Chapter 169
Chapter 169
Ning Xi’s little mouth kept chattering away, her lips opening and closing like pink crabapple petals-soft, with a rich, sweet fragrance.
Her almond eyes were bright and smiling, glittering with tiny flecks of light.
The next second, a warm palm covered Ning Xi’s eyes.
His other hand cradled the back of her head.
Just like that, Xie Lanchen kissed her, swallowing every word Ning Xi had been about to say.
“Mm… you haven’t guessed yet…”
“That’s why I need to bribe the examiner first, so she’ll be a little lenient with me.”
As Xie Lanchen spoke, he gradually deepened the kiss.
He kissed her brows and eyes, the shell of her ear, her throat.
Ning Xi went soft all over from his kisses. Every place Xie Lanchen touched felt as if it had been shocked by electricity, tingling and numb, sending shivers through her.
Then, suddenly, a familiar warmth surged from her lower abdomen.
Ning Xi went rigid.
Xie Lanchen was still nibbling on her earlobe. “This reaction? Could it really be cuff links? No, that doesn’t seem right… Let me guess again…”
Ning Xi pushed Xie Lanchen away and wailed, “My period started!!! Aaaaaah!!!”
All the romantic atmosphere they had built up vanished completely with that one howl.
Ning Xi didn’t even have time to look at Xie Lanchen’s reaction-though she could imagine it probably wasn’t exactly comfortable.
Xie Lanchen had already gotten up, quickly pulled himself together, and very naturally went to the kitchen to make a cup of brown sugar ginger tea. He also brought out a fresh set of clothes for her to change into.
Ning Xi: ?
“When did you prepare all this?” Ning Xi stared at the clothes, which were in a perfectly suitable size, utterly shocked.
“The first day I had a girlfriend.” Xie Lanchen looked at Ning Xi, the corners of his lips curving slightly.
The moment his eyes met hers, his throat couldn’t help but itch again.
He coughed, turned his gaze elsewhere, and tried to change the subject. “Everything else you need is in the bathroom…”
Before he could finish, Ning Xi had already taken the clothes and left.
Xie Lanchen laughed despite himself. He was just about to find a vase for the roses Ning Xi had given him when he saw her phone light up.
Sender: Fu Zhi.
Xie Lanchen looked at the phone and very lightly raised an eyebrow.
Fu Zhi: “A new restaurant just opened in Xiangcheng. Want to come out and take your mind off things? I heard about you and Ning Mingyue too. Don’t be sad…”
Xie Lanchen pressed his lips together and called out to Ning Xi, “Looks like someone sent you a message.”
“Can you check who it is for me? You know my phone password. 123321.”
“Okay.”
And so Xie Lanchen openly unlocked her phone and replied: “Hello. She’s not available to reply right now. Is there anything important?”
Fu Zhi: “?”
Fu Zhi: “Who are you?”
Fu Zhi: “Xie Lanchen?”
Fu Zhi: “You’re with Ning Xi???????????”
Fu Zhi: “Not available to reply????”
Xie Lanchen didn’t answer again.
After that, Fu Zhi behaved himself for quite a while and stopped bothering Ning Xi.
But he was like an unkillable cockroach, popping up out of nowhere from time to time.
After Xie Lanchen pressed him back down, he would make a comeback again after a while.
Even after Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen got married, Fu Zhi still didn’t give up trying to steal her away.
Every so often, he would send a message.
As he got older, Fu Zhi’s tactics became much more sophisticated.
It was no longer pure concern, gossip, or restaurant recommendations-Ning Xi never replied to those at all.
Instead, he began bringing up things from when they were children.
And he kept the tone within the bounds of an old friend.
But Xie Lanchen still couldn’t stand the sight of it.
After being with Ning Xi for a long time, some of the livelier parts of his nature finally began to show themselves little by little. He even became a bit spoiled by her affection.
On one of their wedding anniversaries, Fu Zhi once again sent a message at the worst possible time.
When Xie Lanchen saw it, he deleted Fu Zhi’s WeChat right in front of Ning Xi, neat and decisive.
“He’s deliberately sent messages on our wedding anniversary two years in a row. I don’t like it.”
Ning Xi looked at a certain someone whose jealousy jar had clearly tipped over and clicked her tongue. “You remember that so clearly?”
In truth, Fu Zhi rarely messaged her privately anymore. It was just that Xiangcheng was a circle, and the Young Master and young ladies all knew one another. They shared many group chats.
Today, Fu Zhi would share a new restaurant he’d found in one group chat. Tomorrow, he would invite everyone in another group to go surfing. The day after that, he would say in some other group that he wanted to send winter gifts to the group members.
Ning Xi couldn’t narcissistically assume all of that was meant for her to see, could she?
After all, so much time had passed. She was already married. Even if Fu Zhi had liked her that much before, it had probably worn away by now.
Xie Lanchen looked at Fu Zhi’s WeChat name: A Simp Never Loses Forever.
He fell silent.
What was he supposed to do? His wife seemed to have no idea how charming she was.
Xie Lanchen suspected that even when they were seventy or eighty, Fu Zhi still wouldn’t give up.
But so what? He wouldn’t give up either.
For every inch Fu Zhi dared to show himself, Xie Lanchen would shove him back down an inch.
He would always outlast Fu Zhi.
…
Compared to Fu Zhi, his rival in love, Xie Lanchen actually appreciated Shen Yibai a little more.
Of course, in Xie Lanchen’s eyes, both of them were still in the negatives.
He had no good impression of anyone who coveted Ning Xi.
It was just that Shen Yibai knew his limits better.
When they got married, he had only sent a wedding gift in the name of the Shen Family.
The two of them also had one very brief conversation.
Shen Yibai’s smile was faint and pale. “If there’s another life, I definitely won’t let go.”
In this life, it ended here.
Congratulations on your marriage, Ah Ning.
Xie Lanchen refused to be outdone. “Then you won’t have the chance. In the next life, and the life after that, we’ll still be together.”
The money his charitable foundation had donated over the years could buy the entirety of Xiangcheng. If the Bodhisattva truly answered prayers, then he would surely let Xie Lanchen and Ning Xi meet again in their next life.
“Xie Lanchen! We need to change one of the wedding games. Come here, quick!” Luo Ze, one of the groomsmen, called out.
Xie Lanchen raised an eyebrow. “I’ll accept the gift, but the bride is very busy. Whether she gets to see it is another matter.”
With that, Xie Lanchen turned and left.
Shen Yibai watched Xie Lanchen’s retreating back and couldn’t help laughing.
When they had been on the variety show, he had thought Xie Lanchen was mature and steady. Now it seemed there was still a bit of youthful arrogance in him.
Ning Xi actually liked a man like that.
But in this world, only Xie Lanchen could make Shen Yibai feel at ease entrusting Ning Xi to him.
A fine drizzle began to fall from the sky.
Shen Yibai lifted his head.
Many years ago, it had been a rainy day just like this.
His genetic illness had reached its late stages, and though he had tried to keep it hidden, some people had still vaguely caught wind of it.
Then Xie Lanchen had appeared in Xiangcheng with Dr. Musk’s medical team.
Back then, Xie Lanchen had only been thirty-six, yet there were already a few strands of white at his temples.
Many of the young nurses in the hospital had been completely smitten with him, calling it the aura of a “mature man” and “daddy” vibes.
Shen Yibai, however, had been extremely guarded against this mysterious foreign tycoon who had appeared out of nowhere. He suspected Xie Lanchen had ulterior motives and refused Dr. Musk’s physical examination.
Xie Lanchen gripped his shoulders, his expression cold and stern.
“As long as you’re alive, she’ll be happy. I’m saving you for her sake.”
They both knew full well who “she” was.
That day, Ning Xi had fallen asleep beside his hospital bed. It was Xie Lanchen who draped his suit jacket over her.
And he stood in front of the window, blocking the sunlight for Ning Xi.
Shen Yibai saw it all clearly.
But he did not stop him.
His time was almost up. The only reason he had dragged it out until now was because he couldn’t stop worrying about Ning Xi.
If Xie Lanchen truly had feelings for Ning Xi, then Shen Yibai would serve as the final checkpoint for her.
He would make sure that even after his death, Ning Xi would live a life free of worry.
And yet, just as Ning Xi was about to wake up, Xie Lanchen removed the jacket in advance, as if the person who had draped it over her and blocked the sun for her had never existed at all.
After that, the two of them merely exchanged a simple greeting. There was no conversation that crossed any boundaries.
If Shen Yibai hadn’t seen Xie Lanchen shielding Ning Xi from the sunlight, even he probably wouldn’t have believed Xie Lanchen held such feelings for her.
Before his death, Shen Yibai finally uncovered Xie Lanchen’s identity.
When he discovered that Xie Lanchen was the little wolf cub who had kept following Ning Xi ever since the childhood kidnapping case, understanding dawned on Shen Yibai-and the huge weight in his heart finally dropped.
So there was someone who had silently waited for Ning Xi for more than twenty years.
Only by entrusting Ning Xi to a man like that could he close his eyes in peace when he died.
However, after he told Xie Lanchen this thought, Xie Lanchen merely looked at him coldly. “You underestimated her feelings for you. You disgust me.”
And so, until the moment Shen Yibai died, Xie Lanchen never revealed any of his feelings to Ning Xi.
Ning Xi had also always regarded Xie Lanchen as one of Shen Yibai’s friends from abroad and treated him politely…
…
“Miss Ning Xi, do you take Mr. Xie Lanchen to be your husband, to be the companion and confidant of your life? Whether in wealth or poverty, in sickness or in health, will you love him forever, stay by his side, and walk through this life hand in hand with him?”
The pastor’s vows drifted over from the wedding venue, pulling Shen Yibai out of his memories.
When he heard Ning Xi say, “I do,” Shen Yibai finally smiled and walked into the endless drizzle. By then, it was impossible to tell whether the wetness on his face was rain or tears.
“Xie Lanchen, in her last life, she only loved me.”
Unfortunately, fate had decreed that some people were destined to part.
But thankfully, I loved you deeply.
And I have no regrets.