had almost no relatives to speak of either.

So to sum up Yunque’s thinking: the wedding didn’t need to be very large. Besides — it was just the two of them. There was no need to make it such a grand production.

That was how she saw it.

But reality was a different matter.

Lu Rangchen wasn’t aggressive about it — on the drive home, he simply walked her through, quite calmly, who would need to be invited. Before she knew it, Yunque’s head had begun to ache.

Lu Rangchen kept his hands on the steering wheel, perfectly composed, and said, “Although my mother probably won’t come, all the other elders in the family will. They’ve already been discussing among themselves what kind of wedding gift to send us.”

“Not just the Cheng family — the Lu family side as well,” he said, giving Yunque a glance. “My father can’t easily get back from out of town for the wedding, but the older generation there — they’ve all been looking forward to it. Add those together, and that’s probably around twenty or thirty people.”

“……”

Yunque fell completely silent.

But Lu Rangchen wasn’t done. He continued in that easy, unhurried tone: “Beyond family, there are also some personal acquaintances of mine — classmates, friends.”

He looked over at Yunque with mock gravity. “Elementary school, middle school, high school, university, my tennis brothers — when they heard I was getting married, they were all very happy and said they wanted to meet you in person.”

“Counting it all up, that’s probably at least fifty or sixty people at minimum.”

“And that’s not even including everyone at the club.”

“Then there are some business partners — prominent figures, people of standing.”

The more he listed, the larger the number grew.

Yunque’s brow slowly knitted together.

It was only now that she fully realized: this wedding was not being planned for her alone. She might not need pomp or show — but that didn’t mean Lu Rangchen didn’t.

Though this man had severed his ties with the Cheng family and no longer lived as some privileged heir.

In his own circle, he was unquestionably someone of significance — the kind of person countless business partners wanted to cultivate a relationship with.

It hadn’t occurred to Yunque to think of it that way before. Now, coming to it belatedly, she felt a quietly embarrassing jolt of realization.

She said, “Alright then. I’ll follow your lead.”

At those words, Lu Rangchen’s lips curved in a quiet smile — and then, “against the rules,” he reached over and took her hand, his dark eyes deep and intent as they rested on her. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone surround you demanding toasts.”

“……”

He gave her a small wink. “That day, all you have to do is be my princess.”

She knew perfectly well that this man was probably just casting another of his honey-tongued spells. Even so, Yunque’s heart was suffused with a particular warmth, and she already found herself looking forward to the wedding a month away.

But looking forward to it was one thing.

The stress was very real.

A wedding could be simple or enormously complicated — the smaller it was, the more manageable; the larger it grew, the more it spiraled beyond control.

Even just the matter of choosing outfits and wedding gowns took no small amount of effort.

Lu Rangchen was busy, and Yunque had already gone with Xu Linda and Zhou Jin to view many options — but Lu Rangchen refused to accept their choices and insisted on carving out time to go through the selection process with her again himself.

When Zhou Jin heard about this, she wasn’t shy about teasing Lu Rangchen.

She said that when he’d helped Li Tie accompany her to choose a wedding gown, he’d been visibly restless with impatience. She couldn’t possibly imagine the sight of this man patiently sitting with Yunque to pick one out.

As luck would have it, Lu Rangchen happened to be right there next to Yunque, looking at his phone.

Yunque had it on speaker, and he could hear every word.

After hearing Zhou Jin’s commentary, he let out a low, careless laugh and said, “She wasn’t my bride. Why would I care?”

Insufferably arrogant.

Yunque couldn’t hold back a laugh and gave Lu Rangchen a light shove.

Lu Rangchen glanced down at her, the corner of his mouth curling in that casual way of his — then without ceremony pulled her into his arms, and the two of them looked together at the photos on her phone of the gowns she’d tried on earlier.

When the weekend came.

He really did take her out for another round of selection.

They’d gone through practically every high-end bridal boutique in Nancheng. Even Yunque herself was beginning to feel exhausted — yet Lu Rangchen seemed to have an endless supply of patience.

Each time she emerged from the fitting room in a new gown, he would carefully photograph her.

Then he would study her with genuine attention, offering considered input.

This behavior drew warm, envious smiles from the boutique staff. While helping Yunque change, one of the attendants told her it was the first time she’d ever seen such a handsome and patient groom.

At that moment, Lu Rangchen was just outside taking a work call.

The sharpness in his expression — a rare sternness and forcefulness that Yunque seldom saw — was evident even through the glass. The way he spoke was swift and decisive.

It was clear he was having an extremely busy day.

Yunque glanced at him in passing, then looked away and asked the attendant, “Isn’t it perfectly normal for a groom to accompany the bride when choosing a wedding gown?”

“Of course it is,” the attendant said with a shrug. “But you have to admit, most men simply don’t act normally.”

She kept her voice low as she shared a bit of gossip. “Just a few days ago, a very well-dressed couple came in to try on gowns. The woman tried on quite a few, but the man didn’t look up once — he was on work calls or replying to messages the entire time. In the end, when she picked the most expensive gown in the shop, he blew up at her.”

“And last month — a couple broke off their engagement right here in the shop!”

“You know that scene in dramas where the bride walks out in her gown and the groom’s eyes light up and he says ‘you’re so beautiful’ — that’s practically a fantasy.”

“But then again,” the attendant smiled, “your husband does have a little of that quality.”

Yunque blinked. “What do you mean?”

“That dramatic-lead quality,” the attendant said with an expressive look. “Haven’t you noticed? The way he looks at you is incredibly deep and devoted. No matter which gown you come out in, his eyes always carry this warmth and admiration — it’s sweet to the point of being almost overwhelming.”

It was somewhat rare to be teased so directly like that.

Yunque couldn’t help laughing — and when she laughed, her already lovely, fine-featured face came alive with a rare, sparkling beauty.

The attendant couldn’t resist her curiosity. While helping Yunque into a new gown, she asked, “How long have you two been together? You seem so well-matched.”

Yunque said, “Not very long.”

She thought about it seriously, and realized that even counting the past and the present together, the two of them hadn’t been in a relationship for a full year.

And yet somehow.

Even though the actual time spent together was so short, she felt as though they had been in love for many years already.

The attendant hadn’t expected this either, and let out a little gasp. “You decided to marry after less than a year?”

Yunque seemed almost caught off guard by the question — suddenly not knowing quite how to answer.

And to make things worse, a strand of her hair got caught in the zipper of the gown.

It was then that the man’s voice drifted through from the entrance of the fitting room — lazy and warm, with a hint of amusement beneath it, low and deliberate: “Any longer, and I was afraid I’d lose her.”

A casual, playful tone — yet underneath it, something quite serious.

The attendant couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

Yunque heard it and immediately turned her head — only to have her hair painfully tugged by the caught zipper.

She was still wincing when the fitting room curtain was drawn aside, and Lu Rangchen moved straight to the back of the gown, gently eased the zipper back, and carefully untangled her hair.

That air of authority around him — a quiet force that came naturally with his position — softened the instant it touched her, turning patient and tender without a moment’s hesitation.

The attendant was perceptive. Seeing the situation, she said with a knowing smile, “I’ll leave you two to it, then” — and stepped out.

That left just the two of them in this small, private corner of the world, about to be newlyweds.

Lu Rangchen smoothed her hair, then looked at Yunque’s reflection in the mirror — those bright, expressive eyes — and wrapped his arms around her from behind, his lips tugging into a slight curve. “What were you talking about just now? You were smiling so broadly your lips were practically curled up.”

It was the first time Yunque had seen herself in a wedding gown standing alongside Lu Rangchen.

The visual impact in that moment gave rise to something strangely, profoundly moving within her.

Something like wonder, and something like a long exhale.

An exhale for how the two of them had truly made it — from school uniforms, through so much stumbling and straying — all the way to a wedding gown, and from here on, side by side for a lifetime.

Lu Rangchen read that feeling in her eyes. The man’s lips curved softly, and he bent down to press his cheek to hers, then said, “A scene you’ve dreamed of for so many years — it’s finally real.”

This was the first time Yunque had heard him say such a thing.

She turned to look at him in surprise. “When did you ever dream of it?”

Lu Rangchen raised an eyebrow. “Guess.”

Yunque gave him a look that could only be described as: if you don’t drop that habit, you’re going to regret it.

That look drew a quiet laugh from Lu Rangchen.

He actually answered her honestly this time. “Right after we broke up. I kept dreaming about it.”

Yunque blinked up at him, genuinely disbelieving.

She said, “But shouldn’t you have hated me then?”

Lu Rangchen let out a helpless, quiet laugh. “I did hate you. But who can control what the subconscious does?”

His subconscious only ever wanted her.

Wanted her. Wanted to be with her.

Wanted to be with her, permanently and forever.

As luck would have it — he had waited long enough.

The promise: a lifetime.

After two full days devoted to the wedding gown selection phase.

In the end, Lu Rangchen accompanied Yunque in placing an order for six gowns — one for each stage of the day’s events.

After that came the preparation phase for everything else the wedding required.

Because both of them had chosen an outdoor garden wedding, and November in Nancheng brought a marked and significant drop in temperatures, two of the formal outfits had to be specially custom-ordered with long sleeves.

Beyond that, the decorations also required considerably more budget.

Not that Lu Rangchen particularly cared — his finances seemed to thrive almost naturally, and since getting together with Yunque, the club’s business had been flourishing more than ever.

Since neither of them had time to manage the finer details, they delegated everything to the club’s female manager and to Zhou Jin — and sent both of them a substantial red envelope for their trouble.

It proved that people who had already been through a wedding were noticeably more capable of handling all of this.

Once Yunque had finally finished with the examinations at school and went to review the “results,” Zhou Jin had already completed preparations for every stage of the wedding ceremony.

And so on the 7th of November, the wedding was held as planned.

As it turned out, Lu Rangchen had been entirely right.

Just his side of the family alone amounted to several dozen people. And that was before counting the friends, classmates, and teammates.

Yunque’s side, while smaller, was still not negligible.

There was Zhu Ping’an and his family. And Zhu Ping’s group did come after all — perhaps a shift in perspective. Yunque didn’t express much about it. The whole wedding was somewhat of a whirlwind, and there were even many guests she never got to see face-to-face.

Of course, the friends she had personally invited — those she did see.

Like her university dormmate Liang Tian.

Though they had only shared half a year together, their connection had never faded. When Liang Tian heard that she and Lu Rangchen had finally gotten their happy ending, and that Yunque wanted her as a bridesmaid, she said she would travel back from the capital no matter what.

The other bridesmaids were Xu Linda, Lin Zhi, and one of Lu Rangchen’s cousins on his mother’s side.

Four girls, warm and lively, treating Yunque, their introvert, like an absolute princess at every turn.

And no matter which stage of the proceedings it was, Xu Linda — the social butterfly of the group — was always the one charging ahead first.

The amusing part was that Deng Zhe was one of the groomsmen. Both he and Xu Linda were perfectly capable of talking to anyone — except each other. The moment they had to stand side by side, both of them descended into awkwardness.

And so, amid all the noise and laughter and warmth, the wedding ceremony finally arrived.

Zhu Ping’an, dressed with great care, walked Yunque down the aisle, and before long his eyes were quietly reddening.

Yunque, truthfully, had never been particularly fond of sentimental moments like that.

The officiant had originally planned to have Zhu Ping’an say a few words — but she simply wasn’t one for performative emotion. So she had removed that part from the program entirely.

What followed, then, was Lu Rangchen lifting her white veil and placing the wedding ring on her finger himself.

Looking back on it later.

Yunque always felt that part of the experience had been something rather remarkable.

She had expected to be moved beyond words — but in that moment, all she actually felt was that she was very cold.

Cold enough that Lu Rangchen could sense it too — and so, without ceremony, right in front of everyone, he took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders, then cut through the remaining formalities without a word of explanation, and after the bouquet had been thrown and the confetti had burst into the air, he simply swept Yunque up into his arms and carried her inside the hotel.

The guests erupted into laughter at this.

Everyone said Lu Rangchen truly cherished his wife beyond all measure.

Fortunately, none of this disrupted the party’s progress. Guests enjoyed cake and barbecue on the lawn, with a live band playing throughout, and the atmosphere was warm and joyful all around.

The one person not particularly enjoying herself was Yunque.

By the time he carried her inside she was already at a loss, and gave his shoulder a solid thump. “You’ve gone and ruined perfectly good proceedings.”

But Lu Rangchen couldn’t care less — he laughed. “It was just a set of vows. Too clichéd — would you like me to recite them for you every single day instead?”

Yunque couldn’t hold back a laugh.

She laughed; Lu Rangchen’s lips curved too. He said, “You were that cold just now — I don’t care about any wedding formalities, but what kind of person would I be if I let you freeze? You think I wouldn’t feel terrible?”

“……”

“We should have waited for a garden wedding next spring.”

Yunque let out a small sigh. “We should have waited until spring.”

By now, the two of them had already returned to the hotel suite to change for the next portion of the event.

Yunque stepped out of her heels and had just finished removing her veil in front of the mirror when Lu Rangchen stepped behind her to ease down the zipper of her wedding gown. “Next spring won’t do,” he said.

“……”

Lu Rangchen glanced at her, his eyes deep and dark. “I wouldn’t have been able to wait.”

That wasn’t flattery or sweet talk.

It was the truth, said plainly.

And yet — those plain, truthful words seemed to carry with them just a hint of prophecy.

Because the following spring, as everything came back to life and the flowers of Nancheng began to slowly bloom.

In this most beautiful of seasons —

Yunque found herself unexpectedly pregnant.

Author’s note: I might try writing a little one into this story. Though I’m not sure how much I’ll write, since it’s genuinely not my strong suit. In any case, there won’t be many bonus chapters for the main couple — what follows will include chapters for Deng Zhe and Xu Linda.