Chapter 2

The wedding was the next day. The room was packed with makeup artists, photographers, and bridesmaids.

When I emerged in my bridesmaid dress, Jiang Yan caught my arm and lowered her voice conspiratorially.

“One of the groomsmen is the complete package.”

I knew that opening couldn’t lead anywhere good.

Sure enough, she began counting his qualifications off on her fingers.

“Just back from abroad. A partner in his own law firm.”

“Handsome, high income, emotionally stable. And most importantly, single.”

I nodded helpfully.

“Thank you, Miss Jiang, for taking time out of your busy schedule to screen eligible men for me.”

But being a good prospect was one thing. Liking him was another.

And the one I liked—

Without warning, last night’s black pajamas flashed into my mind, along with the feel of muscles tightening beneath my palm.

I stopped myself there.

It was far too early in the morning for this. Get a grip.

When it was time for the groom to collect his bride, the noise outside soon picked up.

The groomsmen crowded around him as he came in, and I recognized Jiang Yan’s “complete package” at once.

Lu Wenchuan.

A white shirt, a black suit, and thin-rimmed glasses on his nose.

Perhaps it was his age and experience, but he had an easy, gentle composure that stood out among the rowdy groomsmen.

Jiang Yan hadn’t exaggerated.

He was the kind of man the older relatives would immediately ask for birth details to check his marriage compatibility.

As I drew my gaze back, it swept across the other side of the room.

Jiang Heng was a groomsman too.

His shirt was buttoned to the very top, his tie immaculately knotted. He looked like a different person from last night.

I was wearing a purple satin bridesmaid dress, and his tie happened to be in the same color family. For a moment, we almost looked like we’d dressed to match.

My thoughts slipped, unbidden, back to years ago.

Back then, he hadn’t even reached my shoulder. Yet he’d been so serious from childhood, his pretty little face solemn, nothing like the boys his age who bounced off the walls.

That was why I especially liked teasing him.

Once, pinching his cheeks, I’d deliberately tried to scare him.

“So stiff and proper, and you don’t even know how to sweet-talk a girl. Who’s going to marry you?”

Little Jiang Heng had pressed his lips together and ignored me.

I’d laughed harder and ruffled his hair.

“Oh, all right. When you grow up, I suppose I’ll take pity on you and have you myself.”

In the blink of an eye,

the child I’d once had to look down to tease had grown much taller than me.

He stood there in his beautifully fitted suit, broad across the shoulders and back, his handsome face cool and reserved.

It was difficult to connect him with the word “child” anymore.

Something gave a small, inexplicable flutter in my chest.