Because the wedding dress was too heavy, a group of staff helped Ni Jingxi put it on. Even with her slender figure, she still looked just right in the fitted waist design.
"Ms. Ni, your waist is so slim! This fitted style suits you perfectly." After helping her put on the clothes, the staff member took two steps back and said with a light laugh.
Ni Jingxi smiled and let out a soft breath.
Sure enough, beauty comes at a price. The train of this main wedding dress is two meters long, and she feels incredibly heavy just standing there.
Then, the others began to put a veil on her.
The veil was longer than the wedding dress train, and the staff kept adjusting it.
After what seemed like an eternity, just when Ni Jingxi felt she was about to run out of patience, she finally heard someone say happily, "It's all done."
She let out a sigh of relief, until she heard the other person say again, "Mr. Huo has already changed into his suit and is waiting. Now he can see our most beautiful bride."
Ni Jingxi was so nervous that her toes curled up.
Huo Shenyan was standing and replying to messages. He always changed into men's clothing quickly, so he had already changed and was waiting here. He was typing on the screen when someone next to him reminded him that Ni Jingxi had changed her clothes.
He stopped what he was doing and looked up.
The curtain, which had been drawn tightly shut, slowly slid to the side, revealing the person inside through a narrow gap.
Ni Jingxi stood in the center, her long hair styled into a beautiful princess hairstyle, topped with a veil as elaborate and gorgeous as her wedding dress. But what was most stunning was the girl in the wedding dress.
She was already tall, and now she perfectly carried off this gorgeous and elaborate court-style wedding dress, with its large, floor-length skirt and incredibly slender waist.
She truly looked like a noble princess who had stepped out of a painting.
Huo Shenyan looked at his little girl, and for a moment, his eyes were filled with amazement.
Ni Jingxi stared at him expectantly, quietly waiting for his evaluation. But he remained silent for a moment, and finally, Ni Jingxi couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "How was it?"
"I wish this were the wedding day," he said softly.
For a moment, Ni Jingxi's cheeks flushed slightly, but her eyes and brows were full of sweetness.
Even someone like her, who doesn't have a girlish heart, was moved at this moment.
*
The Huo family has already started sending out invitations, and Huo Zhenzhong personally invited the important guests by phone. As for the younger generation, Huo Shenyan personally invited them.
Although Su Yiheng had heard the news, she still felt somewhat devastated when she heard her mother say that the Huo family had sent an invitation.
After Huo Shenyan prevented his brother from joining the board of directors, his mother vaguely guessed that it was because of her, and after asking around, she found out that it was indeed her fault.
This time, when Su's mother came home, she couldn't help but remind her, "Now everyone knows that the Huo family is going to have a wedding."
Su Yiheng remained silent.
"No matter how good Huo Shenyan is, he's still someone else's husband. You offended him before, causing your brother to be implicated, so no matter what, you're not allowed to do anything else this time."
Su's mother knew her daughter too well, was too deeply in love with Huo Shenyan, and was also too proud.
She's always had everything she wanted since she was little, but now that she hasn't gotten what she wants most in life, how can she not go crazy?
Seeing that Su Yiheng still didn't speak, Su's mother couldn't help but gently push her knee.
Finally, Su Yiheng hummed in agreement.
She quickly stood up: "I have a cover shoot tonight, so I won't be eating at home."
She came back in a hurry and left in a hurry. Su's mother was not surprised. She saw her to the door and watched her business car leave the villa.
Once in the car, Su Yiheng's phone suddenly rang.
She was gazing forlornly out the window when her mother's words stung her: no matter how good Huo Shenyan was, he was already someone else's.
She knew what he meant and understood the reasoning behind it, but she was still sad.
As she slowly took her phone out of her bag to answer the call, her expression changed within seconds.
Su Yiheng instructed the driver to turn around immediately and hand it to another person. Her assistant quickly said, "Sister Heng, we still have filming to do."
"Let's go here first," Su Yiheng said expressionlessly.
...
The wedding is just around the corner, and everything needs to be prepared.
Ni Jingxi, on the other hand, was still going to work as usual; she's always been someone who can focus on things without getting distracted. There was a bachelorette party this weekend, and all her college dorm friends would be attending.
Yan Han, Ai Ya Ya, Chen Chen—just thinking about these names brings a smile to her face.
After getting off work, Ni Jingxi worked overtime for a while. It had been raining all day. When she turned off her computer, her phone rang.
Ni Jingxi answered the call, and the voice on the other end was calm and gentle, "Jingxi, can we meet?"
It is Su Yiheng.
“There’s no need.” Ni Jingxi said almost without thinking. Just as she said, she never felt that she needed to meet with Su Yiheng.
But the person on the other end seemed to have anticipated her answer and was not in a hurry; instead, they chuckled softly.
Her laughter was filled with certainty until she spoke: "Don't you want to know the truth about your father's disappearance?"
"Su Yiheng".
Ni Jingxi suddenly raised her voice, revealing extreme anger.
Su Yiheng maintained her unhurried tone, believing she had the victory firmly in her grasp. She gave an address: "You can choose not to come, but no one else will tell you the truth except me."
Ni Jingxi gripped the phone tightly, but the call ended quickly, leaving only the beeping sound.
In the end, Ni Jingxi still couldn't resist such temptation.
When she arrived at the place Su Yiheng had designated, it was a high-class tea room. Quiet and soothing music flowed throughout the hall from the moment she entered.
After Ni Jingxi received her private room number, she was led inside.
As soon as she entered the room, she saw Su Yiheng already there, and a man that Ni Jingxi had never seen before, who looked to be in his thirties and very weathered.
The man had already stood up. "Miss Su, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
He had just turned around when he bumped into Ni Jingxi, who was walking in. The two looked at each other, and the man's eyes widened in shock. He then turned to Su Yiheng and asked, "What do you mean by this?"
Su Yiheng laughed: "Old Sun, you've been in the Middle East for the past few years, right?"
The man called Lao Sun looked ashen-faced.
But Su Yiheng continued, "If your mother hadn't been critically ill this time, you still wouldn't have returned to China, right?"
"Then why don't you tell this Miss Ni what you've been doing in the Middle East and what you're looking for?"
Old Sun's chest heaved violently as he finally managed to say, "Miss Su, what exactly do you want?"
"What am I doing?" Su Yiheng laughed, glaring at Ni Jingxi angrily, but then her expression turned to one of pity: "I thought you were so happy, really, I used to envy you so much. But now I just want to pity you. Ni Jingxi, you're so pitiful. If your father hadn't died, you really wouldn't have been able to marry Huo Shenyan."
"He feels guilty towards you."
Old Sun was furious but dared not look at Ni Jingxi: "Miss Su, that's enough. You and Mr. Huo are not meant to be..."
"Fine, if we're not meant to be, then tell Ni Jingxi the truth. I want to see if their fate is predetermined or something we've created."
Ni Jingxi has remained silent throughout this entire ordeal.
Until she looked at the man named Lao Sun and whispered, "Do you really know my father?"
"Miss Ni, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." After a long while, as if all his strength had been drained, Old Sun said, "It has nothing to do with Mr. Huo, it's me who is sorry to you."
Then, Ni Jingxi heard him talk about what happened six years ago.
At that time, Huo Shenyan had just joined Hengya Group. The Middle East has always been dangerous, and many companies dare not cooperate with these countries because the risks are too great.
Only Hengya Group has taken the spirit of hard work to the extreme, and they can be found even in places ravaged by war.
Huo Shenyan was on his way to Israel for business negotiations when he encountered difficulties as one of the financial staff members who accompanied him fell ill and was unable to work.
Therefore, they had to find someone temporarily.
Although Ni Pingsen was not a direct employee of Hengya Group, his company was an outsourcing subsidiary closely related to Hengya Group, but this relationship was not known to outsiders.
At that time, Ni Pingsen was assigned to work with them.
It wasn't until a strike broke out in Israel, which subsequently led to a bombing, that Huo Shenyan was forced to leave Israel. Although they left in a hurry that day, Huo Shenyan still asked Lao Sun to safely escort Ni Pingsen back to his residence so that they could meet up again.
“I was the only security guard with Mr. Huo at the time. I was so worried about his safety, the situation was so chaotic and the streets were full of people. Your father noticed this too, so he called a friend’s car to pick him up. I watched him get into the car. I also told him that I was sorry for this time and that I would treat him to a meal next time I returned to Shanghai.”
At that time, Huo Shenyan's position in Hengya Group was not high, and he didn't have security guards following him around like he does now. Even the presence of Lao Sun was only because Zhong Lan insisted that he take him along on his trip to Israel.
No one expected that Ni Pingsen would never return to his residence.
Ni Jingxi listened to all of this with a blank expression. Was this the truth she had always wanted to pursue?
But no one could tell her.
Until she asked, "Does he know?"
Did you know about her father's disappearance?
Old Sun said, "I know, but he only found out two years ago, so Mr. Huo returned to Israel again."
Two years ago...
That was when they met; she was searching for her father, but unexpectedly, he was also there.
Even now, she couldn't help but lament this damned fate.
*
Ni Jingxi didn't know how she left. Instead of driving, she calmly took a taxi to the club that Huo Shenyan and the others frequented.
Han Zhao was on leave today, and Xiao Yichen invited him out for drinks. Xiao Yichen even called Huo Shenyan personally from her office to ask for leave.
She arrived at the clubhouse and walked into the courtyard.
The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping; in fact, it grew even heavier, with the sound of raindrops pounding on the ground filling the air.
Ni Jingxi suddenly stopped as she walked through the garden.
Should she go and ask him?
Then what……
Ni Jingxi was trembling all over, from her teeth to her fingers, shaking uncontrollably.
It wasn't until Xiao Yichen glimpsed the scene in the garden through the window that he exclaimed, "Who's this girl, getting all sentimental in the rain?"