On the day of the wedding.
Chai Xiaomi saw a group of unexpected people.
“Chief Yan! Mrs. Yan!”
Her eyes lit up as she happily rushed over: “What brings you to Qianwu Town too?”
The escorts from Yan Xingxiao’s convoy were unloading boxes one after another. Each crate was tied with large red silk ribbons. Big and small, they filled the spacious hall of the Sound Illusion Pavilion.
“Miss Xiaomi, long time no see! We took a job from Mr. Wu.” Yan Xingxiao rolled up his sleeve to wipe the sweat off his forehead. “He sent a falcon with a letter, instructing us to prepare and deliver these goods. We rushed day and night, and it looks like we made it just in time.”
Mrs. Yan chimed in with a smile: “These betrothal gifts were all prepared according to the customs for young ladies from prominent families in the Central Plains. He even arranged a full dowry for the bride.”
“On the day we parted, I said that the mountains are high and the waters are long—if fate allows, we’d meet again!” Yan Xingxiao laughed heartily. “I never expected it would be to toast your wedding.”
Chai Xiaomi looked around at the dazzling array of items—large red brocade quilts, carved dressing cases, bolts of fine silk, complete sets of pearl-and-jade hair ornaments...
She finally understood what “express delivery” meant.
But her heart wasn’t happy.
Where did Wu Li get so much silver?
“Chief Yan, these things must have cost a fortune, right?”
Before he could answer, a clear, magnetic voice came from behind her, carrying that familiar, casual tone.
“Not expensive. Barely cost anything. The brocade is leftover stock from the fabric shop, and the hairpins are gold-plated silver. They just look the part, good enough to put on a show for appearances.”
Chai Xiaomi turned around.
Her breath caught in her throat.
The staircase railing was draped with red silk flowers, clustered together like a festive patch of rosy clouds. Standing amid that sea of crimson was the boy.
He wore a red robe, but not the heavy, layered ceremonial garment of a groom. It was cut cleanly, accentuating his tall, straight figure. The sleeves were rolled up slightly, revealing a section of his lean, toned forearm. The festive, solemn attire somehow carried a refreshing, youthful aura.
His hair was tied high, black as a waterfall with Miao silver bells adorning the ends, tinkling softly with each movement. Red lips, white teeth, striking features, slightly upturned eyes, and a spirited air that was uniquely his.
Those two-toned eyes were fixed entirely on her now.
Breathtakingly beautiful, and unapologetically dazzling.
Chai Xiaomi had never seen Wu Li dressed in red before.
She stared at that figure, searching for words. In the end, her vocabulary failed her. After a long pause, she could only blurt out two syllables: “Holy crap.”
She wished she could permanently weld this wedding robe onto him.
You Tiao made a subtle remark from her mind: “Dear host, please steady your heart rate and keep your temperature in check, or I’m going to lose it again! Aaarrggh!”
Chai Xiaomi quickly took a few deep breaths.
Wu Li walked up beside her and raised an eyebrow at Yan Xingxiao: “Right, Chief Yan?”
Yan Xingxiao caught the warning in his gaze, scratched his head in confusion, and replied awkwardly: “Right, not expensive...”
He had seen people buy counterfeit goods to charm a girl before, but this was the first time he met someone who insisted on calling genuine goods fake.
Chai Xiaomi was half-convinced: “Really?”
It wasn’t until Mrs. Yan spoke up, looking entirely sincere: “Really. Not a single word of exaggeration,” that she finally believed it.
Wu Li turned his head, glanced at her plain clothes, and smoothly changed the subject: “MiMi, why aren’t you in your wedding robe yet?”
Last night, he had deliberately moved to another room to sleep. According to tradition, the bride and groom couldn’t see each other before the ceremony.
But he still couldn’t wait to see her in her wedding attire.
Chai Xiaomi’s gaze lingered on him. She curled her lips and said joyfully: “I was just about to change when I heard the commotion downstairs. I saw old friends had arrived. I didn’t imagine you’d arranged for Chief Yan’s escort company to deliver the items.”
Wu Li responded to Yan Xingxiao with five blunt words: “Not bad. Didn’t arrive late.”
The distance between the Cloud Swallow Escort Company and Qianwu Town was considerable. For them to make it on the day of the wedding, they must have traveled nonstop both day and night.
Chai Xiaomi glanced at his pressed lips. He was clearly grateful, but couldn’t express it well.
She couldn’t help but interpret for him: “He means thank you for arriving in time. It was hard work on the road.”
Yan Xingxiao froze, then grinned, caught somewhere between surprise and sincerity.
“No hardship! It’s what friends do!” He rubbed his hands together and sighed: “It’s a shame Boss Zhu is out making a fortune somewhere. Maybe we could have brought her along too.”
The mention of Zhu Yu reminded Chai Xiaomi of the dress shop she had visited two days ago. She had stared at the shop’s name, thinking how familiar it looked, then pulled out an old, yellowed deed from her storage pouch. Only then did she realize that Zhu Yu had given her that very shop as a gift.
She had given her a wedding-dress boutique. The blessing behind it was already clear.
Elsewhere,
Jiang Zhiyu and Song Yueyao held a white cat by each paw, dangling it in midair. Its tail whipped around like a propeller as it desperately flailed, trying to break free.
“Oh, what do you two want!?” It shrieked. “I said no, I refuse to go!”
“Drink to his health? Me? No way! This old man refuses to touch a drop of that brat’s wedding wine!”
It thrashed about, even craning its head skyward to wail in indignation: “Such a pity that Xiaomi, that wonderful girl—this cute, gentle flower fell into...”
Fell into what?
It choked up.
“Dung pile” didn’t seem quite right. After all, the boy was good-looking, tall, and strong in ability.
The white cat racked its brain, even forgetting to flick its tail: “Fell into...”
“If you can’t think of the words, then quit.” Song Yueyao cut in unceremoniously, slapping the invitation onto the cat’s belly: “Master Ji, just give it a look first, then decide if you want to go.”
As a friend, she truly wanted Xiaomi to be happy.
She had no idea what kind of person Wu Li truly was. She couldn’t get a handle on him and still couldn’t make a single judgment. But one thing she knew for sure: Xiaomi wouldn’t choose badly.
And this invitation’s contents—when she first saw them, she herself was stunned for a long time.
She couldn’t imagine just how that stubborn, proud boy had felt when he wrote those four words.
The white cat took the invitation. It gave a disgruntled snort and said stubbornly: “I’m not reading.”
But its paws betrayed it as they quickly flipped it open.
On the red paper, the ink words were clear. It was obvious the writer wasn’t used to writing Central Plains characters, as each stroke and curve looked unfamiliar, even a bit crooked.
There were two lines total.
The first half was a proper, standard invitation, indistinguishable from anyone else’s.
The white cat’s pupils moved downward. Its eyes fell on the second line—and stopped.
There, it read: I know I was wrong.
The white cat rubbed its eyes with its furry paw in disbelief, thinking it must have misread.
It had been demanding an apology from Wu Li, shouting at every turn. But it also knew that for that kid’s character, even grudgingly muttering a reluctant “I concede” would have been considered giving in.
Yet now...
It stared at those four stubby, halting strokes. For a moment, it was at a complete loss for words.
It pressed its paw onto the invitation, sitting motionless for a long time.
It could even imagine the scene of the youth bowed over the desk, eyes lowered in concentration, gripping the brush to write—each stroke must have been painfully difficult.
After staring for a long time, the cat’s eyes inexplicably grew a little moist.
Jiang Zhiyu leaned in, and when he saw that line of words, his heart shuddered violently. Never one to lose his temper easily, even he was now touched by a rare flash of anger on his brow: “Master, what exactly did Wu Li do that night that you must force him to apologize?”
“I think you’ve gone too far. Wu Li isn’t even your disciple—what right do you have to lecture him like this?”
In his heart, he had always regarded Wu Li as a somewhat ill-tempered younger brother. Even when the boy’s words were often unpleasant, Jiang Zhiyu always bore with him.
That was why, upon reading this line, he felt a pang of sorrow and indignation on Wu Li’s behalf.
“Do you know that if it weren’t for Wu Li that day, I would have been tied up guarding the array and wouldn’t have been able to come to save you in time!”
The white cat was momentarily stunned.
In the days since, blinded by anger, it had completely forgotten this point. Back then, it had rushed off to check on the sudden incident and had asked Jiang Zhiyu to guard the array in its place.
Jiang Zhiyu continued: “Soon after the situation changed, the red flood dragon, disguised as Millet, came to guard the array for me, allowing me to get there in time.”
“Who taught the red flood dragon the art of array guarding? There’s no need for me to say, is there?”
“Wu Li had long taken precautions and made thorough preparations. If an unexpected crisis arose, we could break free from the array and respond in time.”
The white cat’s mind went blank for a moment.
It suddenly remembered that day—before the youth had backed away from the lava abyss with a smile, he had raised his eyes and glanced in a certain direction.
Then, in the next moment, Jiang Zhiyu had arrived.
So, he had made sure there was someone to save it before leaving?
Rather than intending to harm it, it had been more like a prank, deliberately trying to scare it.
But why would he want to scare it in the first place?
It then recalled what the youth had said that day:
“Persons like Ouyang Huai, a true villain, yet you still tried your best to save them.”
“And Ouyang Rui? Why save someone like him? Like father, like son, after all.”
Like father, like son...
Bad soil cannot yield good wood...
So that was it—so that was it!
That day, when it had spoken its words of advice to Millet in the pavilion, the youth had secretly listened to every word—including the mention of his despised mother and shameful origins.
In the face of Ouyang Huai, a father steeped in heinous crimes, the white cat had given Ouyang Rui its complete trust. It praised him as pure of heart, believed him different from his father, and spared no effort to save him.
But what about Wu Li?
It had never once thought about how this youth from Miaojiang had grown into who he was today.
It only saw that he was covered in thorns, but never wondered how those thorns had grown.
It only saw his grimness and ruthlessness, but never asked what he had been through.
Now, thinking back, how much heartache must the youth have felt when hearing those words?
How ironic?
How unfair?
It had even been ready to drive away the only warmth by his side.
From the very start, it had never truly set aside the prejudice in its heart.
“The one who should apologize,” the white cat sighed deeply, its head hanging so low it seemed too heavy to lift, “is this old man.”
