She couldn't bring herself to face the fact that her only remaining, tangible, and close relative was leaving her again. She knew she couldn't be with her grandmother every day, but she received voice messages from her grandmother every day. Her grandmother wasn't very familiar with the voice messages, and sometimes she would send them before even finishing a sentence.
Ni Jingxi had to guess and infer to understand what she meant.
But every time she receives a message, she is happier than anything else.
"Jingxi." Huo Shenyan could clearly sense that the girl in his arms was not in a good mood. He said in a low voice, "It's okay. The doctor just mentioned this possibility to us."
His palm gently stroked her shoulder and back.
However, Ni Jingxi was still so nervous that her whole body was trembling slightly until Huo Shenyan held her in his arms and whispered, "It's okay, Xingxing isn't afraid."
In the end, Ni Jingxi was taken home by Huo Shenyan. He asked Tang Mian to find a caregiver to watch over her, and he also assured them that the hospital would call them if there was any disturbance.
After returning home, Ni Jingxi seemed preoccupied.
She was pulled to bed by Huo Shenyan, but she kept tossing and turning.
After an unknown amount of time, in the pitch-black room, Ni Jingxi spoke up: "Shenyan, are you asleep?"
"No."
Without even a second's hesitation, Huo Shenyan quickly answered her.
He knew she hadn't slept at all; she was just quietly nestled in his arms. Perhaps she was afraid of disturbing his rest, so she hadn't spoken or moved.
But in the end, I couldn't resist.
The quieter the night, the more amplified the countless thoughts in one's mind become.
She tried to reassure herself that what the doctor said was just a heads-up, and that nothing serious was actually going to happen. But she couldn't help but think about the worst-case scenario.
The thought of her tossing and turning at night made me restless.
"Are you still worried about Grandma?" Huo Shenyan gently hugged her and asked in a low voice.
In the late night, the man's voice was exceptionally deep in the room. The calmness in his voice made Ni Jingxi feel slightly at ease, and she couldn't help but tell him everything in her heart.
"Be careful what you say, I'm really scared."
“I know what the doctor meant by those words, and I know that no one can escape birth, aging, sickness and death, but I just want to see my grandmother well,” Ni Jingxi said, her voice becoming emotional again.
Huo Shenyan knew that words were inadequate at this moment, so he reached out and hugged her tightly, kissing her forehead.
Then his lips landed on her eyelids, the tip of her nose, and finally her lips.
The curtains in the room were drawn tightly shut, blocking out all light from outside, so they couldn't see each other's expressions; only their embraces were warm.
When two people are together, even without saying a word, a hug can warm each other's hearts.
Perhaps this is why people keep pursuing love.
Huo Shenyan said in a low, hoarse voice, "No matter what happens in the future, I will always be by your side and never leave you."
Ni Jingxi didn't say anything.
Until Huo Shenyan felt a hand slowly slide down his arm, quickly touching his palm, and then inserting its fingers one by one between his fingers, interlocking them.
She said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Me too."
*
The next day, Ni Jingxi and Lao Zhang went to the hospital early in the morning. Huo Shenyan had an unavoidable meeting and went to the company first. However, the hospital did not allow family members to visit until the afternoon.
Just as Ni Jingxi was about to go inside, Huo Shenyan arrived.
When they went in, they saw Grandma lying in bed with a respirator on her nose. She seemed to hear them coming in and struggled to lift her eyelids to look at them.
The moment Ni Jingxi saw her grandmother, her eyes welled up with tears.
"Grandma." She walked over and half-squatted by the bed, carefully taking her grandmother's hand.
Grandma looked at her, then glanced at Huo Shenyan, and asked, "Are all the stars crying?"
Because she was still weak, she spoke very softly, barely audible.
"This doesn't look like my little star." Grandma forced a smile.
Ni Jingxi shook her head: "I didn't cry. Please don't talk and rest for a while."
"It's okay, I'm not tired. I just want to talk to you." Grandma smiled and continued, "After I fell asleep this time, I even dreamed about your grandpa and your mother."
Ni Jingxi was taken aback.
"If your father weren't here, would he still be alive?" the old man muttered to himself, still unable to forget him.
Ni Pingsen was the best husband, father, and son-in-law. After Gu Mingzhu passed away, he resolutely refused to remarry and continued to take care of his mother-in-law and young daughter.
To his grandmother, he was her son.
"Look, she's crying now." The old lady looked at the tears in Ni Jingxi's eyes, her voice filled with heartache.
Ni Jingxi reached out and wiped away her tears. "I won't cry."
The old lady looked at her, then looked up at Huo Shenyan behind her, and actually smiled: "I've dreamed about your grandfather and mother before, but they never spoke to me. I didn't expect them to talk to me this time."
“Your maternal grandfather asked me if Jingxi was married yet. I told him she was. The old man was so happy. Then they asked me if I had seen her get married in person. I said I saw the marriage certificate, but the wedding hasn’t been held yet.”
Perhaps in the eyes of the elderly, a lively wedding is more reassuring than a marriage certificate.
At this moment, Huo Shenyan immediately said, "Grandma, don't worry, we will definitely hold the wedding soon."
"Grandma doesn't mean to rush you. I'm just afraid I won't live to see that day."
"No, it can't be." Ni Jingxi held her hand and shook her head desperately.
After leaving the ward, Ni Jingxi went to the restroom. However, she returned quite a while later, clearly having washed her face and with red, swollen eyes.
That evening, Huo Zhenzhong and Zhong Lan came to the hospital in person.
Zhong Lan looked at Ni Jingxi's expression, which she had never seen before, and couldn't help but feel sorry for her, saying, "You must have been terrified."
Ni Jingxi bit her lip tightly and nodded.
“You should have told us last night. If I hadn’t called Tang Mian today, I wouldn’t have known about this,” Zhong Lan said, somewhat displeased.
This is Ni Jingxi's maternal grandmother. She's in the hospital, and it's only right that her younger relatives come to visit.
Even though Huo Zhenzhong and Zhong Lan had some dissatisfaction with Ni Jingxi and Huo Shenyan's marriage before, they still specially invited their grandmother after their wedding.
After all, he was her only family member.
Zhong Lan held her hand, wanting to say something to comfort Ni Jingxi, but when she saw her appearance, her eyes welled up with tears first.
Seeing her expression, Huo Zhenzhong immediately said, "Jingxi is already in a bad mood, so don't make her sad."
"I just feel sorry for her," Zhong Lan said, her voice slightly choked with emotion.
Huo Zhenzhong sighed, his voice filled with helplessness.
*
Fortunately, Grandma was soon transferred from the intensive care unit to a regular ward, and her appetite improved significantly. When she asked for local Shanghai cuisine, Ni Jingxi personally called Aunt Zhou.
Aunt Zhou is always quick at cooking, especially good at Shanghai cuisine.
This time, she even specially made braised lion's head meatballs and brought them over. Grandma not only ate most of a bowl of rice, but also wanted to eat a second lion's head meatball.
Ni Jingxi quickly stopped her, saying, "The doctor said that although you don't have any dietary restrictions, you should still eat less of these rich and oily foods."
The old lady was persuaded by what she said, and only then did she drink a few sips of soup.
While Ni Jingxi was packing her things, her grandmother leaned against the headboard and suddenly asked, "You weren't lying to your grandmother about the wedding you mentioned before, were you?"
Ni Jingxi was so angry at her question that she laughed. That day, the old lady spoke as if she were giving her last words, which not only scared her out of her wits, but also frightened Huo Shenyan quite a bit.
But she nodded and said, "I'm not lying to you, it's true."
They had originally planned to hold the wedding next year, but since it was Grandma's wish, there was no problem with holding it earlier. Besides, after Huo Shenyan mentioned it to Zhong Lan, she wholeheartedly agreed.
Not only is Ni Jingxi's maternal grandmother old, but Huo Shenyan's paternal grandfather is even older.
Although the old man was unhappy with their hasty marriage, they were already married, and they couldn't just go through the trouble of getting a divorce. A few days ago, the old man even called back from Hong Kong to subtly hint at this matter.
Zhong Lan knew Huo Shenyan's temperament and didn't dare to make any promises to the old man easily.
Now everything is fine, everyone is happy.
The Huo family's upcoming wedding couldn't be kept secret; after all, it was a top priority for wedding planning companies. Since both Ni Jingxi and Huo Shenyan were busy, Zhong Lan helped them select a few companies first, and then let them choose.
For families like theirs, weddings are always grand affairs, and everything has to be specially made.
Initially, they hired a design company to design a wedding logo, which is the initials of the couple's surnames. Huo Shenyan personally finalized the design details, with stars surrounding the initials.
The most urgent thing is the wedding dresses. Both the Western-style and Chinese-style wedding dresses need to be custom-made by hand.
While the evening gowns were also custom-made, their designs weren't as intricate as the main wedding dress.
The wedding date couldn't be rushed, but it also couldn't be set too late; in the end, it was the sixth day of the sixth lunar month.
It was not only springtime, but also the day of Ni Jingxi's parents' wedding. Since her parents couldn't see her walk into the hall in person, they decided to let them witness their happiness in this way.
I thought June was far away, but who knew that after the New Year, it would be May in the blink of an eye.
Ni Jingxi's bridesmaids have been chosen: three girls from her dormitory, plus Tang Mi and Hua Zheng.
It's easy to leave Huo Shenyan's side; Xiao Yichen, Han Zhao, and Tang Mian will definitely be the best men. As for the other two, they're supposedly fighting like madmen over it right now.
When the main wedding dress was airlifted to Shanghai, it was early May, less than a month before the wedding. Ni Jingxi was finally going to see her main wedding dress.
They went to try them on on Saturday, without asking anyone else to accompany them; Huo Shenyan personally took her with him.
He turned to Ni Jingxi and asked, "Aren't you hungry?"
Knowing that she would be trying on wedding dresses today, Ni Jingxi hadn't eaten since morning and had barely drunk any water. Even Huo Shenyan, who doted on her so much, couldn't help but get angry.
But to everyone's surprise, she hugged her neck and pleaded, "Please, please, I'm only wearing a wedding dress once in my life, I want to look my best."
She was already quite slender, and at that moment she was wearing a loose-fitting T-shirt with her collarbone clearly visible.
In the end, Huo Shenyan forced her to drink a few sips of milk before he quickly drove her to try on her wedding dress, hoping that the sooner she could try it on, the sooner he could take her to eat something.
Upon arriving at their destination, Ni Jingxi learned that everyone was there to serve only the two of them.
Upon entering, the two were led away to change into their respective wedding gowns. Ni Jingxi's first gown to try on was the main wedding dress. Even though she had seen the design concept sketches of the main wedding dress beforehand, she was still completely stunned when she actually saw it.
The dress features a deep V-neck and off-the-shoulder design, a cinched waist, and a large, heavy skirt in a retro, glamorous, courtly style. Under a halo of lights overhead, the crystal jewels adorning the dress make it sparkle even more brilliantly.
It really is glowing.