His rationality and intelligence had completely left him. This was the first time Meng Ting encountered such a situation and his rationality was unable to go against his feelings all along. He liked Yan Sui and did not want to deviate from his feelings.
Meng Ting released Yan Sui's hand then, suddenly, he pounced on Yan Sui. Yan Sui caught him, but he staggered. He sat on the ground. He propped up with his free right hand so both of them would not roll on the ground.
Meng Ting was totally unaware that they almost fell. He buried his face on the side of Yan Sui's neck and earnestly said, "Yan Sui, if one day you'll regret it, you must tell me as early as possible. Don't tell me after you started hating me."
He was quite determined that he did not want Yan Sui to hate him. Obviously, it was not long ago when his demands to Yan Sui were only to have enough food to eat and get enough good sleep. However, being treated well by Yan Sui, he unexpectedly wanted to reach for a yard after getting an inch.
When he heard this, Yan Sui's hand that was propping them up from the ground slightly paused. He embraced Meng Ting with his other hand as he leaned forward. He lifted it up and touched the back of Meng Ting's neck, gently rubbing it, but he did not immediately answer Meng Ting's question.
"You know that we're already married, but do you know why I still wanted to propose to you?"
Meng Ting leaned on Yan Sui's shoulder, and whispered back, "I don't know."
A proposal is a process that a typical married couple must have. This should make him happy… There were many possible reasons, but Meng Ting was unsure what Yan Sui was exactly thinking. It could even be said that he did not want to think about it at all.
Yan Sui asked this, but Meng Ting did not know. Yan Sui told him that there was nothing wrong with this.
"Because I like you and I want to marry you." It was not because of He Wan, nor was it because of the arranged marriage between the Yans and the Mengs. It was because he liked Meng Ting that he wanted to marry him and he wanted the both of them to be together forever.
"I like you. No matter what your past is, I will like it."
Yan Sui had never said such nauseating words his whole life, but right now that he was holding Meng Ting in his arms, these words came out naturally. He even thought that he could be more eloquent, as long as Meng Ting likes it.
"Earlier… you said that you knew about it?" Meng Ting was very sensitive in some matters and matters regarding his former relative was no exception.
He said this as he slowly withdrew from Yan Sui's arms and sat on his opposite side. He looked at him like this with some apprehension, some grief, some inferiority, and also some confusion.
Yan Sui did not deny it. "Yeah, I had it checked."
It could be said that he had not known Meng Ting very long, so he had his men investigate Meng Ting's past. At the moment, he had only dug into those seven years when Meng Ting was taken back by Wu Fengjiao. For those matters before and after those events, he was still in the process of investigating them. Even if this was the case, it did not affect what he wanted to say now. He wanted to express his feelings clearly.
"I like you and I feel sorry for you." Yan Sui reached out and cupped Meng Ting's face, not giving the boy the chance to dodge him. He leaned forward slightly. His voice was lower and more solemn.
"It's not because I know about your painful experience that I like you, but because I loved you first. I feel distressed so I had my men investigate you." He had to make this point clear to Meng Ting. It was very important to say this to Meng Ting since it was very important to him as well.
There are thousands upon thousands of pitiful people in the world. If he, because of pity, comes to love someone, how could he love that someone wholeheartedly. He was quite sure that he was so distressed by his past because he likes Meng Ting.
So even if Meng Ting did not need his pity, he felt sorry for Meng Ting. Even without all of this, he would still like Meng Ting, just because he likes him.
If possible, Yan Sui did not want to let Meng Ting know about this. He would continue to investigate his affairs arbitrarily. He wanted to get along with the boy a little longer, and by the time he could give Meng Ting more sense of security, they would openly talk about this matter.
However, with Wu Fengjiao's arrival, his plan was disrupted. Meng Ting was not as soft as everybody had thought. At the time of resoluteness, he did not hesitate. He never doubted that Meng Ting's previous sweet nothings for him was genuine, but with this same temperament of his, he would stubbornly insist on some certain fact.
And so, when Meng Ting confronted Wu Fengjiao, he could only say those words that made him sad, and he himself felt sad because of those words.
Yan Sui admitted that when he heard him say "We can't get married," he was angry and indignant. On top of these feelings, there was a sudden and intense fear. He was afraid that Meng Ting, who unexpectedly came into his life, would suddenly disappear as well.
Meng Ting already brought everything into a state of confusion for him. How could he let Meng Ting go?
So, what were the arrangements for? What were the pleasant surprises for? What was patience for? What was all the waiting for? Meng Ting threw everything away. What was the point of taking a humble stance? What was the point of going down on his knees to propose? What could Yan Sui say to count as some sweet nothings?
Yan Sui had already said his words frankly enough. How could Meng Ting not understand? When his tears had stopped, there was a bit of a sting in the rims of his eyes, but it was different from that slight sting that you feel when you are sad and scared. At the moment, he was moved.
He looked at Yan Sui and slowly approached him. When he was at a distance of less than a finger's breadth, he slightly squinted his eyes and kissed the man's lips. When his lips parted from the other, Meng Ting slightly opened his eyes, but he still did not part from him. He kissed the tip of Yan Sui's nose, then his gentle kiss fell from the bridge of the nose to Yan Sui's eyes.
Yan Sui could not help but close his eyes. In the end, Meng Ting's kiss fell on the space between Yan Sui's eyebrows.
It seemed that Meng Ting wanted to use his lips to remember his appearance and feel it with his mind. His gentle kiss was a little cautious and was filled with his unspeakable feelings.
Yan Sui slowly opened his eyes, then reached out, pulling Meng Ting into his embrace and hugged him tightly. In a split second, he said it with a stern look, "Later on, don't rashly say that you wanted to leave me. Bear that in mind, okay?"
"Okay," Meng Ting whispered back as he leaned on Yan Sui's shoulder. He looked up and the tip of his nose brushed Yan Sui's chin. A faint light in his eyes shone with a little warm color. Although his mood had not fully recovered yet, it was not as heavy as it used to be.
"Let's eat something first, otherwise the food will get cold."
They had eaten breakfast very early and had no rest all morning. Besides Meng Ting, even Yan Sui was also hungry.
"Okay." Meng Ting nodded and whispered.
He was so obedient that his appearance softened Yan Sui's heart. He could not get angry at the boy from the start and even more so now.
Nanny Wang knew Meng Ting's appetite, so she brought enough food, but the appetites of these two were somewhat affected by the recent event. Meng Ting looked at the leftovers in the food box, then served it again, "We can't waste food. I can still eat this."
Yan Sui chuckled, then got up and went to the bathroom and took a towel. On the other hand, Meng Ting ate the rest of the food.
"Lift your face."
Meng Ting acted in accordance with Yan Sui's words obediently. He slightly raised his chin and looked up as well.
Using the warm towel, Yan Sui began to wipe from Meng Ting's cheek, forehead, eyes, mouth, and finally, Yan Sui pulled out his hand and rubbed it carefully. He looked at Meng Ting, pondered over something, and said, "I'm happy to do this for you. If you're happy too, don't refuse it."
"I'm happy," Meng Ting said with a nod. He watched Yan Sui as he got up and walked back to the bathroom. He fixed his gaze on the man.
His mood had fluctuated violently for half of the day, and up until now, there were still some aftereffects that remained, but it seemed that nothing could affect him too much.
His concern for Wu Fengjiao's arrival had sent his feelings out of control. This was not because he was afraid of Wu Fengjiao or because of the remaining grip that the Mengs had on him. What he really feared was that Yan Sui would not want him anymore.
But now that Yan Sui still wants him, then what was he so afraid of?
The emotions suddenly became clear, but they were not just as simple as thinking about it. He became even more determined. He strengthened his feelings toward Yan Sui and strengthened his determination to become better.
When Yan Sui came out of the bathroom, he saw Meng Ting, who was smiling at him. Meng Ting leaned on the sofa and rested his chin on his elbow. The ripples in his eyes cleared up, as if it had washed away all of the dust. It was even more gorgeous than the midday sun outside the window.
Yan Sui's footsteps suddenly slowed a bit. He walked step by step, finally arriving in front of him.
Meng Ting took the initiative to lean on Yan Sui's bosom. Yan Sui held him up and Meng Ting took the initiative to hold his hand, intertwining their fingers.
He looked at their hands, then gently smiled at Yan Sui, "I wasn't good. I've said something wrong. I won't do it again in the future."
"Hmm," Yan Sui did not know that within the short time that he went in and out of the bathroom, Meng Ting had already thought about something convincing like this, but he still felt happy. He was fond of Meng Ting, who was smiling like this and was willing to take the initiative to get close to him.
They waited in the room for nearly an hour, at the time, He Wan was unable to bear with her own temper to come up to find someone. This even made Yan Manjia stop her.
Yan Manjia had her own way of dealing with He Wan. All these years, what kind of disgraceful things she had done for Xiao Zi and she also had no reputation in Haicheng's noble circle. He Wan, however, wanted to hold on to her stance as a noble woman, but Yan Manjia, who was warding her off, had no threshold and naturally became somewhat of a hindrance for her.
"Second Madame, how come you thought of bringing Ting Ting's grandmother over to our household?"
He Wan stopped for a moment and Yan Manjia asked Li Yifei to speak.
When Yan Manjia saw how Meng Ting reacted earlier, she instantly knew that Meng Ting and his grandmother's relationship did not look good at all. With such a grandmother who could obviously embarrass Meng Ting, what would they think? Actually, it was really not so hard to figure out.
Without exception, they wanted to use Meng Ting's grandmother to give Meng Ting a warning, or threaten him, and so on. Yan Manjia glanced at He Wan. Perhaps, she also had this kind of idea.
The result seemed to be pretty good at first. Meng Ting and his grandmother's relationship was indeed not good, but Meng Ting unexpectedly dragged the person away. Obviously, it was also contrary to their expectations. How would he handle Wu Fengjiao? What were both of them talking about? Right now, this was what Li Yifei was concerned about in her mind.
After all, she actually had not much contact with Meng Ting. She could not imagine what kind of decision Meng Ting would make.
"Meng Ting's grandmother had raised him for seven years. Now that he's getting married, of course he should ask her to come take advantage of the cheerful atmosphere."
Or should it be said that she was looking for Meng Ting's bad luck; otherwise, he must not let himself become more and more ignorant. He was born from the second branch of the family, so he could not run away from their control as well.
"Second Grandma has good intentions. I'd like to appreciate your kindness on behalf of Little Seventh." Meng Qi appeared at the entrance. After hearing Li Yifei's words, his complexion darkened and he swept his dark gaze through all of the people in the drawing room.
In the end, he understood the reason why Meng Ting was different from ordinary people. He had such a grandmother, such a terrible experience. How could he be normal? How could he get close to the Mengs? After Yan Sui took Meng Ting away, he should ask Wu Fengjiao a lot of questions.
The whole of Meng Ting's childhood could be described by two or three sentences, but compared to the other children of the Mengs, Meng Ting was very unfortunate.
Not only did Yan Sui feel that the Mengs were the ones behind this matter, but he also did give much of an importance to what Li Yifei had said. She already had Meng Ting's deadly information in her clutches beforehand. Regardless of whether he would be useful or not useful in the future, she was going to make use of him.
However, compared to Meng Qin and Meng Xiao, she was really a little too ruthless to Meng Ting. She practically wanted to destroy Meng Ting's mental state thoroughly. If it was not because of her hatred that was as vast as the heavens, then it would be very difficult for average people to make an achievement to this extent.
Meng Qi looked at Li Yifei and a lot of thoughts flashed through his eyes. At once, his complexion gradually became clear.
"It's just that Mrs. Wu's too old and she suddenly rushed here, so now, she's a bit tired. She feels ecstatic and as a matter of fact, she almost fainted. Good thing Little Seventh helped her so she only lost her balance and got dizzy. The patriarch had asked his men to help her get some rest."
Meng Qi spoke as a faint smile emerged on his face, then he took two steps forward, "The patriarch originally wanted Mrs. Wu to pass a message to you, but since she's dizzy right now, I'll be the one to pass it on."
"What are you going to say?" Li Yifei looked a bit cold and all kinds of thoughts ran around her mind, but on the outside, she still looked indifferent. She had nothing to be afraid of. She already cleaned this matter up three years ago and it would be useless for anyone to investigate on it now.
"He said that no matter what hardships Little Seventh had suffered in the past, he'll help him get paid back."
Meng Qi suddenly lowered his voice, enough for Li Yifei and Meng Yide, who was beside her, to hear. At the same time, he also expressed the coldness in Yan Sui's remark before to let them discern it.
He lowered his voice at the beginning, but then the volume of his voice returned to normal when he said, "As for whether it's ten times or a hundred times, it might depend on Little Seventh's mood. What do you say?"
"What did you say, Qi'er? I actually can't understand it."
Li Yifei said indifferently. At least, she was still expressionless. As for whether she was afraid or not, Meng Qi thought she was afraid.
She was not afraid of Meng Ting alone, but she underestimated Yan Sui's concern for Meng Ting.
"If you can't understand it, then forget about it."
Meng Qi smiled as he walked by Li Yifei, then he helped Feng Zejiao up, but he was not in the mood to talk with Feng Zejiao as well. Honestly speaking, he unexpectedly understood Meng Ting's bitter experience. Because of this, his mood was a bit heavy. Some people are just too repulsive, dammit!
"Let's take our seats at the banquet first. Yan Sui and Meng Ting have a good relationship. In other words, we, as the elders, should show understanding and sympathy for them."
Yan Manjia said as she held He Wan's hand. While she was smiling, she asked, "Am I right, Sister-in-Law?"
He Wan wanted to shake off Yan Manjia's hand, but she found out that Yan Manjia was strong. She wanted to pull it firmly, but when the servants heard Yan Manjia's words, they came over to lead the Mengs to their seats next door.
"Let me go! Yan Manjia, you're shameless. Don't ever think that I'm like you!"
When everyone left, He Wan still could not shake her hand off. Yan Manjia let go of He Wan's hand first. He Wan rubbed her wrist and her expression was a bit colder, "Show respect to the wife of your Elder Brother as a mother. I'm your Elder Brother's wife!"
"Pfft…hahaha!" Yan Manjia laughed louder and louder, then her laughter became more and more exaggerated.
"Show respect to the wife of your Elder Brother as a mother my foot! Did you raise me? Or, did you give guidance to me? Give me a break. Let me tell you this. The fact that you hounded my brother to death back in the days…I'll remember that all my life. Yan Sui remembers it, too. That's…"
Yan Manjia did not say anything further. She just turned around and left. She did not want to deal with He Wan's unsightly look.
When the Mengs came out after dinner, they saw Yan Sui took Meng Ting to talk with his circle of friends.
Yan Sui still had his usual expression—serious and indifferent. Meanwhile, Meng Ting's expression already returned to normal. Although he did not talk much, he would occasionally look and laugh at Yan Sui, then nod at the speaker.
Yan Sui's gaze on Meng Ting was a bit softer than that on others. Of course, only those who were familiar with him could see this well.
From this point of view, it seemed that bringing Meng Ting's grandmother here had no effect at all.
"…it seems like when the invitations were sent and the guests came, Elder Brother Yan didn't like it, but he had to pretend like he likes it."
Meng Xiao held his arm, then he looked at Meng Ting, and naturally, he remembered that day when Meng Ting broke his arms. It was an undeniable fact that they hated each other. Since then, he did not hold up on using the utmost malice to speculate on Meng Ting's current plight and even hereafter.
When he thought like this, Meng Qin, and even Meng Jiang and Meng Bo, thought like this as well. Even Su Siyu, who came with Old Madame Su later on, thought so after hearing it.
He supported Old Madame Su and step by step, they walked toward Yan Sui and Meng Ting. He looked at Yan Sui with plain and unabashed eyes.
Su Siyu looked so delicate, so many people could not help but look at him, but this did not include Yan Sui, nor did it include Meng Qi, who was worried about Meng Ting.
When they came over, Yan Sui was in the middle of whispering and talking with Meng Ting. All of a sudden, Yan Sui raised his hand and wiped the corner of Meng Ting's mouth with his thumb. Just now, he sneakily stuffed a dessert into Meng Ting's mouth. There were a few crumbs that smeared his mouth. In fact, if only they were not in front of many people, Yan Sui would have been more than willing to help Meng Ting wipe his mouth clean in some other way.
Meng Ting licked his lips, then swallowed the tasty treat. After that, he gently smiled at Yan Sui and said, "It's tasty."
Yan Sui patted Meng Ting's hair and gently rubbed it first before he withdrew his hand. He whispered, "I'll get you another one later."
"Okay," Meng Ting nodded and when he looked away, he saw that Su Siyu and Old Madame Su were already in front of them.
He opened his eyes wide and looked at Su Siyu for a while, then he subconsciously drew a little closer to Yan Sui.
"Yan Sui, this is Meng Ting, right?"
"This is my wife, Meng Ting," Yan Sui answered Old Madame Su's question, then he looked at Meng Ting beside him and introduced her to the boy. He said, "This is the Su family's old madame. It's best that you address her as Old Madame Su."
Meng Ting nodded when he heard him, then he addressed the old lady, "Hello, Old Madame."
Old Madame Su was slightly taken aback when she heard him, then it suddenly dawned on to her that Yan Sui might have vented his anger out on her. She feared that it was because Su Siyu was standing beside her. Otherwise, with her and Yan Sui's grandmother's relationship, he would have let Meng Ting call her grandmother too, instead of addressing her in such a strange manner.
"Hello, Elder Brother Yan." Su Siyu was not willing to be left out in the cold. He came with the intention to grab the limelight from Meng Ting today. After saying this, he finally swept his eyes on Meng Ting. That indistinct desire to display his strength became somewhat even more intense.
Yan Sui glanced at Su Siyu, but did not respond, then he lightly nodded at Old Madame Su. He was about to take Meng Ting away, but he was pulled back by Meng Ting.
"Since you address Yan Sui as your Elder Brother, then you should call me Elder Sister or Sister-in-Law as well. Gu Lang and all of the others calls me like that."
Meng Ting spoke with an annoyed tone, then he went on to say, "Since you don't want to call me Sister-in-Law, then you don't need to address Yan Sui as your Elder Brother, too. He's already got a younger brother, and it's Zhen Han."
Yan Sui did not inform him if there was something like an in-laws relationship between the Yans and the Sus. Su Siyu and that Rong Nan were alike since they did not want to address Meng Ting as their Sister-in-Law. His thoughts were more obvious than Rong Nan and Meng Ting did not like it.
When Meng Ting finished speaking, he looked at Yan Sui. The seriousness in his tone still remained, "Yan Sui, am I right?"
"You're right." Yan Sui smiled when he heard this. Meng Ting, himself, did not realize how jealous he looked right now. How adorable.
When he heard Yan Sui's response, Meng Ting was satisfied. He nodded, then glanced at Zhen Han. He asked a question once again, "Cousin, what do you say?"
"Sister-in-Law's right." His sister-in-law was against his love rival. There was absolutely no need to be worried about his fighting capacity.
Zhen Han answered as he kicked Gu Lang beside him, then Gu Lang gave Zhong Ming a kick. One kick after another. After a while, a lot of them shouted together, "Sister-in-Law is right."
This sentence echoed within the whole drawing room, and more people managed to see that Meng Ting was surprisingly popular among Yan Sui's friends.
A few smiling expression dwelled on the tips of Meng Ting's eyebrows. He looked back at the unsightly look on Su Siyu's face, and decided to leave after saying his last few words.
"As for what I said last time, I remembered it afterwards. 'There are plenty more fish in the sea,' which means Yan Sui's my husband. You can't like him. Like other people instead."
No matter how close he was, Meng Ting was afraid that he still did not understand what he was hearing. Last time with that Rong Nan, he was not like this.
When Meng Ting finished speaking, he ignored how Su Siyu looked like. He looked back at Yan Sui and pulled him to walk. After taking two steps, he asked, "What are we going to do next?"
Yan Sui took Meng Ting's hand and continued to walk away. He chuckled and said, "Make the ceremonial obeisance, then get married."
Meng Ting paused when he heard this, then Meng Ting quickened his steps to catch up with Yan Sui. He held Yan Sui's hand with both of his hands and leaned forward to take a look at the ring on Yan Sui's other hand. He nodded and said, "Finally."
With this hateful marriage appearance, many people who have heard their conversation laughed.
Just as when he was keeping pace, the vein on Meng Qi's forehead bulged. When he heard what Meng Ting had said, he thought that he was making a good progress. With Yan Sui, no matter what, this situation was…
In fact, the Yan's household had such a big lawn and a Western-style wedding would be more suitable, but so many generations had come from the old-style wedding, and even Yan Sui was no exception. However, this marriage was held for two men; therefore, some areas needed some alterations. The bridal sedan chair would be exempted and they even did not need a bridesmaid.
At three o'clock, Yan Sui led Meng Ting through a long red carpet and went to the well-decorated wedding hall. There were scarlet 'Double Happiness [1]' words stuck on the dragon and phoenix red wedding candles. There were also Yan Sui's grandparent's memorial tablets, as well as his father's. He Wan sat on one side, but there was not much happiness shown on her face.
([1] 双喜 – the combined symmetric character 囍 (similar to 喜喜) as symbol of good luck, esp. in marriage.)
This overly familiar scene always evoked some memories that were not good. She was not able to achieve the wedding that was brimming with pleasures from revenge. She could not retaliate, and instead, she was looking at the same Yan Sui whom she seemed to have helped in accomplishing his aim.
She wanted to get up and do something, but found that Yan Manjia's hand was pressing against her shoulder.
"Look, if in the end you won't see this, how would you know? Isn't this what you wanted?"
When He Wan heard Yan Manjia's words, her scalp suddenly became numb. She turned around, and wanted to confirm something, but she found that Yan Manjia had already straightened up and was no longer looking at her.
What does she know? What on earth does she know?!
The whole ceremonial obeisance process was quite smooth. After both men bowed to one another, they lifted their heads up and looked at each other, and at the same time, they smiled. No matter how everyone would look at it, they were a match made in heaven.
"The ceremony is over!" The old man, who presided over the ceremony for Meng Ting's addition in the genealogical records earlier, shouted these words. This warm and bustling ceremony was finally over.
He smiled. His tasks today were finally done. After this, there would be a banquet at four o'clock and a ball later on in the evening. When the old folks have eaten their meals, they could almost leave.
However, just as everyone had retracted their gazes, and when they were about to withdraw from the wedding hall, Yan Sui took a step forward. Meng Ting blinked and waited for Yan Sui's next step. After that, he was embraced and kissed by Yan Sui in front of everybody.
It was not the type of kiss wherein their lips would touch then separate; rather, it was a deep yet pretty restrained kiss.
After he had savored the taste of Meng Ting's mouth, he slowly loosened his hold on the boy for a bit. He did not continue to kiss Meng Ting. He only held the boy in his arms. Then, Yan Sui pecked on his forehead, and once again, on the boy's hair.
"Meng Ting, thank you for your willingness to marry me."
Meng Ting looked at Yan Sui. His cheeks were blushing, then he nodded, "I'm willing to marry you."
He hesitated a little, then he stood on his tiptoes and gently kissed Yan Sui on his lips. After that, he reached out and hugged Yan Sui back.
The hustle and bustle of the surrounding people, all at once, quieted down when they witnessed Yan Sui's unexpected move. After that, they witnessed this unbearably sweet kiss and the mutual declaration of love of the two men.
Everyone was forced to stuff themselves with a mouthful of sweets and their heads were muddled with sweetness.
"Whooooo!!!" A few blinks later, Gu Lang and several others' laughter was particularly exaggerated. They took the lead and the whole wedding hall picked up in an instant.
"Kiss once more. I didn't dare to look a minute ago."
Gu Lang voiced out most people's wishes, and in passing, there was also a bunch of happy and rowdy jeering that followed after the shouting.
"One more kiss!"
"One more kiss!"
Meng Ting looked up at Yan Sui, and whispered to ask, "Didn't we just kiss?"
Why does it sound like they were ashamed to kiss each other?
Yan Sui raised Meng Ting's chin, then lowered his head and kissed the boy once again.